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July 2002World NewsPosted: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 • After crash in Chicago, 2 men fatally beaten • Draconian terrorist measures targeted foreigners • Bush stockpiles oil for multibillion-dollar war with Iraq • Wedding bombing report 'rewritten' • American map of 1434 is a modern fake, scientists claim • Kabila Says He Wants Peace and Will Get It • Pretoria Pact "A Positive Step", Says Rwandan President • Uncle Sam wants war • Al-Qaeda linked to plot to kill Afghan leader • Soul voice of protest • US faces daunting threat to economy in event of Iraq war • Algerian rebel chief killed in army raid • Bush greases the wheels of war • Palestinians give up plan to end suicide bombings • Nablus re-opens shops to defy Israeli curfew • Rumsfeld Doubts Iraq On Inspections • FBI Shifts From Drug War To Terror • War on Iraq 'will cost US $80 billion' • The Great War of Africa on path to peace • India rejects Powell's call for poll monitors • Get out of Africa, king of Morocco tells Spain Pretoria Pact "A Positive Step", Says Rwandan President Posted: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 allAfrica.com - Ofeibea Quist-Arcton Pretoria "Without peace in this region, without peace and development in central Africa we couldn't possibly talk about peace in the rest of Africa". The words of the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, encapsulated a reality that was not lost on the African leaders and dignitaries who gathered in Pretoria on Tuesday for the signing of a peace pact between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. Mbeki, the first chairman of the newly-launched African Union, is also the new facilitator in the Congolese peace process. MORE Kabila Says He Wants Peace and Will Get It Posted: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 allAfrica.com - Ofeibea Quist-Arcton Pretoria The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo says he is optimistic about the latest South African and United Nations' brokered peace initiative to end the war in his country, which has sucked in half a dozen of Congo's neighbours. Interviewed on Tuesday after signing a peace agreement with Rwanda, Joseph Kabila said he sensed a new political commitment by Rwandan and other leaders to end Africa's biggest and most complex conflict. MORE World News Posted: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 • Kabila And Kagame Sign Ambitious Congo Peace Deal • First, you market the disease... then you push the pills to treat it • Terror suspects win appeal against detention • Growing numbers are emigrating to Israel - but why? • King Abdullah: Arabs Lack U.S. Trust • UN's 'Risky' Earth Summit Gambit • UN report suggests higher Afghan death count in U.S. strike • Baghdad strike would aim for jugular • Amtrak Crash Hurts 97 in Md. • Iraq attack plans alarm top military • UN leaves Chechnya after kidnap • Iran court bans oldest opposition party • Italian police planted petrol bombs on G8 protesters • King Abdullah warns Blair on Iraq invasion • US wins licence to open second front in terror war • US may put Iranian nuclear plant on hit list • Bush to eliminate threats posed by world's worst leaders >This may be a good idea if he starts with the US leader • The 'inside-out' solution to the problem of Saddam • UN raps US military after Afghan wedding deaths 'cover up' • Blunkett snubs US over terror claim • 'Arrogant' Uncle Sam needs to polish his image • Vice goes right to top, say Catholic victims • 10 easy steps to success • Jesse Jackson meets Arafat, calls for end to suicide bombings • A mother's touch, a lover's caress • Tired-looking pope arrives in Guatemala • Karzai at crossroads as Afghans' leader • Assassination attempt on Afghan leadership is foiled • Why we're nice: the feel-good factor • Is it possible that Mr Blair will not back President Bush over Iraq? Kabila And Kagame Sign Ambitious Congo Peace Deal Posted: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 allAfrica.com - Ofeibea Quist-Arcton Pretoria South African President Thabo Mbeki described the signing Tuesday of a highly ambitious peace accord between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda as "a bright day for the African continent." The idea is that the agreement will be the key to unlock the impasse in the chequered peace process in central Africa and end the war that has engulfed Congo and at least six of its neighbours. MORE The recycled peanuts Posted: Monday, July 29, 2002 by Larry Elliott, Guardian UK This was supposed to be Africa's year. There was talk of fresh starts, of links that would be forged between Africa's new breed of dynamic leaders and western cash, of markets that would be opened and stomachs that would be filled. Instead, it is the same dismal story. In Johannesburg next month, world leaders will gather for the summit on sustainable development, a 10-day talk fest that will only emphasise the gulf in thinking that divides the first and third worlds. It will achieve nothing. Meanwhile, in a band of countries to the north - Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique - more than 14 million people are facing starvation in the continent's worst famine in 10 years. So much for the idea that 2002 would see a new Marshall plan for Africa. MORE World News Posted: Monday, July 29, 2002 • US seeks Pakistan's return to democracy • Army searches for link in base killings • Qwest admits to improper accounting for $1.9b in sales • Dow ends up 447; Nasdaq gains 73 • Dozens of Whales Stranded in Mass • Budget Rent-A-Car Bankrupt... • South Asia Floods Leave 445 Dead • Stop the recycled peanuts • Goodbye Willy Pierce, good riddance • Bush's approval rating down • Israeli forces seized Hamas leader in raid • Palestinians face tough life under West Bank curfew • US accused of Afghan airstrike cover-up • Pakistan Church attack suspects die in ambush • Guards and rebels die in clashes on Chechen border • U.S. Refurbishes Iraqi Air Bases In Kurdistan • U.S. Exploring Baghdad Strike as Iraq Option • Saddam tells Blair to produce evidence over arms factory claims • Jordan's King to tell Bush: Delay Iraq, lean on Israel • Blair warned: Iraq attack 'illegal' • Britain must not support an invasion of Iraq • There should be no war in Iraq without more jaw-jaw • Settlers kill Palestinian girl after Hebron funeral • Powell fears new Kashmir danger • Powell talks tough on Kashmir • Powell Says U.S. Is in S. Asia 'for the Long Haul' • Party support lays ground for exiled Bhutto's return • Witness boycott brings Rwandan genocide trials to a halt World News Posted: Sunday, July 28, 2002 • Portrait of new saint stirs controversy in Mexico • It's Time To Slay the Corporate-Media Beast • Jewish Settlers Kill Palestinian Girl in Hebron • Iraq says taken all measures to face possible U.S. attack • Britain Withdraws From Sierra Leone • 83 die, 116 injured in airshow accident • Four die in fishing contest • Russian Cargo Plane Crash Kills 14 • Powell: India Should Free Prisoners • Bush set to flout test ban treaty • Zanu-PF targets UK for visa ban • Sharon accused of shattering ceasefire • The last thing the US wants is democracy in Iraq • Worker: All Nine Miners Alive • Why globalisation fails to deliver • Blair must stop this evasion about war with Iraq • Indian VP dies of heart attack • 5 U.S. Troops Hurt In Afghan Ambush • Priests caught soliciting sex • India not ready for talks • 'Asian values' fading: expert • 115 yo man commits suicide • Two found dead in US truck thought to be carrying immigrants • War with Iraq is imminent • Rev. Jackson: U.S. call to change PA leadership undemocratic • Peres: Bombing in Gaza was `100 percent a mistake' • Bush Won't Press End to Israeli Settlements • Kashmir's Hindus Show No Zeal for Insurrection • Rape as Punishment • Business Cycle Above the law, and under a cloud Posted: Saturday, July 27, 2002 By Dennis Rahkonen, YellowTimes.org Thanks to our cultural consciousness being pervaded by rightwing notions and biases, it's almost instinctive for us to think of "crime" in street-mugger terms, or as the stereotypical, drug-related activity of warring urban gangs. Seldom do we associate crime with the organized lawlessness of the Mafia, as would have been the case not that long ago. While this at least partially reflects objective changes in where and when criminality occurs in today's America, it's mainly the result of far too many of us buying into reactionary propaganda contrived to give the majority populace a demonized vision of the poor and racial minorities. Nowhere is the usefulness of that misrepresentation to the right more evident than with respect to gun control. While rational souls see a clear logic in gaining prudent strictures on the all-too-ready access to hand guns that exists in this country, gun advocates are able to effectively parlay deliberately generated fears about the alleged criminal character of the supposedly typical ghetto dweller into a tawdry dichotomization which divides us into two, distinct camps. There are the purportedly good, honest, decent denizens of white, middle-class America confronted by a growing scourge involving armed "criminals" invariably presented as low-income and of color. It's us vs. them, in the starkest terms, which best fit the longstanding conservative tactic of divisively pitting us one against the other while a special-interest hierarchy that exploits everyone laughs all the way to the bank. Thus, we're smokescreened from recognizing much greater, more serious lawlessness - namely the crime in the suites that's become endemic to our system, and which has grown so blatant (Enron, Arthur Andersen, WorldCom, etc.) that usual, obfuscatory means have proven inadequate in keeping it completely hidden. But lawlessness at the top goes far beyond Big Business and High Finance malfeasance. Consider the current controversy over the World Court's entirely proper insistence on having all nations' military conduct held accountable to international law. The Bush administration, which is currently engaged in such illegalities as bombing Iraq on a sustained basis, has expressed, under the War on Terrorism pretext, plans to put U.S. troops or advisors into what could amount to sixty nations. As the recent, atrocious, wedding bombing "accident" in Afghanistan shows, U.S. forces are quite prone to inflicting lethal damage on civilian targets, a problem that would surely expand as our interventions spread. Bush is seeking, therefore, a prior exclusion from global, legal culpability for the war-crimes violations he knows are certain to come, as the U.S. plays bully/cowboy in behalf of multinational corporate interests on an escalating worldwide scale. On this score - and certainly with regard to new demands that the Securities and Exchange Commission look, again, into apparent improprieties which took place a dozen years ago as Bush seemingly finagled his Harken oil interests into maximum gain - the powers that be want us to focus on a manipulated "threat" emanating from the nearest bad neighborhood. "Watch out for the druggie thugs! Don't look over in our direction!" Falling for this ploy, however, would entail remaining popularly oblivious to what could amount to a revelation of top-level corruption and depravity far beyond what's been disclosed to date. Just how crooked is contemporary American capitalism? That's a question which must be answered to everyone's complete satisfaction, so that we can respond with whatever reforms are required to set things right. Provided things haven't become so rotten that reform itself is impossible, making a truly revolutionary socio-politico-economic change the only workable solution. [Dennis Rahkonen is a freelance writer from Superior, Wisconsin, formerly long associated with the Tyomies (Workingman) Society publishing house, which served progressive Finnish immigrants throughout America for most of the 20th century. Finns encountered much bigotry in the United States, with an infamous boarding house sign "No dogs or Finns allowed!" reflecting the prejudice that many once felt.] Dennis Rahkonen encourages your comments: dennisr@cp.duluth.mn.us Constructive Dissent (Slouching Towards Apocalypse) Posted: Saturday, July 27, 2002 by Heather Wokusch In early 1945, Hiram Bingham faced a tough decision: he could follow his government's orders to ignore the Nazi holocaust, thereby keeping his comfortable position as US vice-consul in Marseilles, or he could defy State Department policy by issuing life-saving US visas to French Jews and anti-Nazi activists. Bingham chose the latter, and as a result helped 2,500 escape persecution. Bingham's reward? He lost his post, was drummed out of the Service, and died almost penniless. Fast forward to 2002, and Hiram Bingham is being feted as a hero. US secretary of state Colin Powell praised his risking "life and career" to do the right thing, and the American Foreign Service association recently gave Bingham a posthumous award for "constructive dissent." "Constructive dissent" - now there's an interesting term, especially in these "you're with us or with the enemy" days of equating dissent with terrorism. It makes you wonder what kind of modern-day law breakers will be trumpeted as heroes 60 years down the road ... and which of our contemporary holocausts will be seen as worthy to have fought. In 1986, a former nuclear technician in an Israeli plutonium processing plant had a tough choice: Mordechai Vanunu could stay quiet and keep his comfortable life, or risk it all by exposing the truth about Israel's nuclear program. Vanunu chose the latter and proved that, contrary to repeated denials, Israel was a fully nuclear state possessing hundreds of thermonuclear bombs, with accelerated clandestine manufacturing of further nuclear weapons. Vanunu's reward? A conviction of treason in an Israeli court, 12 years in solitary confinement, and a prison sentence that continues to this day. As the world slouches towards all-out war in the Middle East, we continue to deny both the potential nuclear component, and its predictably devastating consequences. We read that war is necessary because Iraqis are evil and have mass weapons of destruction, and we're told not to worry our little heads about the accelerated US military build up in Jordan and elsewhere in the region. But it doesn't take a genius to connect these dots. Under pressure to explain past shady business deals, Bush and Cheney need a military diversion; double prize for them in that removing Saddam Hussein would open up Iraq's rich oilfields (and profits) to their oil crony's Western corporations. Meanwhile, Israel currently has 400 nuclear weapons (including a "boosted" bomb up to a thousand times stronger than a regular nuclear device) and Bush has helpfully declared that the US reserves the right to first use of nuclear weapons, even on non-nuclear states. So how farfetched then is the scenario of a "Wag the Dog" US invasion of Iraq, the predictable mass uprising in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere in the Arab World, and a threatened Israel following Bush's lead in first strike with nuclear weapons? How implausible is a coming Apocalypse? One point is clear: if there ever were a time for constructive dissent, it's now. Staring down the barrel of the escalating Mid-East crisis, each of us has the responsibility to make sure our government prevents a cataclysmic disaster. The reward? It's the right thing to do. Heather Wokusch is a free-lance writer. She can be contacted via her web site at www.heatherwokusch.com World News Posted: Saturday, July 27, 2002 • 'Ja-fake-ans' blamed for glamorising Yardie gangs • FBI: Just 200 hard-core Al-Qaeda • Ukraine: at least 78 people killed in plane crash at air show • 65 dead as boat carrying 100 people capsizes in Kerala • Zimbabwe Threatens To Ban British • Khamenei says U.S. to regret if it attacks Iran • Indonesia Bomb Blast Injures 53 • From the other perspective • 4 U.S. Soldiers Injured in Afghan Ambush • Fury as Zimbabwe official held • Bus Collisions In Peru Kill 12 • Reforming capitalism • Three NC activists among 12 killed in held Kashmir • Four settlers killed as gunmen open fire on their cars • Bush and Blair agree terms for Iraq attack • The plight of Palestinian children • Powell reviews use of US arms after outcry at Israeli F-16 raid • Keeping the lid on Iraq • Mugabe's minister held at Gatwick as part of EU-wide travel ban • Dead reckoning • The war on terror needs a sense of proportion • Secret agent admits slur on Islam • Foundations are in place for martial law in the US • African countries close to ending decades of war • U.S. moves on a black history museum • Jenin and its aftermath: a soldier's diary • US sees future without arms treaties with Russia • Pakistan can do more to stop infiltration: Solana • Media owners in Pakistan barred from private TV, radio channels • 60 people killed in Indian floods • SE Asians dispute anti-terror pact with US World News Posted: Friday, July 26, 2002 • Settler's murder signals start of Gaza retaliation • Jesse Jackson Plans Mideast Trip • Justice with a vengeance • Documents show Bush played active role at Harken • War on terrorism or police state? • Victory for a new kind of women’s power at Escravos • Military wife slayings spur review • Volcano Erupts Near Lava-Scarred Congo Town • A glitch in the Matrix • Trial told of Milosevic heart risk • Israeli Tanks Move Into Gaza City • Blair: Iraq Decision Not Imminent • Bush Admin. Urges For Afghan Funding • Lessons for the war on terrorism • Pope Urges Pilgrims To Reject Sin • Child beatings shatter Russian utopia • Killers try to avoid the rope by offering their daughters • Up, down and all around • South Asian floods make 4m homeless • Making enemies make friends • Should Britain join an American invasion of Iraq? • Moussaoui faces trial after changing plea to not guilty • Israeli agencies trade blame for civilian deaths • Cloud over Powell's future • Fujimori accused of encouraging forced sterilisations • Militias to be paid for mass killings • Israel is warned on U.S.-made bomb • Powell to staff: 'I'm not resigning' World News Posted: Thursday, July 25, 2002 • Israelis row over bombing blame • US threatens to block torture convention • Minister: Nigeria Loyal To Opec • Then what happened? • Southwest Venezuela Floods Kill 5 • Sharon shifts blame for civilian deaths • Call for revenge as Palestinians show their grief and fury • U.S Vote to ease Cuba ban • When companies cook the books, blame the CEO • Rise of the xenophobe could see Australia miss the boat.. • Afghan ministers call for cash • US Conservatives uneasy about Ashcroft's zeal • A nation of spies? • Bush Compassionate? No • Agreement was to end attacks immediately • Fighting intensifies in Somalia • Warlord's son offers US bases in return for aid and support • Powell to be pushed for more pressure on Pakistan • Russia accused of 'thinning out' Chechen youths • Home of the brave, land of the snitches Peru apologizes for sterilizing Indians Posted: Thursday, July 25, 2002 By Owain Johnson UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL CARACAS, Venezuela — Peru's Health Ministry issued a public apology yesterday after the publication of a report that revealed that the ministry oversaw the forced sterilization of at least 200,000 Indians during the presidency of Alberto Fujimori. MORE The Quotable James Traficant Posted: Thursday, July 25, 2002 Traficant's closing statement to the ethics panel "I want you to disregard all the opposing counsel has said. I think they're delusionary. I think they've had something funny for lunch in their meal, I think they should be handcuffed, chained to a fence and flogged, and all of their hearsay evidence should be thrown the hell out. And if they lie again, I'm going to go over there and kick them in the crotch. Thank you very much." MORE 45,000 homeless evacuated Posted: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 VHeadline.com Wednesday, July 24, 2002 -- 45,000 homeless have been evacuated in a major flood-rescue operation in the south of Venezuela. Military aircraft have flown in tonnes of food and medicine to southwestern Apure State where four people have already died in the emergency. Reports from the frontier town of Guasdualito say the Rio Apure has broken its banks as the 25,000 population town swims in 2 meters of water with sewage popelines ruptured, dead animals floating down the streets and lakes of stagnant water as a gro-ground for malaria-bearing mosquitos. MORE VHeadline News Briefs Wednesday, July 24, 2002 World News Posted: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 • US move to end Cuba travel restrictions • What the papers say about Israel's rocket attack on Gaza City • U.S. General Meets Afghan Warlords • Concessions Made To Palestinians • US to block UN convention on torture • Palestinians vow to avenge victims • Bush faces local wrath in a town called Clinton • Khatami abandoned by U.S. as too weak • Drop plans to attack Saddam, Khatami tells US • U.S. refusal on population fund is blow for Powell • Rumsfeld defends Afghan bombing • Gaza attack 'used 1-tonne bomb' • Powell opposes sale of weapons to India • Dead child is held aloft on another bloody day in Gaza • Executives need employees • Israel stays defiant in face of West's outrage • Only big investors thrive • Palestinian ceasefire plan lies buried in the rubble of Gaza • Mass grave at Ukraine monastery points to Soviet-era terror • Would the British attack like this to kill Adams? • Enron hid debt with banks' aid • Gaza funerals turn to angry protests • Sharon hails on Palestine raid as great success • UK Archbishop will not give blessing for war on Iraq • Space rock 'on collision course' World News Posted: Tuesday, July 23, 2002 • Israel Draws Criticism For Air Raid • Bush joins in condemnation of Israeli attack • Iraq: U.s. Raid Kills 1, Injures 22 • North Dakota Lands Cuban Grain Deals • Afghan regime split over US bombing raids • Bomb Kills 2, Including Former Colombian Legislator • Study: Women recall emotions better than men • Wall Street continues nine-week slide as Dow falls 82 points • $40bn in debt - and counting • 12 dead in attack on Hamas • Afghan regime split over US bombing raids • Uruguay's Economy Minister Resigns • Western officials 'colluding with people traffickers' • Did Iacocca ruin American business? • 'It's better to be thin and dead than fat and living' • 22 die as snowstorms hit South Africa • California defies Bush with drive on global warming • One in 20 women raped, UK survey reveals • War on Saddam will drag on, warns Turkey • Bush seeks global allies for missile defence • Women pay brutal price of 'family honour' • Rwanda and Congo agree to end war • EU foreign policy failings exposed in Parsley dispute • Iran was behind 1994 Argentina bombing, says defector • Tokyo and Seoul show doubts on U.S. policy • A 'Bush market'? He has time to recover • The key step for peace is ending corruption • Designer bacteria bite back against tooth decay World News Posted: Monday, July 22, 2002 • U.S. Role in Lumumba Murder Revealed • Dow falls 234 in third straight triple-digit selloff • Afghan Leader's Safety Fears Mount • Israel Air Raid Kills 10 • Bush Says Corporate Health Is Strong • Frail Pope Insists on Traveling • EU explands Zimbabwe sanctions blacklist • Go on, call Bush's bluff • Pointless punishment • Chinese hailstorm kills at least 16 • WorldCom prepares for bankruptcy • Wondering about Bush • New 'superbug' could be immune to treatment • History is everywhere - but whose history is it? • America will have to stay in Iraq • President again sticks finger in markets dike • Europe rethinks its relationship with Washington • Would U.S. economy czar please stand up? • US raids killed over 800 Afghan civilians > Contrast: Disastrous US high-tech tactics killed hundreds • Mbeki minister attacks UN fund's Aids grant • Stocks dive as Australian market opens • Bush knew Harken was in trouble before he sold shares • Deal to end Sudan's civil war brings hope at last • Suicide attacks 'immoral' says Arafat aide • Barman's fire stunt kills 26 in Peru • Israel reaches deal over anti-deportation appeal • High winds and freak hailstones kill 25 in China • How US authorities blocked Charlie Chaplin's knighthood Talks held with Spain after troops pull out Posted: Monday, July 22, 2002 by Giles Tremlett in Madrid The Guardian The foreign ministers of Spain and Morocco were preparing for tense talks in Rabat today as their spat over the tiny islet of Perejil threatened to widen into a bitter dispute over half a dozen territories. While calm returned to the tiny, uninhabited islet in the strait of Gibraltar - which Morocco calls Leila and Spain calls Perejil, or parsley - after Spanish troops withdrew on Saturday, the diplomatic gulf separating the countries appeared to grow. Morocco, with its eyes on Anglo-Spanish negotiations over Gibraltar, was expected to try to turn today's talks into the opening round of a debate over the future of other disputed territories it claims. These include the Spanish north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla and possibly the Canary Islands. MORE World News Posted: Sunday, July 21, 2002 • Bush rallies US for strike on Iraq • Cheney firm won $3.8bn contracts from government • Train Derails In Sicily, Killing 8 • Militants seek Muslim-free India • West pays warlords to stay in line • Dishonest and greedy? We still need business to do good • Beware peacemakers selling arms • At Least 3 Die In Small Plane Crash • Gore Accuses Bush Admin. Of Lying • Colombian Rebel Commander Surrenders • US wary of Pakistan intelligence services' links to al-Qa'ida • Iraq? Let's not go there • We're coming to get you, Saddam (but it may take a little while) • Failure of rifle was all the fault of Marines, says MoD inquiry • US intervenes over Perejil • Helicopter crashes in Russia's south, 12 dead • Johnson & Johnson faces US probe • Man opens fire on helicopter • Disco inferno kills 25, injures 100 • Indian police hold Kashmiri separatist leaders World News Posted: Saturday, July 20, 2002 • The murder of Imad Abu Zahra • Deadly fire sweeps through Peru disco • Morocco ready to end Parsley standoff • Lima Mall Disco Fire Kills 10 • Israel to deport families of militants • Car bomb blast kills one • U.S. rebukes China firms and Indian man for Iran-Iraq arms • Colombia death squads 'disbanded' • Horrifying tales of torture, execution in North Korea • France's neo-Nazi breeding ground • Alaskan glaciers melting at fast pace • Diplomacy on the rocks • EU urged to turn screw on Mugabe • Be prepared for a long slump • I'm not surprised we're the world's worst tourists • Doctor-murderers are rare, but there is a lesson to learn • Losing ground in Guatemala • Shipman's victimes were trusting to the last • Iraq says British and US planes killed five civilians • Israel army blows up homes of militants • Stocks crumble amid new gloom • Frustrated Marines leave Kabul • Saddam courts his neighbors to help fend off any U.S. attack • Scandals force Bush to take a working holiday • Bush 'refuses to be discouraged' on Mideast • CIA lifts restriction on recruiting 'dirty' informers World News Posted: Friday, July 19, 2002 • Recall of Contaminated Beef Expanded to 18 Million Pounds • Dow tumbles 390, closes below post-terror low • Criminal probe of Johnson & Johnson factory reportedly begun • Israel May Expel Relatives of Bombers • Five Israelis charged in ammunition sales • UK man 'killed 215 patients' • Drug Laws Thin Edge of the Wedge Worldwide • New Studies Raise Alarm About Global Ice Melt • Israel arrests relatives of Palestinian attackers • Pearl murder mastermind appeals death sentence • World's Poorest Nations Lash Out at Globe's Richest • Sharon's War on Moderate Palestinians • Synthetic bioterror • A confession to Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld • Where is the president? • Don't always believe the worst about Russia • Waiting for Arafat to go away • A shameful world scandal named Argentina • Israeli Leader Hears Calls for New Approach • Israeli soldiers accused of selling arms to Palestinians • US to sell Israel 1,000 Bomb Upgrades • Tel Aviv bomber's chilling message of death • Israel keeps curfew active after 11 killed in two days • If you see a tank, just leave the car and run for it • Officials Say Iraq Acts to Forestall U.S. Attack • Turks deny debt deal the price of support • UK Reservists called up in build-up for Iraq • November 17 is exposed > One of Europe's deadliest terrorist groups is finally caught • Greece Catches Up to Elusive Terrorists • Russian nuclear theft alarms US > Chechen rebels have stolen radioactive metals, possibly plutonium • What Spain could teach us about island grabbing • AOL suffers a double blow • Blair in crisis talks to heal rift with unions • Michael Jackson is wrong • More blizzards set to add to death toll in Peru • Irish court convicts first man for raping wife • Weird fossilised flying reptile 'a vision of hell' • US Terror suspect's guilty plea blocked • Costly UK Command Structure is full of risks and problems Blair is no poodle Posted: Thursday, July 18, 2002 by Brendan O'Neill Tony Blair is often accused of being President Bush's obedient little poodle. Throughout the Royal Marines' disastrous stint in Afghanistan, Blair was lambasted by his critics for 'fighting America's war' and following Bush's orders. Now, as Britain and America plan to attack Iraq, the Daily Mirror says Blair is 'sleepwalking towards a terrible crisis', and advises him to 'leave Iraq to the US cowboys'. There are two problems with this characterisation. First, it lets Blair off the hook, suggesting that he is merely being led astray by evil Bush rather than really wanting to intervene around the world - hence the Mirror's 'sleepwalking' jibe, as if we should forgive Blair for he knows not what he does. Second, it depicts modern imperialism as a peculiarly American thing (carried out by brash American 'cowboys'), which good old anti-imperialist Britain should have no part in. Both of these arguments are way off the mark. After New Labour announced that it would stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with the US and help 'find the folks' who carried out the 11 September attacks, anti-war protesters warned Blair not to get too cosy with Bush. From the outset, opponents of the Afghan war claimed that America would drag Britain into a bloody, drawn-out American conflict. They seriously underestimated Blair's desire to jump on the post-11 September bandwagon. Far from being led astray by an overbearing President Bush, Blair was keen to join the 'crusade against evil' - to use foreign intervention abroad to boost his standing at home, just as he had with the Kosovo conflict in 1999. Like the Bush administration, Blair saw opportunities in the wake of 11 September - opportunities to restate his political and moral authority in response to the terrorist attacks. But rather than being challenged on this politically, rather than being criticised for planning military intervention in Afghanistan and elsewhere, Blair was simply 'given advice': keep away from Bush, he was told, don't get too involved, you know what those Americans are like. Blair was presented as being foolish, rather than being imperialist. This does more than allow Blair to escape the flak - it actually boosts his moral authority in international affairs. America is depicted as the bad guy, the mad cowboy that bombs weddings and villages, while Britain is seen as a more rational force, which is just making mistakes. Indeed, there is a fine line between the Blair-as-poodle criticisms and demands that Blair exert a 'calming influence' on Bush. Very often, those who consider themselves radical for labelling Blair America's little puppy end up calling for him to be a rational voice in the new world order. This is a line of attack that Blair will be more than happy to live with. In much of this discussion, foreign intervention is seen as an all-guns-blazing 'American thing' that innocent Britain should reject. In fact, intervention today is most often justified in humanitarian terms - in the name of defending democracy, standing up for human rights, and helping the poor people of the third world (never mind that its consequences are as disastrous as they have always been). Even the allegedly gung-ho America has learned humanitarian-speak - in fact, it invented much of it. Bush made a point of dropping food packages as well as bombs at the start of the Afghan war; he talks about 'his friends, the Afghan people' (while bombing the hell out of them); and he strenuously denies that the war on terror is a traditionally imperialist war on Islam or the East or any kind of Other. This is the new liberal imperialism, where Western leaders justify their domination of the third world in PC language. And as long as Blair is seen as the man who can 'calm Bush', he is certain to play a leading role in this new order. Reposted from: http://www.boneill.blogspot.com/ War Against Iraq, Corporate Corruption Distraction Posted: Thursday, July 18, 2002 Will the White House Distract Attention from Their Corporate Corruption With War Against the "Evil One" in Iraq? by Tom Turnipseed With increasing evidence evolving that President Bush and Vice-President Cheney are caught up in corporate corruption of their own creation and new polls showing that the public is beginning to perceive their perfidy, the danger of desperate men going to war to distract the public is appalling. On July 16, 2002 the Dow Jones lost ground for the seventh straight day. Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan appeared before a Congressional committee attacking dishonest corporate executives and "an infectious greed" as causing "considerable uncertainty" in the U.S. economy. His wife, Andrea Mitchell reported on the Brian Williams Show that "Hawks favoring an attack (on Iraq) are winning in the White House". The same day both Paul Krugman and Nicholas Kristof chronicled the continuing saga of George W. Bush's slick and unsavory business deals as an official of Harken Energy and the Texas Ranger's baseball team in essays entitled "Bush and The Texas Land Grab" and "Steps To Wealth" on the op.ed. page of the New York Times. Also on July 16, the Ipsos-Reid/Cook Political Report released polling data from July 11-14 revealing that only 42% of those polled would vote to re-elect Bush and the Zogby Poll reported that Bush's approval rating had dropped to 62%, down from 74% in February. The Zogby Poll reported that one in three Americans feel they are worse off than a year ago and 51% said they are less likely to invest in the stock market. Pollster John Zogby said, "Two out of three likely voters tell us they have an IRA or 401k. One look at their quarterly report and there goes confidence in the economy and the government. We are looking at a very close election....this is THE issue." The week before the September 11 terrorist attacks, voters gave Bush a 50% positive and 49% negative job rating, so it is apparent to White House strategists that war works wonders for his popularity. Maybe that's why Andrea Mitchell now reports the war hawks are winning in the White House debate over how and when to make a "regime change" in Iraq. Maybe that's why one of those hawks, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, is in Turkey offering that economically troubled Muslim NATO state an easing of the more than $4 billion owed the U.S. for arms purchases as well as promising to push for congressional approval of a $228 million aid package for Turkey. Wolfowitz said, "Turkey stands to benefit enormously" by a regime change in Iraq. The U.S. maintains airbases in Turkey. U.S. and Britain have used them for flights to enforce a no-fly zone over Northern Iraq. Turkey is publicly opposed to any military action against neighboring Iraq and has lost billions in trade since backing the U.S. in the 1991 Gulf War and observing subsequent trade sanctions, but the White House hawks seem determined to bribe and browbeat their leaders into going along with a U.S. invasion of Iraq. Wolfowitz also promised the Turkish leaders that the U.S. did not want an ethnic Kurdish state in Northern Iraq. The Turks fear an independent Kurdish state because of their 17 year war against the Kurds in which more than 20,000 Kurds were killed. The War Hawks who rail against Saddam, the evil one, and accuse him of using poison gas on his own people, refer to the Kurds as the victims but Kurdish leaders in Northern Iraq say they will refuse to cooperate with any U.S.-inspired action to overthrow Hussein. Massoud Barzani, the leader of one of the two main political parties that control the Kurdish enclave in Northern Iraq said last month that, "The Iraq issue won't be solved by military or covert action." The Kurds have bitter memories of their 1975 struggle with Baghdad when the U.S. abruptly withdrew its support. Some of the Shi'ites in Southern Iraq have opposed Hussein but they also remember the duplicity of George Bush, Sr. who encouraged them to rise up against the Hussein government after the Gulf War but had their rebellion crushed without any help from the U.S. The U.S. news media parrots the propaganda of the U.S. foreign policy establishment and the Bush administration about the imminent Iraqi threat of fomenting terrorism and manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, but virtually ignores evidence presented by credible sources like American Scott Ritter, a former U.N. arms inspector based in Iraq, who says that Iraq is effectively disarmed. Mainstream U.S. media has also ignored the blatant fact that the U.S. foreign policy establishment is determined to control the oil reserves of Iraq at any and all costs. With lawsuits alleging crooked accounting tactics used by Dick Cheney as CEO of Halliburton Co. to personally enrich himself, The Washington Post reported that from 1997 till 2000 with Cheney at the helm, the Halliburton Co. did $73 million worth of business with Saddam the evil one. They sold him oil production equipment and spare parts through their subsidiaries in spite of U.S. imposed economic sanctions against Iraq. During the Gulf War we bombed Iraq's eight multi-purpose dams, destroying flood control systems, irrigation, municipal and industrial water storage, and hydroelectric power. Major pumping stations were targeted and sewage facilities were destroyed. Article 54 of the Geneva Convention prohibits attacks on "drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works". After such deliberate destruction, we used sanctions to prevent Iraq from rebuilding, knowing epidemics would ensue. The United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF), estimates that well over a million Iraqis have died as a result. In 2000, UNICEF said that thousands die every month including many children who are without necessary medicine due to the sanctions. No wonder Bush doesn't want an International Criminal Court to have jurisdiction over the U.S. U.S. policy makers could be charged with genocide! Will Bush/Cheney cover their corruption with more war and killing of innocents? Tom Turnipseed is an attorney, writer and civil rights activist in Columbia, South Carolina. www.turnipseed.net World News Posted: Thursday, July 18, 2002 • U.S. Stocks Hit 5-Year Low • Bush Administration Rejects Drug Plan • 60 Killed In Crash In Uganda • Moussaoui seeks to enter guilty plea; judge refuses to accept • Tel Aviv suicide attack kills five • City attack shatters the illusion of security • US spies are wasting billions, inquiry says • UK Militancy grows as thousands strike • Saddam taunts 'evil tyrants' • Saddam warns on anniversary: I will never be defeated • The rhetoric over Iraq is reaching a dangerous pitch • Spain recaptures Parsley island • UN resolution not needed for Iraq action: Blair • New suspects cast doubt on Pearl murder conviction • Is the IRA apology a trick or a sincere expression of regret? • Bush indicates he would accept a compromise on Arafat • India launches cult figure 'Missile Man' as its new president • Officer In Video Arrest Indicted • Dozens Feared Buried Under Landslide • Racism and Zionism • AOL Unconventional Transactions Boosted Sales • AOL Says Accounting 'Was Appropriate' • Scientists identify the spark of life • On the subject of informants • Cycles of scandal and cleanup • Love affair with stocks falls upon hard times • Opening Cuban Markets Good for Cubans and Americans • Hormone therapy: not a simple case of yes or no • Arabs to Give Bush a Palestinian Plan • US recruited Islamic radicals in 1980s World News Posted: Wednesday, July 17, 2002 • Double suicide attack rocks Tel Aviv • Gov. Bush's daughter jailed in Orlando in drug case • Nigerian women storm new oil plants • Gang rape convictions show Sydney's deep racial tensions • Paraguay declares emergency as violence spreads • Gujarat Muslims Get Little Help from Government • Czech Spy Chief Doubts Atta-Iraq Meeting • Independent Group Makes Own Mideast Peace Plan • Spain arrests Qaeda suspects and seizes pre-Sept. 11 video • Gov't: India Withdrew Border Troops • 11 feared dead as helicopter dives into North Sea • Blair justifies case for attack on Saddam • Wall St rollercoaster • Afghan Governors Stall Talks • UN, EU, Russian leaders split with U.S. on future of Arafat • Another CEO gone: Telekom chief falls in political wind • Bush Powers, Money For Security • Bush Unveils Homeland Security Plan • Firm's setbacks raise questions on Cheney • Garza Picked As Ambassador To Mexico • Saddam's son tells Iraq to get ready for conflict • Bush's empty rhetoric • Rumsfeld out to unshackle the military • Papua New Guinea Election count frozen as poll chaos continues • Police accused again • Governor Bush and the Texas land grab • Is it because I'm black? No, Michael, they just don't care any more • An inside look at the hypocrisy of Wall Street culture Midnight's Bastards Posted: Wednesday, July 17, 2002 By Tariq Ali The military response of the American Empire to September 11 has made the world more dangerous and insecure. Its political strategy has led to the promotion of Ariel Sharon and Vladimir Putin as key allies in the 'war against terror' and 'Islamo-fascism'. Palestinian and Chechen lives have become insignificant in the eyes of the Bush administration and have reduced the liberal belligeratti to near-silence on these issues. Hacks in sections of the liberal press have become part of a propaganda campaign to destroy the regime in Iraq and replace it with a puppet administration. MORE World News Posted: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 • Texas Mom Killed Kids, Self • US Economy wounded by accounting scandals • Seven die in West Bank attack on bus • Five Dead, Six Missing in British Helicopter Crash • 1 Dead In Singapore Helicopter Crash • Violent Anti-Government Protests in Paraguay • House passes bill setting new criminal penalties for business fraud • Markets Finish Lower Despite Positive Economic Outlook • Israeli raid shuts down main Palestinian internet service • US Taleban gets 20 years after Bush plea bargain • India ready to discuss Kashmiri autonomy • Jammu massacre casts shadow on J&K elections • Girl, 10, becomes Britain's youngest ecstasy victim • Police puzzled at 'Day of the Jackal' attack • Omar Sheikh has a chilling message - the war must carry on • Let's see who dies first, dares Omar • Pearl tragedy still wreathed in mystery • Pressure mounts on Morocco to withdraw • Report reveals impotent South African army • Firm's Fall Raises Questions About Cheney's Leadership There • U.S. Official Defends Attack on Afghan Village • U.S. Planes Strike Radar Unit in Iraq • For U.S., American 'Holy Warriors' Hard to Track • Allies and Arabs seek softer U.S. Mideast stance • The rats are coming • Democrats speak up on Bush foreign policy • Plot hatched in Malaysia: US intelligence • How to make Americans listen • It's time to cast out our own demons • Oil workers held captive by women's threat to strip • Turn off the war tap • New corporate scandal engulfs Bush deputy • Science adjusts thinking on the origins of man Corporate Control of the Media Posted: Monday, July 15, 2002 Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 in The Hill (Capitol Hill) Congress Can No Longer Ignore Corporate Control of the Media by US Rep Bernie Sanders One of our best-kept secrets is the degree to which a handful of huge corporations control the flow of information in the United States. Whether it is television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books or the Internet, a few giant conglomerates are determining what we see, hear and read. And the situation is likely to become much worse as a result of radical deregulation efforts by the Bush administration and some horrendous court decisions. Television is the means by which most Americans get their “news.” Without exception, every major network is owned by a huge conglomerate that has enormous conflicts of interest. Fox News Channel is owned by Rupert Murdoch, a right-wing Australian who already owns a significant portion of the world’s media. His network has close ties to the Republican Party, and among his “fair and balanced” commentators is Newt Gingrich. NBC is owned by General Electric, one of the largest corporations in the world — and one with a long history of anti-union activity. GE, a major contributor to the Republican Party, has substantial financial interests in weapons manufacturing, finance, nuclear power and many other industries. Former CEO Jack Welch was one of the leaders in shutting down American plants and moving them to low-wage countries like China and Mexico. ABC is owned by the Disney Corp., which produces toys and products in developing countries where they provide their workers atrocious wages and working conditions. CBS is owned by Viacom, another huge media conglomerate that owns, among other entities, MTV, Showtime, Nickelodeon, VH1, TNN, CMT, 39 broadcast television stations, 184 radio stations, Paramount Pictures and Blockbuster Inc. The essential problem with television is not just a right-wing bias in news and programming, or the transformation of politics and government into entertainment and sensationalism. Nor is it just the constant bombardment of advertising, much of it directed at children. It’s that the most important issues facing the middle-class and working people of our country are rarely discussed. The average American does not see his or her reality reflected on the television screen. The United States is the only industrialized nation on earth that does not have a national healthcare program. Yet, despite 41 million people with no health insurance and millions more underinsured, we spend far more per capita on healthcare than any other nation. Maybe the reason is that we are seeing no good programs on television, in between the prescription drug advertisements, discussing how we can provide quality healthcare for all at far lower per capita costs than we presently spend? Despite the great “economic boom” of the 1990s, the average American worker is now working longer hours for lower wages than 30 years ago, and we have lost millions of decent-paying manufacturing jobs. Where are the TV programs addressing our $360 billion trade deficit, or what our disastrous trade policy has done to depress wages in this country? And while we’re on economics, workers who are in unions earn 30 percent more than non-union people doing the same work. There are a lot of programs on television about how to get rich by investing in the stock market. But have you seen any “specials” on how to go about forming a union? The United States has the most unfair distribution of wealth and income in the industrialized world, and the highest rate of childhood poverty. There’s a lot of television promoting greed and self-interest, but how many programs speak to the “justice” of the richest 1 percent owning more wealth than the bottom 95 percent? Or of the CEOs of major corporations earning 500 times what their employees make? If television largely ignores the reality of life for the majority of Americans, corporate radio is just plain overt in its right-wing bias. In a nation that cast a few million more votes for Al Gore and Ralph Nader than for George Bush and Pat Buchanan, there are dozens of right-wing talk show programs. Rush Limbaugh, G. Gordon Liddy, Bob Grant, Sean Hannity, Alan Keyes, Armstrong Williams, Howie Carr, Oliver North, Michael Savage, Michael Reagan, Pat Robertson, Laura Schlessinger — these are only a few of the voices that day after day pound a right-wing drumbeat into the heartland of this country. And from a left perspective there is — well, no one. The Republican Party, corporate owners and advertisers have their point of view well represented on radio. Unfortunately, the rest of America has almost nothing. As bad as the current media situation is, it is likely to be made much worse by a recent decision in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals that responded to a suit by Fox, AOL Time Warner, NBC and Viacom. That decision struck down a federal regulation limiting companies from owning television stations and cable franchises in the same local markets. The court also ordered that the Federal Communications Commission either justify or rewrite the federal rule that limits any one company from owning television stations that reach more than 35 percent of American households. The bottom line is that fewer and fewer huge conglomerates are controlling virtually everything that the ordinary American sees, hears and reads. This is an issue that Congress can no longer ignore. Rep. Bernie Sanders is an Independent from Vermont. http://bernie.house.gov/ Links from: www.fair.org
President Chavez Frias plans to rule for another 11 years Posted: Monday, July 15, 2002 The President, talking during his weekly radio show, said that he no longer faces a threat of being deposed by a coup, following the failure of the April attempt and intends to rule until 2013. "The world is confident in Venezuela and its government," the President said. "Anyone who thinks there is going to be another shock or coup should forget it." The President urged his opposition to abide by the constitution and the country's legal framework when trying to remove him. He suggested that the opposition should concentrate on a referendum next year if they want to oust him, or failing that on the elections that are due to take place in 2006. "I will do everything I can to rule until 2013." MORE World News Posted: Monday, July 15, 2002 • DNC HEAD: Bush's priorities are out of whack... • Democrats Hosted Firm Under SEC Probe at Donor Retreat.. • US Senate Passes Business Fraud Bill • Army secretary says he plans to testify about Enron • Dow Down 45 After 439-Point Drop • Guard Denies Woods Entry at Muirfield • Euro reaches parity with dollar • Four Islamic militants guilty in kidnap-slaying of Danny Pearl • Pfizer Agrees to Buy Rival Drug Giant Pharmacia for $60 Billion • Banks put WorldCom on the brink • Mystery of share buyer who bailed out Bush • Department of Trade and Industry was warned • Pressure mounts over Bush and Cheney business deals • Pakistan Police arrest 20 over attack on European tourists • South Korean Protesters demand US hand over two soldiers • Man fires shot as French president passes • British clerics denounce plan to strike Iraq • Iraqi opposition leaders warn US and Britain not to invade • Exiled Iraqi officers are setting up a military committee • Military council formed to oust Saddam • Israeli warplanes destroy 'Hamas house' in the Gaza Strip • Bin Laden is alive and planning new attacks, says German intelligence • Tamils break truce, abduct civilians • The September 11 plot was initiated in Malaysia • Bush wants military relations with China • American 'reinforcements' land in Israel • Israel launches air strike ahead of meetings • 27 killed in aim to increase tension in Kashmir • India vows 'befitting reply' to attack • Spain considering sanctions over disputed island • US planning to recruit one in 24 Americans as citizen spies • Vietnam hopes US will accept Agent Orange legacy World News Posted: Sunday, July 14, 2002 • Powell's Plan: President Arafat - Without Powers • Afghan refugees return home to find ruins where towns once stood • The Middle East labyrinth • Dick Cheney: The running mate has stumbled • SEC Chief Pledges Cheney Probe • WorldCom Inc. shifted accounts around as early as 2000 • Gunman targets Chirac during Bastille ceremony • Four Found Stabbed to Death in Calif. • The great charade • War clouds gather as hawks lay their plans • Beware Bush's summer charm offensive • School for scandal • Where did all the protesters go? • Blair and Bush plan Iraq war summit • Exiled officers say U.S. must not destroy Iraq again • British troops will stay in Iraq for five years after Saddam • A Dangerous Lull • Wobbly Words • Iraq Says Seven Hurt in U.S., British Attack • War clouds gather as hawks lay their plans • 52 die after violence breaks out in Colombia • Memory of Dirty War still haunts Argentina • Al-Qaeda among Saddam's opponents in northern Iraq • Islamic guerrillas kill 25 in attack on Kashmir shanty town • Nepal's villagers pay in blood as Maoists sow revolution • Girls go to war as Colombia's frontline killers • No trials in sight for Camp X-Ray prisoners • Freezing Weather Kills 18 In Peru • Britain is now the crime capital of the West • Business chiefs in US sweat as Washington plans crackdown • Vladimir Putin's life is coming to an end • Seven million-year-old skull 'just a female gorilla' • Four Palestinians die as Israeli army tightens grip • US hits $297b deficit World News Posted: Saturday, July 13, 2002 • Mottola Steps Up Spin War on Jacko, Implicates Producer • Iraqi exiles plot Saddam's fall • Pearl Trial Verdict Backlash Feared • Kashmir Attack Kills 20 Hindus • Iraqis Hurt In U.S.-british Air Raids • US wins deal on immunity • Putting a price on integrity: Let the buyers beware • The warning to book-cookers that Bush should have given • Questions for Bush • America the aloof • Nine Europeans hurt in Pakistan grenade attack • Israelis Kill Three Palestinians • America rattles Saddam's cage hoping he will lash out in anger • Palestinian cities Back to full occupation • Illusions of a Separate Peace • US hawks unhappy at improving Beijing ties • China Buildup Said to Target Taiwan, U.S. • Against the boycott of Israeli academics • Show trial awaits leader of intifada • Israel and Hizbollah striking deal to expel Arafat's top aide • Kuwait says it won't serve as launch pad for Iraq attack • Talk of war puts Arabs on same wavelength • Arafat admits he is unsure whether to seek re-election • Pashtuns Losing Faith in Karzai, U.S. • Afghans Look to Control U.S. Moves • Global markets continue slide as WorldCom scandal takes new turn • Echoes of Rodney King alarm city in shadow of Los Angeles World News Posted: Friday, July 12, 2002 • Stop shooting and start talking • Malaysian authorities grapple with cow dung-sniffing addicts • Bush's speech flopped as a confidence-builder • Terrorism begets terrorism: what the U.S. teaches terrorists – Part 1 • Thousands of women told to stop HRT • Despite lawsuits, U.S. has deported most foreigners held after Sept. 11 • Swiss paper's sex story backfires • Papua New Guinea Highlands erupts as troops move in for vote • White House bows to pressure on world court • Bush in more trouble as markets crash • World share crisis catches out Bush • Washington backs down over immunity for its peace-keepers • Mary Dejevsky: We Europeans should claim our bragging rights • Eye on America, global stocks skid • U.S. and German intelligence at odds over terrorism watch • Bristol-Myers faces U.S. probe • Former Argentine junta leader arrested • Turkey coalition government in turmoil • Fears of bioterrorism as scientists create deadly polio virus • Washington backs down over immunity for its peace-keepers • Pentagon officials: Al-Qaeda cells operating in America • Arafat: I oppose suicide bombings; Peres welcomes EU plan • SAS plan to blow up Saddam's germ sites • Jordan insists it will not help US attacks on Iraq • Barghouti lawyer: We will not deal with any court World News Posted: Thursday, July 11, 2002 • A Houston man on trial for taking photos of police from his own yard • Another pilot caught drunk at Miami airport • U.S. Won't Go to Iraq to Talk Pilot • Whitney's New Single Blasts the Press • Transsexual wins right to marry • Skull of 'man's oldest relative' found • Bush Got Harken Low-interest Loans • Israeli actions justified till security improves: Bush • Bush at midterm: in trouble at home and abroad • Capitalism and conscience • Tasks for Russia, China, India and Indonesia • Audit firms hid tax violations, U.S. says • Bigger jail alone can't end U.S. scandals • More law won't work • Iraq surrounded in arc of American firepower • West sees glittering prizes ahead in giant oilfields • Stop the War Before it Starts • Bush's crackdown fails to convince • Palestinians still back Arafat if only to spite US • Americans no different from Russians, say bereaved Afghans • Allies remain lukewarm to US invasion of Iraq • American elections dictate timing of an attack • US seeks ways to try Saddam for war crimes • We need to talk about the war on Iraq before it begins • Jewish settlers hold tight to illegal West Bank outposts • Turkish crisis may mean early poll • Cheney sued for alleged oil firm fraud • Vatican Warns Women Priests To Repent • Green campaigners put brake on car lobby in land of the freeway • US secretly deports Pakistani detainees • U.S. Backs Down From Immunity Demand • Suspending Habeas Corpus Transsexual wins right to marry Posted: Thursday, July 11, 2002 (BBC) A British transsexual has won her battle in the European Court of Human Rights to be recognised as a woman and be allowed to marry. Christine Goodwin's solicitor called it a "milestone" in her campaign to be treated equally with other women. The 65-year-old told the court that English law had denied her the right to a new sexual identity. However, the ruling does not immediately override UK law - it simply means it will have to be taken into account by judges in future. Ms Goodwin can now apply again to the British courts in the hope they will do so. MORE World News Posted: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 • Pastor charged with beating Bible study student • Andersen video puts Cheney on spot • Bush's Record on Corporate Ethics • It's Time for a More Serious Look at How Bush Succeeded in Business • U.S. Faces Intense Criticism Over Global Court • 'Astonishing' 7 million year old skull unearthed in Africa • Q&A: Chad fossil discovery • Moon a great power source • Military chief anxious to step up Gaza assault • Bush blames it all on dotcom era • US accuses BP of 'world-class accounting scandal' • Ex-Soviet bloc faces Aids on African scale • Bush jibe angers black leaders • Israeli raid targets PLO moderate • Rebel Kurds at heart of plan to split Iraq into two regions • Campaigners begin legal battle to shut down Camp X-Ray • Militants admit failed plot to kill Musharraf • NATO hunt for Karadzic: 'They'll never find him' • Fatah leader denounces 'corrupt' Arafat rule • N Korea wants redrawing of sea border with South • Al-Qaeda member says bin Laden, Omar alive and well • Carter Bid Fails to Spur Venezuelan Dialogue • Israelis Close Main Office at Arab University • Dissident blueprint gathers support • LA policeman suspended for beating up teenager • Bush jibe angers black leaders • Bush blames it all on dotcom era • US accuses BP of 'world-class accounting scandal' • Mayor Reacts To Police Beating Video • Sanchez Wins Boliva Elections • Thousands Protest Ex-rebels' Arrest • More cheats are hiding in America, says Bush • Man dies as gunfight erupts in Jerusalem • UK accused of preparing a deal with America over criminal court • Speaking loudly, while carrying a very small stick • George Bush's past makes him ideal to clean up corporate America • Serena comes into her own • Look who's prejudiced • Israel moves against a moderate • The gods are crazy... but only in Botswana • Five gored in third day of bull run festival • Big words, big men in Africa’s new union • After Rodney King, what has changed? • Jeers drown out speech of U.S. delegate to AIDS conference • Bush calls Sharon, Prince Abdullah • There is no need to fear intermarriage • 120 countries oppose US stand on world court World News Posted: Tuesday, July 9, 2002 • Bush said he would not urge Israel to end occupation • Iraq says Farrakhan tells of U.S. Muslims' support • Arafat told U.S. will never deal with him again • Britain to relax laws against marijuana use • Bush's strategy to win black votes bypasses NAACP • FBI uneasy about plan to deregulate fast Net • Shackles loosened on U.S. intelligence Limits on agencies • Robert Fisk: A strange kind of freedom • Still No Lawyers • U.S. to inform GCC states on possible Iraq strike • Israeli military chief anxious to step up Gaza assault • Jordan Says Will Not Help U.S. in Iraq Campaign • No materials to build in Gaza • Civilian Casualties May Exact Toll in U.S. Public Relations • Jesse Jackson raps Bush, Ashcroft • Gore Vidal blasts Bush, New York Times.... • Look out, George! • 12 killed in guerilla action • Anti-Musharraf sentiments rising in Pakistan's Army • What Bush should do • SAS peace deal helps tame the warlords • New Afghan exodus looms • Afghan villagers hit by U.S. ask: Why us? • We're with Afghans for long haul: US • US to send more troops to Uruzgan: Pentagon • Canada sends military personnel to Afghanistan • How Bush firm used accounting scam • Bush acts on US scandals • Middle Eastern gulf separates EU and US • UN to debate US stand on war crimes court • Britain approves export of jet parts destined for Israel • Cash-for-reform plan as Middle East talks resume • 'Jews-only' law sparks firestorm • Turkey's stalled government falls apart • Who is this al-Qaeda that everybody speaks of? • Arrogant Pentagon Crashing the Wedding Party • An Israeli officer's response to Bush • Israel accused of 'racist ideology' with plan to prevent Arabs buying homes • Business as usual returns to Afghanistan • The dangerous repercussions of this silly spat among academics • Fear of reprisals saps crucial Kurdish support for US assault on Iraq • He's not the President, he's a very naughty boy • State land off limits to Arabs in Israel • Opium wars linked to assassination • Too late for their own good • Officer Suspended in Taped Beating of L.A. Teen World News Posted: Monday, July 8, 2002 • The Disastrous Foreign Policies of the United States • A tale told by an idiot • Export of Israeli jet parts approved • Middle Eastern gulf separates EU and US • 42 Dead In Indonesia Nightclub Fire • US drugs giant accused of overstating revenue • Bush defends his dealings: 'Sometimes things aren't exactly black and white' • Tape Shows Police Officer Hitting Teen • Two dead, nine injured from sewer gas • WorldCom execs blame accountants • Merck Accounting Worries Spur Selling • Bush to seek jail for CEOs • Magazine says Arafat to step down soon • Pressure on Arafat; Israeli Army Gives Him 6 Months • Pakistan arrests three over U.S. consulate blast • Black IVF twins for white parents > How the mistake could have occurred • Louis Farrakhan meet with senior Iraqi officials • Jacko gets tough: but is he a race crusader or just a falling star? • America puts armed guards in airports • Al-Qaida suspect 'hidden by UK agents' • Naacp Criticizes Bush On Rights • Afghan killing prompts call for broader peace role • Three million face starvation in Malawi • Two British climbers killed in French Alps • Cameraman records the slaughter of bicycling children • We cannot sell arms to Israel and pretend to be shocked if they are used • Navratilova warns of Williams domination • The final joke of women's tennis • Sister act pair up to do the double • Dalai Lama's visit hurts bilateral ties with Slovenia • Saddam: a man with nothing to lose • Three-year report reveals scandal of secret offshore bank for Irish elite • Fish thrown back means small fry • We 'gifted and capable' Palestinians can choose our own leader • Arafat will be displaced within 6 months, IDF says • India Kicks Out Al-Jazeera Reporter • NATO Arrests Bosnian Serb 'War Criminal' • Tom Ridge tipped to be Cheney's successor • Senior Kashmiri separatist leaders may be released African droughts "triggered by Western pollution" Posted: Monday, July 8, 2002 Emissions spewed out by power stations and factories in North America and Europe may have sparked the severe droughts that have afflicted the Sahel region of Africa. The droughts have been among the worst the world has ever seen, and led to the infamous famines that crippled countries such as Ethiopia in the 1980s. MORE World News Posted: Sunday, July 7, 2002 • US Fast Food Industry Faces Lawsuits • 'Under God' Should Be the Least of Our Worries • 33 Workers Die In Ukraine Mine Fire • Report: Algeria Bomb Death Toll Up • Pope Urges the Young to Be Chaste • All-Williams final gets 28 percent ratings bump from '01 • America the Arrogant: Why Don't We Listen Anymore? • Storm in Philippines kills 11 • Northern Ireland March Turns Ugly • Thousands Flee Bangladesh Floods • Parrot saves owner, but owner doesn't save parrot • Hate... Not Terrorism • Midnight's Bastards • Tiger Woods sues artist to draw a line between painting and profit • Trinidad Plans Carribean Pipeline • Carter Begins Venezuela Peace Trip • Iraq To Return Kuwaiti Archives Soon • Blair under renewed pressure over US plans to oust Saddam • Palestinian mother and child killed by Israelis • 'Offensive, ridiculous and unfair' - Oracene Williams mounts strong defence • Murder of minister plunges Afghanistan into fresh crisis • US admits civilian casualties in Afghan raid • Focus / Terrorism - it's a matter of semantics • U.S. military admits Afghan deaths • Palestinian security chiefs reject Arafat nominee • ALP warns on Iraq strike • Powell: 'bastards won't drive me out' • US 'to attack Iraq via Jordan' • Britain is bypassing its own arms embargo on Israel • Defence failure keeps US in firing line • LA airport gunman intended to kill; financial dispute could be catalyst • How the search engines sold out • Introspection day • Putin, Central Asian Leaders Meet World News Posted: Saturday, July 6, 2002 • 8 killed, dozens hurt in central China after wall collapses • Investigator who cleared Bush gets WorldCom job • '04 Dem contenders ratchet up their criticism of Bush • 'Red, white and Bubba' • Repression rules in Arab lands • Carter begins Venezuela peace mission • Man Charged With Faking 911 Calls • Michael Jackson is trying to get black support in his fight • US Calls For George Michael to be kicked out • Wimbledon: Serena, Venus Fulfill Father's Prophecy • Serena Williams beats Venus for first Wimbledon title • Gunmen Assassinate Afghanistan's VP • 'Offensive, ridiculous and unfair' - Oracene Williams mounts strong defence • Serena Williams Wins Wimbledon Title • U.S Jobless rate up to 5.9 percent • US Calls For Michael To Quit • Egypt surprised by furor over Los Angeles shooting • The compassionate exerciser • Serena out to upset Venus’ hat-trick as players cry foul • Why Williams versus Williams must get real • White House can live with Israeli conflict, but not Baghdad • Arms talks deadlock brings Iraq invasion closer • UN steps into France-Britain refugee spat • Madagascar back from the brink as ex-ruler flees • UN and Iraq fail in weapons talks • UK supermarkets to identify produce from illegal Jewish settlements • South Africa forced to give out AIDS drug • Pakistan: Arrest after girl gang-raped as punishment • We will retaliate if India strikes, says Pakistan • Airport killer's motive provokes US-Israeli split • Texas Floods Uproot 4,000 People • 12 killed in tribal clashes in Pakistan • China pulls BBC from airwaves • US authorities try to determine airport gunman's motive • Pakistan turning against General 'Busharraf' Venezuelan Independence Day 2002 Posted: Friday, July 5, 2002 Inclusive? Black Power? Emancipation of the majority poor? VHeadline Friday, July 5, 2002 -- Venezuelan schoolchildren learn of the social and political reasons that led to the Declaration of Independence on July 5, 1811, after a four-day debate in Congress that had started off with a vow of fidelity to Spanish King Fernando VII. Textbooks also highlight the social groups that existed in colonial times, singling out the role of the “White Creoles” and the “Browns” in shaking off the yoke of the economically asphyxiating Spanish monarchy. The children are taught that the lower classes or social groups were there only to obey orders and to be bought by the highest bidder ... first the Royalists, then the Republicans. MORE Quinto Dia On Las Cristinas Posted: Friday, July 5, 2002 VHeadline National Assembly declares "emergency" on Las Cristinas A special congressional committee urged CVG to select new international investor for Las Cristinas development project, as quickly as possible, to solve the "dramatic unemployment" that are affecting people in the area. The special committee issued a report last Wednesday signed by Foreign Affairs Committee leaders, Julio Cesar Montoya and Tarek William Saab, that support CVG's decision to finish MInca's legal contract, because of Placer Dome's unfullfilment of the agreements. ========================================== SPANISH TEXT FOLLOWS: · La subcomisión especial designada por la Asamblea para estudiar de cerca el caso de las minas Las Cristinas 4, 5, 6 y 7, alertó a la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana sobre la “verdadera emergencia” que se vive en el municipio Sifontes, donde se ubica el importante yacimiento aurífero · En un documento suscrito este miércoles 3 de julio, obtenido en exclusiva por Quinto Día, emitido por la Comisión de Política Exterior, presidida por el diputado Julio César Montoya, se recomienda a la CVG proceder de inmediato a seleccionar al nuevo inversionista “que mejores garantías ofrezca para transformar el dramático cuadro de desempleo y precarias condiciones de esa comunidad” · En la resolución, los diputados destacan que “ante los infortunios que padecen tales comunidades (donde se encuentra Las Cristinas) esta Comisión no puede sino alertar a la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana de esta situación de verdadera emergencia, a los efectos de que esta reactive en el plazo posible dicho proyecto” · Luego de un amplio estudio, la comisión ratificó que MINCA incumplió ampliamente el contrato de concesión, y que no es procedente un arbitraje internacional, ya que además, Minera Las Cristinas C.A. al no renunciar a las acciones legales en contra de la CVG, no cumple con “uno de los requisitos esenciales para someter la controversia al arbitraje” · Estos son los papeles exclusivos del caso de Las Cristinas José J. Rodríguez La Asamblea Nacional emitió una “alerta de emergencia” y solicitó a la CVG proceder cuanto antes a reactivar las actividades en la mayor mina de oro de Venezuela, que ha permanecido paralizada por más de una década. Según un documento de la Comisión de Política Exterior suscrito este miércoles 3 de julio por los diputados Julio César Montoya (presidente), William Tarek Saab (Vicepresidente) y el resto de los integrantes de la comisión, los parlamentarios llaman la atención sobre “el estado de emergencia en que se encuentran los habitantes del Municipio Sifontes del estado Bolívar, en donde se encuentran Las Cristinas, por la interminable paralización que el proyecto minero ha sufrido”. “Ante los infortunios, dice el documento, que padecen tales comunidades, esta Comisión no puede sino alertar a la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana de esta situación de verdadera emergencia, a los efectos de que ésta reactive en el plazo posible dicho proyecto”. Los parlamentarios exhortaron a la CVG a que seleccione “al inversor que mejores garantías ofrezca para transformar el dramático cuadro de desempleo y precarias condiciones de esa comunidad y que por supuesto ofrezca confianza por su relación con el país”. Dos meses arduas de investigaciones La comisión de Política Exterior, atendiendo una denuncia formulada por la representante de Vannessa Ventures, accionista de la compañía Minera Las Cristinas C.A. (MINCA), contra la CVG, designó una subcomisión especial integrada por los diputados Charles Medina (Independiente-Zulia), Víctor Hugo Morales (MVR-Miranda), y Maris Aizaga (MVR-Falcón), para que efectuaran las investigaciones relacionadas con la denuncia. Los parlamentarios realizaron extensas visitas a la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana, sostuvieron encuentros con el presidente de la CVG, general Francisco Rangel Gómez y altos funcionarios de la corporación, “a los efectos de discutir la terminación del Contrato Minero, la motivación, el procedimiento utilizado y las subsiguientes actos de disposición que sobre Las Cristinas han realizado el Ministerio de Energía y Minas y la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana”. El grupo de diputados realizaron una visita tanto a las concesiones, como a las principales comunidades vecinas de Las Cristinas “afectadas por la inactividad que han sufrido las nombradas concesiones”. Como se sabe, durante el primer trimestre de 2002, la Corporación recibió listas con más de 50 mil firmas de pobladores y mineros de los pueblos cercanos a Las Cristinas, apoyando la pronta reactivación de las minas, luego de más de 10 años de prácticamente estar inactivas. La subcomisión realizó una exhaustiva investigación hemerográfica tanto en Venezuela como en el exterior, a fin de detallar y analizar todo lo publicado sobre la polémica hasta los momentos. “Igualmente revisó las denuncias que dicha terminación constituyera uno de los supuestos hechos de aplicación de los procedimientos de defensa de los derechos de los inversores canadienses bajo el Acuerdo entre el gobierno de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela y el gobierno de Canadá para la Promoción y Protección de Inversiones, aprobado mediante Ley publicada en Gaceta Oficial No 5.207 de fecha 20 de enero de 1998”. Dentro de los recaudos reunidos por la subcomisión estuvo, finalmente, el informe emitido el 21 de noviembre de 2001, por la subcomisión de Industrias Básicas de la Comisión de Contraloría, que emitió una resolución sobre la relación contractual de la CVG y Placer dome, accionista de MINCA, que había recido las acciones a la empresa Vannessa Ventures, “solicitante de esta investigación”. AN: por qué MINCA incumplió el contrato De acuerdo al documento oficial de la Asamblea Nacional, y luego de un “profundo análisis de las actuaciones de Placer Dome y sus subsidiarias, MINCA, la Subcomisión Especial concluyó que estas últimas habían incumplido el contrato de explotación Las Cristinas, y por consiguiente, se recomendo a la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana que lo terminara, como en efecto ocurrió”. El documento de la Comisión de Política Exterior emitió tres conclusiones sobre el tema, en el que detalla el por qué de su decisión de respaldar a la CVG en la terminación del contrato con MINCA. 1. “Desde la fecha de entrada en vigencia del Decreto 1384 el 26 de junio de 1986, MINCA suspendió cuatro veces el proyecto Las Cristinas: I, en 1996, cuando habiendo sido aprobado el Estudio de Factibilidad, decidió suspender hasta que la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana no accediera a todas sus condiciones para reinciar el proyecto mediante la suscripción en 1997 del Convenio de Accionistas Modificado. II, el 20 de Enero de 1998, mediante decisión de la Junta Directiva de MINCA, presentando como excusa la demanda de Inversora Mael, C.A., que de ninguna manera podía interpretarse la obligaba a suspender el proyecto. III, el 15 de julio de 1999, argumentando los bajos precios del oro. IV, el 08 de Agosto de 2000, argumentando la necesidad de un tercer socio para el proyecto. 2. “La falta de Placer Dome en desarrollar y explotar las áreas Cristinas 4, 5, 6 y 8, durante el período comprendido entre 1996, fecha en que fue aprobado el Estudio de Factibilidad hasta la presente fecha constituye violación de la Cláusula Décima Novena del Contrato Minero de MINCA, la cual estrablece que cualquier paralización de los trabajos del proyecto durante doce meses causará la rescisión inmediata del contrato. Visto lo establecido esta cláusula, el Contrato Minero de MINCA debe considerarse rescindido. “Dicho Contrato Minero de MINCA también ha incurrido en violación de los lapsos establecidos en la Ley de Minas citados en el presente informe, que establecen períodod de tiempo taxativos para la explotación de las áreas otorgadas en el contrato. 3. “Visto que la cláusula Décima Novena del Contrato de Explotación de MINCA, prevé que la paralización de los trabajos de explotación objeto del presente contrato por un período de doce (12) meses y si motivo debidamente justificado y aceptado por la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana, será causal de rescisión del contrato por parte de la Corporación. Luego de estos tres razonamientos, la Comisión de Política Exterior emitió su posición oficial en el caso de Las Cristinas. “Esta Comisión ha encontrado que los procedimientos seguidos por la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana y el Ministerio de adscripción no constituyen expropiación ni cualquier otro supuesto bajo los cuales pueda proceder el arbitraje que prevé el acuerdo entre el gobierno de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela y el gobierno de Canadá para la Promoción y Protección de Inversiones. Por otra parte esta Comisión observa que la solicitante no ha renunciado a su derecho de iniciar o continuar otros procedimientos legales a la terminación de su contrato minero, vistos por prensa local los numerosos procedimientos legales que ha iniciado y mantiene en contra ambos organismos públicos. Tal renuncia es en todo caso uno de los requisitos esenciales para someter la controversia al arbitraje de conformidad con dicho Acuerdo (artículo XII (3b). “Finalmente queremos expresar que si ha atradio la atención de esta Comisión el estado de emergencia en que se encuentran los habitantes del Municipio Sifontes del Estado Bolívar, en donde se encuentran Las Cristinas, por la interminable paralización que el proyecto minero ha sufrido”. “Ante los infortunios que padecen tales comunidades, esta Comisión no puede sino alertar a la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana de esta situación de verdadera emergencia, a los efectos de que esta reactive en el plazo posible dicho proyecto, seleccionando al inversor que mejores garantías ofrezca para transformar el dramático cuadro de desempleo y precarias condiciones de esa comunidad y que por supuesto ofrezca confainza por su relación con el país”. “En la sede de la Comisión Permanente de Política Exterior, a los tres días del mes dejulio del año dos mil dos”. La estrategia transnacional El pronunciamiento de la Asamblea Nacional se produce luego que Vannessa Ventures Ltd., anunciara hace dos semanas que se estaba preparando para el Arbitraje Internacional en contra de la CVG y el Estado Venezolano. Vannessa Ventures Ltd anunció el pasado domingo 16 de junio que la Corte Suprema de Justicia había admitido la solicitud presentada por su subsidiaria en Venezuela (MINCA), de ir al Arbitraje Internacional. Según un anuncio emitido en Vancouver, Manfred Peschke indicó que su firma espera las instrucciones que deben seguirse para el proceso de arbitraje. “MINCA confía en que un proceso transparente de arbitraje mantendrá sus derechos”, declaró el alto ejecutivo, puntualizando que “el proceso de arbitraje forzará a la CVG a someter sus declaraciones oficiales a la prueba de la ley, y si todos estas declaraciones públicas son correctas, no debería negarse a seguir su obligación contractual (y constitucional) de ir al arbitraje, como quedó confirmado por la decisión de la Corte Suprema del 19 de marzo de 2002, y reportado en nuestro boletín noticioso del 21 de marzo de 2002”. “Como el siguiente paso para salvaguardar sus derechos, Vannessa Ventures Ltd ha iniciado formalmente el proceso de arbitraje internacional contra el Estado Venezolano, bajo el Acuerdo de Protección de Inversiones Extranjeras, firmado por Venezuela y Canadá”, puntualiza Pescke. De acuerdo a un informe de situación que circula en la CVG, “se trata de un anuncio (de Vannessa Ventures) que muestra el interés que tiene la empresa canadiense en hacer ver que la situación legal del caso le está favoreciedo”. El informe describe las dos decisiones que sobre el caso Las Cristinas ha tomado el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia: la primera, del 19 de febrero de 2002, en el que se declara inadmisible una solicitud de amparo presentada por MINCA. Y la segunda, la decisión del 19 de Marzo de 2002, exactamente un mes después, en el que también se declara inadmisible otra solicitud de amparo presentada por MINCA contra la CVG. Las dificultades internacionales De acuerdo al escrito de investigación, “Vannessa Ventures emite una serie de boletines de “actualización” sobre el caso Las Cristinas, que van dirigidas a sus accionistas en Canadá con el fin de crear la sensación de que la situación en las minas venezolanas están completamente bajo el control de Vannessa Ventures”. “Una situación similar se ha detectado con respecto a un reclamo de propiedad que la firma canadiense tiene en Costa Rica ante el nuevo gobierno de ese país centroamericano, que ha manifestado su rechazo a la explotación a cielo abierto de la mina de Crucitas”, agrega el documento. El anuncio del Arbitraje Internacional por parte de Vannessa Ventures “es especialmente relevante, luego que se produjo la suspensión de sus operaciones en la bolsa minera de Toronto, y después de la declaración oficial del Ministro del Ambiente de Costa Rica, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, en el sentido de que esperan actuar legalmente para anular las concesiones mineras de Vannessa Ventures en Crucitas”. El análisis destaca el mismo modus operandi utilizado entre Placer Dome y Vannessa Ventures tanto en Costa Rica como en Venezuela. Según el Viceministro del Ambiente costarricense, en 1998 “yo negocié con ellos (Placer Dome) que paráramos este proyecto (Las Crucitas). Aún así, yo después de esa negociación, me sentí muy mal cuando me enteré, y eso no fue comunicado ni negociado con la empresa, que habían cedido sus derechos de esa concesión a una nueva empresa...”, también vinculada a Vannessa Ventures en Costa Rica. Según el funcionario costarricense, “nosotros no vamos a promover ninguna actividad minera, como le digo con técnicas abiertas en ningún lado del país, no sólo en San Carlos (donde está Crucitas). Eso es una definición del Ministerio y un compromiso del presidente, que existe”. El informe de investigación también se refiere a la actual situación de Vannessa Ventures Ltd en el mercado de valores de Canadá, que ha sido afectada debido a las situaciones legales conflictivas que mantiene la compañía con desarrollos mineros en Costa Rica y Venezuela. A pesar de la conflictividad en estos dos países, el pasado viernes 28 de junio, Vannessa Ventures anunció una emisión de 2 millones de acciones, para recaudar un total de 1,42 millones de dólares canadienses, que supuestamente estarán dirigidos a invertirlos en el desarrollo minero de Las Cristinas. World News Posted: Friday, July 5, 2002 • Williams sisters to visit SA • Pakistan Turning Against General 'Busharraf' • Insider Deals Catch Up with Bush • The know-nothing defense has been getting a workout • Resigned to injustice • Iraq, U.N. Fail To Ok Inspections • U.S. Forgives Tanzania's Debt • FBI identifies Los Angeles airport gunman • Eight injured in explosion at governing party's office in Nepal • Police attacked in Pakistan rape case > Previous: Protests over Pakistan gang rape • Market bomb attack kills at least 30 Algerians • Record Texas floods force more evacuations • 3 Die In Small Plane Crash Near L.A. • A false vacuum • Honey, I shrunk the peace plan! • How "balanced" was Bush's speech? • 3 dead in Gaza car blast; 3 hurt when IDF shells Nablus taxi • Scores killed by SAS in Afghanistan • Saddam's stepson sparks anti-terrorist false alarm • Skull of early human found with 'pinhead' brain like a gorilla's • El Al guards kill US airport gunman • Peacekeeping is no longer about helping 'them' but 'us' • No quick fix for fraud and corruption • Typhoon Kills 37 In Micronesia • El Al Best Protected, Most Threatened • Caribbean Leaders Set Up Task Force • We are watching the decline of American power • Are freedom and technology compatible? • Return from a war that never was • Gunman mars Fourth of July holiday • US quarrel with Europe more than just a tiff • Red faces over Bush's 'do as I say not as I do' on share sales • Three dead in LA plane crash • Williams whitewash sets up 'boring' final • Julia Roberts weds cameraman World News Posted: Thursday, July 4, 2002 • 1 killed, 10 injured as small airplane crashes into crowd • High treason in the U.S. government • George W. Bush's 29th draft • Plane Crash Kills 23 in Central Africa • Gaza Car Bomb Kills Two • Fire in New Jersey duplex kills 6 • Sister Slam III: Serena vs. Venus for Wimbledon title • Story Changes on Bush Stock Sale > Past business deal haunts president as he plans Wall Street speech • Bush’s Insider Connections Preceded Huge Profit On Stock Deal • Three Dead in L.A. Airport Shooting • Bush defends corporate past • 20 die in central Africa plane crash • Why I Will Not Celebrate This Fourth of July • Two Killed At Carribean Summit Protest • When patriotism turns into paranoia • 'It was like an abattoir - blood all around' • Merger mania created millionaires but made millions more poorer • Time to hear Kashmir's cry • When Bart Simpson goes to war, take cover • Argentine presidential poll next March • Corporate corruption • 101-year-old Man Killed In Ambush • Panic grips markets as shares crash • US seeking a 'two-tier' system of international justice • Afghan survivor burning with anger • Tough European line on GM labelling • Americans shrug off July 4 jitters • Peru Suspends Coca Eradication Program • Bolivian Indian Gains Support In Race • Bush offers condolences for deaths • Blair plays down poodle's tango dance • Karzai rebukes US as attack hits home • Swiss air system was turned off • Washington ready to paralyse UN peacekeeping operations • Jews climb Wailing Wall believing the Messiah is coming • Police at forefront of Norway's fight against racism • Queen Ankhenespepi fought for equal rights • Fossil found of earliest known animal • Servicemen busted in drug probe • Life, liberty and the pursuit of division • Why the good doctor recommended Roget's Thesaurus • 'They were shooting at people running away' • Six sites 'fired on wedding party gunship' Fossil found of earliest known animal Posted: Thursday, July 4, 2002 AP - A fossil found in Scotland in 1971 has been newly identified by scientists as the earliest known animal built to walk on land, a salamander-like creature that marked a previously unknown stage in the evolution of fish into the ancestors of all vertebrates alive today. British scientists say the toothy animal, Pederpes finneyae, lived between 348 million and 344 million years ago in what is today's Scotland. It was perhaps a metre long and probably split its time between the water and land where it walked on four feet, said Jenny Clack, of the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology. "It trudged through the swamp catching anything that moved," Dr Clack said. She formally described Pederpes in this week's edition of the journal, Nature. The creature's nearly complete fossil skeleton had lain, mislabelled as a fish, in a Scottish museum since its discovery 31 years ago. Further work on the fossil in the 1990s revealed it had legs. The identification helps close a hole in the early fossil record of a group of creatures called tetrapods. The gap, or Romer's Gap - named after the late Harvard paleontologist Alfred Sherwood Romer - had stumped scientists charting the evolution of the first four-limbed creatures with backbones. Tetrapods were the first animals known to walk the Earth and are the ancestors of today's mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds. "The discovery of a nearly complete skeleton in the middle of Romer's Gap should help in establishing the pattern of evolutionary change among early tetrapods," wrote Robert Carroll, of Montreal's Redpath Museum, in an accompanying commentary. The earliest tetrapods appeared roughly 365 million years ago when scientists believed they used their paddle-like feet to move around underwater. Only later did they emerge to use their rudimentary feet to walk on land. Scientists knew of no other fossils, until Pederpes, that represented any sort of intermediate stage between the aquatic and terrestrial tetrapods. The fossil record picks up again 20 million to 30 million years later with more modern-looking animals with feet and legs that were clearly for walking on land. AP smh.com.au 'Detainees' won't be released until 'war' is over Posted: Thursday, July 4, 2002 By Mark Forbes04 Australians David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib were deeply involved in terrorism and will not be released until the war on terror is over, United States Ambassador Tom Schieffer said yesterday. Likening the pair to Nazi prisoners, Mr Schieffer said releasing them from America's Camp X-ray in Cuba could place the public at risk and signalled they would not be allowed access to lawyers or the legal system. MORE World News Posted: Wednesday, July 3, 2002 • Remember,We're in a War • Wake-up signals from Wall Street • Bush Seeks to Deflect Blame for Tardy SEC Filings • CIA using American CEOs to infiltrate al Qaeda • Bush Raises the Stakes in Iraq • Cingular Wireless investigated for being 'unfair to consumers' • Former charity director pleads guilty to stealing funds • Vandal Decapitates Thatcher Statue • Afghan Survivors Recount U.S. Raid • Some Cancel July 4 Events Overseas • 'A disaster waiting to happen' • Deadlock in row over ICC • Negationism in America • Bush's speech feeds delusions on both sides • U.S. Coast Guard urges Cubans not to take to seas • Cuba Quells Rumors of July 4 Boatlift • Saudis reject call to replace Arafat • Bankrupt WorldCom called a security risk • No US apology over wedding bombing • Crash site 'a disaster waiting to happen' • French giant in freefall amid whiff of scandal • Markets nosedive as the bad news piles up • British minister snubs Americans with visit to Arafat • It's too soon to gloat • Blair Defends Strong Ties With U.S. • Aids may kill up to 70 million, says UN • Rise of a new imperialismse of a new imperialism • Mine owners on the run after blast cover-up • Stars, stripes and terror searches on Fourth of July • 'US gunship opened fire on Afghan wedding' • Seoul warns retaliation if North Korea provokes again • Fired cop kills four in rampage • Bush's 'outrage' rings hollow • On the backs of Bosnians • FBI lethargy lets the anthrax killer go free • Afghan anger grows over US attack Bombing the Mind Posted: Tuesday, July 2, 2002 The Pentagon's Program for Psychopharmalogical Warfare by Edward Hammond In The Futurological Congress (1971), Polish writer Stanislaw Lem portrayed a future in which disobedience is controlled with hypothetical mind-altering chemicals dubbed "benignimizers". Lem's fictional work opens with the frightening story of a police and military biochemical attack on protesters outside of an international scientific convention. As the environment becomes saturated with hallucinogenic agents, in Lem's tale the protesters (and bystanders) descend into chaos, overcome by delusions and feelings of complacency, self-doubt, and even love. MORE When is a war not a war? Posted: Tuesday, July 2, 2002 Spiked Jan 29, 2002 by Brendan O'Neill So are the al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters imprisoned at Camp X-Ray in Cuba 'ordinary prisoners', 'prisoners of war', 'detainees', 'internees' or 'unlawful combatants'? Don't ask the US authorities. According to defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, 'there is no ambiguity in this case, they are not POWs' (1) - although secretary of state Colin Powell reportedly reckons 'the detainees should be regarded as prisoners of war, at least until they have appeared in front of a hearing' (2). President Bush says 'we are not going to call them prisoners of war' (3), though he is reported to be 'discussing what legal provisions of the Geneva Conventions may apply to the detainees' (4). And according to one report, 'Mr Bush did refer to the men as "prisoners", but then corrected himself and called them "detainees"' (5). The US authorities' defensiveness about the status and treatment of the Camp X-Ray prisoners is a snapshot of their confused and directionless 'war against terror'. Asked about the debate over the 'detainees' (the one term they all agree on), defence spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said, 'we're in very unconventional times, we're in a very unconventional war. So every aspect of it…should be looked at with new eyes' (6). She's right that this war is 'unconventional' - and it's hardly surprising that a war with ever-shifting aims and no end in sight should have difficulty deciding whether its prisoners are prisoners. The Bush administration has been lambasted by the Red Cross, Amnesty International, liberal commentators and European governments for its treatment of the men at Camp X-Ray - for shackling and sedating them on their long-haul flights, keeping them in outdoor cages, and disrespecting their spiritual beliefs by shaving off their beards. As Jon Holbrook points out elsewhere on spiked, such complaints about Camp X-Ray are often politically driven and problematic (7). But the problem for the USA is that, having done much to create the notion of humanitarian warfare over the past 10 years - war that cares as well as kills - it now finds the human rights agenda biting at its heels. Some right-wing US commentators have tried to pin the blame for humanitarianism in all affairs foreign on Bush's bleeding-heart predecessor Bill Clinton, with his Operation Restore Hopes and his quivering lower lip. But Bush has done his fair share to further the humanitarian agenda. When the USA started its war in Afghanistan in October 2001, Bush announced that 37,500 food parcels would be dropped alongside the bombs, so that 'the oppressed people of Afghanistan will know the generosity of America and our allies' - showing that from the outset, Bush was keen to play by the humanitarian rules (8). A president who made a big issue of dropping 'not just bombs, but bread' with references to 'his friends, the Afghan people' shouldn't be surprised if there's a backlash when he tries a get-tough, no-BS policy on prisoners. The USA has at least won the battle of the bank balances But if the men at Camp X-Ray are not prisoners of war, maybe the 'war against terrorism' is not a war? In recent weeks, US leaders have moved away from describing their actions in Afghanistan from a 'war' to a 'campaign'. According to one US senator, the 'campaign to help the Afghans continues', as if this what the war/non-war was always about (9) - while even defence secretary Rumsfeld, the Bush administration's hardliner who has no interest in nation-building in Afghanistan and every interest in fighting a war, has learned to talk up the supposed humanitarian side to the 'campaign against terror' (10). 'Over the past weeks and months, a good deal of attention has been paid to the various military operations by coalition forces in Afghanistan', says Rumsfeld, '[but] it's also important to recognise the progress that has been made in some other areas' - before listing how US forces have been helping to rebuild Afghanistan: 'They're helping with hospitals. They're helping with medical assistance. They're helping with food and blankets and what have you.' (11) So what started as a war to destroy al-Qaeda for the terrorist attacks it carried out in New York and Washington is now talked about in terms of rebuilding a nation and offering humanitarian assistance on 'what have you'. The USA's shifting war aims (should that be 'campaign aims'?) are highlighted in its list of achievements and success stories that have come out of Afghanistan over the past four months. There's the women issue, with one report celebrating the fact that 'Many female teachers [in Afghanistan] have returned to their jobs, and young women are enrolling in universities' (12). And there's the successful war on terrorist finances, with one report pointing out that 'administration officials have repeatedly stressed that a critical element of their anti-terrorism campaign is on the financial front', and 'more than $34million in American accounts has been frozen' (13). So having failed to get bin Laden, the US authorities can at least take comfort in the fact that they have won the battle of the bank balances. And unsure whether their 'campaign' in Afghanistan has achieved its original aims (to destroy al-Qaeda), the USA can at least celebrate the return of girls to schools (in a destroyed country, with widespread poverty and no infrastructure). But at the same time as flagging up their newly-found campaign aim of rebuilding Afghanistan, the Bush administration is keen to remind us that military operations continue with a vengeance. 'Though the public perception may be that American military operations are winding down', says the Washington Post, 'Pentagon officials make clear that isn't true' (14) - while Rumsfeld said on 27 January (three days after his 'let's celebrate the humanitarian effort' speech) that '[the military campaign] is going on today with every bit as much intensity as it was last month, the month before, and indeed every day since 11 September' (seeming to have forgotten that the military campaign started on 7 October, not 11 September) (15). What exactly is the US army targeting now? So the military bit of the campaign against terrorism is continuing with 'as much intensity' as ever? In an Afghanistan where the Taliban has been routed, a new interim government installed and where little girls are returning to school? What exactly is the US army targeting now? Not very much. The bombing of caves continues unabated, in an attempt to destroy al-Qaeda's 'infrastructure' - despite protests from civilians in the Zhawar Kili region, where numerous caves have been obliterated since the start of 2002, that the bombing is killing more civilians than Taliban or al-Qaeda members. '[The bombing] was a waste of time and money', said one local resident (16) - while a key Pashtun commander in the region says, 'The Americans never contact us. They are just doing it themselves' (17). How can America expect to build up its intelligence, if it won't even go in on the ground to sound out potential allies for information and ideas? On 25 January 2002, the Pentagon claimed that US forces had killed about 15 'relatively senior' Taliban figures and captured another 27 in Hazar Qadam in southern Afghanistan, hailed as a success story by Rumsfeld and splashed across the news in the USA and Europe. What didn't make such big headlines was the claim by local villagers that those killed were in fact anti-Taliban forces keen to assist the allied forces in finally flushing the Taliban out of Afghanistan. According to Yusuf Pashtun, an aide to Kandahar governor Gul Agha,: 'It looks like it was raided by mistake. The people of the district centre are very much against the Taliban.' (18) Then there was the headline news that US forces had killed six al-Qaeda members in a tense stand-off - which turned out to be a case of US forces covering the advance of Afghan fighters as they tried to get six al-Qaeda fighters out of a Kandahar hospital ward that they had refused to leave for the past two months, which was 'holding up' everyday work at the hospital (19). Hardly an heroic operation. The problem for the USA is their absolute dearth of intelligence - to the extent that they reportedly can't even tell the difference between anti-Taliban villagers and pro-Taliban forces. As for the whereabouts of al-Qaeda leader bin Laden and former Taliban leader Muhummad Omar, the Americans haven't got a clue. Omar hasn't been seen since he reportedly escaped on a motorbike from a town surrounded by US forces at the beginning of January, while bin Laden (who is now supposed to be dragging a dialysis machine around with him) could apparently be anywhere in the Middle East, Asia, Central Asia, north Africa or, at a long shot, Eastern Europe. US forces are so low on intelligence they can’t tell one ‘towel-head’ from another 'We believe they both are alive and our best information is they are still in Afghanistan or in the area along the Pakistani border', said a senior Bush administration official on 26 January. 'But we don't know for sure.' (20) 'There are plenty of other potential leads about people', said another official. 'But we don't know what is true and what is not.' No wonder Bush could only say that America's war/campaign/mission is against the 'shadowy enemy dwelling in dark corners of the Earth' (21) - a statement that captures the USA's lack of confidence as much as it does its lack of intelligence. According to January's New Yorker magazine, 'a US-approved evacuation of Pakistani military officers and intelligence advisers during the siege of Kunduz last November "slipped out of control" and a number of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters joined the exodus' (22). 'Dirt got through the screen' said one senior US intelligence official (23) - his way of explaining that a number of the enemy escaped in broad daylight in full view of US soldiers. Maybe that's how bin Laden got out - under the noses of US forces so low on intelligence that they can't tell one 'towel-head' from another. So when is a war not a war and its prisoners not prisoners? When it's a 'campaign' so lacking in intelligence and direction that its leaders spend the whole time admitting to being 'unsure' and changing their aims. Read on: The State of the War, by Mick Hume They seek him - where?, by Brendan O'Neill How did we get from Manhattan to Kabul?, by Mick Hume spiked-issue: After 11 September (1) US vows no POW status for detainees, San Jose Mercury News, 28 January 2002 (2 - 6) Bush hints at more legal rights for Camp X-Ray prisoners, Guardian, 29 January 2002 (7) See Spotlight on Camp X-Ray, by Jon Holbrook (8) See More symbol than sustenance, by Josie Appleton (9) US says war effort remains intense, Washington Post, 27 January 2002 (10 - 11) DoD News Briefing, 24 January 2002 (12 - 15) US says war effort remains intense, Washington Post, 27 January 2002 (16 - 18) US accused of killing anti-Taliban leaders, Guardian, 28 January 2002 (19) Grenades end two-month siege at Afghan hospital, Guardian, 28 January 2002 (20) US says war effort remains intense, Washington Post, 27 January 2002 (21) Big boost for military spending, BBC Online, 24 January 2002 (22 - 23) US enabled al-Qaeda fighters to flee Kunduz, Reuters, 20 January 2002 Bush favourite refuses to stand against Arafat Posted: Tuesday, July 2, 2002 ( Guardian UK ) Mohammed Dahlan, the man widely regarded as the US and Israel's preferred successor to Yasser Arafat, today accuses President Bush of demanding a "coup d'état" against the Palestinian leader and declares that he will not stand against Mr Arafat while he is under attack by Israel. Ewen MacAskill and Seumas Milne reports MORE World News Posted: Tuesday, July 2, 2002 • Police swoop on paedophile ring • What Drugs Have Not Destroyed, The War on Them Has • We'll choose our leaders • Bush Urges Americans To Celebrate • Bush Wants To End Court Dispute • Arafat Fires Security, Police Chiefs • Israel Detains Palestinian Students • East Java bus falls into ravine, 22 die • 'Poodle' Blair barks at Bush • Accounting worries drag stocks lower • Afghan government today called for review of US strikes • Israelis rejoice in death of 'bomber' • Hamas threat over killing of key bomber • Europe seethes as defiant US goes its own way • Oops, US bomb blunder kills many at Afghan wedding • Scores are killed by US bomb at Afghan wedding • Afghan civilians pay heavy price for faulty intelligence • Peacekeepers at risk as US attacks war court • Isolated Powell disowns Arafat • US not trying to dictate Palestinian leadership: Powell • Up to 140 dead as planes collide • As long as the Israelis are against Arafat, I'm with him • Archbishop 'a virtual prisoner of Vatican' • Coach crash kills 19 Polish pilgrims in Hungary • Seething South Korea vows to prove North fired first • Mugabe puts the squeeze on food giant • American atheist’s next target is ‘God’ in dollar • US deports 130 Pak illegal immigrants • A lexicon learned • US provides over $200 million in aid to Egypt • Background / World's silence over Sharon's military policies • Fog of war leaves America vulnerable • Congress unites in fear of world 'government' • Pieces of peace plans in pieces Cell phones, Laptops, Pagers and Congo's Coltan Posted: Monday, July 1, 2002 Originally Published, January 21, 2002, ABC NEWS  DRC is home to 80% of the world's coltan reserves PHOTO: BBC You may not have heard of coltan, but you have it in your cell phone, laptops, pagers and other electronic devices. It is important to everyday communication in the United States, but it is making the conflict in Congo more complicated. What Is Coltan?  Columbite-tantalite — coltan for short — is a dull metallic ore found in major quantities in the eastern areas of Congo. When refined, coltan becomes metallic tantalum, a heat-resistant powder that can hold a high electrical charge. These properties make it a vital element in creating capacitors, the electronic elements that control current flow inside miniature circuit boards. Tantalum capacitors are used in almost all cell phones, laptops, pagers and many other electronics. The recent technology boom caused the price of coltan to skyrocket to as much as $400 a kilogram at one point, as companies such as Nokia and Sony struggled to meet demand.How Is Coltan Mined?  Coltan is mined through a fairly primitive process similar to how gold was mined in California during the 1800s. Dozens of men work together digging large craters in streambeds, scraping away dirt from the surface in order to get to the coltan underground. The workers then slosh water and mud around in large washtubs, allowing the coltan to settle to the bottom due to its heavy weight. A good worker can produce one kilogram of coltan a day. Coltan mining is very well paid in Congo terms. The average Congolese worker makes $10 a month, while a coltan miner can make anywhere from $10 to $50 a week. Financing the Conflict A highly controversial U.N. Security Council report recently outlined the alleged exploitation of natural resources, including coltan, from Congo by other countries involved in the current war. There are reports that forces from neighboring Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi are involved in smuggling coltan from Congo, using the revenues generated from the high price of coltan to sustain their efforts in the war. By one estimate, the Rwandan army made at least $250 million over a period of 18 months through the sale of coltan, even though no coltan is mined in Rwanda. All countries involved in the war deny exploiting Congo's natural resources. Environmental Consequences In order to mine for coltan, rebels have overrun Congo's national parks, clearing out large chunks of the area's lush forests. In addition, the poverty and starvation caused by the war have driven some miners and rebels to hunt the parks' endangered elephants and gorillas for food. In Kahuzi Biega National Park, for example, the gorilla population has been cut nearly in half, from 258 to 130. Tracing the Source The path that coltan takes to get from Central Africa to the world market is a highly convoluted one, with legitimate mining operations often being confused with illegal rebel operations, and vice versa, making it difficult to trace the origin. To be safe, in recent months many electronics companies have publicly rejected the use of coltan from anywhere in Central Africa, instead relying on their main suppliers in Australia. American-based Kemet, the world's largest maker of tantalum capacitors, has asked its suppliers to certify that their coltan ore does not come from Congo or bordering countries. But it may be a case of too little, too late. Much of the coltan illegally stolen from Congo is already in laptops, cell phones and electronics all over the world. Congo War and the Role of Coltan - Natalie D. Ware Congo's coltan rush - BBC World News Posted: Monday, July 1, 2002 • Afghan wedding hit by US attack > 250 civilians reported dead or injured • US cuts Arafat adrift • Bosnia pleads with America over UN row • 19 die in Hungary coach crash • Black Farmers Protest In Tennessee • U.S. Defends Afghan Village Bombing • Chile High Court: No Pinochet Trial • Bush offers $10 million to Manila to fight terror • Police: America West pilots were drunk before takeoff • Firefighter accused of setting U.S. blazes • Saudi car bomb find fuels fears of terror campaign • Ronaldo goals erase pain of 1998 • CNN steers clear of bombers' videos • Gore derides Bush hunt for Bin Laden • Six Die In Two-plane Crash In Calif. • Guinea's Ruling Party Seeks Big Win • Bolivian Election: Test For Democracy • Saudi car bomb find fuels fears of terror campaign • US veto puts Bosnia mission in jeopardy • Fraud is just a polite word for stealing • Palestine is a lock without a key: so it must now be forced open • Suicide bombings signal desperation born of fear • Mugabe takes on multi-nationals • Israel orders removal of illegal settlements • Drugs giant hid lethal danger of diabetes pill • 'Fresh changes mark BJP's return to extremism' • Abuses of Afghan Pashtuns unacceptable: UN • 44 new settlement sites built under Sharon government • Cold War enemies stuck in time warp • Innocent Egyptian was jailed in FBI's Sept. 11 investigation • Permanent war crimes court opposed by US opens in the Hague • Bombs left under cars in Riyadh • A million people under curfew |
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