June 2004
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2004
¤ A New Kind of Anger About Bush
¤ Getting Away With Murder in Iraq
¤ The Detainees and the Bush Tyranny
¤ Apotheosis of the Psychopaths
¤ America's Criminal Occupation
¤ Iraq 'Handover' - Well, That Went Well .....
¤ Iraq is worse off than before the war began, GAO reports
¤ Mr. President, please seek help
¤ Iraqis want a real government, not a puppet show
¤ Dictator-in-Waiting?
¤ Dick Cheney Booed When Shown On Screen At Yankees Game
¤ Networks Failed Americans with Their "Rah-rah, let's go to war" Crap
¤ Abducted Marine Had Reportedly Deserted
¤ Billions Swiped from Iraq
¤ Iraqis Get Custody of Saddam, 11 Others
¤ Russia scents oil
¤ New US envoy: Past and present
¤ Born under a cloud of irony
¤ The landscape hasn't changed much
¤ Bill Buckley, you and I know the war was a mistake
¤ Who's our S.O.B now?
¤ Army Recalling Thousands Who Left Service
¤ Supreme Court: Foreign Victims of Abuse May Sue in US
¤ The Curse of Oil
¤ The west's Arab racket
¤ Bush popularity falls to all-time low but Kerry fails to capitalise
¤ Leaving Iraq
¤ Bush Readies New Castro Measures
¤ The Revolving Door Spins Away
¤ Reality Intrudes on Promises in Rebuilding of Iraq
¤ Unravelling of a nation 'liberated' by the West
¤ US Increases Colombian Involvement
¤ Blair admits UK breached Geneva rules
¤ Bid for Australia's top post may turn on Bush, Iraq war
¤ Nine killed on first day of Iraq government
¤ Ordinary Iraqis Say New Leader Is A CIA Man
¤ U.S. Expels 2 Iranian U.N. Guards
¤ What This War Is All About
¤ Hamdi, Padilla and Rasul v. Rumsfeld and Bush
¤ How Hitler Became a Dictator
¤ Bush will win the election, wartime 'hawks' always do
¤ Seven million small arms circulating in Iraq
¤ An imperial sleight of hand
¤ Turnover turf markers
¤ A sinister design unfolds
¤ Iraqis sidelined during Bremer reign
¤ Resistance attacks continue despite handover
Iraq Regime Change a Sham, Say Mideast Experts
Posted: Tuesday, June 29, 2004
by Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS - Despite the positive responses Monday from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and members of the Security Council who praised the U.S. "transfer of sovereignty" to an interim government in Iraq, Middle East experts and political analysts dismiss the regime change in Baghdad as a "monumental fraud".
"The truth is that Iraqi sovereignty is a sham," says Rahul Mahajan, publisher of the blog EmpireNotes.org and author of 'Full Spectrum: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond'.
The United States will keep at least 138,000 troops in Iraq (augmented by about 20,000 from other countries) for the forseeable future, he said. Fourteen permanent or semi-permanent military bases have been and are being constructed to house them, said Mahajan, who returned recently from a trip to Iraq.
"Those forces have, by an eleventh hour edict of Paul Bremer (head of the former U.S.-run Coalition Provisional Authority), complete immunity from Iraqi law and Iraqi courts," he added.
The role of the new interim government in Baghdad has been reduced to "advice" and "consultation". "This is, and remains, a direct military occupation," Mahajan told IPS.
He said the level of control that the United States retains "is just short of full colonial administration".
Full Article : commondreams.org
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, June 29, 2004
¤ Sovereignty: Now the games really begin
¤ Tuck Tail and Run
¤ 'Born under a cloud of irony'
¤ Iraqis have lived this lie before
¤ A cut-and-run transition
¤ Bloody Response to Iraq Power Handover
¤ Iraq: The Big Manipulation
¤ U.S.-Led Forces Would Back Martial Law, Bush Says
¤ Bremer Leaves, His Puppets Remain
¤ The Pitiful Restoration of "SOVEREIGNTY"
¤ Bush Off and Don't Come Back
¤ Handover 'sham' says beheaded man's dad
¤ Filmmaker Describes Humiliation and Sexual Abuse in Iraq
¤ News folks scramble to cover Iraq turnover
¤ France Blocks U.S. on Elite Force for Afghanistan
¤ A Pitiful Occasion for the People
¤ Shameless in Iraq
¤ Pampered Bush Meets a Real Reporter
¤ The warmongers 'love' the troops, until they come home . . . damaged
¤ The president is a liar
¤ Ministers attacked for Iraq WMD response
¤ Making Policy Backwards
¤ US abruptly cedes power in attempt to spike guns of insurgents
¤ British soldier killed in Basra bomb attack
¤ US hostage 'shot dead by captors'
¤ Exit Emperor Bremer
¤ On Baghdad's streets, a guarded optimism
¤ Explosions rock post-handover Baghdad
¤ IDF kills four in Gaza, including boy in house
¤ For Bush, a chance to change headlines
¤ Seven Afghan cops killed by gunmen disguised as soldiers
¤ What restored 'sovereignty' means for Iraq's economy, security and politics
¤ Mother of Slain Korean: 'The Govt Killed My Son'
¤ Regime Change in Iraq a Sham, Say Mideast Experts
¤ Saudi London ambassador re-iterates Zionist al-Qaeda links
¤ Zarqawi Voice Analysis - Results
¤ Neocons worship money and power
¤ U.S. Edicts Curb Power Of Iraq's Leadership
¤ We Knew Iraq Was Disarmed
¤ Purported Iraqi group executes US soldier
¤ Militant group murders soldier hostage
¤ Angry Chirac puts Bush in his place
¤ Supreme court blow for Bush on Guantánamo
¤ 80% of Iraqis want US to stop patrolling cities
¤ US resumes diplomatic ties with Libya despite murder plot claim
¤ Supreme Court Deals Bush Major Defeat on Detainees
¤ Army Plans Involuntary Call-Up of Thousands
¤ Iraq war casualties mounting for U.S. citizen soldiers
¤ Why Didn't They Speak Out Earlier?
¤ How Hitler Became a Dictator
¤ Role Reversal
Supreme Court Deals Blow to War on Terror
Posted: Monday, June 28, 2004
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court severely limited the Bush administration's war on terrorism on Monday and allowed cases brought by terror suspects challenging their confinement to proceed in the American legal system.
The surprising moves by the high court came in a series of term-ending decisions that pitted civil liberties concerns against national security arguments and marked a blow to President Bush's assertion of sweeping presidential powers after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In one ruling the court said the hundreds of foreign terror suspects at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba could turn to American courts to challenge their confinement. In another ruling it said an American held in his nation is entitled to procedural protections to contest his detention.
"Today's historic rulings are a strong repudiation of the administration's argument that its actions in the war on terrorism are beyond the rule of law and unreviewable by American courts," Steven Shapiro of the American Civil Liberties Union said.
Full Article : commondreams.org
Latest News
Posted: Monday, June 28, 2004
¤ Schröder to Reiterate No Troop Pledge at NATO Iraq Summit
¤ Fuelling suspicion: the coalition and Iraq's oil billions
¤ World welcomes Iraqi handover, some wonder what difference it will make
¤ Bremer Flees Iraq Two Days Early
¤ Israeli Copters Fire at Media Building
¤ Helping Israel on a False and Dangerous Course
¤ Iraq: A State That's Not a State
¤ There is No Justification for Torture
¤ Grisly Rituals in Iraq
¤ The Deafening Noise in the Occupied Territories
¤ What Did Bush Know?
¤ Wolfowitz: US Troops May Be in Iraq for Years
¤ 'Foreign Hands' Behind Iraq Blasts: Experts
¤ Iraq chaos a result of blinkered arrogance
¤ Explosions rock post-handover Baghdad
¤ Arabs cautious over handover
¤ Iraqis sceptical as 'power' is transferred
¤ Box Office Tally Climbs for 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
¤ This holiday, watch out for those exploding beer coolers
¤ Iraq's missing oil billions
¤ 'Failure to account' for Iraq cash
¤ $20m 'hole' in Iraqi funds held by US-led authority
¤ Iraq Occupation Erodes Bush Doctrine
¤ Same shame, different site: the Afghan gulag
¤ The Eclipse of Regime Change
¤ Five Israeli soldiers dead in Gaza blast
¤ The US and Britain - losing the moral war (part—I)
¤ Bush’s Iraq war represents monument to folly
¤ Escape From Iraq!
¤ U.S. Transfers Sovereignty to Iraqi Govt.
¤ Phony Baloney
¤ Handover or Hangover?
¤ Adam Hochschild on hubris and the pseudostate
¤ Chirac leads resistance as Bush courts Nato allies
¤ Politics gets personal
¤ A Boy and His Nukes
Flashback ¤ The US is not there to leave
¤ Don't dismiss 'terrorists'
Flashback ¤ Decapitation video "a fraud"
¤ 9-11 Questions
¤ Claim reparations
¤ War Crimes Plea, and Time for Justice
¤ Another 'Chechen trace' in Iraq
¤ So You Want The Truth?
¤ Al-Jazeera: U.S. Marine taken hostage
¤ Palestinians kill 2 Israelis
¤ Iraq handover completed - ahead of schedule
¤ Captive US marine faces execution in Iraq
¤ Settlement targeted after Gaza attack
¤ IAEA: Israel should end its nuclear threat
¤ Scores killed in Iraq-wide attacks
¤ Insurgency Leaves U.S. Forces Baffled
¤ Source: Israel ready to help security in Iraq
¤ Rice reaffirms link between Iraq and al-Qaeda
¤ For the allies of America, price of support is rising
¤ Erdogan's Israeli dilemma
¤ Bush tours through the deserted streets of Europe
¤ Blair bonded with Clinton, but he shares his beliefs with Bush
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, June 27, 2004
¤ Bogus End To A Bogus War
¤ The Virgin Oilfields of Iraq
¤ Reports: 5 Israeli Troops Killed in Blast
¤ The fatal flaw in the 9/11 coverup
¤ Bush Caught in a Lie About the 9/11 WTC Attacks
¤ The 9/11 Commission Finishes Its Dirty Works
¤ 'Al-Qaeda' is a Manufactured Intelligence Front
¤ 5 Israeli Troops Killed in Blast
¤ U.S. Says Iraqis Rehiring Saddam Army Members
¤ ‘America will wake up to the deaths of their children in Iraq’
¤ Iraq Invasion Media Bias and Deception
¤ IRAQ: What handover?
¤ Rumsfeld admits terror war doubts
¤ Rumsfeld: More U.S. Troops for Iraq Not Essential
¤ Czech PM intends to resign Wednesday
¤ More Than 40,000 Protest Bush in Turkey
¤ Scores killed in Iraq-wide attacks
¤ Making The World Less Safe For Americans
¤ Angry White House pulls RTE interview
¤ Palestinian, Israeli die in clashes
¤ Iraq: War go on
¤ Bush should 'fess up about sovereignty
¤ Fearful Iraq sets out on journey to the unknown
¤ American right vows to settle score as Bush's nemesis turns up the heat
¤ Suspected Taliban Kill 10 Afghans
¤ Three Turks Held in Iraq; Blast Kills 40
¤ Hitler Image Used in Bush Campaign Web Ad
¤ Your time is up, George
¤ Democracy's chance
¤ Bush's re-election hopes slide as Iraq prisoner abuse scandal deepens
¤ Activists cry foul in electronic voting furore
¤ Promises, promises: the true cost of freedom for the people
¤ New Iraqi police fight US troops who trained them
¤ Reagan aide slams neo-con policies
¤ Dozens of Iraqis Die In Violence in 3 Cities
¤ Looking for justification to invade Iran
¤ Reagan aide slams neo-con policies
¤ Looking at the Costs if Iraq Goes Up in Smoke
¤ U.S. Edicts Curb Power Of Iraq's Leadership
¤ Saudi envoy's Zionist claims 'are offensive'
¤ McAleese warns Bush over torture of POWs
¤ A legacy of fear
¤ Pakistan Muslim League (N) Leader Bin Yamin Rizvi Assassinated
¤ Taking a toll on credibility
¤ US 'losing fight against terror'
¤ 12 villagers shot dead in held Kashmir
¤ Two female election workers die in Afghan bus bombing
¤ Pipelines or pipe dreams?
Speakout
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004
Picture of Venezuela's Chavez twisted
In 1998, Hugo Chavez was elected president with almost 60 percent of the votes, incredibly overthrowing the entrenched and well-financed elite that had controlled the country for decades. That elite has never forgiven him and today is doing everything possible to tumble him. Sadly, the U.S. government and mass media have joined in this very undemocratic effort.
Their accusations have some common themes. First, Chavez is a communist because of his close association with Cuba. Is George W. Bush a communist because the U.S. has close ties with China?
Full Article : venezuelanalysis.com
Recycled Misinformation:
Venezuela's Media as Pentagon Source
Venezuela: Replay of Chile and Nicaragua?
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004
Venezuela: the Gang's All Here
Replay of Chile and Nicaragua?
By Alexander Cockburn, www.counterpunch.org
You can set your watch by it. The minute some halfway decent government in Latin America begins to reverse the order of things and give the have-nots a break from the grind of poverty and wretchedness, the usual suspects in El Norte rouse themselves from the slumber of indifference and start barking furiously about democratic norms. It happened in 1973 in Chile; we saw it again in Nicaragua in the 1980s; and here’s the same show on summer rerun in Venezuela, pending the August 15 recall referendum of President Hugo Chávez.
Chávez is the best thing that has happened to Venezuela’s poor in a very long time. His government has actually delivered on some of its promises, with improved literacy rates and more students getting school meals. Public spending has quadrupled on education and tripled on healthcare, and infant mortality has declined. The government is promoting one of the most ambitious land-reform programs seen in Latin America in decades.
Most of this has been done under conditions of economic sabotage. Oil strikes, a coup attempt and capital flight have resulted in about a 4 percent decline in GDP for the five years that Chávez has been in office. But the economy is growing at close to 12 percent this year, and with world oil prices near $40 a barrel, the government has extra billions that it’s using for social programs. So naturally the United States wants him out, just as the rich in Venezuela do. Chávez was re-elected in 2000 for a six-year term. A US-backed coup against him was badly botched in 2002. Full Article
Chilling call to murder as music attacks gays
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004
Jamaican rights activist's death is officially said to be motivated by robbery, but campaigners point to pop-fuelled homophobia
In the heat of January in Jamaica 30,000 people came to the Rebel Salute concert in St. Elizabeth to hear some of the nation's most popular singers deliver a chilling call. With Capleton and Sizzla singing almost exclusively about gay men, the call went out from the stadium:
"Kill dem battybwoys haffi dead, gun shots pon dem ... who want to see dem dead put up his hand" (Kill them, the queers have to die, gun shots in their head ... put up your hand if you want to see them dead.)
Two weeks ago Jamaica's most prominent gay activist, Brian Williamson, was murdered at his home. Mr Williamson, a co-founder of Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, All-sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), was found with multiple stab wounds to his neck and his face and his throat cut.
Full Article : guardian.co.uk
Venezuela: the Gang's All Here
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004
Replay of Chile and Nicaragua?
By Alexander Cockburn, www.counterpunch.org
You can set your watch by it. The minute some halfway decent government in Latin America begins to reverse the order of things and give the have-nots a break from the grind of poverty and wretchedness, the usual suspects in El Norte rouse themselves from the slumber of indifference and start barking furiously about democratic norms. It happened in 1973 in Chile; we saw it again in Nicaragua in the 1980s; and here’s the same show on summer rerun in Venezuela, pending the August 15 recall referendum of President Hugo Chávez.
Chávez is the best thing that has happened to Venezuela’s poor in a very long time. His government has actually delivered on some of its promises, with improved literacy rates and more students getting school meals. Public spending has quadrupled on education and tripled on healthcare, and infant mortality has declined. The government is promoting one of the most ambitious land-reform programs seen in Latin America in decades.
Most of this has been done under conditions of economic sabotage. Oil strikes, a coup attempt and capital flight have resulted in about a 4 percent decline in GDP for the five years that Chávez has been in office. But the economy is growing at close to 12 percent this year, and with world oil prices near $40 a barrel, the government has extra billions that it’s using for social programs. So naturally the United States wants him out, just as the rich in Venezuela do. Chávez was re-elected in 2000 for a six-year term. A US-backed coup against him was badly botched in 2002. Full Article
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, June 26, 2004
¤ Venezuela: Replay of Chile and Nicaragua?
¤ Israeli Troops Kill Palestinians in Raid
¤ Iyad Allawi, the CIA's New Stooge in Iraq
¤ Dick Cheney, the New York Times and the Myth of the Iraq Connection to 9/11
¤ That Terrorism Report
¤ Another Case of Blowback
¤ The Failure of the 9/11 Commission
¤ Saddam’s Phone Call to Osama
¤ Ring of steel welcome for Bush
¤ What `October Surprise' might be in store for Americans this fall?
¤ Who's on first? Who's on second? Who's really the terrorist?
¤ Abandon the Battlefield!
¤ The Bush-Rumsfeld Diagnostic Manual
¤ Wolfowitz apologises for calling journalists in Baghdad cowards
¤ Al-Zarqawi, An American False Flag Operative
Flashack ¤ Iraq militants claim al-Zarqawi is dead
¤ Fake Terrorism Witness Charged With Lying
¤ New leaders in desperate bid to curb Iraq violence
¤ Wolfowitz apologises for calling journalists in Baghdad cowards
¤ The multibillion robbery the US calls reconstruction
¤ Politician Killed in Pakistani City
¤ Italian police on trial over G8 summit beatings
¤ Three Dead, 10 Hurt in Afghan Explosion
¤ Three Killed in Attack on Iraq Offices
¤ US lashes out in Fallujah as new leader Allawi defies insurgents
¤ Petrol tanker explosion kills 90 in Iran
¤ Iraq Violence Takes Toll on Civilians
¤ U.S. Stuck In Iraq
¤ Koreas Sidestep U.S. to Forge Political and Pragmatic Links
¤ Iraqi Insurgents Are Surprisingly Cohesive
¤ White House Counting on Public Apathy
¤ U.S. device seen at Iran nuclear site
¤ Liberation will only come when the Americans leave
¤ The multibillion robbery the US calls reconstruction
¤ Questions about credibility
¤ UN demands access to Guantanamo detainees
¤ Hidden costs of pipeline meant to safeguard West's oil supply
¤ Family of convicted deserter claims mistreatment of soldier at Fort Sill
¤ US to impose sanctions on Darfur militia members
¤ UN takes over Haiti's security
¤ US restricts new Iraqi Army's capabilities
¤ Bush Gets Chilly Reception on Eve of Meeting in Ireland
¤ Over 60 Days, Troops Suppressed an Uprising
¤ Cheney Defends Use Of Four-Letter Word
¤ Bush Says Europe Supports U.S. on Iraq
¤ Thousands march against Bush in Dublin
¤ Bitter wages of war
¤ Two slaughtered in held Kashmir
¤ Roll out the oil barrels
¤ Where Children Laugh at Bombs
¤ Three Killed in Attack on Iraq Offices
¤ Two Palestinians killed in Nablus raid
¤ UN: Palestinians need protection
¤ US restricts new Iraqi Army's capabilities
Latest News
Posted: Friday, June 25, 2004
¤ Bush Administration Lied About Secret Saudi Flight
¤ Thank You, Michael Moore
¤ U.S. Kills as Many as 25 People in Fallujah Strike
¤ The Part Of The 9-11 Story Michael Moore Missed!
¤ We Have Always Spent Iraqi Money on That
¤ Nation and World Pay Enormous Price for Bush's Inadequacies
¤ Why US Must Face its Role as Torturer
¤ The News Media's Political "F" Word
¤ Moore Takes Aim At Bush, Networks
¤ Another rationale for war is gone
¤ Big Blow to Big Media
¤ Depravity and Barbarity in Iraq
¤ Ukraine seamen detail Iraq prison torture
¤ TV crewman 'died in Iraq gunbattle'
¤ Intelligence officers tied to death coverup
¤ This is the only fun the kids get - shooting at the US sitting ducks
¤ Bush: War not inciting terrorists
¤ Detention Dilemma
¤ U.S. Must Exit Iraq Now, Ex-Inspector Says
¤ Israel Forces Make Biggest Incursion Into West Bank Town
¤ The Coalition Mirage
¤ Americans were 'bushwhacked,' weapons inspector Ritter says
¤ US Covered Up Kim Abduction to Ensure South Korean Troop Dispatch
¤ Wag the fag
¤ Israel and Iran chart collision course
¤ US forces bomb Falluja
¤ Ninety die in Iranian tanker crash
¤ Israeli troops kill Palestinian youth
¤ 'Spy game'
¤ The Baghdad Follies
¤ Attorney General's Reclassification of Information Critical of FBI Is Illegal
¤ Bush's Bizarro World Cartoon
¤ Changing the Dialogue
¤ U.S. Indictment of Indonesian Denounced
¤ Iran frees eight British sailors
¤ Blasts Rock Turbulent City of Fallujah
¤ Bush will have nothing to celebrate if he comes here
¤ Iraq havoc as 100 die in attacks
¤ 100 Iraqis Killed in Wave of Attacks
¤ Baqouba Sealed Off as U.S. Forces Lose Control of City
¤ Pentagon: Document Not Proof of al-Qaeda-Iraq Alliance
¤ Power slips from hands of US pro-consul
¤ Iraq erupts in orgy of killing and car bombs
¤ Adversary's Tactics Leave Troops Surprised, Exhausted
¤ Saddam complains about treatment
¤ Exporting Violence
¤ Explosions rock Fallujah
¤ Paper says Turkish FM leaked Mossad, Kurd story
¤ Four killed as bomb blasts rock Istanbul ahead of Nato summit
¤ Video captures L.A. beating
¤ Day of resistance attacks
¤ More police killed in Iraq
¤ Israeli army storms Nablus again
¤ US troops 'suffocated' Iraqi general
¤ Iraqi cities ablaze in run-up to handover
¤ The Paper Trail
¤ The Neocons Earn an 'F'
¤ Troops at Iraq abuse hearing tell of inmate's death
¤ U.S. Lawyers Use Legalisms to Cover Lawlessness
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, June 24, 2004
¤ 69 dead as violence sweeps Iraq
¤ Security a shambles ahead of handover
¤ Turkey hit by bomb blasts
¤ Gore: Bush Lied About al-Qaida, Iraq Link
¤ 92 killed in multiple attacks in Iraq
¤ Wave of insurgent attacks in Iraq kills 89
¤ Bad Voting Habits
¤ Scores Killed as Insurgents Launch Attacks Across Iraq
¤ America's Amnesia
¤ Bush Administration counts financial and human cost of Iraq war
¤ Korean Airline Unions Refuse to Transport Troops to Iraq
¤ The Media Repeats A Story Full Of Lies
¤ National Congress of American Indians Resolution
¤ Cheney Curses Senator Over Halliburton Criticism
¤ The Dots That Don't Connect
¤ The Lexicographers
¤ Another Rationale for War is Gone
¤ Mercenary Hits It Big, Thanks to the U.S.
¤ "Still to be Confirmed" (But, Meanwhile, Please Believe It!)
¤ Mission Unaccomplished
¤ Now that we own Iraq, stick to claims we can prove
¤ UN rebuff to the US: A Pyrrhic victory
¤ Iraq Attacks Kill Over 100, Wound 320
¤ US troops 'suffocated' Iraqi general
¤ Brutal methods endorsed for Guantanamo
¤ Iran puts off release of UK sailors
¤ Beheading fuels debate over Korean troop dispatch
¤ Deceptive times
¤ Changing minds the global way
¤ US drops war crimes immunity bid
¤ ONCE UPON A TIME...
¤ How Israel Created The Myth of Al-Qaeda
¤ Saddam Suddenly Looks Innocent
¤ The Final Victim of 9/11
¤ The Con Game Called Democracy
¤ Why the Neocons Get an 'F' For Failure
¤ Security a shambles ahead of handover
¤ Insurgents Kill Seven People in Iraq
¤ Israeli Soldiers Kill Two Palestinians
¤ Bush memos show stance on torture
¤ Reality is unravelling for Bush
¤ Danger money for expats as the Saudi exodus grows
¤ Techniques 'amount to torture'
¤ Losing humanitarian perspective in Afghanistan
¤ General promised quick results if Gitmo plan used at Abu Ghraib
¤ U.S. Iraq force may grow by 25,000
¤ War on what?
¤ Iraq War Analysis Paints Grim Picture
¤ UN Panel Says CPA is Mismanaging Iraq's Oil Revenues
¤ Iraq's 'Sovereign' Government to Have Little Control Over Oil Money
¤ CIA planned guerrilla campaign in Iran to counter communists in 1953
¤ At work, Colonel Mohammed defuses the bombs in Baghdad.
¤ Britain's Guantanamo
¤ US kills 20 foreign fighters
¤ Execution in Iraq stirs up hornets' nest
¤ Insurgents launch simultaneous attacks on police stations in Ramadi
¤ Insurgents attack police, killing 17
If a soldier orders you to take off your clothes, you must obey
Posted: Wednesday, June 23, 2004
'They said this is America . . . if a soldier orders you to take off your clothes, you must obey'
www.guardian.co.uk
We know about Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib but until now Bagram and America's secret network of Afghan jails have come under little scrutiny. In a major investigation, Duncan Campbell and Suzanne Goldenberg discovered a familiar pattern of violent abuse and sexual humiliation
Full Article
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, June 23, 2004
¤ Attorney General's Reclassification of Information Critical of FBI Is Illegal
¤ Barry Bonds vs. Boston
¤ Bush and Castro Face Off
¤ They Arrested Me and Shackled the Feet of My Son
¤ The Road to Abu Ghraib
¤ Bush's Accurate Case for War
¤ Bush's Mistaken View of U.S. Democracy
¤ Revolving Lies
¤ Fuzzing It Up
¤ Cheney-Speak
¤ A 'Sovereign' Iraq? Don't You Believe It
¤ Iraq: 1984
¤ Firm of Slain Korean Set to Suspend Iraq Business
¤ Raiding Iraq's piggy bank
¤ U.S. drops demand to exempt troops from war crimes
¤ Lies Yet To Come
¤ 'Declaring victory does not make it so'
¤ Afghan detainees routinely tortured and humiliated by US troops
¤ Saving face
¤ If a soldier orders you to take off your clothes, you must obey
¤ Two nations under God
¤ Clinton's real legacy? Disappointment
¤ Abuse of power makes U.S. weak
¤ Audience Gasps As Judge Likens Election Of Bush To Rise Of Il Duce
¤ Bush Claimed Right to Waive Torture Laws
¤ Afghan Troops Behead 4 Suspected Taliban
¤ Anti-terror war 'pretext for abuses'
¤ FBI Probing Anti-Bush Teddy Bear
¤ 20,000 felons could be cleared to vote, Gov. Bush says
¤ Democrat shrink takes unflattering look into depths of Bush
¤ Iraq ministers told only US can impose martial law
¤ Memo on Interrogation Tactics Is Disavowed
¤ CIA: No Iraqi officer link in al-Qaida meeting
¤ U.S. Approved Use of Dogs Against Prisoners
¤ A Tale of Two Free Countries
¤ 'Our Duty Is to Export Violence'
¤ On Iraq, White House treats public like children
¤ Afraid To Say What We Think
¤ Powell gave U.N. 'ambiguous' data on Iraqi weapons
¤ Two US soldiers among 10 killed in Iraq
¤ Iran orders release of British troops
¤ Breaking silence over the horrors of Hebron
¤ U.S. hires Briton with spotty past
¤ Two US soldiers killed
¤ Pentagon's Wolfowitz Says Iraq Is No U.S. Quagmire
¤ Three more die in Baghdad attacks
¤ Archives prove CIA intrigue in Iran
¤ Woman and child dead in Baghdad blast
¤ Korea to press ahead with Iraq deployment
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, June 22, 2004
¤ The Pretence of an Independent Iraq
¤ US in search of allies in Afghanistan
¤ Intelligence experts cast doubt on ties between Iraq, al-Qaida
¤ Without A Hearing
¤ 'White (House) lies'
¤ Israel, US Use Similar Torture Tactics: Report
¤ Bush Claimed Right to Waive Torture Laws
¤ Presidential Elections Should Be for All of Us
¤ Democracy Isn't Working
¤ Afghans behead Taliban in revenge for beheadings
¤ U.S. will continue holding Saddam after transfer of power
¤ Records examine Guantanamo suicide bids
¤ Guantanamo suicides followed arrival of new general
¤ France renews refusal to send Iraq troops
¤ Security firm's $293m deal under scrutiny
¤ UN slams U.S. over spending Iraq funds
¤ Korean captive killed after deadline passes
¤ South Korean hostage executed
¤ An Open Letter to the People of Iraq
¤ Where are the Women in the New Iraq?
¤ Propaganda Creep
¤ Truth About Iraq Finally Has Its Pants On
¤ Bush's Credibility Gap Widens
¤ Fresh US raid on Falluja
¤ Palestinians reject Arab 'security role'
¤ S Koreans press for U-turn on troop despatch
¤ Militants in Iraq Kill South Korean Hostage
¤ Chechen Rebels Raid Russia's Ingushetia; Minister Among 46 Dead
¤ Am-Bushed
¤ CIA: No Iraqi officer link
¤ Ideology blinded Cheney
¤ Most Guantanamo Detainees Pose No Threat
¤ Iran to prosecute British crew: report
¤ U.S. Soldier Killed in Iraq
¤ Attacks launched on Ingushetian capital
¤ US senator: Bush made world more dangerous
¤ South Korean nationals to leave Iraq
¤ Most Americans reject Iraq war: poll
¤ Lecturer and spouse killed in Mosul
¤ Castro warns Bush against launching military attack
¤ How Reagan armed Saddam with chemical weapons — Part III
¤ Who is obstructing the search for peace?
¤ Tricky Dick and the Truth
¤ The Afghan Bungle
¤ The Presidency Is Above the Law
¤ DRY-DRUNK PRESIDENT LOSING HIS GRIP?
¤ Illegitimacy haunts Iraq adventure
¤ British commandos download linked file
¤ 163 Coups Flash
¤ Al Qaeda Link To Iraq May Be Confusion Over Names
¥ Still spinning
¤ Israel's Intelligence Scandal
¤ Media's reaction to White House comments remains strange
¤ 'Bush Is a Great Actor'
¤ The Secrets of Occupation: Scott Taylor on Iraq
¤ Crossing Interests: How to Become a Senior Iraqi Leader
¤ Handover to Iraqis will be hush-hush affair
¤ Australians tell Bush: stay out of it
¤ US warns against 'fortress Australia'
¤ Seoul blames US for withholding kidnapping info
Latest News
Posted: Monday, June 21, 2004
¤ Haiti After the Press Went Home Chaos Upon Chaos
¤ Did Ashcroft 'Behead' an Innocent Man?
¤ Who Was Really In Charge?
¤ After June 30, detainees must be charged
¤ Lies of Our Times
¤ Bad news from Israel
¤ All the world's troubles in one word - oil
¤ Abu Ghraib must not be torn down, judge rules
¤ Iraqis see U.S. sham as abuse trials open
¤ The Sour Smell of Spoiled Ballots
¤ 'Using, abusing 9/11 fears to set national security policy'
¤ Freedom, Incorporated
¤ US feels heat of dragon's breath
¤ No one expects the Spanish Inquisition
¤ Attackers Kill Minister on Chechen Border
¤ US occupation soldiers killed in Iraq
¤ Iran seizes three British naval boats
¤ Iraqi Body Count
¤ Iraq Insurgents Gun Down 4 U.S. Marines
¤ Israelis 'using Kurds to build power base'
¤ Iraq's new 'iron fist' threatens martial law
¤ Battle Veterans Barely Out of Their Teens
¤ Mosul Bomb Kills 4 Iraqis
¤ Paul Bremer's Rough Ride
¤ Doubts over Saudi al-Qaeda blow
¤ US tactics in raid raise concerns
¤ Israel's Intelligence Scandal
¤ UK troops accused of mutilating Iraqi bodies
¤ Baghdad bobby
¤ Israelis 'using Kurds to build power base'
¤ World Bank rebuked for fossil fuel strategy
¤ Militants claim Saudi security helped killers
¤ US Exaggerated Value of Guantanamo Detainees
¤ Loyal Americans' Statement About U.S. Policies Pulls No Punches
¤ Fabricating terrorism to win U.S. approval
¤ Native Americans v Scots industrial giant: a $1bn lawsuit over salmon
¤ More Neocraziness
¤ Kerry: a Lighter Shade of Bush
¤ ''The Weakness in the White House: The President''
¤ Changing fortunes lead Soviet Jews from Israel to Russia
¤ 35 killed in Iraq clashes
¤ The U.S. is tripping over cloaks and daggers
¤ Colin Powell's Vanishing Credibility
¤ America in expectation of a major terrorist attack
¤ U.S. authorities quietly spend Iraqi oil revenue
¤ 700 Iraqi Civilians Killed by Americans in Fallujah Never Seen on American TV
¤ Official Denies Heart Attack Killed Afghan Prisoner
¤ Bush Uses Death To Promote War!
¤ Judge Declares Abu Ghraib a Crime Scene
¤ Bush wanted on stand in abuse trial
¤ Israeli warplanes strike south Lebanon
¤ S Korea: Iraq troop deployment to proceed
¤ Court Condones Media Lies
Fishy reports on Beheaded US Hostage - Johnson
Posted: Sunday, June 20, 2004
This was CNN's report: June 19, 2004
Al Qaeda militants kill American hostage
His body was found Friday in northern Riyadh soon after an Islamist Web site posted photographs of his decapitated body.
U.S. officials said the remains were "definitely" Johnson's.
Yahoo! News: Sun, Jun 20, 2004
Saudis Search for Slain Hostage's Body
Saudi officials had reported that Johnson's body was found Friday dumped on the northern outskirts of the capital, hours after his captors killed and decapitated him and posted Web photos of his severed head. But officials backtracked Saturday. "We haven't found the body yet," said Adel al-Jubeir, foreign affairs adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah in Washington. "We think we know the area where it is."
Whose remains did US officials identify as "definitely" Johnson's?
al-Qaida Head Justifies Targeting Johnson??
Al-Moqrin replied to critics urging the release of Johnson, saying: "Do those people want to see this infidel carry on the killing of the children and the raping of the women in Baghdad and Kabul?"
Al-Moqrin, believed to be the top al-Qaida figure in Saudi Arabia, was killed along with three other militants in a Riyadh gunbattle Friday night, hours after photos of Johnson's body and severed head were posted on Web site.
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, June 20, 2004
¤ Facts vs. fiction
¤ Conflicting reports on Johnson - Slain US Hostage
¤ Hezbollah fighters moved to Iraq
¥ So it's no longer al-Qaeda?
¤ Missile strike by US kills 22 civilians in Iraq
¤ Marine Killed by Hostile Fire in Iraq
¤ Execution prompts fears of exodus by key foreign workers
¤ Bomb Near Baghdad Kills 2 Iraqi Soldiers
¤ The Iraqi who sold his life to the Americans
¤ Fatal illusions
¤ Financially ailing companies point to Iraq war
¤ US Lacks Votes for Immunity from War Crimes Court
¤ Security is mainly for the Americans
¤ Conspiracy threat to anti-nuke treaty
¤ Four US soldiers face Abu Ghraib torture hearings
¤ Cheney in firing line over Nigerian bribery claims
¤ Kurds Advancing to Reclaim Land in Northern Iraq
¤ Ministry of Defence accused of 'buying silence of families' over civilian deaths
¤ Doubt Cast Over Afghan Abuse Defense Claim
¤ Three-Month-Old Baby Ali Dies in Iraq
¤ Viagra in demand as desire for sex declines amid war
¤ Nader criticizes US bias to Israel
¤ No Saudi Payment to Qaeda Is Found
¤ US-Saudi relations rocked by terrorism
¤ Assassination in a wounded city
¤ O'Reilly: Iraqi people are "primitive," "prehistoric group"
¤ When the pieces don’t fit
¤ Why we went to war awaits honest answer
¤ 'American extremists'
¤ Dick Cheney and the $5 Million Man
¤ Saddam's regime tied to secondary players
¤ Iraq: US Attack in Fallujah Killed Only Civilians
¤ Iraq police dismiss US claims in Falluja
¤ US troops, militia clash in Sadr City
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, June 19, 2004
¤ Back to the Past Turning Haiti into One Big Sweatshop
¤ Lying by Divine Right?
¤ Footsteps of a Fool
¤ An Open Letter to John Ashcroft
¤ U.S. Attacks, Kills 16
¤ Many Iraqis killed in air raid on Falluja
¤ US widens warning to entire Gulf
¤ Mohammed Atta's industrial-strength passport
¤ A war sold on deception
¤ Tracing the Halliburton money trail to Nigeria
¤ US Army covers up an ‘embarrassment’
¤ Think Tanks and the Brainwashing of America
¤ How the US Occupation Went Wrong
¤ U.S. Air Strike Kills 22 in Iraq - Witnesses
¤ U.S. Missiles Kill 20 Fallujah Residents
¤ US killed hundreds of Iraqi civilians in “precision” strikes
¤ Latest horror could destroy President of divided nation
¤ George Bush's Big Lie Grows Bigger
¤ John Kerry and Israel -- The Record
¤ Someone claiming to be Al Qaeda militants kill American hostage
¤ Saudis: Hostage's Slayers Die in Shootout
¥ How Convenient
¤ Bush told he is playing into Bin Laden's hands
¤ 3,000 more UK troops for Iraq
¤ Leaders of 9/11 Panel Ask Cheney for Reports
¤ More Bush Doctrine Fallout
¤ Noble lies and perpetual war
¤ Iraq-Nam
¤ Marshall Law in Iraq
¤ Small-town families did not expect war on terror to hit them so hard
¤ US Urges Its Citizens in Saudi Arabia to Leave
¤ Clinton: I told Bush of bin Laden and he changed the subject
¤ Pakistan gets its man - dead
¤ Honesty will have to wait
¤ Brazening It Out
¤ British MPs come under machine gun fire from Israel
¤ Syria plans U.S. Accountability Act
¤ Rumsfeld, Rice tied to torture in Iraq
¤ US Media's Dirty Little Secret
¤ Industrial nations tie foreign aid to support for “war on terror”
¤ Bush and Cheney Won't Give Up the Lie
¤ 'Here in Baghdad, you can't tell the puppets without a program'
China tells Bush to face facts on Iraq
Posted: Saturday, June 19, 2004
"The United States would do itself and the world a huge favour by establishing a closer relationship with reality rather than wrestling with its own version of the truth, as the international credibility of American military intelligence is simply of zero value," said the China Daily. Full Article
Brazening It Out
www.lewrockwell.com
"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al-Qaeda," U.S. President George W. Bush told reporters Thursday, is "because there was a relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda."
This is what logicians call a tautology, or a "useless repetition," as the dictionary defines it, but it is also an indication of how the Bush administration is defending itself against a growing number of scandals and deceptions in which it finds itself enmeshed.
Repetition and blaming the media, an old standby, of which Vice President Dick Cheney and Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld are particularly fond dating back to their service under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford 30 years ago, are back in vogue. Full Article
George Bush's Big Lie Grows Bigger
www.thousandreasons.org
George Bush understands that most Americans don't have the time, energy, or interest necessary to keep up with current events. How else can we explain the paradox of his expanding claims of close connections between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein and the 9-11 Commission's statement on the same day that there were none?
According to Reuters, Bush sent e-mail today claiming that the "9-11 Commission Staff Report Confirms Administration's Views of al Qaeda/Iraq Ties." This came just hours after the 9-11 commission reported that there was no evidence of a "collaborative relationship." This is the commission Bush never wanted. Under intense political pressure he eventually allowed it to begin its work, but even then hindered its efforts. He even refused to appear before them alone or to have his joint appearance with Cheney recorded or transcribed. But the commission has been thorough in their work, and their conclusions will not easily be challenged.
Reuters offers an explanation of Bush's apparent blindness to the Commission's conclusions: He is "employing a common campaign tactic, shaping public perception through repetition." In other words, he is lying. He is repeating the same lie so many times -- along with Cheney and other members of his staff -- to sow confusion. Eventually, the theory goes, those of us who aren't paying attention will be as likely to believe Bush as the truth. full article
Also Read:
The missing link
Latest News
Posted: Friday, June 18, 2004
¤ Reality blurs Bush's rosy Afghan vision
¤ Annan says Iraq too dangerous for UN return
¤ Vacation from Iraq means 'death road' to airport
¤ Security force hopefuls killed in Iraq blast
¤ Afghan UN refugees agency office attacked
¤ Afghan militia forces governor out
¤ Why does M.Atta have an Israeli accent?
¤ Bush defends his lies: al Qaeda-Iraq links exist because I say they exist
¤ 'Bush-Kerry: Meaning the same thing?'
¤ The invasion and occupation of Iraq has been a rousing success.
¤ The Dumbing Down of America
¤ 'Torture as an executive privilege'
¤ Baghdad Attacks Kill 1 American, 3 Iraqis
¤ Marines Don't Cry, We Kill
¤ Presidential Campaigns and Media Charades
¤ The Dogs of War
¤ The Enduring Triumph of Bush
¤ The "Long Established" Link...?
¤ Saudi forces kill alleged al-Qaida chief
¤ US captive executed in Saudi Arabia
¤ al-Qaida Leader Killed in Saudi Raid
¤ China tells Bush to face facts on Iraq
¤ NO IRAQ LINK TO SEPTEMBER 11 PLOT, US report finds
¤ Iraq gave al-Qaida a base, says Blair
¤ Cheney misleads when he suggests Iraq is linked to al-Qaida attack
¤ Defiant Bush and Blair insist Saddam had al-Qa'ida links
¤ The missing link Read Next Link
¤ Bush's Words Come Back to Haunt Him
¤ In quotes: Iraq-al-Qaeda links
¤ Report savages Bush's claim on terror links
¤ A Washington invasion of the body snatchers
¤ Rumsfeld ordered secret detention
¤ Bush backs Rumsfeld detention of Iraqi prisoner
¤ Martial law threatened for Iraq
¤ Iraq as the 51st state
¤ Weapons, weapons everywhere
¤ Bush Hasn't Learned His Democratic Lesson
¤ Land Of The What?
¤ Bush administration is lying even to its own lawyers
¤ Beirut, Iraq
¤ Retired Diplomats, Soldiers Tell Bush to Beat It
¤ Rumors of the Neocons' Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated
¤ Isn’t it time British papers apologised for being wrong about WMD?
¤ Pentagon seeks OK to spy on Americans
¤ On Iran, US tries diplomatic approach
¤ U.N. Admits Mistake in Iran Nuclear Report
¤ Fatima’s letter to George W Bush
¤ Things fall apart
¤ Second bomb targets Iraqi security forces
¤ Tension of the Times
¤ Cheney Authorized Shooting Down Planes
¤ Bombers mock Iraqi security
¤ Abuse reports went unread
¤ Forgive Me, I Was Wrong on Iraq
¤ Saddam lawyer welcomes 9/11 probe
¤ Russia to boost military spending
¤ US gets cosy with Taliban's point man
¤ The oil that troubles US-China waters
¤ New York Times Calls on Bush to Apologize for Iraq
¤ 'Thousands detained at secret US lockups'
Flashback ¤ Guantanamo abuses 'were filmed'
¤ Occupation, resistance battle near Baquba
¤ Chirac hits out at Blair EU tactics
¤ Two-mile Gaza moat to foil tunnels to Egypt
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, June 17, 2004
¤ Annan Against U.S. War Crimes Exemption
¤ I keep lying, you keep dying Cartoon
¤ No 10: Saddam let al-Qaida operate
¥ This is truly desperate
¤ No Iraq link to September 11 plot, US report finds
¤ American Shot Dead in Dominican Republic
¤ Two Car Bombs Kill 41 Iraqis, Wound 138
¤ Baghdad car bomb kills 35
¤ US army officer charged for murder of Sadr follower
¤ U.N. Admits Mistake in Iran Nuclear Report
¤ U.S. indicts CIA contractor in Afghanistan prison death
¤ The Bush-Kerry Conundrum
¤ Geneva Ignored
¤ The Ties That Blind
¤ No troops to Iraq says Indian Minister in London
¤ One law for the Americans
¤ Lack of Iraq link deals blow to Bush's claims
¤ Commission rules out Iraq, al-Qaeda link
¤ Sept. 11 panel finds no Iraq-Al Qaeda link
¤ Cheney Won't Back Down on Saddam-Qaeda Links -Aides
¤ Bush Says Iraq Posed Threat Because of Terror Link
¤ Bush Insists Al Qaida-Saddam Ties Existed
¤ Donkey domestication began in Africa
¥ Can Africa domesticate another ass?
¤ US firm spread hostage video
¤ WMD report 'torpedoes' PM's war reason
¤ America, Israel and the Middle East
¤ Washington Post publishes memo implicating White House in torture
¤ Overview on 911
¤ 9/11 - Are Americans The Victims Of A Hoax?
¤ Kennedy Sidesteps Impeachment Endorsement
¤ US likened to a 'whore'
¤ Rumsfeld admits prisoner was held secretly
¤ 'Cut and run: Transfer of power, my ass'
¤ Connect the Dots
¤ Suicide Car Bombing Kills 35 Outside Iraq Base
¤ 32 Killed, 120 Hurt In Blast Near US Military Base In Baghdad
¤ Official verdict: White House misled world over Saddam
¤ With 9/11 Report, Bush's Political Thorn Grows More Stubborn
¤ Iraq Is Not World War II
¤ So Torture Is Legal?
¤ China's growing influence is hardly Communist expansion
¤ Mohammad Atta and the 911 cover up in Florida
¤ No Evidence of Atta Meeting With Iraqi officer
¤ Another grief-stricken father denounces the occupation
¤ Clinton-haters vs. Bush-bashers? No contest
¤ Fox News Channel's masters of war
¤ Bush, lawful torture and the science of the Vatican
¤ Consequential Lies
¤ New York braced for trouble at Bush rally
¤ Life and Death on Vietnam Street
¤ Transcript: 9/11 Commission Hearings for June 16, 2004
¤ Austrailian Ministers 'kept in dark' on abuses
¤ Hill faces heat over abuse 'whitewash'
¤ Human Rights Watch: Official U.S. Policy to Blame for Torture
¤ G8 Security Clamps Down on Local Residents
¤ Palestinian mass protest halts work on Israel's security wall
¤ US-Iran row heats up
¤ Rumsfeld Issued an Order to Hide Detainee in Iraq
¤ Poll reveals hostility to US and support for rebel cleric
¤ Car Bomb Explosion Kills 30 in Iraq
¤ Baghdad suicide bomb kills 25
¤ Vital oil exports halted after sabotage
¤ Kidnappers find a profitable way to drive out educated families
¤ No Iraq link to September 11 plot, US report finds
¤ Israel goes ahead with expansion of settlements and fence
¤ Portrait of an armistice
¤ Casting informational conventionalities aside
¤ Why They Lie – and Get Away With It
¤ This won't hurt much
¤ Is the US clever enough to rule the world?
¤ Bush awards Pakistan ‘major non-Nato ally’ status
¤ US military on the move
¤ Pipeline blasts cut off Iraq's cash flow
¤ Israel detains Palestinian activists
¤ Australia refuses to acknowledge its implication in torture
Mohammad Atta and the 911 cover up in Florida
Posted: Thursday, June 17, 2004
INN WORLD REPORT
HICKS: The new book is called Welcome to Terrorland, about Mohammad Atta and the 911 cover up in Florida. There is a lot to talk about here. You are unique because a lot of these 911 books are speculative. But you do did two years of independent research in Florida obviously putting yourself through a lot of risk and danger. We want to jump in and talk about Amanda Keller, Mohammad Atta's girlfriend and maybe go to a clip later, but before we do that give us the summary of what you've found in Florida.
HOPSICKER: What I found in Florida was that the government story about the terrorist conspiracy's activities before September 11th is not just an error, it s a lie. The time line is wrong. The FBI's timeline is wrong. Everything they are doing is designed to protect an operation that was under way in southwest Florida that trained, between 1999 and September 2001, literally hundreds of Arabs to fly. In other words, in 1998, there were two or three Arabs learning how to fly, by the end of '99 it was flying hundreds of them. So obviously there was a covert operation going on; the flight school where Mohammad Atta went to, Huffman Aviation in Florida is not a business and was not operating like a business. So it was, and is, something else.
Full interview: www.sanderhicks.com/hopsickerinterview.html
Also reproduced here
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, June 16, 2004
¤ 9/11 commission discounts Saddam-Bin Laden link
¤ US probe finds no Iraq link to 9/11 attacks
¤ And still they lie: Bush backs Cheney on linking Hussein, Al Qaeda
¤ Cheney Claims al-Qaida Linked to Saddam
¤ Bush backs Cheney on assertion linking Hussein, Al Qaeda
¤ US accuses Iran of 'bullying' UN
¥ Please, no one bullies the U.N. except America...
¤ Halliburton Under Renewed Fire for Iraq Deals
¤ Rocket attack on U.S. base kills three U.S. soldiers, wounds 25
¤ China slams US report on Taiwan
¤ Militants kill Iraqi oil chief
¤ Contractors pay rising toll in Iraq
¤ New attack on oil pipeline in Iraq, top oil security official slain
¤ Ex-Soldier Recalls Beating He Received in Guantanamo Drill
¤ U.S. will allow Iraq to try Saddam Hussein, but retain physical custody
¥ What are they hiding?
¤ Back to the Past: Turning Haiti into One Big Sweatshop
¤ Hip Hop Reflections on Ronald Reagan
¤ Boom! Boom! Out Go the Lights
¤ Canada Should Keep its Distance from U.S. Foreign Policy
¤ Rumsfeld & Torture: This Won't Hurt Much
¤ Nine dead in Ramadi blast
¤ Reagan's Family Criticizes Use Of Reagan In Anti-Kerry Ad
¤ The Fireworks Will Fly in 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Movie June 25
¤ Iran takes on west's control of oil trading
¤ Pentagon Broke Contract Laws To Help Halliburton
¤ Bush has a lot to answer for on Iraq torture
¤ Many dead in Indian train crash
¤ 'How many bodies can fit in the trunk of Bush's limo?'
¤ Torturing Mr. Bush
¤ Explosion Kills Three in N. Afghanistan
¤ Soldiers of fortune (contractors) make a killing in Iraq
¤ Stymied in Iraq, Hawks Still Positioning US as Globocop
¤ Halliburton Under Renewed Fire for Iraq Deals
¤ Nothing Blair says suggests he has learned the lessons
¤ At last a Blair apology: I've got to go to lunch
¤ Grilling Colin Powell and Remembering Ronald Reagan
¤ Halliburton Under Renewed Fire for Iraq Deals
¤ Violence Against Female Soldiers Ignored
¤ US Army chief: Iraq "cannot be won militarily"
¤ Former diplomats say Bush is a failure
¤ Saddam's status raises legal complications
¤ Abu Ghraib Informer Feared a Cover-Up
¤ MoD may release photos of abused Iraqis
¤ US terror report misses the mark
¤ Silent witnesses: 20 million civilians lost to the world
¤ Official in Iraqi Oil Company Killed
¤ Guinea accuses Spain of coup plot
¤ Bringing the War Back Home
¤ Is Iran Building a Nuke?
¤ CIA Restricts One-Third of U.S. Senate WMD Report
¤ Israeli government considering massive West Bank construction
¤ US agenda moves ahead, regardless...
¤ A big gun backing an anti-war movie
¤ Karzai wins pledge for stronger US ties
¤ Israeli undercover forces raid Jenin
¤ Attacks hit Iraq oil export
¤ Iraqis fail to regain control of oil revenue
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, June 15, 2004
¤ Poll of Iraqis Reveals Anger Toward U.S.
¤ Commander a 'scapegoat' for Abu Ghraib
¤ Attacking west a sin, say Saudi clerics
¥ I guess 'religion' is still the opium of the masses
¤ US rejects June 30 for Saddam handover
¤ 4 Foreign Contractors Die in Ambush; Blast Shuts Oil Port
¤ Iraq police get tough with drivers
¤ Ex-Halliburton workers decry waste
¤ Iraq Prison Abuse Copied Guantanamo
¤ USDA: Frozen Fries Are 'Fresh' Veggies
¥ Only in America...
¤ Nation Insulates its Harsh Truths
¤ Dear Homeland Security, We have Found the Enemy, He is Us
¤ Travesty of Justice
¤ Defending Cruelty Can Be a Career Booster in Bush's Administration
¤ Nation Builders and Low Bidders in Iraq
¤ At the G8, the Arrogance of the Few
¤ Carbombs and Street Dances
¤ Oslo drops Kurdish mullah charges
¤ What's Behind the Attacks on Australia's Latham?
¤ Saddam tortured, says lawyer
¤ New objections to 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
¤ On Israel
¤ Bin Laden letter branded a fake
¤ Pipeline Attacks Cut Iraq's Oil Exports
¤ Website shows US hostage in Saudi
¤ New twist in the Afghanistan story
¤ U.S. Trucks Carrying Radioactive Materials Intercepted In Iraq-Kuwait Border
¥ Trying to plant something?
¤ Kuwait sends back truck carrying radioactive material
¤ Iraq has potential to become major oil supplier
¤ British soldiers face abuse court martial
¤ The known unknowns
¤ The trust problem
¤ MoD investigates new abuse allegations
¤ Contractor at Abu Ghraib Directed Guards
¤ Blair tries to reassure MPs but rules out Iraq apology
¤ You don't have to be poor to work there, but it helps
¤ Visit from another planet brings hope for galaxy
¤ Americans, Iraqis Vie for Control of Security Forces
¤ Cheney Claims al-Qaida Linked to Saddam
¥ Lie upon lie upon lie...
¤ Flashback Wolfowitz: Iraq Not Involved in 9-11, No Ties to al-Qaeda
¤ U.S. Government Has Already Been Caught Lying About Iraq
¤ Knowing when to be mad as hell
¤ Reform as a Euphemism for Stagnation
¤ Violence Engulfing Iraq
¤ The Consequences of Torture
¤ Declarations of Independence
¤ Framed for taking a picture
¤ Camp Casey's 2nd ID sees surge of post-traumatic stress disorder
¤ Palestinian farmland taken for Israeli wall
¤ 21 Killed in Iraq and Dozens Hurt in Bomb Attacks
¤ Bribery cloud lifts on Sharon
¤ Reagan's Blowback in Central Asia
¤ CIA Declassifies Most of Senate Iraq WMD Report
¤ Powell Says Politics Were Not Behind Flawed Terror Report
¥ Lie upon lie upon lie...
¤ Rumsfeld: 'No wiggle room' in torture ban
¤ Chechnya: War continues
¤ U.S. Trucks Carrying Radioactive Materials Intercepted In Iraq-Kuwait Border
¤ Let the Afghans vote when they're ready
¤ Aborigines watch their hopes betrayed again
¤ Voters reject EU policies
¤ U.S. Urges Americans to Exit Saudi Arabia
¤ Attacks in Baghdad kill 17, incite mobs
¤ Karzai: Afghanistan needs foreign troops
¥ What else would a puppet say
Latest News
Posted: Monday, June 14, 2004
¤ U.S. Releases Hundreds From Abu Ghraib
¤ GIs marching away from re-enlistment
¤ US Film Board Rules 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Unsuitable for Teens
¤ Republicans Behind Attack on Fahrenheit 9/11
¤ Schroeder Bitter after Disastrous European Election Result
¤ Terror Targets In Saudi Arabia
¤ Powell 'not a happy camper' about terror report
¤ U.S. Trucks Carrying Radioactive Materials Intercepted In Iraq-Kuwait Border
¤ New Terror Website www.ansarnet.ws Registered to a Dallas Address
¤ Bush has no one to blame but himself
¤ 'George W. Bush: The natural heir to the fairy-tale presidency'
¤ Iraqi Air Strikes 'Killed Only Civilians'
¤ U.S. says it will continue to hold thousands of Iraqi prisoners after June 30
¤ In Baguio City: Israeli terror suspect falls; cops eye link to al-Qaeda
¤ US-backed Iraqi TV employees shot
¤ American kidnapped in Saudi Arabia
¤ Saddam to be delivered to interim government
¤ Palestinians killed in Israeli missile stike
¤ Doubts voiced over Saddam's trial
¤ The Real Domestic Terrorists
¤ Thirteen dead in Baghdad blast
¤ Suicide Car Bombing Kills 16 Iraqis
¤ U.S. Releases Hundreds From Abu Ghraib
¤ GIs marching away from re-enlistment
¤ US Film Board Rules 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Unsuitable for Teens
¤ Republicans Behind Attack on Fahrenheit 9/11
¤ Schroeder Bitter after Disastrous European Election Result
¤ Terror Targets In Saudi Arabia
¤ Powell 'not a happy camper' about terror report
¤ U.S. Trucks Carrying Radioactive Materials Intercepted In Iraq-Kuwait Border
¤ New Terror Website www.ansarnet.ws Registered to a Dallas Address
¤ Bush has no one to blame but himself
¤ 'George W. Bush: The natural heir to the fairy-tale presidency'
¤ Iraqi Air Strikes 'Killed Only Civilians'
¤ U.S. says it will continue to hold thousands of Iraqi prisoners after June 30
¤ In Baguio City: Israeli terror suspect falls; cops eye link to al-Qaeda
¤ US-backed Iraqi TV employees shot
¤ American kidnapped in Saudi Arabia
¤ Saddam to be delivered to interim government
¤ Palestinians killed in Israeli missile stike
¤ Doubts voiced over Saddam's trial
¤ The Real Domestic Terrorists
¤ First Reagan, Now His Stunt Double
¤ Torture, Incorporated
¤ Bush Gets Testy About Torture
¤ Torture, Incorporated
¤ Bush Gets Testy About Torture
¤ Red Cross ultimatum to US on Saddam
¤ High-profile air strikes 'killed only civilians'
¤ In the shadow of Babylon
¤ Wave of killings in bid to disrupt Iraq handover
¤ Iraq Leader Says Foreigners Killed in Bomb
¤ Bush foreign policy comes under renewed attack, from within
¤ At Least 12 Killed in Iraq Car Bombings
¤ Voters punish governments of Europe and bring in the mavericks
¤ The failing that could prove lethal
¤ Somewhere else to go
¤ Brown needs to apply reverse thrust to Reagan theories
¤ The failing that could prove lethal
¤ Foreign Office lets staff leave Saudi
¤ War spending 'has made country more vulnerable'
¤ Justice Dept. Memo Says Torture 'May Be Justified'
¤ Old order shaken as the 'misfits' gain ground
¤ Congressional Oversight and “Torture-gate”
¤ Dirty Bomb – Not
¤ 'The Student Is Gone; the Master Has Arrived'
¤ Force-spread democracy could bite
¤ ‘Australia will remain ally, even if it pulls out of Iraq’
¤ A Temporary Coup
¤ Victims in Riyadh Had Military Link
¤ Interim Government Resists U.S. Proposal to Exempt Foreigners From Iraqi Law
¤ 'Iraq much more of a problem under America'
¤ France, Israel to sign $150m-$200m weapons deal
¤ Based on Hollywood image, would you trust America?
¤ Imperial Tribute
¤ Let’s Hear It For Democracy!
¤ Oil giant Shell admits it fuels Nigeria violence
¤ Inaccurate US report on terrorism, a big mistake: Powell
¤ Camp X-ray memos tell of life in the cages
¤ The Bush doctrine of torture
¤ VP's office approved Halliburton contract
¤ Foreigners killed in powerful Baghdad blast
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, June 13, 2004
¤ SEC probing Halliburton 'bribes'
¤ 'New Europe' cools to Iraq war after Abu Ghraib scandal
¤ Iraqi education official killed
¤ How America armed Iraq
¤ Ronnie & Saddam
¤ Soldier's defense team wants 100 witnesses from Cheney on down
¤ Iraq jail dog scare 'was policy'
¤ 3,000 held in America's global gulag
¤ US 'meddling in Australian vote'
¤ Reagan's death spares Bush some Iraq scrutiny
¤ Redefining Torture
¤ Retired diplomats and military leaders say Bush must go
¤ 'George W. Bush: A president compared to what?'
¤ Iraq Car Bombing Kills 12; Official Slain
¤ Separate attacks kill Iraqi official, police
¤ Iraqi university professor murdered
¤ Iraqi minister, cleric assassinated
¤ Captives' throats slit in Iraq
¤ US troops warn of returning to Falluja
¤ Use of Dogs to Scare Prisoners Was Authorized
¤ UK accused of ballot fraud, vote-stealing
¤ Secret world of US jails
¤ Baghdad Car Bombing Kills 12, Wounds 13
¤ Reagan, fact and fantasy
¤ Top Iraqi diplomat assassinated
¤ Defense bill to top $1 trillion
¤ Iraqi General: US Helped Us as We Used Chemical Weapons
¤ Calls for Blair to quit
¤ You don't play someone else's games
¤ Blair says sorry as Prescott admits Labour got a 'kicking' for Iraq war
¤ They labeled him a terrorist to kill him
¤ How the Generals Taught Us To Stop Worrying and Love the War
¤ Atrocities abroad, violence at home
¤ Abu Ghraib torture 'was approved at senior military level'
¤ Man beaten so long and so severely his kidneys failed
¤ Blair to send 3,000 extra troops to Iraq
¤ Chavez says Bush is his real adversary in August 15 recall referendum
¤ Alive and well - the radio star helping Iraq to find its voice
¤ Brahimi quits post as UN envoy in Iraq
¤ Afghan polls delayed again
¤ Seven killed in held Kashmir violence
¤ What does America want from Iraq?
¤ Car bomb explodes near US military camp in Baghdad
¤ Iraqi professor gunned down in Baghdad
¤ Gunmen Kill Another Iraqi Government Official in Baghdad
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, June 12, 2004
¤ Lies Upon Lies Upon Lies
¤ Not Really a Puppet Government?
¤ Africa Activists Express Deep Disappointment Over G-8 Results
¤ Saddam Will Miss Old Buddy Reagan
¤ Karl Rove, boy genius-not
¤ Where have all of Uncle Sam's friends gone?
¤ Guantanamo: What the World Should Know
¤ Blown away: how America bombs its friends
¤ Most of Those New Jobs Reported Are Imaginary
¤ Cocaine in tea served at U.S. Embassy
¤ American Shot and Killed in Saudi Capital
¤ Iraqi Gunmen Kill Diplomat; 6 Are Injured In Bombings
¤ Captives' throats slit in Iraq
¤ Five killed in Yemen mosque shooting
¤ Top Israelis Boycott Reagan's State Funeral
¤ The Polls Get Stupider
¤ Iraqi Prisoner Abuse: Why Are We Surprised?
¤ Blair says sorry as Prescott admits Labour got a 'kicking' for Iraq war
¤ Congolese president survives coup attempt
¤ Baghdad fumes as the Americans seek safety in 'tombstone' forts
¤ Prisoners sue Abu Ghraib security firms
¤ Afghan election delay is new blow for Bush campaign
¤ Communists Criticize India's Iraq Policy
¤ US voters reject Iraq war in poll
¤ Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Killed
¤ Damage inquiry at ancient Babylon
¤ A torturer's charter
¤ Iraqis Put Contempt For Troops On Display
¤ Early Abu Ghraib Reports Went Unheeded
¤ Hypocrisy: The US Government's Biggest Single Problem
¤ When laws get in the way of torture
¤ Iraq War Supporters Lose in European Elections
¤ For GIs, it's not a 'normal enemy'
¤ Upon return, some troops struggle to find jobs
¤ The Worm That Turned As Thousands Died
¤ Nichols escapes death as jury deadlocks
¤ Iraqi Kidnappers Kill Lebanese Hostage
¤ al-Qaida No. 2 Accuses U.S. in Audiotape
¤ The dark side of Ronald Reagan
Film and Election Politics Cross in 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
Posted: Friday, June 11, 2004
by Michael Finnegan
There are movie campaigns and there are presidential campaigns, and usually you can tell the difference. One features a red carpet, the other a war room.
But "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore's scathing new documentary about President Bush, has both.
Its release later this month appears to mark the first time that a film slamming a major presidential candidate has opened on screens across the nation in the final months of a campaign. At the same time, the movie is producing a global publicity extravaganza for Moore and Miramax Film founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who bought the film after Walt Disney Co. refused to let Miramax release it. www.commondreams.org
Latest News
Posted: Friday, June 11, 2004
¤ Reagan's Falsified Obituary
¤ Dead Reagan in '04
¤ The Terror Hour
¤ The Burning Legacy of Ronald Reagan
¤ Jayson Blair, Alive and Well at the New York Times
¤ He Lied and Cheated in the Name of Anti-communism
¤ Morning and Mourning in America
¤ A Long Record of Abusing Jailed Foreigners in U.S.
¤ Social imperialists and Brahimi's back-seat driver
¤ Eight more months for Dutch troops in Iraq
¤ Who is Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi?
¤ Canada Refuses To Change Its Name To Ronald Reagan
¤ Labour suffers election 'kicking'
¤ Warning shots for Musharraf
¤ Howard Stern having impact with crusade against Bush
¤ The Bush dictatorship revealed: L'etat c'est moi
¤ Cooking Up Excuses With the Pentagon
¤ How to torture alleged terrorists and get away with it
¤ Terror report's 'good news' turns bad
¤ 'Coup attempt' rocks Congolese capital
¤ Ray Charles, father of soul music, dies at 73
¤ Art becomes the next suspect in America's 9/11 paranoia
¤ Saudi Cleared of Terror Charges in Idaho
¤ Standing up to America
¤ Just what the spin doctor ordered
¤ Bush, European Leaders Remain Divided
¤ Blair punished for Iraq war as councils fall to Conservatives
¤ G8 fails to write off Africa's debt but promises help for Aids vaccine
¤ Bush gives up on more Nato troops for Iraq
¤ Pentagon Iraq Abuse Probe to Examine Top Commander
¤ Use of dogs was OK'd in Iraq
¤ Bush says he doesn't recall seeing memo on conditions of torture
¤ Bush and Blair put on brave face after G8 summit setback
¤ Pentagon denies sanctioning torture
¤ Tricky Dick Cheney
¤ Iraqi minister unveils proposal to control oil
¤ China doubts US claims about N Korean nuke programme
¤ Accused U.S. spy criticised Guantanamo conditions
¤ Violence spreads shadow across Afghanistan ahead of elections
¤ Troops, militants clash in Wana on second day
¤ 37 killed in Nigeria religious clashes
¤ MIDEAST ARMS SPENDING RISES BY 10%
¤ Why is the US spying on India?
¤ 1st ID soldier jailed, discharged for refusing to deploy to Iraq
¤ The Neocons’ One-Trick Pony
¤ Disorganized Conspiracy
¤ Annan urges application of international law to Iraq
¤ Four-year turned away from British polling station with valid voting slip
¤ US at the crossroads in Iraq
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, June 10, 2004
¤ US Corrects Terrorism Report, Says Attacks Went Up
¤ Haiti Leader Says He Wants GIs to Stay
¥ Hey you can't put me here and just leave
¤ An American in The Hague?
¤ Assessing America's Reputation
¤ Barbarous Thinking Comes Easily
¤ Torture Rules Shouldn't be Flexible
¤ Bush, the Religious Scholar
¤ Force-Feeding Lies About Free Trade
¤ Nouns That Should be Acronyms
¤ Justifying torture brings shame to U.S.
¤ The Poetry of D.H. Rumsfeld
¤ Bob Woodward Criticizes Iraq Reporting
¤ That's it Cartoon
¤ White House Misled America About War Costs
¤ Mohamed Atta loved pork chops, and 49 other things you may not know
¤ Bush Still Screwing Iraq and America
¤ Florida orders new purge of voter list
¤ How innocent Iraqis came to be abused as terrorists
¤ 'Ashcroft revives the fine art of stonewalling'
¤ Bush opens new rift over Middle East plan
¤ Beyond the west
¤ US wins one-year freeze on nuclear sales
¤ At Least 20 Killed in Pakistan Clashes
¤ Ten Chinese killed in Afghanistan raid
¤ U.S. force in Iraq to grow
¤ Torture Victims Sue US Security Companies
¤ The Torture Working Group
¤ Global military spending soars: peace group
¤ Chirac Caves to Bush and Blair
¤ Some Aussies Say No to US Bases
¤ Dangerous musings regarding torture
¤ Occupation tanks poised to enter Falluja
¤ US chopper again violates Pak airspace
¤ 50 die in Nigerian clashes
¤ Week-long fighting leaves 70 dead in Afghanistan
¤ Reading, writing, and ... war?
¤ US invasion of Iraq may lead countries to stock WMDs
¤ The street speaks - Iraq's UN-backed government is made up of CIA pawns
¤ Iraqi prime minister says he's not ashamed of working with CIA to oust Saddam
¤ Israeli shells devastate Lebanese farms
¤ What went wrong at Abu Ghraib
¤ Rumsfeld 'told officers to take gloves off with Lindh'
¤ Like Vietnam, Iraq was never the media’s to lose.
¤ UNSC resolution on Iraq
¤ May the Middle East and Washington reform each other
¤ Legalizing Torture
¤ Rumsfeld approved 24 ways to interrogate detainees
¤ Bush, on 'a Special Day,' Greets New Iraqi Leader
¤ Chirac blasts Bush administration
¤ Second round: Worse than the first
¤ Bush just doesn't get it ...
¤ Sovereignty, but what about the insurgency?
¤ Fear, fanaticism and an Asian tightrope act
¤ Foreign forces: Fodder for anti-Americanism
¤ War crimes: US seeks protection, two firms sued
¤ A Plunge From the Moral Heights
¤ Pakistani troops killed in border offensive
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, June 9, 2004
¤ Bush's Democratic Charade in Iraq
¤ Memorializing a President Who Could Really Lie
¤ Reagan was the Butcher of My People
¤ Ex-C.I.A. Aides Say Iraq Leader Helped Agency in 90's Attacks
¤ Ronald Reagan, Hedgehogs And The November Election
¤ G-8 and Africa: A Continent Tired of Empty Promises
¤ The Torturers Among Us
¤ The Roots of Abu Ghraib
¤ Scientists Say Dirty Bomb Would Be a Dud
¤ G8 harmony cracks over US-France duel
¤ German 'bomb blast' injures many
¤ U.N. vote a 'great victory for the Iraqi people'
¤ US: We will not urge Israel to pull of out Gaza
¤ Human Rights Group Criticizes US 'Torture' Memo
¤ Ashcroft Refuses to Provide Torture Memos
¤ Chirac blocks Bush on NATO role in Iraq
¤ U.S. Will Revise Data on Terror
¤ A Look at U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq
¤ AP: Final 9/11 Report Slams FBI, CIA
¤ Israel's Common Use of Torture Must be Exposed
¤ MoD admits big rise in Iraqi civilian death inquiries
¤ Bush ignored Pentagon lawyers over tactics in war on terror
¤ American security worker killed in Riyadh
¤ P Diddy scoops US menswear design award
¤ Suicide bombers step up attacks in Iraq and leave 14 dead
¤ Sharon loses majority as far-right ministers quit
¤ Our kind of dictators
¤ Bring back that loving feeling
¤ Kurds Threaten to Walk Away From Iraqi State
¤ Saddam trial lacks 'smoking gun' evidence, witnesses: report
¤ Strategies Wanted
¤ U.S.'s Ashcroft Won't Release or Discuss Torture Memo
¤ Pride, Patriotism, and Propaganda
¤ Ex-C.I.A. Aides Say Iraq Leader Helped Agency in 90's Attacks
¤ The War on Terror: A Persistent Debacle
¤ Forced Nudity of Iraqi Prisoners Is Seen as a Pervasive Pattern
¤ Weak States Are 'Sleeping Giants' for US Security
¤ Up to 800 Taliban fighting US-led troops in Afghanistan
¤ Iraq-Turkey pipeline attacked
¤ U.S. REPORTS OF OIL OUTPUT DISPUTED
¤ 21 Taliban remnants killed, 40 arrested in Afghanistan
¤ Chavez referendum date set
¤ Security council vote backs transfer of Iraq sovereignty
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, June 8, 2004
¤ Northern Iraq - calm like a bomb
¤ Clarke claims 'terror' claims manipulated
¤ Car bombings kill 14 Iraqis, 1 U.S. soldier
¤ Clashes Near Falluja, 11 Iraqis Killed: Hospital
¤ Foreign reporters cry foul
¤ Where Big Brother Snoops on Americans 24/7
¤ Ashcroft Says Bush Rejects Use of Torture
¤ Blair defends Iraq intelligence
¤ Palestinian family tells of campaign of harassment by Israeli troops
¤ The Great Prevaricator
¤ Ronald Reagan: Still the Teflon President?
¤ Reagan and Saddam: The Unholy Alliance
¤ Reagan in One Word: Mean
¤ Sharon's Gaza Plan Nothing New Under the Israeli Sun
¤ Bush the Narcissist
¤ Will the Earth Accept His Corpse?
¤ Man wins damages over al-Qaida claim
¤ Bush's kiss of death
¤ He was a madman
¤ Plug Pulled on Rome Radio Stations Covering Bush Protests
¤ India and the interim mess in Iraq
¤ Suicide Car Bombing Kills 14 Iraqis
¤ US bans cleric from Iraq elections
¤ Woman wins leave to sue Austria in US for looted art
¤ Woman can sue in US over art looted by Nazis
¤ Israeli airstrike lands within 12 miles of Lebanese capital
¤ How High Does the Abu Ghraib Scandal Go?
¤ Bush 'was advised he could ignore torture laws'
¤ Ban on torture overruled in Pentagon
¤ US 'approved' al-Qaida detainees' torture
¤ Oh, Happy Day!
¤ Karzai Shows He'll Cast Lot With a Corps of Warlords
¤ Superpower or Superdebtor?
¤ Bad News for Control Freaks
¤ The ominous price of American failure in Iraq
¤ Antidote to 'Iraq is Vietnam'
¤ America's ignorance is a threat to humanity
¤ We must end the world's trade apartheid
¤ Israel's common use of torture must be exposed
¤ Fourth gun attack in 15 years claims life of Palestinian invalid
¤ New leaders in Iraq have deep ties to U.S.
¤ White House Decries Al-Jazeera As Biased
¤ Just How Bizarre Have Things Become? Take This Quiz and Find Out
¤ VENUS TRANSIT
¤ Experts say U.S. Prisoners are subjected to Iraqi-style Abuse
¤ Iraq: Full sovereignty after 30 June?
¤ U.S. Denies Iraq Military Veto
¤ Simultaneous car bombs kill 15, wound 126
¤ Lack of evidence may hamper Saddam conviction
¤ Iraq to accept US control of troops
¤ Bomb Kills Four Iraqis, U.S. Soldier in Iraq Town
¤ Policy endorses torture for terror suspects
¤ The rich have been warned to leave Baghdad. But for the poor...
¤ Break out the bicycles
¤ The terrible legacy of the Reagan years
Latest News
Posted: Monday, June 7, 2004
¤ Kurds Threaten to Pull Out of Iraqi Government
¤ U.S. Calls in Air Support After Afghan Convoy Hit
¤ Afghan election hits new snags
¤ There Will be a Change of Regime in This Country
¤ 66 Things to Think About When Flying Into Reagan National Airport
¤ Reagan Didn't End the Cold War
¤ From Afghanistan to El Salvador: Reagan's Dark Global Legacy
¤ The Brylcreemed Bullshitter
¤ Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004: In a Nutshell
¤ Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004: Goodbye and Good Riddance
¤ More Proof Only The Good Die Young
¤ Market Blast Kills 10 in Samara
¤ Bush: a hard sell in Europe
¤ 'Level with Americans'
¤ Global pessimism 'linked to US power'
¤ Military Families Protest Iraq Services
¤ Israel bombs Palestinian base in Lebanon
¤ Four killed in Baghdad blast
¤ US casualties in multiple Iraq attacks
¤ US releases $300m to Egypt
¤ US soldier killed in Afghanistan
¤ Riding Reagan's Coffin
¤ People fell in love with the myth
¤ The Last Prisoners of the Cold War are Black
¤ Osama Bin Lotto Flash
¤ Explosions Rock Kufa Mosque Compound
¤ Iraq Car Bomb Kills 9 Near U.S.-Run Base
¤ Cameraman killed as Saudi gunmen target BBC pair
¤ Election team ambushed
¤ UN troops killed in Congo
¤ Towering he wasn't
¤ How to be a world island
¤ Star dimming for security adviser
¤ What Really Caused Tenet's Departure?
¤ New Map, Same Bad Destinations
¤ Pattern Emerges of Sexual Assault Against Women Held by US Forces
¤ In Warsaw, a 'Good War' Wasn't
¤ 'Why Are They Doing This to Us?'
¤ A Cloak of Security – or a Shield Against Debate?
¤ One George down, one to go
¤ Chirac takes a swipe at US and Britain over Iraq war
¤ Three Americans among 32 killed in Iraq
¤ Fake Cops Murder 7
¤ Wheelchair-bound Palestinian killed during demonstration
¤ It Takes Planning?
¤ War, War, War!
¤ Smack in your face
¤ As 'symbol-in-chief,' he ineradicably changed the presidency.
¤ Puppet or people's man?
¤ UN Iraq resolution hits Russia snag
The Grenada 17 : The Last Prisoners of the Cold War are Black
Posted: Monday, June 7, 2004
By Rich Gibson
On June 28, 2004, the Organization of Eastern Carribean States High Court will hear a Grenadian government appeal seeking to set aside a lower court ruling in favor of the Grenada 17. The lower court ruling would, in essence, overturn the convictions of the Grenada 17 on murder and manslaughter counts, stemming from unjust trials nearly twenty years ago. The Grenadian government, staggering from a series of corruption charges that have roiled the little island nation off the coast of Venezuela, is vigorously pursuing a legal strategy that would keep the prisoners in jail_well beyond the length of their initial sentences-on the grounds that the judiciary should not be able to negate the executive branch. The lower court has declared the convictions, "null and void."
The invasion of Grenada, more than 20 years ago, presaged many of the events that blowback on the US today: unilateral warfare, official deceit about the motives for war, a massive military moving against an imagined foe, stifling the press, leaders proclaiming their guidance from God, denials of human and civil rights, systematic torture and subsequent cover-ups-and a hero who refused to go along. Many of the players in the Bush administration who promise perpetual war today cut their teeth on the invasion of Grenada. It is more than worthwhile to review the events that lead to the upcoming trial.
On March 13, 1979 a revolution took place in Grenada, the first in an African_Caribbean country, the first in the English_speaking world. The people who made up the revolutionary cadre were young, average age around 27. The uppermost leadership was predominantly middle class, educated abroad. They called themselves the New Jewel Movement (NJM). The revolution, or coup as some called it, was popular, replacing a mad dictator named Eric Gairy who spent much of the tiny country's (pop 100,000) resources investigating the reason Grenada was a favorite landing point for flying saucers. When I interviewed Gairy in 1996, he told me he was immortal, God. He died in 1997.
Gairy had modeled his rule on a mix of Haitian Papa Doc Duvalier's thuggery, populist appeals to peasant- workers and small_land_holders, and claims to mystical-sexual powers, a powerful constituency in Grenada. Gairy had been a teacher and union leader, was instrumental in winning Grenada's independence from Great Britain. Gairy was entrancing but he brooked no opposition and shared with few. His Mongoose gang was implicated in several murders, served as the stick to Gairy's charm. The educated classes, and many others, were restive. The NJM "revo" of 1979 took 24 hours, the culmination of years of unarmed struggle. It was no mistake that but two people were killed in the revolution. Grenada's size means that everyone knows nearly everyone. Each death is a personal and collective tragedy. The NJM leadership never fit the bloodthirsty caricature later stamped on them by U.S. officials.
At the time of the uprising, Eric Gairy was in the US visiting with Nazi war criminal (and United Nations Secretary General ) Kurt Waldheim. Gairy simply didn't return. Maurice Bishop, Jacqueline Creft, Bernard and Phyllis Coard, were among the key New Jewel leaders. Bishop and Coard had been childhood friends.
The NJM leadership were socialists, though their socialism was eclectic__hardly the doctrinaire image the U.S. later created. They borrowed judiciously and won investments from any government they could, from the British to the USSR to Iraq and Cuba (which provided mostly doctors, construction specialists, nurses, and educators). The exacting Brandeis-educated Bernard Coard, leading the financial sector, was recognized throughout the Caribbean as a rare, honest, economist.
They began a mass literacy project (led by Paulo Freire), quickly improved medical care, began to set up processing plants for fish and spices, and started building a jet_port. The country had a tiny landing strip only able to land prop planes, a problem for an economy tied up with tourist interests. The plan, in general, was to magnify national economic development by expanding existing forms of production (agriculture, small industries, tourism, etc.) and by creating a new class of technologically competent workers who might use their skills to create a role for Grenada in the information_economy as well. The far-sighted educational programs had a critical role in that project.
To claim that the NJM rule was a model of egalitarian democracy, as much of the chic left did at the time, would be off_point. It wasn't. While international tourist-socialists danced during carnival in the beautiful houses allotted to revo leaders, democracy and equality went on the back burner in favor of national economic development. The party leadership became privileged in terms of decision_making power and the distribution of goods: the shipwreck of most socialist movements. Women cadre were often doing the work (as well as the home work). Some men issued orders and took advantage of prestige. The island was rife with rumors about the dissolute behavior of some party leaders, especially charismatic Maurice Bishop, though in some ways his populist reputation was enhanced. The NJM arrested people and held them without charge. A few citizens were killed under circumstances which were at best questionable.
But New Jewel under terrific pressure. The US quickly moved to crush the revo, made tourism nearly impossible for U.S. citizens. It is fairly clear that the CIA made several attempts to murder key leaders.
Pressed externally, NJM grew more isolated from the people. Eager volunteers at early literacy classes later found themselves ordered to attend by youths with small arms. Rather than reach out to expand its initial popularity, the party turned inward. The leadership tried to rely on a correct analysis and precise orders rather than to build a popular base. With a dwindling activist base, the party's leaders, especially women, doubled their own work time, exhausting themselves. Even though there was no question that Bishop would win elections, the NJM leaders refused to hold them. The NJM top central committee remained a very exclusive bunch. In 1982 and 1983, sharp disagreements began to emerge within the entire organization. Within four years, by 1983, the NJM was in real trouble.
The central committee passed motions blaming the people for the crises in the economy. In 1983, the whole party voted overwhelmingly to reduce Bishop's role and elevate Coard to an equal spot, though the entire party, and Coard, knew he would never be as popular as the charismatic Bishop, and could never rule without him. There were many reasons for the move, one of the more important being Bishop's lack of personal discipline, called "waffling". The shift to shared leadership was made in the context of a revolution already in crisis. Bishop agreed to the plan, but expressed concern that his work was being repudiated, that this might be a vote of no confidence. A veritable parade of party members, in a 15_hour meeting, assured him sincerely that this was not true.
Bishop accepted the joint command. He left Grenada for Eastern Europe with a small group of cadres. On his return trip, Bishop held an unscheduled meeting in Cuba with Fidel Castro, who considered the young leader as "a son."
On October 12, 1983, the day after his return, Bishop initiated a rumor to be circulated by his bodyguard that Coard was planning to kill him. In Grenada such a rumor can circulate throughout the country in less than a day-and can be deadly. A similar rumor, that Eric Gairy intended to kill Bishop and others, preceded the initial NJM revolution in 1979.
Bishop denied he started the 1983 rumor.
This set in motion a series of events that finished off the revo. The assembled NJM party witnessed a meeting in which Bishop was exposed as having caused the rumor. Even so, the party members also all knew that Bishop was the key to whatever credibility the party still had among the people. They also knew the U.S. was openly threatening the government. The US had staged widely publicized invasion exercises, "Amber and the Ambergines," making its intentions clear. By a wide majority party vote, Bishop and Coard were both ordered to their homes, Bishop under arrest. Negotiations began to overhaul the way the party was functioning.
On 19 October 1983, a mob of thousands led by people who had traveled to Cuba with Bishop marched past armed personnel carriers (APC's) lined up in front of his home, freed "We Leader" Bishop, and (under curious banners like "We Love the US") began to move to the town square. No one in the APC's moved to stop the crowd.
As the crowd moved to Bishop's house, a Cuban military outfit arrived at the downtown Fort Rupert (now Ft George). They had not reported in days and were turned away by the commander on duty from the NJM. In the town square, where rallies were traditionally held, microphones were set up for Bishop to speak to the people. Bishop could have easily mobilized nearly the entire population of the island to come to the square to support him-and that probably would have been that.
But now led by Bishop and his friends, the crowd turned and marched on a nearby fort where arms and TNT were stored. Bishop demanded that the commander of the fort turn over his weapons. He did, and was locked in a cell.
At this point, things become murky. An award winning Grenadian journalist, Alastair Hughes, famous in the region for his resistance to the NJM and his courage, saw the crowd move to the fort and bolted home, rather than cover the news. Bishop moved his cadre to seize the radio and telephone centers, as had the NJM in overturning Gairy a few years earlier. From another fort on a mountain about two miles away, Peoples Revolutionary Army APC's were ordered to quiet the mob.
I interviewed people who were on the APC's and many people who watched what followed. The soldiers on the APC's were, for the most part, hardly crack troops. They were mainly youths who had enlisted to get the money to buy shoes for their families. One had deserted out of loneliness and been brought back the previous day. They rode on top of the carriers, in full view. As they approached the fort, fire came from the mob. The commander of the first APC, one of the few experienced soldiers in the group and a highly respected officer, was killed. Discipline appears to have evaporated on all sides. Fire was returned.
No one knows exactly how many people were killed and wounded. No firm count was ever made. There are films of people leaping over a wall at the fort (why a film-maker was so poised with such a powerful camera is an interesting question).
In any case, Bishop and other top leaders of NJM, including his pregnant companion Jackie Creft, were killed- after they had surely surrendered. The remaining leadership of NJM imposed a curfew on the island. In part because important documents taken from Grenada during the invasion remain classified in the U.S., no thorough-going investigation of this day's events has been possible.
Shortly afterward, on October 23 1983, 241 US troops were killed, blown up in their barracks in Lebanon by a truck bomb.
US President Ronald Reagan took to the TV, announcing he had discovered, through satellite photos, that the Cubans were building a secret Soviet_Cuban military airstrip in Grenada-a direct threat to US security.
Actually tourists were frequently taken to the construction site at the airport-a widely publicized symbol of Grenadian pride. US students from St. George's Medical school jogged by Cuban and Grenadian construction workers each day on the airstrip. The main financial support for the airport came not from the U.S.S.R. nor from Cuba, but from Margaret Thatcher's Britain.
Reagan declared the US medical students to be in grave danger from the crisis in Grenada, said that the NJM was a threat to all regional security. He got the organization of Caribbean nations to back him_with a big payoff to those who went along-- and invaded a country the size of Kalamazoo with a massive military force, under a precedent_ setting news blackout. The US had practiced the invasion of Grenada as early as 1981.
Though the medical students were radioing out that they were in no danger-except from the possibility of an invasion-- US rangers "saved" them, after U.S. jets bombed a mental hospital.
Remarkably, it is clear that Fidel Castro was forewarned of the invasion and that Cuban troops tasked to stop the US landing at the new airport never fired their weapons at the Rangers making parachute drops on the runway_until the Rangers attacked them. The Cubans had told the Grenadian military that they would defend the airport area.
The invasion of Grenada (popular among most Grenadian people sickened by the long collapse of the NJM) was complete in a week. It was, however, denounced as illegal by the U.N. Security Council, by Margaret Thatcher and the British government, and by a myriad of US congress_people.
The international press, including US reporters, was cordoned off from Grenada during the invasion. US ships intercepted reporters who rented boats trying to get to the island, arresting them and detaining them until after the invasion was complete.
The US, however, quickly recaptured its post-Lebanon image as a military super-power.
Seventeen NJM leaders were charged with the murder of Bishop, Jacqueline Creft, and others, though most of them were nowhere near the incident, could not have participated, like the commander of the fort who was locked in a basement Fort Rupert cell.
The NJM leaders were tortured and signed transparently bogus confessions. According to affidavits filed by former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark, and Amnesty International, the NJM leaders were denied attorneys. They were tried by jurors who chanted "guilty" at them during jury selection, in trails led by judges hand_picked and paid by the U.S. They were unable to make a defense in the kangaroo atmosphere. Their lawyers were subjected to death threats and some fled. Key witnesses, like a bodyguard who was present when Bishop created and ordered the death threat rumor, were denied the right to testify. Fourteen of the NJM members were sentenced to death. In 1991, after an international outcry, the sentences were commuted to life. Typically in the Caribbean, a life sentence amounts to around 15 years.
The three remaining prisoners, low-ranking soldiers, were sentenced on several counts of manslaughter. On appeal, their sentences were reduced to fifteen years. With their time now served, the Grenadian government still refuses to release them, the prime minister saying that the judiciary has no right to override the government-or a possible vote of the people.
In prison, the Grenada 17 were systematically abused by guards and others for eight years, according to statements made to me be a former prison warden and several guards. Abuse was especially horrible for the lone woman, Phyllis Coard, who was held in near_total isolation for years simply because few women are jailed in Grenada. In 1991, after their children had been introduced to the fellow who was to hang them from a prison courtyard gallows, the Grenada 17 sentences were commuted to life.
Prison Commissioner Winston Courtney was pivotal to halting the torture. Courtney had himself been held in Richmond Hill jail, imprisoned by the leadership of the NJM without charge for more than a year. During that period, Courtney's son was killed under questionable circumstances. He had reason to believe that the NJM was involved. During the latter days of the NJM's term of power, Courtney was expelled from the island. He returned to be the warden of the prison in the early 90's, holding the prisoners who once held him. Courtney immediately moved to stop the abuse, to create a disciplined yet humane prison that emphasized rehabilitation. He worked 18 hour days to overcome the habits of Richmond Hill, eventually sacrificing his health and eyesight. When asked why he did this, Courtney said, "I am an ethical man and if I do not do this, I am nothing."
The New Jewel leaders are still serving time in a prison built in the nineteenth century. The last prisoners of the cold war are black. Their health is rapidly fading. Despite immense obstacles created by prison officials over the years, the NJM prisoners are conducting one of the most successful literacy campaigns in the country. Less than two in ten of the program' grads return to the Richmond Hill jail.
As of October 2004, the NJM prisoners, will have served 21 years. Phyllis Coard was released in 2000 to seek cancer treatment abroad, following an international campaign on her behalf. She is still expected to return to the jail following treatment.
I filed a Freedom of Information suit demanding documents which were seized by the US and kept out of the trial. The US military commandeered tons of documents in Grenada immediately following the invasion. The documents were sifted and some of them later appeared in a book called the "Grenada Documents," edited by Michael Ledeen, now an Iraq war hawk who calls for the invasion of Iran. US intelligence agencies denied my request for more documents. I sued.
The suit came to court in Detroit on November 10th, 1997, after delays of more than one year. In October, 1998, Judge Hood gave the U.S. government thirty days to give me the documents. To date, the US has released a ream of blacked_out material, some of it indicating that the US clearly interfered in the trial of the Grenada prisoners-and paid the trial judges. However, the US insists that the remaining documents were all returned to Grenada. The Grenada government denies ever receiving the material.
In October 2003 Amnesty International has issued a detailed report, demonstrating their conclusion that the Grenada 17 were denied due process in their trial: "the trial was manifestly and fundamentally unfair." The selection of both judges and the jury were tainted with prejudice. Documents that might have contradicted key prosecution evidence were denied the defendants. Instead, prison guards forcibly took materials from the prisoners that they had prepared for their defense. Defendants were not allowed to present key witnesses whose testimony would have undermined the testimony of the sole prosecution witness, Cletus St. Paul, one of Bishop's bodyguards, who claimed he overheard Coard and others ordering Bishop's liquidation. Errol George, also a Bishop bodyguard, was not allowed to say that he was right next to St. Paul during the time in question, and heard nothing of the sort.
In 2002 I interviewed Grenada's ambassador to the US, asking him why his government is so determined to keep the Grenada 17 in jail. He replied that he, and the nation's current leader, Keith Mitchell, believe there will be riots if the Grenada 17 are set free. The possibility of serious civil strife in Grenada, about anything but the corruption allegations aimed at the Mitchell regime, are actually quite negligible, as leaders of the opposition party and the country's leading paper, the Voice, tell me.
I spent 1996 in Grenada interviewing many of the jailed NJM leaders. To say they are innocent of everything is not the case. To say they are innocent of the charges brought against them is. Serious mistakes were made by the New Jewel leadership. The prisoners have issued extensive, indeed insightful, apologies to that effect, taking responsibility for the crisis of the revolution, but not for the murders they did not commit. Their continued imprisonment is a mysterious yet great wrong that needs to be righted. The truth of the Grenada revo, and its destruction, needs to be known.
Rich Gibson is a professor of Education at San Diego State University. Reproduced from counterpunch.org by consent of the author.
Gaddafi Regrets Reagan Died Without Facing Trial
Posted: Monday, June 7, 2004
www.sabcnews.com
Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, said today he regretted that Ronald Reagan, a former US president, had died without ever being tried for 1986 air strikes that killed dozens of people, including the Libyan leader's adopted daughter.
"I express my profound regrets over Reagan's death before he appeared before justice to be held to account for his ugly crime in 1986 against Libyan children," Gaddafi said.
Reagan ordered the April 15, 1986, air strikes in response to a disco bombing in West Berlin that killed three people, including two US servicemen. Washington blamed Libya for the blast.
Libya said more than 40 people died in the strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi. The targets included Gaddafi's home, where his 15-month-old adopted daughter died. fill article
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, June 6, 2004
¤ The Same Old Failed Policies in Iraq
¤ Bad News for Control Freaks
¤ Remembering Tiananmen Square
¤ Car Bomb Kills Nine Outside Iraqi-U.S. Base
¤ Michael Berg Blast Bush-Cheney Gang
¤ Welcome to America
¤ Gold, Oil and a Major Terrorist Attack
¤ Did FBI Use "Contractor" To Fix Mayfield Fingerprint Evidence?
¤ Trouble in Private U.S. Jails Preceded Job Fixing Iraq's
¤ Wide Gaps Seen in U.S. Inquiries on Prison Abuse
¤ 'The real legacy of Ronald Reagan'
¤ 'American fib factory'
¤ Team Bush Is On A Crusade
¤ All the fear that's fit to print
¤ The Reich stuff
¤ WHOSE SIDE IS AMERICA ON?
¤ Attacks by Iraqi Insurgents Kill More Than 20
¤ The first domino has fallen
¤ Libya hits out at West in "AIDS plot" case
¤ British journalist killed in Saudi Arabia
¤ Bloody day for Iraqi police, contractors
¤ Anti-war protest at Rumsfeld's home
¤ Thousands in anti-war march in US
¤ Iraq putting Asians to the test
¤ The decision that changed the war
¤ Mercenaries in 'coup plot' guarded UK officials in Iraq
¤ Blair hails America's wartime gamble
¤ UK spymasters shrugged off al-Qaeda recruit's warning
¤ Cheap gas from the war? Only for Iraqis, not Americans
¤ Fear of rising violence sends bills for bodyguards soaring
¤ Fallujah clashes threaten truce
¤ CIA braces itself for criticism over 9/11 and Saddam's weapons
¤ Toward a Universal Declaration of Human Wrongs
¤ Five Cubans in Prison Victims of Bush's Obsession
¤ Apologies, Please From Those Who Got It Wrong
¤ The Last Prisoners of the Cold War are Black
¤ Nothing Bush Said Has Changed Our Hopes
¤ An American Way of War: Torture, Rape, Murder
¤ Coalition forces to stay in Iraq after transfer of power: Bush
¤ Anti-War Protests Held in D.C., L.A.
¤ Roadside Bomb Kills 2 Soldiers in Iraq
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, June 5, 2004
¤ Time to put the US media on trial for complicity in genocide?
¤ Iraqi Claims Reasons For US Destroying Village Wedding
¤ Blair 'fooling himself' over Iraqi WMD
¤ Myths of the War on Terrorism and Iraq
¤ Bush's Pope visit backfired
¤ 500,000 protest Bush's visit to Rome
¤ Russia sends 80 tons of poisoned corn back to the US
¤ US expert slams WMD 'delusions'
¤ Rumsfeld: Al Qaeda to strike again
¤ ''I was wrong' not in Bush's vocabulary'
¤ 'Bush personifies all that is wrong with myth of the warrior-hero'
¤ Roadside Bomb Kills 2 Soldiers in Iraq
¤ Bush personifies all that is wrong with the myth of the warrior-hero
¤ Former US president Ronald Reagan dies aged 93
¤ Sharon sacks hardliners who stand in his way
¤ Gauntlet thrown down on Venezuelan vote
¤ Bush: Tenet Leaving Shouldn't Hurt Morale
¤ Bush takes a tongue-lashing from the Pope over Iraq
¤ 90 days to stop another European fueled disaster in Africa
¤ Washington will prop up the House of Saud - for now
¤ The Janus dilemma
¤ Two widows. Two wars. Two very different stories
¤ Pope lectures Bush on America's duties
¤ CIA loses another man as criticism looms
¤ Iraqi government 'given' power to send home troops
¤ Rumsfeld's faint praise for Tenet
¤ Tenet's Choice
¤ Truth vs. Deceit in Foreign Policy
¤ Misplaced Blame
¤ Torture and Truth
¤ No Real Choice
¤ Pope wants US out of Iraq immediately
¤ Global Pessimism About US Power
¤ UN: US Soldiers May Be Guilty of War Crimes
¤ UN's Integrity Questioned – Again
¤ ‘US to hunt terrorists in Southeast Asia soon’
¤ Benazir decides to end her exile
¤ Thousands march against Bush’s visit to Rome
¤ Iraq awaits June 30
¤ Past and present
¤ Watching them watching us
¤ A willingness to spin lost Tenet friends
¤ Roadside Bomb Kills U.S. Soldier in Iraq
¤ Toll rises in Russia market blast
Latest News
Posted: Friday, June 4, 2004
¤ 'Bomb' blast rocks Russia market
¤ Some see Bush weakness in Tenet departure
¤ Under the Banner of the 'War' on Terror...
¤ Tenet leaves CIA's Reputation in Tatters...
¤ Baghdad Blast Kills 5 GIs, Wounds 5
¤ Tenet Latest to Take Fall for Bush
¤ Enron, Chalabi, Tillman — Oh My
¤ Only the IDF is Secure
¤ Has Bush Gone Over the Edge?
¤ Enron Tapes Should Be Nail in Coffin of Schwarzenegger
¤ US frantic to soften harsh language in UN rights report on Iraq
¤ Guess who's at super-secret Bilderberg meeting today
¤ The Fact Behind the Fictions: the U.S. and Israel Plan Permanent Occupations
¤ Pictures, more than ever, tell Iraq story
¤ The scapegoat?
¤ 4 U.S. troops killed, 5 injured in Baghdad
¤ Blair view on Iraq dismissed by Powell
¤ The Justice Department's triumphant victory over the Constitution
¤ Rumsfeld approved torture techniques: top brass
¤ Cheney, Rumsfeld May Be Called in Prisoner Abuse Case
¤ Jail officer may call star witnesses
¤ Mrs Rumsfeld wants bin Laden
¤ Rumsfeld Likens Terror War Sacrifices to Normandy Invasion
¤ Candidate who pulled out blames Chalabi plot
¤ UN Says U.S.-Led Forces Violate Rights in Iraq
¤ 9/11 Families Outraged Hijacker-In-Training Was Let Go
¥ The whole illegal and unprovoked invasion is a violation of their rights
¤ Inside America's Animal House
¤ Russia Asks Where Are the WMD?
¤ Russia raises WMD issue
¤ Forensic Irregularities Cast Doubt on Berg Beheading Events
¤ Soros: America, Once the Victim, Now the Perpetrator in War on Terror
¤ Let's Get Real About George Soros
¤ Standing by House of Saud
¤ Tenet Resigns as C.I.A. Director; 3 Harsh Reports on Agency Due
¤ Tenet's Resignation: Hope For Pollard?
¤ Second top official to quit CIA
¤ Al-Qaeda not behind Karachi mosque blast: US
¤ Former German Defense Minister Confirms CIA Involvement in 9/11
¤ Did al-Qaida trainee warn FBI before 9/11?
¤ US soldiers die in Baghdad ambush
¤ Bush's Erratic Behavior Worries White House Aides
¤ Australian military lawyer could be drawn into US political stoush
Recall Referendum
Posted: Thursday, June 3, 2004
Venezuela Leader to Face Recall Referendum
Caracas, Venezuela. Jun 3 (Venezuelanalysis.com).- Based on preliminary data, Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) announced today that opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez managed to collect enough valid signatures to demand a recall referendum against on his rule.
A signature re-verification or "repair" process, in which those who signed against the President but whose signatures had irregularities were required to confirm of exclude their signatures, ended last Sunday. Out of 1.2 million signatures that could be repaired, the opposition managed to re-confirm only 614,968.
74,112 persons excluded their signatures, giving credibility to reports of people's signatures being used without their consent do demand the recall.
In order to demand a recall referendum, the opposition needed the support of 2,436,083 voters, which represents 20% of the registered electorate. www.venezuelanalysis.com
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, June 3, 2004
¤ CIA director Tenet resigns
¤ Bush Knew About Leak of CIA Operative's Name
¤ Powell: Iraq Will Have No Veto on U.S.-Led Force
¤ Only Friends of the US & Israel Can Have Nukes
¤ Hoodwinked by Hoodlums
¤ The Bully and the Brahmin
¤ First in the World in the Deranged
¤ A Letter from Beirut
¤ "WMD" in Cuba
¤ Palestinian Misery in Perspective
¤ You Have Rights -- if Bush Says You Do
¤ The Big Lie
¤ U.S. Told Saudis to Let Al-Qaida Gunmen Escape Says Official
¤ Problems in Iraq Lead More Muslims to See U.S., Israel the Same Way
¤ Editorial: Puppets? What puppets?
¤ Stolen propane trucks in Texas found
¤ Scrubbing Dick (Cheney)
¤ US accuses Iran of nuclear 'deceit and denial'
¤ Proof, Negative
¤ 'Bush wants us to swallow evidence obtained by secrecy, abuse'
¤ US marines jailed for torturing Iraqi
Flashback ¤ 'US knew Iraq was WMD free'
Flashback ¤ CIA accused of lying about WMDs
Flashback ¤ CIA: Pentagon lied in run-up to war
¤ An attack on key Saudi oil terminal could destabilise west
¤ Fuelling the crisis
¤ Rocket Hits U.S. Base at Kirkuk Airport
¤ The Emperor May Have Had Fewer Clothes Than Originally Reported
¤ New President, New Car Bomb
¤ Celebrating Life in Rafah
¤ Transition countdown
¤ UN agency condemns Israeli tank fire on Palestinian school
¤ It's All About the Oil
¤ Massive arms dump blasts hit US base in Iraq
¤ 22 killed in Iraq violence
¤ Speaking up for Palestine
¤ US security, Iraqi freedom are unrelated
¤ Saudi Attack Spurs More U.S. Workers to Pull Up Stakes
¤ Number of Iraq, Afghanistan abuse cases rise to 91
¤ ''Occupation of Iraq Causing Intense Strain to the U.S. Military''
¤ Five humanitarian workers killed in north Afghanistan
¤ US frantic to soften harsh language in UN rights report on Iraq
¤ Troubled Karachi held to ransom
¤ The rout of the neo-cons
¤ Now gimme those heartland votes
¤ Russia: Yet another Central Asian state
¤ Marketing America: A tale of two careers
¤ U.S. Probing Chalabi Allegations
¤ Sexual Assaults In Army On Rise
¤ Dying Devotion to Young Cleric Springs From Poverty, Patriotism
¤ Democracy bites in Indonesia
¤ New Iraq cabinet prioritises security
¤ No consensus on Iraq resolution
¤ To Many, Mission Not Accomplished
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2004
¤ Will the NY Times Pay For Its Crimes?
¤ Israel wants Iraq to pay compensation
¥ Talk about Ironic
¤ Royal Navy says sorry after Spanish arrest SBS pair
¤ SBS Men Nicked By Spain Drug Police
¤ Torture at Abu Ghraib Followed CIA's Manual
¤ Oil-Rich Iraq Hit By Another Fuel Crisis
¤ Electorate is wising up to the Iraq blunder
¤ Army Issues Order to Stop U.S. Soldiers from Leaving
¤ When Dishing Out Blame, Don't Stop With Bush
¤ Bush's False Advertising
¤ Bush Whisks Away Torture and Murder
¤ One Year On, Big Media More Willing To Cover Up Than Change
¤ Beware of Credible Intelligence
¤ The US Has Lost the Iraq War
¤ U.S. peacekeeping troops leaving Haiti
¤ Iran Challenges U.S. to Prove Nuclear Bomb Charge
¤ UN: Palestinian youth traumatised
¤ Iran rebuffs US nuclear arms claims
¤ U.S/Iraqi cabinet
¤ Full Sovereignty in Iraq Might Not Be So
¤ Bush insists new government will not be US puppets
¤ Dropping the sovereignty baton
¤ Palestinian killed in Israeli raid
¤ Militants, U.S. Troops Clash in Kufa
¤ Four killed, 20 hurt in Baghdad blast
¤ We are torturers too
¤ America is breaching international law at will
¤ America's thirst for oil keeps it in Saudis' thrall
¤ Enron Traders Caught On Tape
¤ Other things Iraq war funding can pay for
¤ An Edsel, Not an Empire
¤ Army noted Geneva Conventions violations in Iraq prisons last fall
¤ Neocon Collapse in Washington and Baghdad
¤ Not one politician has lost their job over Iraq. It is time they did
¤ More Money for Mercenaries
¤ Hospitality and Hunger in Baghdad
¤ It's business as usual
¤ Oil price soars to new high
¤ Even Opec cannot stem this surge
¤ Into the unknown
¤ Bombs welcome new Iraqi president
¤ Troops Would Leave Iraq in '06 Under Plan
¤ Bush warned against comparing D-Day to Iraq
¤ Turkish, Egyptian Man Kidnapped in Iraq
Shrill Bill Cosby and the speech that shocked black America
Posted: Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Ebonics! Weird Names! $500 Shoes!
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
May 26 - June 1, 2004
I never got Fat Albert. Dumb Donald wore a lampshade for a hat, Russell dressed like a bag lady, and Bucky appeared to be the victim of a back-alley orthodontist. Bill Cosby's distorted, funny-looking kids couldn't shoot fire from their hands, and they wouldn't know a weather dominator from a flux capacitor. Instead, they were a dumb and dumpy bunch who conquered the travails of life (deodorant? candy overload?) with one simple weapon—Fat Albert's formidable moral center.
I thought about that moral center last week, when Cosby ventured down to Washington and ripped into the have-nots among us. The occasion was the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Ed, and the Coz had been invited to Chocolate City by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the NAACP proper, and Howard University. The triumvirate had decided to honor Cosby for having "advanced the promise of Brown." Cosby decided to do some advancing of his own.
Full Article : villagevoice.com
Media Fall Short on Iraq, Venezuela
Posted: Tuesday, June 1, 2004
by Mark Weisbrot
Last week the New York Times published an 1100-word note "From the Editors" criticizing its own reporting on the build-up to the Iraq war and the early stages of the occupation. On Sunday the newspaper's Public Editor went further, citing "flawed journalism" and stories that "pushed Pentagon assertions so aggressively you could almost sense epaulets sprouting on the shoulders of editors."
This kind of self-criticism is important, because the media played an important role in convincing the American public -- and probably the Congress as well -- that the war was justified. Unfortunately, these kinds of mistakes are not limited to the New York Times -- or to reporting on Iraq.
Venezuela is a case in point. The Bush administration has been pushing for "regime change" in Venezuela for years now, painting a false and exaggerated picture of the reality there. As in the case of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction and links to Al-Qaeda, the Administration has gotten a lot of help from the media.
Reporting on Venezuela relies overwhelmingly on opposition sources, many of them about as reliable as Ahmed Chalabi. Although there are any number of scholars and academics -- both Venezuelan and international -- who could offer coherent arguments on the other side, their arguments almost never appear. For balance, we usually get at most a poor person on the street describing why he likes Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, or a sound bite from Chavez himself denouncing "imperialist intervention." More at: www.commondreams.org
Media Fall Short
Posted: Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Media Fall Short on Iraq, Venezuela
by Mark Weisbrot
Last week the New York Times published an 1100-word note "From the Editors" criticizing its own reporting on the build-up to the Iraq war and the early stages of the occupation. On Sunday the newspaper's Public Editor went further, citing "flawed journalism" and stories that "pushed Pentagon assertions so aggressively you could almost sense epaulets sprouting on the shoulders of editors."
This kind of self-criticism is important, because the media played an important role in convincing the American public -- and probably the Congress as well -- that the war was justified. Unfortunately, these kinds of mistakes are not limited to the New York Times -- or to reporting on Iraq.
Venezuela is a case in point. The Bush administration has been pushing for "regime change" in Venezuela for years now, painting a false and exaggerated picture of the reality there. As in the case of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction and links to Al-Qaeda, the Administration has gotten a lot of help from the media.
Reporting on Venezuela relies overwhelmingly on opposition sources, many of them about as reliable as Ahmed Chalabi. Although there are any number of scholars and academics -- both Venezuelan and international -- who could offer coherent arguments on the other side, their arguments almost never appear. For balance, we usually get at most a poor person on the street describing why he likes Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, or a sound bite from Chavez himself denouncing "imperialist intervention." www.commondreams.org
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, June 1, 2004
¤ The lying game
¤ An empire of denial
¤ Twelve Questions for President Bush
¤ Will the Times Clean House?
¤ The Great Escape
¤ Media Fall Short on Iraq, Venezuela
¤ Manufacturers of Fear and Loathing in Rafah
¤ 25 killed in explosion as Iraqi president is named
¤ 'Quicker than Vietnam, and 'Worse Than Watergate''
¤ Marines admit abuse at second prison
¤ Ignoring Iraqi Death Toll Labelled a “Holocaust Denial”
¤ Rioting grips Karachi after mosque attack
¤ America Used UN Veto to Protect Israeli War Crimes – 24 Times!
¤ Six Firms Control, Exceed U.S. Oil Leases
¤ IBA illegally confiscated papers of Arabs
¤ So many reasons for war
¤ Remind Us Again Why the war Flash
¤ Bush's war has nothing to do with the spirit of D-day
¤ Email shows Cheney 'link' to oil contract
¤ Aristide welcomed into African exile
¤ Pakistan Mosque Bombing Death Toll at 19
¤ US fails to talk round defiant council
¤ Explosions Heard in Central Baghdad
¤ Saudi siege fallout threatens oil prices
¤ 'US choice' turns down Iraq presidency
¤ Mbeki welcomes deposed Haitian leader to £30,000-a-month stay in South Africa
¤ Bremer threatens to veto Iraqis' choice of president
¤ Iraqi leaders call Bremer `a dictator' in dispute over new president
¤ Cooling on Ashcroft
¤ The United States of Boeing
¤ Questions for the President
¤ My Dad the Warhawk
¤ Who’s the Boss?
¤ Financial Markets Forecast and Analysis
¤ No More Tears, No More Sympathy for America
Flashback ¤ OPEC Has Already Turned to the Euro
¤ It’s official now, US Army ‘robbed’ Iraqis
¤ Human Faces for Our Favorite Evildoers
¤ 2 Palestinian diplomats freed from Abu Ghraib
¤ CNN Says Saudi Attack Was a Conspiracy
¤ Iraq sites plundered for valuable `scrap'
¤ 3rd of detainees who died were assaulted
¤ 'It Is Getting Worse by the Day Here'
¤ Faceless terrorism
¤ Death toll in Caribbean floods soars past 1,700
¤ 20 militiamen, two US soldiers killed in Kufa clashes
¤ 18 die in Karachi Imambargah bomb blast
¤ How Abu Ghraib torture victim faces final indignity: an unmarked grave
¤ After the Saudi Rampage, Questions and Few Answers
¤ 111 Palestinians killed in May
¤ Colin Powell once again the point man
¤ At Least 5 More G.I.'s Are Killed in Iraq
¤ US troops kill Afghan student
¤ Britain to 'win hearts and minds' of its Muslims
¤ Enemies Among Us
¤ 'Sovereignty' at issue in final push for Iraq transition plan
¤ US hawks are forced to fly back into the House of Saud
¤ Haiti's U.S.-Backed Government Survives on Foreign Troops, Aid
¤ Dates on Prison Photos Show Two Phases of Abuse
¤ Army Investigates Wider Iraq Offenses
¤ Karzai's Talks Raise Fears About Afghan Vote
¤ What Kind of Memorial for Iraq War?
¤ Oil price jumps in wake of Saudi attack
¤ Deaths show US using excessive force
¤ Sharon Threatens To Sack Cabinet if They Did Not Vote for his Plan
¤ Puppet regime / client state
¤ More Lies From the US Government and US Media About Iraq
¤ Train wreck
¤ Explosions Reportedly Kill 10 in Baghdad
¤ Al-Yawir appointed interim Iraq president
¤ Iraqis, U.S. Reach Deal on President; Blast Kills 25
¤ Chavez: No fear of referendum
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