April 2008

A Massacre of the World's Poor
Posted: Tuesday, April 29, 2008

¤ Carter accuses Rice of being untruthful over Hamas meeting
¤ Uruknet Cut Off From Google News Again!
¤ Gaza streets to be flooded with wastewater if fuel crisis continues
¤ Is Big Brother Hacking Into The Internet?
¤ Several believed dead in US air raids in Baghdad

¤ The World must Step in
This morning, seven residents of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun were killed in Israeli shelling. The tank shell directly hit a home in the Azbat Abed Rabbo quarter of the town, taking the lives of an entire family. Khadra Abu Muteq was killed along with her four children: one year old Musaab Abu Muteq, Hana’ Abu Muteq, 3, Saleh Abu Muteq 4, and Rudeineh Abu Muteq, 6. One teen, 17-year old Ayoub Atallah was also killed by the shelling and his friend Mutassem Sweilem injured as they were walking to school. Nine others were injured in the attack, several of them in serious condition.

¤ Taliban Karzai Attack Propaganda Victory
The attack on a military parade in the capital was a propaganda victory for the Taliban, undermining confidence in the West-backed regime of Hamid Karzai's ability to protect itself let alone the Afghan people, analysts believe.
"It was clearly aimed at grabbing enormous amounts of attention; striking in the center of the capital," Joanna Nathan, a Kabul-based analyst for International Crisis Group, told Reuters on Monday, April 28.

¤ Is There an Army Cover-Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?
The Department of Defense statistics are alarming - one in three women who join the US military will be sexually assaulted or raped by men in the military. The warnings to women should begin above the doors of the military recruiting stations, as that is where assaults on women in the military begin - before they are even recruited.

¤ Jeremiah Wright Delivers the Knockout Punch
"And the United States of America government, when it came to treating her citizens of Indian descent fairly, she failed. She put them on reservations. When it came to treating her citizens of Japanese descent fairly, she failed. She put them in internment prison camps. When it came to treating citizens of African descent fairly, America failed. She put them in chains. The government put them on slave quarters, put them on auction blocks, put them in cotton fields, put them in inferior schools, put them in substandard housing, put them in scientific experiments, put them in the lowest paying jobs, put them outside the equal protection of the law, kept them out of their racist bastions of higher education and locked them into position of hopelessness and helplessness. The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law, and then wants us to sing God bless America? No, no, no. Not God bless America; God damn America!

¤ How Safe Are Green Cleaning Products?
¤ Bloated in Baghdad

¤ A Massacre of the World's Poor
Food riots have broken out across the globe destabilizing large parts of the developing world. China is experiencing double-digit inflation. Indonesia, Vietnam and India have imposed controls over rice exports. Wheat, corn and soy beans are at record highs and threatening to go higher still. Commodities are up across the board. The World Food Program is warning of widespread famine if the West doesn't provide emergency humanitarian relief. The situation is dire. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez summed it up like this, "It is a massacre of the world's poor. The problem is not the production of food. It is the economic, social and political model of the world. The capitalist model is in crisis."

¤ On "Withdrawing Responsibly" from Iraq
¤ "Adelitas" Shut Down Mexico's Congress

¤ Fifty Shots! That's Murder!
¤ The Iraq War Morphs Into the Iran War
¤ The Torture Election
¤ War with Syria?

¤ Barack Obama cuts bait with Jeremiah Wright
¤ Many states appear to be in recession
¤ Wheat prices down 40% from peak
¤ Sweep of polygamists' kids raises legal questions
¤ Skepticism toward Bush claims about Syria and North Korea

¤ Barack, Hillary, Jeremiah and Howard
Maybe the best solution would be for Barack and Hillary to step aside and let Howard Zinn run for President! The Reverend Wright would no doubt be qualified, but as a man of God, he would probably not be interested in the demotion. But Howard Zinn has the knowledge, the understanding, the empathy and the character to stand up for the common man. If properly organized, this should give him the best potential for electability in a democracy."

Chavez: US against Tehran-Caracas cooperation
Posted: Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday said Iran-Venezuela bilateral cooperation would help develop Venezuela and the entire Latin American region.

In a meeting with Iranian Minister of Industries and Mines, Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, he lauded Tehran-Caracas political, economic, trade and industrial cooperation.

Terming the prospect of the two countries' cooperation as "very bright", he said, "Bilateral friendly relation has resulted in solidarity of the two Iranian and Venezuelan nations."

Praising Iran's scientific and industrial capabilities, President Chavez called for "transfer of such valuable experiences to his country".
Full Article : irna.ir

Food - The Ultimate Weapon Of The Ruling Elite
Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2008

¤ Food - The Ultimate Weapon Of The Ruling Elite
McNamara's thinly veiled genocidal utterances took place over thirty years ago, echoing the wealthy and the privileged's fear of the 'great unwashed' when 'over-population' was the buzzword. So not much has changed has it, we're hearing the same, tired old messages being rolled out once again by the ruling elites and their spin doctors. McNamara's cries of fear about being up to his neck in Mexicans is exactly same as the current bogey doing the rounds in Europe, only now they're Africans.

¤ In lean times, biotech grains are less taboo

¤ Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World
Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.
At a Costco Warehouse in Mountain View, Calif., yesterday, shoppers grew frustrated and occasionally uttered expletives as they searched in vain for the large sacks of rice they usually buy.

¤ Bay Area Shoppers Asked To Limit Rice Purchases

¤ Japan's hunger becomes a dire warning for other nations
¤ Nato admits mistakenly supplying arms and food to Taliban

¤ New Britney Spears Sex Tape Bares All!
I know no one cares about Somalia, because every time I write about it on the website, the traffic drops like a stone. (Let's see if that headline draws a few eyeballs, though. If it works, we might just rename the whole damn blog.) But I don't care if no one cares. There is a continuous slaughter and ravaging of innocent human beings going on in Somalia, a vast atrocity that is sponsored, funded, greenlighted and directly aided by the United States government, and I'm going to keep on writing about it.

¤ US News Media's Latest Disgrace
After prying loose 8,000 pages of Pentagon documents, the New York Times has proven what should have been obvious years ago: the Bush administration manipulated public opinion on the Iraq War, in part, by funneling propaganda through former senior military officers who served as expert analysts on TV news shows.

¤ OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE WHAT ISRAEL IS TRYING TO HIDE
¤ Israeli military refuses entry of food aid to Gaza
¤ Hillary Clinton ready to eliminate Iran, if she takes office

¤ U.S. to Expand Collection Of Crime Suspects' DNA
The U.S. government will soon begin collecting DNA samples from all citizens arrested in connection with any federal crime and from many immigrants detained by federal authorities, adding genetic identifiers from more than 1 million individuals a year to the swiftly growing federal law enforcement DNA database.

¤ Top Bush aides pushed for Guantánamo torture
¤ Hillary Clinton Must Explain The Praising of a Group of KKK Supporters
¤ Nigeria attacks harm Shell exports
¤ The Terrible Plight of Afghan Children

¤ Iraqis Pay? The Arrogance of the USA
The war ended with the toppling of Saddam's statue, the Iraqis want them out, and now the occupiers, having destroyed much of Iraq, have the arrogance to ask Iraqis to pay for the occupation and reconstruction.
The Iraq war began with lies - weapons of mass destruction, mushroom cloud, Al Qaeda, and it ended with more lies.

¤ Iran deplores civilian deaths in Basra, Sadr City, urges US to stop air strikes
¤ US jets drop bombs on Sadr City

¤ Behind Analysts, the Pentagon's Hidden Hand
¤ Rice: Muqtada a Coward
¤ Bush, Calderon Plot Economic and Military Integration at NOLA Summit

¤ The U.S. Role in Haiti's Food Riots
Thirty years ago, Haiti raised nearly all the rice it needed. What happened?
In 1986, after the expulsion of Haitian dictator Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loaned Haiti $24.6 million in desperately needed funds (Baby Doc had raided the treasury on the way out). But, in order to get the IMF loan, Haiti was required to reduce tariff protections for their Haitian rice and other agricultural products and some industries to open up the country's markets to competition from outside countries. The U.S. has by far the largest voice in decisions of the IMF.

¤ Obama Chose Right Word
¤ Polygamy & State Regulation of Sexual Life
¤ Bush's Paraguayan Fiasco
¤ Spinning Saddam's Linkages
¤ Masai return to their hunting grounds as tourism collapses

¤ The US Economy and the Costs of War
Is the Iraq War to blame for America's long-term economic decline and for the current economic crisis?
Martin Neil Baily, a chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton, and now director of the business initiative at the Brookings Institution, in an opinion piece that ran Sunday in the New York Times, says no. Claiming to be opposed to the Iraq War, he nonetheless suggests that the nearly $500 billion spent on Iraq to date--all of it borrowed money--cannot be blamed for the credit crisis, or for high oil prices.

Venezuela to seek end to asset freeze in Dutch court
Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Venezuela expects to appear in a court in the Netherlands by the end of the month to demand an end to an asset freeze won by Exxon Mobil.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA will tell the court that Exxon is abusing the bilateral investment protection treaty between the Netherlands and Venezuela, the South American country's energy and oil minister, Rafael Ramirez, said today in Rome.
Full Article : chron.com

United Socialist Party of Venezuela Registers Officially as a New Party
Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2008

by Kiraz Janicke
April 20th 2008
Venezuelanalysis.com

More than one year on since Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez first called for the formation of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) as "a political instrument that puts itself at the service of the people ... at the service of socialism," the new party has officially registered with the National Electoral Council in time for the regional elections in November.

William Lara, the national electoral coordinator of the PSUV, explained that the PSUV has assumed the registration and funds of Chavez's old party, the Movement for a Fifth Republic, and as such "inherits the rights that applied to the MVR for being the principal political force in the country," including being the first party convoked by the CNE to chose its position on the ballot paper.

"We will be asking the CNE to place us on the top left hand corner of the ballot paper, the same position as the MVR," he added.

After a year long process of formation, during which, some 5.7 million Venezuelans registered as aspiring members of the new party, and a two month long founding congress that culminated with national leadership elections on March 9, the PSUV has for the past several weeks, been undergoing a process of selecting regional leaderships.

As part of the process, each active member in the grass roots 'socialist battalions' or cells of the new party was able to nominate up to three candidates.

According to Aristóbulo Istúriz, PSUV vice president for the Capital District and the states of Miranda and Vargas, an average of 58 PSUV militants from each socialist battalion, totalling some 725 000, participated in the nominations process that closed on April 6.

Out of the top 60 candidates nominated from each region, the national executive of the PSUV will then select a final 30, including 15 full delegates and 15 substitute delegates, for each regional leadership body, taking into account the representation of women and minorities. The results of the regional leadership selection process are due to be announced shortly.

The PSUV national leadership has also initiated discussions with coalition parties, including Homeland for All (PPT), the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV) and the Electoral Movement of the People (MEP), among others, in order to form a Patriotic Alliance of all those who support the Bolivarian revolution for the upcoming regional elections for governorships and mayors.

However, first vice-president of the PSUV, Alberto Müller Rojas, explained that the Patriotic Alliance is not simply an electoral front, but a "strategic project" in order to contribute to the construction of a socialist government model.

Secretary General of the PPT, José Albornoz, concurred, "The behaviour of the Patriotic Alliance does not correspond only to the electoral act rather complies fundamentally with its strategic character."

Oscar Figuera, from the PCV added, "Within the alliance exists a commitment to a political project... we have begun to work towards an electoral campaign and the application of that project."

The selection of candidates for the PSUV and the Patriotic Alliance is scheduled for July the leaders confirmed. Although the exact method for selecting candidates has not been finalised the Patriotic Alliance is investigating a polling system to determine support for candidates.

In a speech at the School of Planning in Caracas this week, Chavez emphasised that the construction of unity of all those who support the Bolivarian revolution, is essential in order to obtain victory in the regional elections.

The socialist leader also called on the Venezuelan people not to give "political space to the enemy. If there are criticisms, it is necessary to make them, but we must not lose the spaces we have won. United popular power is indispensable."

He also called on people not to be duped by the demagogic campaigns of opposition parties that "are ultimately derived from Democratic Action and COPEI."

"Today there are candidates of the opposition who have dared to say they want to win the elections in order to improve Mission Barrio Adentro and other missions. Does anyone believe that our missions could exist with a capitalist government?" he asked.

Chavez reiterated that the candidates from the PSUV must be nominated and chosen by the grassroots and be accountable to the communities.

"Although we still have not selected candidates for the PSUV, it is necessary to put conditions on them, they must commit themselves to the project, not just to a slogan," he asserted.

These candidates, as well as functionaries who currently occupy posts in the government, and members of popular organisations, must dedicate themselves to confront the bureaucracy and pay attention to the necessities of the people Chavez explained.

"One of the deviations that we must confront every day is bureaucratization. We must attend to the needs of the people...No one can shut themselves away, rather we should be in the streets, listening to the people."

In this sense Chavez argued it was necessary to defeat the "anti-values of capitalism" and resolve basic problems such as access to clean water, food, housing, clothing, health and education for all the Venezuelan people.

No individualist solution to foundations
Posted: Monday, April 21, 2008

By Stephen Gowans
April 21, 2008
gowans.wordpress.com

A number of articles published here and elsewhere have been critical of progressives who have become entangled with foundations sponsored by corporations, imperialist governments and wealthy individuals. These progressives have been criticized by some for being willing to accept foundation support and by others for presenting themselves and other foundation-connected leftists as "independent" left voices. The first group of critics complains that progressives undermine their credibility by taking foundation grants and accepting foundation positions or unjustifiably enhance the credibility of the foundations they take money and jobs from. This group has no basic disagreement with the political positions of the foundation-connected progressives. The criticism of the second group, on the other hand, originates in disagreement over fundamental political positions. It defines the political position of foundation-connected progressives as pro-imperialist, not in intentions but in its effects, and argues that it is this basic political position which makes these progressives attractive to foundations. They appear to be credibly progressive - even radical - but in fact promote views that pose no real threat to corporate domination and indeed even buttress the ideological foundations of that domination. They are independent in the sense that they are not told to what to do or say, but their views considerably overlap in important ways those of their foundation sponsors.

The first group of critics argues that progressives should reject connections to corporate and government-controlled foundations, or, alternatively, should take the money but scrupulously refuse to self-censor, even if it means losing funding. The point of this article is to argue that were progressives to follow this advice, little of consequence would change.

The most significant role foundations play, is not in encouraging progressives to self-censor, either to guarantee ongoing funding or to secure funding for the first time (although this doubtlessly happens), but to funnel money to progressives who promote views that are no threat to continued ruling class domination and reinforce certain views and values that discourage leftists from emulating or supporting militant movements or parties, at home and abroad. By providing these progressives with a platform to reach a large part of the progressive community, the corporate community, through its foundations, puts these left intellectuals in a position to define for the progressive community a common sense that is at worst innocuous to the interests of foundation sponsors and more often indirectly conducive to those interests. More militant voices, whose views are uncompromisingly antagonistic to those of the foundations' sponsors, are denied funding, and dwell, as a consequence, along the margins, where their ability to set the agenda is severely limited. This is a long-standing ruling class strategy: give the moderates a voice and marginalize the militants. If the militants can't be marginalized, suppress them.

What would happen if those who self-censored refused to do so any longer, and renounced their ties to foundations, as the first set of critics prescribes? The same foundation money would flow to someone else who expressed the same self-censored views, only this time without the need of self-censorship. Wolfe's quip applies not only to journalists but to intellectuals generally. "You cannot hope to bribe and twist, thank God, the British journalist. But seeing what the man will do unbribed, there's no occasion to."

There is no shortage of people who lean to the left who needn't be bribed through the promise of foundation grants or implicit threats of their withdrawal to express views that are pleasing to corporate foundation sponsors - views that implicitly accept as desirable certain societal arrangements or strategies for the left to follow that allow the corporate rich to maintain their dominance and further their goals. It's wrong to suggest that Stephen Zunes has been bought or sold out because he has accepted a position with a foundation controlled by former Michael Milken right hand man Peter Ackerman. Zunes is saying what he would have said all along, even if he hadn't forged foundation ties. That Zunes has found a community of interest with Ackerman, who is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and head of Freedom House, simply reveals how mildly left Zunes' views really are.

Foundation-friendly leftist views hold that the world can be changed without taking power; that hierarchical political organizations of the type that have proved successful in class and national liberation struggles of the past are undesirable and should be set aside in favor of loose, decentralized, (and therefore ineffective) movements; that the highest task for progressives is the extension of the democratic project, defined without reference to class; and that this goal should be achieved by a loose coalition of grassroots groups practicing non-violent direct action. These views are, of course, far more pleasing to the dominant class than the view that says power should be seized and held onto to accomplish concrete anti-capitalist goals (freedom from exploitation or neo-colonial domination) and that the route to power lies in the same hierarchical, disciplined organizational forms that have proved successful in the past. Z-Net style progressives are pleasing to the ruling class because they promote a strategy for the left that has no chance of success, and is built around the pursuit of nebulous goals. To conserve the status quo, all you have to do is make sure this brand of leftism receives a large "advertising" budget, to maintain the "brand's" dominant share position in the left community. I'm borrowing marketing terminology, but it fits well. Coke has more customers than RC Cola because it has a much large advertising and promotion budget. Foundation funding is like an advertising budget that allows the foundations' sponsors to push their preferred brand (in this case, a brand of leftism) to the fore.

Telling progressives, therefore, that they're being manipulated by foundations is pointless and at odds with reality. Many progressives with foundation ties are not being manipulated, bribed or bought. They point out correctly that there are no strings attached to the money they receive, they say what they want to say without interference, and they've secured a platform they would not otherwise have to advance views they strongly believe in. To these progressives, it is the foundations that are being used, not themselves. Journalists say the same: Editors don't tell me what to write. But, then, editors don't have to tell journalists who implicitly accept capitalist goals and values what to say. Likewise, foundations don't need to use the threat of withdrawing support to left intellectuals. Many left intellectuals have, without the spur of stick or carrot, adopted views that are already, in the view of foundation sponsors, desirable for a leftwing opposition to hold.

The problem, then, is much larger than one of individuals' relations to foundations. It is a problem of a class comprised of a tiny minority, which, by virtue of owning the major productive resources, has a virtual monopoly on resources that allow it to define the common sense of the age, not only broadly, but within the left community as well, by giving a platform to those who hold desirable views. The same problem surfaces in the media, where the parallel individualist solution of importuning journalists to stop self-censoring or give up their jobs as journalists, has obvious weaknesses. There is also an obvious weakness in FAIR's strategy of asking the mass media to forget they're owned and controlled by corporate wealth that has an interest in propagating certain views and values.

To define the common sense view, all you have to do is make sure those whose view of the common sense is compatible with your own interests, get heard. Challenging the virtual monopoly of the corporate rich to define the ruling ideas or to define what constitutes a desirable set of views and values for the left to hold cannot be done, therefore, by urging individuals to be incorruptible, most of whom are not corrupt now and are incorruptible anyway. The challenge is a systemic one, whose solution lies in changing the system, not individuals. So long as major productive resources are privately owned, the wherewithal to define the common sense will lie within the grasp of private owners. They will use foundations to raise the visibility and voice of left intellectuals who hold desirable views to weaken left opposition and divert its energies to humanitarian, but conservative, tasks which pose no threat to the interests and continued domination of the corporate rich. The left intellectuals who rise to prominence will do so, then, not because their arguments are more compelling, their approach more realistic, or their orientation more leftist, but because they've been handed a platform their militant left competitors are denied.

Zimbabwe: ANC shoots down Tsvangirai call
Posted: Saturday, April 19, 2008

Sunday News Reporter
sundaynews.co.zw
April 20, 2008

The ruling African National Congress in South Africa has shot down Movement for Democratic Change faction leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai's call that President Thabo Mbeki quits as mediator in Zimbabwe because he has allegedly failed to resolve the political situation in the country.

ANC spokesperson Ms Jessie Duarte said on Friday the ANC backed President Mbeki's efforts to broker a lasting solution in Zimbabwe.

Ms Duarte said the ANC had agreed that Mr Mbeki take charge of the mediation role after the Southern African Development Community (SADC) appointed him.

"The ANC supports President Mbeki on mediation. It was a SADC decision. The ANC is party to that SADC decision and we would not wish that to change," she told the South African media yesterday.
On Thursday Mr Tsvangirai, speaking to reporters in Johannesburg, said President Mbeki should step down as mediator.

"The reasons are obvious. The crisis in Zimbabwe has been going on endlessly. People are dying in Zimbabwe as we speak," Mr Tsvangirai was quoted as saying.

He said Mr Mbeki and SADC had a "moral responsibility" to take extraordinary steps to get the country out of the "political quagmire”.

But the ANC said in its latest online newsletter, ANC Today on Friday that it was totally behind President Mbeki in his mediation efforts in Zimbabwe and there were no divergent views between the party and the Government.

"A number of commentators have claimed a shift in the ANC's approach to the resolution of the problems in Zimbabwe, and suggested a divergence between the ANC position and the position of the South African government.

"Among the matters that have been seized upon to illustrate this, is the question of whether there is a crisis in Zimbabwe. President Mbeki was reported in Sunday newspapers to have said there was no crisis. The ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe was quoted the next day as saying there was indeed a crisis.

"Speaking to journalists at the United Nations on Wednesday, President Mbeki said his comments had been made in response to a specific question about whether there was a crisis in the electoral process. "The story that I said there is no crisis, I do not have the slightest clue of where it comes from. The question was about the elections - it was not about the socio-economic conditions in Zimbabwe or anything like that," he said.

"While the debate on whether or not there is a crisis rages on in the media, a look at the substantive issues reveals that the ANC's approach to Zimbabwe is consistent, and is reflected in the positions of the South African government.

"The ANC has consistently maintained that the people and leaders of Zimbabwe would need to resolve the challenges facing the country. South Africa and other countries in the region should offer whatever assistance they could to facilitate dialogue. For this reason, the ANC and its government have resisted calls to make pronouncements that would undermine its ability to engage meaningfully with all the parties,” it said.
The ANC said it regarded Zanu-PF as an ally and called on all parties in Zimbabwe to refrain from agitating for violence.

"All parties, including state institutions, should therefore desist from any actions that could heighten tension or lead to instability. Any complaints that any of the parties may have should be pursued through the available legal channels.

"The NWC (National Working Committee) made the point that its position on the elections in Zimbabwe should not be seen as favouring one party over another. The ANC regards ZANU-PF as a fraternal liberation movement, an ally in the effort to improve the lives of the people of Southern Africa,” it said.

http://www.sundaynews.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=271&cat=1

Global Hunger, Corporate Greed
Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008

¤ Health problems linked to chemical in plastic products

¤ The rise of the new energy world order
Oil at US$110 a barrel. Gasoline at $3.35 (or more) per gallon. Diesel fuel at $4 per gallon. Independent truckers forced off the road. Home heating oil rising to unconscionable price levels. Jet fuel so expensive that three low-cost airlines stopped flying in the past few weeks. This is just a taste of the latest energy news, signaling a profound change in how all of us, in this country and around the world, are going to live - trends that, so far as anyone can predict, will only become more pronounced as energy supplies dwindle and the global struggle over their allocation intensifies.

¤ Arms Export Control Act: Israeli Breaches and U.S. Indulgence Result in Palestinian and Lebanese Civilian Casualties
"Perhaps most egregiously, the U.S. Congress failed to stand up for American citizen Rachel Corrie and her family after Corrie was crushed to death in the Gaza Strip by a Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer. The timidity of American officials regarding Corrie's death and the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians and Lebanese undercuts American standing in the world and creates a dramatic rift between American law and its implementation. Both Democrats and Republicans have failed to apply the law where Israel is concerned. Consequently, Israeli officials take increasing liberties in using American firepower on the field of battle-and in civilian neighborhoods."

¤ Occupation, Not War
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ended some years ago. In Iraq, the war ended with the fall of Saddam Hussein's government; in Afghanistan, with the fall of the Taliban government. What's been happening since is occupation and resistance to occupation.
It's always helpful to call things by the right name. One of the ways using the wrong word can trip us is illustrated by John McCain's campaign theme. We have to win the war in Iraq, he keeps saying. Ending a war implies either winning or losing. No such baggage is attached to an occupation. You can end an occupation without either winning or losing. You just withdraw your troops.

¤ As Food Costs Soar, US Must Step Up to Plate

¤ Global Hunger, Corporate Greed

¤ Fueling the Food Crisis
Unlike some lefties, I've never regarded Fidel Castro as infallible, mainly because of his uneven record on human rights (exemplary in meeting basic economic needs but execrable in terms of respecting civil liberties).
Nonetheless, a warning he made in early 2007 on biofuels has turned out to be eerily prophetic. In a conversation with Hugo Chavez, Castro warned that using agricultural crops to power cars would push up the price of food and that the consequences would be "tragic".

¤ Credit Crunch? The Real Crisis Is Global Hunger.

¤ Global Hot Spots of Hunger Set to Explode
As food prices continue to escalate worldwide, some of the poorest nations in the developing world are in danger of social and political upheavals.
The unrest, which is likely to spread to nearly 40 countries, has been triggered largely by a sharp increase in the prices of staple commodities, including wheat, rice, sorghum, maize and soybeans, according to the United Nations.

¤ UN warns of N Korea food shortage
¤ Speculators and soaring food prices
¤ Vitamin supplements 'do us no good and may be harmful'
¤ America's Whipping Boy For 9/11

¤ Obama, Bitterness, Fundamentalists and Guns

¤ Bush Regime Normalcy

¤ Pope Benedict Go Home
Why would American media, politicians and average citizens welcome a Hitler Youth member who personally worked to insure Bush's re-election and who openly praised the genocide conducted against American Indians? If the man in question becomes pope, it obviously doesn't matter what he says or does. Otherwise sensible people suddenly act like illiterate medieval peasants and fight to kiss his ring.

¤ Bush welcomes pope and says US is open to his message

¤ A Personal Reflection on Hypocrisy Over Tibet
¤ "Certifiable, Insane" - Zubaydah, Bush and the Bureaucracy of Torture
¤ Crude turns lower after earlier nearing $115 a barrel
¤ Israel strikes after Hamas raid

¤ SADC rules no electoral impasse in Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwean government delegation to the SADC summit held at the weekend has hailed SADC's ruling that there is neither a stalemate nor an impasse in the electoral process in Zimbabwe.
Addressing journalists in Harare this afternoon, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa said the Zimbabwean delegation briefed the summit on the recent harmonized elections and emphasized that the situation was calm and peaceful. In his reasons for calling the summit on Zimbabwe, Zambian leader and current SADC chairman, Mr. Levy Mwanawasa cited an alleged stalemate and impasse in the Zimbabwean harmonized elections.

¤ Tree man 'who grew roots' hopes to marry after 4lb of warts removed

¤ Why China is the REAL master of the universe
Cecil Rhodes, the businessman-imperialist of Africa, the creator of Rhodesia, suffered no flicker of doubt about who were the masters.
"To be born an Englishman," he mused, "Is to win first prize in the lottery of life."
It wasn't idle boasting. In the jingoistic triumphalism of the late 19th century, when waving the Union Jack was a simple pleasure, people sang: "Rule Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves" without any irony. It was a statement of fact.
A quarter of mankind lived under the British flag in the largest empire the world had ever known.

¤ The Coming War with Iran: It's About the Oil, Stupid
World civilization is based on oil. The world is running out of oil. The oil companies and governments are not telling the truth about how close we are to the end. Dick Cheney knew about peak oil back in 1999 when he spoke to the London Petroleum Institute as Halliburton CEO. He predicted it would come in 2010. After that it's just a matter of years before it runs out. Whoever controls the remaining oil determines who lives and who dies.
Sixty percent of this oil is under a triangular area of the Middle East the size of Kansas. In that speech Cheney said: "The Middle East with two thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies."

¤ Venezuela approves $9 bln oil windfall profit law
¤ Israel builds more settlements defying Annapolis - US ex-president Carter
¤ Attitudes Toward U.S. Worsen in Arab World

¤ War Crimes in Occupied Afghanistan
¤ Source: U.S. Strike on Iran Nearing
¤ Killing of Reuters journalist brings death toll in Gaza to 18

¤ Nobody wants to rescue dollar
The world was waiting all the last week, but nothing serious occurred in the exchange market. The session of the Central Banks of Great Britain and Europe that took place this week, was expected. There the problems of money-credit policy were considered. As the market participants expected that the interest rate in Europe will remain the same and will decrease in England, the behavior of Central Banks hadn't made any substantial changes in the deal on Forex.

¤ USA uses Summer Olympics 2008 to label China as new empire of evil
¤ Foolishness Over the Olympics and Tibet

Venezuelan Government Takes Over 32 Landholdings for Land Reform
Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2008

By James Suggett
April 14th 2008
Venezuelanalysis.com

The Venezuelan army occupied 32 farms in the western state of Lara last Thursday, sparking protests from local sugarcane producers, after the National Land Institute (INTI) expropriated the lands as part of the government efforts to boost national food production amidst global shortages.

INTI President Juan Carlos Loyo called the intervention a "rescue" of idle farmland aimed at the "agricultural reactivation" of the area outside the state capital Barquisimeto, in accordance with the 2001 Land and Agricultural Development Law.

The law is based on Venezuela's 1999 constitution, which deems large, idle estates known as Latifundios, "contrary to the interests of society" and opens the door to their taxation or expropriation.

Only 20% of the 2,460 hectares (6075 acres) occupied Thursday are productive, Loyo claimed, assuring that those existing crops will not be disrupted.

The local sugar producers association, however, rejected what it called the "militarization" of private lands of 12 families. Alfredo Arévalo, the state director of the association, alleged that nearly 80%, or 1,900 hectares (4,693 acres), of the occupied lands are in full production of sugar cane, which he said was an "ancestral" crop in the region.

Early Friday morning, a group of landowners blocked a major cross-state highway with trucks and tractors to protest the measure. Police used tear gas to disperse the protestors, arresting 6 people and detaining 2 big-rigs, according to national news reports.

Loyo called accusations of militarization a manipulative "media campaign", and insisted that the military's function is "preventative occupation" meant to "protect the lives of INTI personnel who will be tasked with launching productive projects in the short term."

Loyo said he personally inspected the lands 20 days prior, confirming that "idle" is an understatement of the "state of abandonment in which they were found."

While property owners fear that compensation will not be offered for expropriated lands, INTI state director Pedro Moreno said if owners can prove within 60 days that they have legitimate title to the land, indemnity will be calculated from their records.

The issue of indemnity invokes the controversial Article 90 of the land law, which says the government does not have to compensate landholders for land they acquired illegally or illegitimately. This article was originally annulled by the Supreme Court, then reinstated when the law was reformed in May 2005.

Samira Saab, director of the National Federation of Sugar Cane Producers (FEDENAGA), opposed the expropriations and called for "dialogue" between the government and local producers.

Sugar cane has been the predominant crop in the area for over 400 years, and the state of Lara produces 30% of Venezuela's sugar, Saab accounted.

"If the state has a plan for [crop diversification in] the valley that we do not know about," Saab said, "I'd like to see the plans," because "there are mechanisms that can be applied, but the only way to do it is in consensus."

The lands expropriated Thursday will integrated in to a state-owned Social Production Unit (SPU) and sugar cane will be maintained as one of the principal crops, according to Loyo. The SPU in Lara will join the 78,000 hectare (193,000 acre) El Frío farm that was expropriated and converted into an SPU last month in southwestern Apure state, as part of a growing national network of SPUs based on the principals of "agro-ecology," Loyo asserted.

Saab also criticized government price controls on food, saying they "contradict" the increased government financing of the agricultural sector by limiting growth while the country imports 70% of its food.

Venezuela`s Minister of Planning and Development, Haiman El Troudi, acknowledged Tuesday that the agricultural budget hike and decreased income tax last year were not as effective as they could have been at increasing production while controlling inflation because they did not treat "all the factors."

However, new subsidies are being considered for producers to help reduce inflation in foods not subject to price controls, "with the intention of protecting the most vulnerable population," El Troudi announced.

Also, Agriculture and Land Minister Elías Jaua announced Thursday that 1,995 agricultural machines that the government had bought from China, Brazil, and Argentina had arrived and will soon be distributed to help make idle lands productive.

Saab, however, said the machines, subsidies and other government investments will not be enough because "laborers are nowhere to be found… Venezuelans do not want to work in the countryside, but rather as street vendors, Venezuelans have become unaccustomed to agricultural work."

Minister Jaua said Thursday's expropriations are part of an "offensive" against Latifundios. Government redistribution of private lands began in mid-2005, while up until that time over 2 million hectares of idle public land had been converted for production.

Several prominent estate owners have offered to peacefully negotiate the surrender of a portion of their lands to the government, while others, including some of those whose land was expropriated Thursday, have declared they will take the government to the courts.

According to an Agriculture and Land Ministry report from last October, 2 million hectares (4.95 million acres) of idle land have been "rescued" from large estates. 45% of these lands have been designated national forest reserves. Of the remaining 1.1 million hectares (2.7 million acres), 90% have become productive. According to Jaua, there are an estimated 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) left to expropriate from the large estates, a quarter of which the ministry aspires to expropriate in 2008.

Source: www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3350

Iraq Was Not A Preemptive War
Posted: Friday, April 11, 2008

¤ The New York Times v. Hugo Chavez

¤ BBC v. Hugo Chavez
At a time of growing public disenchantment with the major media, millions now rely on alternate sources. Many online and print ones are credible. One of the world's most relied on is not - the BBC. It's an imperial tool, as corrupted as its dominant counterparts, been around longer than all of them, now in it for profit, and it's vital that people know who BBC represents and what it delivers.

¤ US trade deficit jumps to 62.3 billion dollars
¤ IMF says US crisis is 'largest financial shock since Great Depression'
¤ Pakistan's prime minister warns 'dictatorship' is threatening newly restored democracy
¤ Afghans hold secret trials for men that U.S. detained

¤ Iraq Was Not A Preemptive War
This week, Republican presidential candidate John McCain claimed that he would reserve the right to wage preemptive war, and with good reason. After all, preemptive war could one day be necessary, and every president should reserve the right to wage it.
The problem, however, is that neither John McCain, nor the media for that matter, seem to know what a preemptive war actually is. The Iraq War, for one, was not a preemptive war, but a preventive one. There is a big difference.

¤ US-Iran conflict likely to deepen
¤ Bleak assessment of Iraq
¤ U.S. strikes kill 10 in Iraq, Bush to halt troop cuts

¤ What Motivates the Terrorists?
Immediately after 9/11, U.S. officials, led by President Bush and Vice-President Cheney, announced that the attacks were motivated by hatred for America's freedom and values.
Not so, responded we libertarians. Instead, the anger and hatred that people have in the Middle East for the United States is rooted in U.S. foreign policy, specifically the bad things that the U.S. government has done to people in that part of the world.

¤ White House Authorized War Crimes
In dozens of top-secret talks and meetings in the White House, the most senior Bush administration officials discussed and approved specific details of how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency, sources tell ABC News.
The so-called Principals who participated in the meetings also approved the use of "combined" interrogation techniques -- using different techniques during interrogations, instead of using one method at a time -- on terrorist suspects who proved difficult to break, sources said.

¤ ABC News: Top Bush officials intimately involved in planning war crimes

¤ We're Locked and Loaded Into Our Rambo Fantasy
¤ We'll Reap What We Sow
¤ Iraqi Detainees Languish Uncharged In Crowded Jails
¤ Oops, Our Bad
¤ Hey, Berkeley, Want To Be Really Antiwar?

¤ Slavery in the Fields
José Vasquez couldn't stand any more.
On November 19, he and two other workers escaped through a ventilation hatch in the box trailer where they had been locked up for the night. For more than a year, the three immigrants and a dozen more were forced to work for the Navarrete family picking tomatoes in Immokalee, Fla.

¤ The Clintons' $800,000 Colombian Windfall

¤ Breaking The Silence Video

¤ Khalil regrets toppling statue of Saddam
Flashback ¤ Toppling of Saddam Statue: A Government/Media Hoax

¤ Chavez: Castro predicted fall of dollar

¤ Poor go hungry while rich fill their tanks
Rocketing global food prices are causing acute problems of hunger and malnutrition in poor countries and have put back the fight against poverty by seven years, the World Bank said yesterday.
Robert Zoellick, the Bank's president, called on rich countries to commit an extra $500m (£250m) immediately to the World Food Programme, and sign up to what he called a "New Deal for global food policy".

¤ Food prices stir poverty concern
¤ Food agency calls for ban on six artificial colours

¤ Zimbabwe Election Deja Vous

¤ Have you ever heard of Bremer's 100 orders?
If the answer is "no" then you don't understand the true destruction of Iraq. This is not altogether something to be ashamed of; the media, led by Murdoch's "FOX News" has deliberately refrained from covering the laws in any detail, mostly because if they did reveal the extent of the destruction, good American citizens would be outraged.

¤ Capital Crimes: Another Smoking Gun on Terror War Torture

BBC v. Hugo Chavez
Posted: Friday, April 11, 2008

by Stephen Lendman
April 10th 2008

At a time of growing public disenchantment with the major media, millions now rely on alternate sources. Many online and print ones are credible. One of the world's most relied on is not - the BBC. It's an imperial tool, as corrupted as its dominant counterparts, been around longer than all of them, now in it for profit, and it's vital that people know who BBC represents and what it delivers.

It was close but not quite the world's first broadcaster. Other European nations claim the distinction along with KDKA Pittsburgh as the oldest US one. BBC's web site states: "The British Broadcasting Company Ltd (its original name) was formed in October 1922....and began broadcasting on November 14....By 1925 the BBC could be heard throughout most of the UK. (Its) biggest influence....was its general manager, John Reith (who) envisioned an independent British broadcaster able to educate, inform and entertain the whole nation, free from political interference and commercial pressure."

That's what BBC says. Here's a different view from Media Lens. It's an independent "UK-based media-watch project....offer(ing) authoritative criticism" reflecting "reality" that's free from the corrupting influence of media corporations and the governments they support.

Its creators and editors (Davids Cromwell and Edwards) ask: "Can the BBC tell the truth....when its senior managers are appointed by the government" and will be fired if they step out of line and become too critical. It notes that nothing "fundamentally changed since BBC founder Lord Reith wrote the establishment: 'They know they can trust us not to be really impartial.' " He didn't disappoint, nor have his successors like current Director-General and Chairman of the Executive Board Mark Thompson along with Michael Lyons, Chairman, BBC Trust that replaced the Board of Governors on January 1, 2007 and oversees BBC operations.

On January 1, 1927, BBC was granted a Royal Charter, made a state-owned and funded corporation, still pretends to be quasi-autonomous, and changed its name to its present one - The British Broadcasting Corporation. Its first Charter ran for 10 years, succeeding ones were renewed for equal fixed length periods, BBC is in its ninth Charter period, and is perhaps more dominant, pervasive and corrupted than ever in an age of marketplace everything and space-age technology with which to operate.

It's now the world's largest broadcaster, has about 28,000 UK employees and a vast number of worldwide correspondents and support staff nearly everywhere or close enough to get there for breaking news. It's government-funded from revenues UK residents pay monthly to operate their television receivers - currently around 22 US dollars, and it also has other growing income sources from its worldwide commercial operations supplementing its noncommercial ones at home.

Most important is how BBC functions, who it serves, and Media Lens' editors explain it best and keep at it with regular updates. They argue that the entire mass media, including BBC, function as a "propaganda system for elite interests." It's especially true for topics mattering most - war and peace, "vast corporate criminality," US-UK duplicity, and "threats to the very existence of human life." They're systematically "distorted, suppressed, marginalized or ignored" in a decades-long public trust betrayal by an organization claiming "honesty, integrity (is) what the BBC stands for (and it's) free from political influence and commercial pressure."

In fact, BBC abandoned those notions straight away, and a glaring example came during the 1926 General Strike. Its web site says it stood up against Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill who "urged the government to take over the BBC, but (general manager) Reith persuaded Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin that this would be against the national interest" it was sworn to serve.

Media Lens forthrightly corrects the record. Reith never embraced the public trust. He used BBC for propaganda, operated it as a strikebreaker, secretly wrote anti-union speeches for the Tories, and refused to give air time to worker representatives. It got BBC labeled the "British Falsehood Corporation," and proved from inception it was a reliable business and government partner. It still is, of course, more than ever.

Consider BBC's role during WW II when it became a de facto government agency, and throughout its existence job applicants have been vetted to be sure what side they're on. Noted UK journalist John Pilger explains that independent-minded ones "were refused BBC posts (and still are) because they were not considered safe."

Only "reliable" ones reported on the 1982 Falklands war, for example, that Margaret Thatcher staged to boost her low approval rating and improve her reelection chances. Leaked information later showed BBC executives ordered news coverage focused "primarily (on) government statements of policy" and to avoid impartiality considered "an unnecessary irritation."

This has been BBC practice since inception - steadfastly pro-government and pro-business with UK residents getting no public service back for their automatic monthly billings to turn on their TVs - sort of like force-fed cable TV, whether or not they want it.

Back on BBC's web site, it recounts its history by decades from the 1920s to the new millennium but leaves out the most important parts. This critique focuses on filling in the blanks on one of them - BBC's nine year war against Hugo Chavez and Bolivarianism.

Targeting Hugo Chavez and Assailing His Democratic Credentials

BBC misreports everywhere at one time or other, depending on breaking world events and the way power elitists view them. Consider Venezuela and how BBC reported on Chavez's most dramatic two days in office and events preceding them. Its April 12, 2002 account disdained the truth and headlined "Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez (was) forced to resign by the country's military. (His) three years in power (ended) after a three-day general strike....in which 11 people died....more than 80 others (were) injured," and BBC suggested Chavez loyalists killed them. It reported "snipers opened fire on a crowd of more than 150,000 (and it) triggered a rebellion by the country's military."

During anti-Chavez demonstrations, "Mr. Chavez appeared on the state-run television denouncing the protest, (then BBC falsely reported corporate TV channels it called independent ones) were taken off the air by order of the government. (High-ranking) military officers rebell(ed) against Mr. Chavez. (He) finally quit after overnight talks with a delegation of generals at the Miraflores presidential palace."

"BBC's Adam Easton, in Caracas at the time, says there are noisy celebrations on the streets, (and former army general) Guaicaipuro Lameda said Mr. Chavez's administration had been condemned because it began arming citizens' committees (and) these armed groups....fired at opposition protesters."

In another report, BBC was jubilant in quoting Venezuela's corporate press. They welcomed Chavez's ouster and called him an "autocrat," "incompetent" and a "coward." They accused him of "order(ing) his sharpshooters to open fire on innocent people (and) betray(ing his) country."

BBC went along without a hint of dissent or a word of the truth, but where was BBC when a popular uprising and military support restored Chavez to office two days later? It quietly announced a "chastened....Chavez return(ed) to office after the collapse of the interim government....and pledged to make necessary changes." In spite of vilifying him in the coup's run-up, cheerleading it when it happened and calling it a resignation, BBC put on a brave face. It had to be painful saying: "The UK welcomed Mr. Chavez's return to power, saying that any change of government should be achieved by democratic means."

It's hard imagining Caracas correspondents Greg Morsbach and James Ingham see it that way. Morsbach called the country a "left-wing haven" on the occasion of 100,000 people taking part in the 2006 World Social Forum in the capital. He said the city is "used to staging big events (opposing) 'neo-liberal' economic policies," then couldn't resist taking aim at Chavez. "Five hundred metres away from the (downtown) Hilton," Morsbach noted, "homeless people scavenge in dustbins for what little food they can find." He then quoted a man named Carlos "who spent the last three years sleeping rough on the streets" and felt Bolivarianism did nothing for him.

It's done plenty for Venezuelans but Morsbach won't report it. Under Chavez, social advances have been remarkable and consider two among many. According to Venezuela's National Statistics Institute (INE), the country's poverty rate (before Chavez) in 1997 was 60.94%. It dropped sharply under Bolarvarianism to a low of 45.38% in 2001, rose to 62.09% after the crippling 2002-03 oil management lockout, and then plummeted to a low of around 27% at year end 2007. In addition, unemployment dropped from 15% in 1997 to INE's reported 6.2% in December 2007.

Morsbach also omitted how Chavez is tackling homelessness. He's reducing it with programs like communal housing, drug treatment and providing modest stipends for the needy. His goal - "for there (not) to be a single child in the streets... not a single beggar in the street." It's working through Mission Negra Hipolita that guides the homeless to shelters and rehab centers. They provide medical and psychological care and pay homeless in them a modest amount in return for community service. No mention either compares Venezuela under Chavez to America under George Bush (and likely Britain under anyone) where no homeless programs exist, the problem is increasing, nothing is being done about it, and the topic is taboo in the media.

Instead in a BBC profile, Chavez is called "increasingly autocratic, revolutionary (and) combative." He's a man who's "alienated and alarmed the country's traditional political elite, as well as several foreign governments," (and he) court(s) controversy (by) making high-profile visits to Cuba and Iraq" and more. He "allegedly flirt(s) with leftist rebels in Colombia and mak(es) a huge territorial claim on Guyana."

The account then implies Chavez is to blame for "relations with Washington reach(ing) a new low (because he) accused (the Bush administration) of fighting terror with terror" post-9/11, and in a September 2006 UN General Assembly speech called the president "the devil."

Chavez's December 2007 constitutional reform referendum was also covered. It was defeated, the profile suggested controversial elements in it, but omitted explaining its objective - to deepen and broaden Venezuelan democracy, more greatly empower the people, provide them more social services, and make government more accountable to its citizens. Instead, BBC highlighted White House spokeswoman Dana Perino saying: Venezuelans "spoke their minds, and they voted against the reforms that Hugo Chavez had recommended and I think that bodes well for the country's future and freedom and liberty."

In another piece, Inghram took aim at the country's "whirlwind of nationalizations, and threats to private companies (are) changing Venezuela's economic climate and threaten to widen a tense social divide." It's part of Chavez's "campaign to turn Venezuela into a socialist state" with suggestive innuendoes about what that implies, omitting its achievements, and reporting nothing about how business in the country is booming or that Chavez's approach is pragmatic.

Instead, Inghram cites his critics saying "his plan is all about power" (and) bring(ing) no benefit to the nation" in lieu of letting business run it as their private fiefdom. It's how they've always done it, Venezuelans were deeply impoverished as a result, and BBC loves taking aim at a leader who wants to change things for the better and is succeeding.

It refers to his "stepp(ing) up his radical revolution since being re-elected in December 2006." Venezuela is "very divided" and its president "far too powerful (and) can rule by decree" - with no explanation of Venezuela's Enabling Law, his limited authority under it, its expiration after 18 months, and that Venezuela's (pre-Bolivarian) 1961 constitution gave comparable powers to four of the country's past presidents.

BBC further assailed Chavez's refusal to review one of RCTV's operating licenses and accused him of limiting free expression. Unreported was the broadcaster's tainted record, its lack of ethics or professional standards, and its lawless behavior. Specifically omitted was its leading role in instigating and supporting the aborted April 2002 coup and its subsequent complicity in the 2002-03 oil-management lockout and multi-billion dollar sabotage against state oil company PDVSA.

Despite it, RCTV got a minor slap on the wrist, lost only its VHF license, and it still operates freely on Venezuelan cable and satellite. Yet, if an American broadcaster was as lawless, it would be banned from operating, and its management (under US law) could be prosecuted for sedition or treason for instigating and aiding a coup d'etat against a sitting president. BBC ignored RCTV's offense, assailed Hugo Chavez unjustifiably, and reported in its usual deferential to power way.

It falsely stated RCTV's license wasn't renewed because "it supported opposition candidates (and said) hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Caracas....some to celebrate, others to protest." Unexplained was that pro-government supporters way outnumbered opponents, it's the same every time, and they gather spontaneously for every public Chavez address. Also ignored is that opposition demonstrations are usually small and staged-for-media events so BBC and anti-Chavistas in the press can call them huge and a sign Chavez's support is waning. As BBC put it this time: The situation "highlight(s), once again, how deeply divided Venezuela is" under its "controversial" president - who's popular support is so considerable BBC won't report it.

A broadcaster is supposed to be neutral, fair and balanced and BBC states "Honesty and integrity (is) what (it) stands for." BBC is dedicated to "educate (and) inform, free from political interference and commercial pressure."

The US-based Society of Professional Journalists states in its Preamble that it's the "duty of the journalist (to seek) truth and provid(e) a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. (They must) strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility....Seek truth and report it....honestly, fairly, courageously."

In serving power against the public interest for 86 years, BBC fails on all counts, including its past nine year misreporting record on Hugo Chavez and his Bolivarian Revolution.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Mondays from 11AM to 1PM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests.

Starving Haitians Riot As Food Prices Soar
Posted: Thursday, April 10, 2008

by Leonard Doyle

Demonstrators have tried to storm the presidential palace in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, as protests over hunger and rising food prices spread across the developing world.

Demanding the resignation of President René Préval, the protesters attempted to break through the palace gates before being driven back by a contingent of Brazilian United Nations peacekeepers who used tear gas and rubber bullets.

The prices of basic foods such as rice, beans, condensed milk and fruit have risen by more than 50 per cent in Haiti, where the poor even rely on biscuits made of mud to get through the day. Even the price of this traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs has gone up to more than $5 (£2.50) for 100 biscuits.
Full Article : commondreams.org

Zimbabwe: ZEC Officials Arrested
Posted: Thursday, April 10, 2008

The Herald (Harare)
8 April 2008

FIVE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission officials have been arrested on allegations of tampering with election results and prejudicing Zanu-PF presidential candidate President Mugabe of 4 993 votes cast in four constituencies in the just-ended harmonised elections.

Police chief spokesman Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed the arrests yesterday.

One of the ZEC officials, Asst Comm Bvudzijena said, was arrested in Manicaland, two in Masvingo and another two in Mashonaland Central.

He could, however, not give details of the constituencies where the crimes were allegedly committed for fear of prejudicing ongoing investigations.

The five are being charged with either fraud or criminal abuse of duty as public officers.

"The suspects are currently being prosecuted through the courts in their respective areas.

"We are still carrying out investigations. The arrests arose from inconsistencies between figures recorded at polling centres, constituency centres and those which were forwarded to the National Command Centre," said Asst Comm Bvudzijena.

Asst Comm Bvudzijena said police were carrying out investigations in two other constituencies in Manicaland where the Zanu-PF presidential candidate was also allegedly prejudiced of 1 392 votes.

In Mashonaland Central, it is alleged, the same candidate was prejudiced of 773 votes while investigations also revealed that the same candidate lost 1 000 votes in two Matabeleland North constituencies and 1 828 votes in Masvingo.

Asst Comm Bvudzijena said police were also investigating similar cases in Zvimba North and other constituencies with a view to prosecuting officials who tampered with the figures.

The arrests come barely a week after the announcement by Zanu-PF that it would take its case to the Electoral Court contesting results in 16 House of Assembly constituencies alleging that some ZEC officials were bribed to doctor results during the counting process to prejudice the ruling party.

The anomalies were detected following a close scrutiny of V11 and V23 forms.

A V11 form is an original document carrying results at polling stations and is signed by all agents of contesting parties.

After the signing of the V11 form, information is then recorded on the V23 forms that collate polling station results within a ward.

These forms also show the results of the council elections.

The Sunday Mail reported at the weekend that at Rimbi Primary School in Manicaland Province, the V11 form showed that President Mugabe got 612 votes but the V23 form that was forwarded to the National Command Centre shows that the President received 187 votes.

This anomaly was detected in a number of constituencies.

Meanwhile, Zanu-PF legal committee member Cde Patrick Chinamasa yesterday said the party was still waiting for a response from ZEC on its request for a recount of the presidential results in some constituencies.

The ruling party's secretary for administration, Cde Didymus Mutasa, told journalists after the party's politburo meeting last Friday that some ZEC officials connived with the opposition to manipulate results in favour of the MDC.

In some case, he said, some voters were influenced to vote for the opposition.

Zanu-PF -- which garnered 97 House of Assembly seats -- lost its parliamentary majority to the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC faction, which amassed 99 seats with the Mutambara faction weighing in with 10 seats.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200804080002.html

Hamas Accepts State Within 1967 Borders
Posted: Friday, April 4, 2008

1,000 in Iraq's Forces Quit Basra Fight

Gaza 'Bombshell' Took a Year To Fall
US Coup Backfires, But Most Media Outlets Unwilling to Investigate, Cover Story

Hamas Accepts State Within 1967 Borders
Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said that his movement supports the united Palestinian position that calls for the establishment of a fully sovereign state within the 1967 borders, including Jerusalem, and refugees' right to return.

Land Grab on a Global Scale
Among the English-speaking settler societies – U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand – an irrational but powerful myth still prevails. It drove "manifest destiny" and is still alive and well, if usually unconscious.

Zanu-PF, MDC-T in photo finish
THE contest for the House of Assembly went into a photo-finish with MDC-Tsvangirai ending with 99 seats, Zanu-PF with 97, MDC with 10 and one independent.

Argentine president lays 'inalienable' claim to Falklands
Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands, which remain in British hands after the 1982 war between the two countries, is "inalienable," President Cristina Kirchner said Wednesday.

Cow-human cross embryo lives three days

We have created human-animal embryos already, say British team
Embryos containing human and animal material have been created in Britain for the first time, a month before the House of Commons votes on new laws to regulate the research

USA 2008: The Great Depression
Food stamps are the symbol of poverty in the US. In the era of the credit crunch, a record 28 million Americans are now relying on them to survive – a sure sign the world's richest country faces economic crisis

Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking'
Brain expert warns of huge rise in tumours and calls on industry to take immediate steps to reduce radiation

Food prices to rise for years, biofuel firms say

High-tech gear disables car if borrower misses payment
When the light starts to flash, you had better have the cash. That's the reality for millions of subprime borrowers whose used car purchase is contingent upon having an unusual option: a little box mounted underneath the dashboard that forces them to make their payments on time.

Report warns of Saudi Arabia and Turkey possibly joining in a nuclear arms race

Zanu-PF, MDC heading for tie
Posted: Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Herald Reporters

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission yesterday released more election results with indications that Zanu-PF and the MDC Tsvangirai faction are headed for a tie in the House of Assembly poll while the pattern of results in the presidential election show that none of the candidates will garner more than 50 percent of the vote, forcing a re-run.

ZEC had by 10pm last night released results of 160 House of Assembly constituencies with Zanu-PF and the MDC Tsvangirai faction continuing in a neck-and-neck contest.

Indications last night were that the two parties were likely to win between 96 and 99 House of Assembly seats each.

Analysts were projecting that this pattern of results was pointing to a run-off in the presidential poll as neither of the two presidential candidates was likely to achieve the 51 percent margin.

The Constitution states that if a winner in a presidential election fails to garner 51 percent of the total vote, a second round will be called within 21 days between the winner and the candidate with the second highest number of votes.

Zanu-PF had by last night garnered 78 seats, the MDC Tsvangirai faction 77 and MDC Mutambara faction five.

Twenty-five women, among them Vice President Joice Mujuru and MDC Tsvangirai faction vice president Thokozani Khupe, won their tickets to the House of Assembly.

Cde Mujuru won resoundingly in Mt Darwin West while Ms Khupe emerged the winner in Makokoba, Bulawayo.

Zanu-PF won most of its seats in rural Mashonaland, Midlands and Matabeleland South.

The MDC Tsvangirai faction won most of its seats in Bulawayo Urban, Harare, Manicaland, had a fair share of seats in rural Masvingo, especially the eastern side that borders with Manicaland.

MDC Mutambara won its seats in Matabeleland South which it shared with Zanu-PF.

The New York Times v. Hugo Chavez
Posted: Tuesday, April 1, 2008

by Stephen Lendman
April 01, 2008

Carly Simon's theme song from the 1977 James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me" says it all about The New York Times' agitprop skill - "Nobody Does It Better" nor have others in the media been at it longer. Most important is The Times influence and reach and what media critic Norman Solomon says about its front page. He calls it "the most valuable square inches of media real estate in the USA." It's read by government, business leaders and opinion-makers everywhere and for that reason is hugely important.

Hugo Chavez is its frequent target, and Simon Romero has the assignment as The Times' man in Caracas. His latest March 30 offering is headlined "Files Suggest Venezuela Bid to Aid Columbia Rebels," and it relates to the spurious claim that captured FARC-EP computers contained potentially smoking-gun evidence "t(ying) Venezuela's government to efforts to secure arms for Colombia's largest insurgency" and is aiding its efforts through funding and other means to destabilize the Uribe government.

Romero states: "Officials taking part in Columbia's investigation....provided (NYT) with copies of more than 20 files, some of which also showed contributions from the rebels to the 2006 campaign of Ecuador's leftist president, Rafael Correa." One piece of correspondence from November 21, 2006 "describes a $100,000 donation to (Correa's) campaign." Alvaro Uribe noted it and others but so far hasn't released them. For his part, Correa vigorously denies the charge and said the files lacked "technical and legal" validity.

Romero stops short of claiming the files are legitimate, but refuses to suggest they're not. He also ignores Chavez's mediating role to secure prisoner releases on both sides. He does, however, quite suggestively accuse Chavez and Correa of links to the FARC-EP "which the United States says is a terrorist group and has fought to overthrow Colombia's government for four decades."

Romero, like his mainstream colleagues, never lets facts interfere with his mission. Here he claims "Colombian officials who provided the computer files adamantly vouched for them (and they) contained touches that suggested authenticity:....revolutionary jargon, passages in numerical code, missives about American policy in Latin America and even brief personal reflections" by FARC-EP commanders. Moreover, "files made public so far only scratched the surface of the captured archives" without a hint from him that they're simple to fake (or invent) and Washington and Bogota have every incentive to do it as a way to vilify FARC-EP and Chavez as part of their imperial project.

Romero quotes Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos saying Colombia retrieved more than 16,000 files from three computers belonging to Luis Edgar Devia Silva, aka FARC-EP commander Raul Reyes who was killed in the Ecuadorean cross-border incursion. In addition, claims of two other hard drives captured were also made. Santos said "Everything has been accessed and everything is being validated by Interpol (that's pretty closely tied to western interests and functions to serve them as called on). According to Santos, "a great deal of information" was gotten "that is extremely valuable and important."

He further claimed (plausible or not) that the computers survived the bombing raid intact "because they were in metal casing" and emphasized that he didn't regret a thing about Colombia's aggression against its neighbor.

For his part, Chavez responded and Romero at least quoted him, no doubt because it was from a meeting with foreign journalists who did as well. Chavez mocked the supposed evidence saying: "The main weapon they have now is the computer, the supposed computer of Paul Reyes. This computer is like a la carte service, giving you whatever you want. You want steak? or fried fish? How would you like it prepared? You'll get it however the empire decides."

"Desert" may have been a January 25, 2007 letter by Ivan Marquez, a member of the FARC-EP's seven-member secretariat discussing a meeting with a Venezuelan official named "Carvajal," apparently referring to General Hugo Carvajal, Venezuela's military intelligence director. Its contents were claimed to state a "pledge (to bring FARC-EP) an arms dealer from Panama."

Still another offering was correspondence from January 18, 2007 suggesting Chavez would provide a $250 million loan to buy arms and would be repaid "when we take power."

Romero then attacks the FARC-EP with familiar innuendoes that appear throughout the major media to smear it unjustly. He also suggests the possibility of Washington designating Venezuela a state sponsor of terrorism but considers it unlikely because of its importance as a major US oil supplier.

Even so, California Republican Darrell Issa (and 22 co-sponsors) introduced House Resolution (HR) 965 in February condemning Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism, and Florida Republicans Connie Mack and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (and 8 co-sponsors) introduced a similar HR 1049 in March that "condemned the Venezuelan government for its support of terrorist organizations" with direct reference to the FARC-EP. These efforts won't likely get far, and for now at least, view them as politics as usual in a year when all House members are up for reelection and need to rev up their constituencies for support. It makes Chavez a favorite target with a complicit media going along.

In sum, Romero and others like him in the mainstream, keep at their appointed mission - attacking the most model democracy in the region with a clear and purposeful aim - to destabilize, destroy and transform Venezuela into the alternate model Uribe represents: uncompromising hard right; hugely repressive; linked to Colombia's death squads and drug cartels; a supporter of state terrorism; a government riddled with corruption and scandal; and George Bush's favorite Latin America leader because of all of the above.

Expect lots more Romero commentaries like this one that are part of what Eva Golinger calls America's "asymmetric - 4th Generation War - against President Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution." The dark forces Romero represents won't quit so more enlightened ones like Golinger and others must keep exposing their schemes to protect Venezuela's glorious experiment that's working.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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