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August 2003
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, August 31, 2003
¤ The US Empire Loots The Iraqi Survivors
¤ 'Down with America' chants crowd as Shia Muslims mourn dead
¤ Thousands mourn murdered Iraq cleric
Flashback Bechtel Iraq deal 'to be extended'
¤ US asks Israel to explore reopening Iraq pipeline
¤ Journalists Find "Calm" When Only Palestinians Die
¤ Which president told the biggest whoppers?
¤ US soldiers die in Afghan clash
¤ "U.S. Occupation of Iraq Faces Both Old and New Resistance"
¤ United Nations to pull most staff out of Iraq
¤ Blair tells party: we’ll dump spin
¥ Just another spin
¤ The Great WMD Hunt: The media knew they were there-but where are they?
¤ Needed: An Inquiry Into A Slaughter
Flashback Condi's Phony History
¤ Bogus Iraqi defectors may have duped Allied spies
¥ They say they were duped but even the most high-profile
¥ defector from Iraq - Hussein Kamel said No weapons
Flashback: IRAQ: `Star witness' told US that weapons were totally destroyed
¤ Star Witness on Iraq Said Weapons Were Destroyed
¤ What did the Iraqi defector say?
¤ Transcript of interview with Iraqi defector exposes White House lies
¤ Followup Needed After Newsweek Story on Iraqi Weapons
¤ Israeli assassins kill hopes of peace for Palestinians
¤ Dozens of Taliban Killed in Afghanistan
¤ Russian Sub Sinks, Killing 9 Crew Members
¤ Phoney websites earning millions for fraudsters
¤ Blair plans new 'Ministry of Truth' for the post-spin era
¤ An intellectual wasteland
¤ Hutton's place in history
¤ Me and my shadow
¤ Oil pipeline set ablaze in Kirkuk
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, August 30, 2003
¤ The Choreography of Occupation
¤ Handmaid in Babylon
Flashback J.P. Morgan Chase to Run Iraq's Trade Bank, U.S. Says
¤ Korea: The hexagon of uncertainty
Flashback Bush OK'd Niger statement at NSC meetings
¤ Sex abuse at US air force
¤ Moussaoui Wins Another Round
¤ No to occupying Gaza
¤ Blair declared guilty of lying
¤ Bush Foreign Policy Made Simple - and Easy to Fix!
¤ Capitalist Contradictions
¤ Media Terrorists Explode Bomb in Australia
¤ Israeli Missile Strike Kills Militants in Gaza
¤ US trying to create new institutions in the Middle East, says Rice
¤ Fire Hits Oil Pipeline in Northern Iraq
¤ Venezuela's recall: The other side of the story
¤ An expensive war, after all
¤ Top Shia cleric dies in Iraqi mosque bombing
¤ Calls for vengeance as Iraq's Shias mourn their dead
¤ Car bomb kills 95 in Iraq; a top cleric is among dead
¤ Top Shia leader among 85 killed in Najaf car bombing
¤ Charismatic cleric was central to US strategy
¤ Killing of Shia cleric a blow to US peace hope
¤ Bull as big as Texas
¤ US decree strips thousands of their jobs in Iraq
¤ N. Korea Rejects Additional Nuclear Talks
¤ Diamonds that spell death
¤ Exit the spinmeister
¤ Blair's Iraq dossier
¤ Off the hook - for now
¤ Afghan troops kill 20 more Taliban
¤ Heat wave kills 11,435 in France
Venezuela's recall:
Posted: Saturday, August 30, 2003
The other side of the story
WASHINGTON All too often White House statements about Iraq's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and other dubious justifications for war, were taken at face value by the American press. Now there is another example of the triumph of misinformation, which - not coincidentally - again concerns an oil-rich country where the U.S. government seeks "regime change." Venezuela. This time, however, it is not a dictatorship but a democracy that is under attack.
Venezuela's recall: The other side of the story
Posted: Saturday, August 30, 2003
Mark Weisbrot IHT
Friday, August 29, 2003
WASHINGTON All too often White House statements about Iraq's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and other dubious justifications for war, were taken at face value by the American press. Now there is another example of the triumph of misinformation, which - not coincidentally - again concerns an oil-rich country where the U.S. government seeks "regime change." Venezuela. This time, however, it is not a dictatorship but a democracy that is under attack.
President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela was democratically elected, first in 1998, and then again in 2000 under a new constitution that was approved by voters in a referendum. Despite massive political turmoil, including a 64-day oil strike that crippled the economy, there have been no states of emergency or suspension of constitutional rights under his government.
In fact, under the Chávez government, in contrast to past governments of Venezuela, freedom of speech, assembly and association have been absolute. "I believe that freedom of speech is as alive in Venezuela as it is in any other country I've visited," former President Jimmy Carter said during a visit there last year.
If the reader has a different impression, it is because American reporting on Venezuela generally includes far-fetched opposition charges - that Chávez is creating a "Castro-communist dictatorship," for example - often without rebuttal.
In April last year, Chávez was briefly overthrown by a military coup that the Bush administration initially welcomed. The coup was preceded by the traditional hallmarks of a Washington-sponsored regime change, including increased U.S. funding to opposition groups and high-level meetings between U.S. officials and key people involved in the coup.
The Bush administration continues to intervene politically in Venezuela. Last month Washington cut off credit to Venezuela from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. According to foreign diplomats here, the head of the bank privately admitted that this was done for political reasons.
In the last few weeks there has been a concerted public relations effort both in the United States and in Venezuela, joined by the Bush administration, to create a false impression about a proposed referendum to recall Chávez. The Bush administration wants people to believe that the government signed an agreement with the opposition to hold a recall referendum, and that Chávez will be to blame if it does not happen. The editorial boards of several major U.S. newspapers have already endorsed this script.
But the government signed no such agreement - that would be like Governor Gray Davis of California agreeing to a recall election before anyone gathered signatures and filed a petition. The opposition will have to submit the signatures and follow the constitutional procedures - just as in California - before any referendum is held.
Furthermore, the opposition is divided and it is not clear that the most powerful elements really want a referendum. It carries more risk for them than it does for Chávez. They are already discredited for having led a badly bungled coup attempt and a strike that devastated the economy and won them nothing. If they lose the referendum, or fail to gather the required 2.5 million valid signatures to obtain one, their game could be over.
Even if the opposition were to win, they would only win a new election - in which Chávez would probably be eligible to run. And it is very likely that he would win - no one else in Venezuela has anywhere near his level of support.
This has been the opposition's main problem for the last four and a half years: They can't win an election because the vast majority of the country is poor and has rejected the traditional governing elite after 40 years of corrupt rule. So they have turned to other means, such as the military coup, the oil strike and other efforts to destabilize the government.
In the coming months most American news reports will blame whatever goes wrong in Venezuela on the Chávez government. Those who want to hear the other side of the story - or even get a rough idea of what is actually going on - had better be prepared to spend some time digging around on the Internet.
The writer is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Reproduced for Fair Use Only from:
http://www.iht.com/articles/108059.html
Latest News
Posted: Friday, August 29, 2003
¤ US says Iraq arms plan relied on deceit
¤ Bush Nuclear Policy is a Recipe for National Insecurity
¤ What Victory?
¤ How the US Occupation of Iraq Imperils International Law
¤ Why didn't Blair prepare for post-Saddam Iraq?
¤ U.S. sinking in Iraq quagmire
¤ The hand of history is pointing to the door
¤ Expectations A Problem
¤ Hooray for GI George
¤ Fistfuls of Dollars
¤ Blair's Top Image Strategist Resigns
¤ Intellectuals
¤ Copter Blamed For Dislodging Shiite Banner
¤ U.S.-led security failure behind Hakim death
¤ Bulgarian Troops Attacked in Iraq, No Casualties
¤ Blix Felt U.S. Intimidating Him Before Iraq War
¤ Chalabi calls for security to be handed over to Iraqis
¤ Will Bush administration ever admit mistakes?
¤ Territorial Army soldier killed in Iraq
¤ GI Killed, 4 Hurt in Iraq Convoy Attack
¤ 'America will pay a high price in blood'
¤ Key U.N. Members Push U.S. on Iraq Troops
Flashback IMF warns US over mounting deficit
¤ Blair's U-turn as he admits central role in naming Kelly
¤ Blair can't be trusted, say 59 per cent in poll
¤ British troops are prime target in Iraq
¤ Sidelining of Arafat may have backfired
¤ 40 more Taliban killed in fighting: report
¤ Israel kills activist in rocket response
¤ Israel Kills Hamas Fugitive in Airstrike
¤ 'We don't have police, we have gunmen'
¤ Fierce Fighting Reported in Afghanistan
¤ For some, the era of apartheid never ended
¤ Unfair and unbalanced?
¤ Groping in the Dark
¤ The other side of the story
¤ Stay put: first police order to WTC workers
¤ US proposals 'beyond tolerance'
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, August 28, 2003
¤ Bush Buys Lies to Push His War
¤ Occupied Iraq Will Never Know Peace
¤ The soldier mythos
¤ Post-Sept. 11 Credibility Gap
¤ Deception: Iraq War Quagmire
¤ Billions, Trillions, Who Cares?
Flashback Lights, Camera, Exploitation
¤ War is a Racket
¤ Shooting Ali in the Back Why the Pacification is Doomed
¤ 50 Yrs After the CIA's First Overthrow of a Democratically Elected Government
¤ Marketing the Invasion of Iraq
¤ Fox News is Stupid and Silly in a "Fair and Balanced Way"
¤ Palestine: What's Really Going On
¤ Iraq war makes U.S. less safe
¤ Collective Self-Deception The Most Common Mistakes of Israelis
¤ Arms Fair Fury: Mod Invites Syria To Buy
¤ U.S. questions prewar intelligence
¤ U.S. soliders marry Iraqi women against orders
¤ Londoners turn out to "see Blair squirm"
¤ A deadly franchise
> The global war on terror is a smokescreen
> used by governments to wipe out opponents.
¥ The U.S slso used to war channel funds to party supporters e.g...
¤ Halliburton, Bechtel Win More Iraq Deals
¤ Iraq set to swallow up countless billions as costs soar, US admits
¤ Rebuilding Iraq will cost tens of billions of dollars in next year alone
Flashback Cost of Iraq war could total $1,600 billion
¤ Iraq recovery bill drains reserves
¤ Halliburton, Bechtel Win More Iraq Deals
¤ Bush Mulls U.S.-Led U.N. Force in Iraq
¤ Another 10,000 troops for Iraq are not enough for Bush
¤ Report Card on the Bush Administration's "War on Terrorism"
¤ Building the coalition of the unwilling
¤ Troops for Iraq not linked to US loan: Turkey
¤ US slams Arab TV airing threats
¤ British Soldier Killed in Iraq Attack
¤ Blair takes the hot seat in Britain's Iraq-war affair
¤ Prime Minister's question time
¤ Hoon: don't blame me
¤ Blair approved Kelly’s ‘exposure’, says Hoon
¤ Violence will end when occupation ends
¤ Iraq aid groups reduce presence
¤ US asks Arafat to ‘get out of the way’
¤ Expectations low for deal with Pyongyang
¤ The US-North Korea Dance
¤ Coalition forces kill 12 militants in Afghanistan
¤ US bids farewell to Saudi air base
¤ NASA could have saved shuttle crew, damning report finds
¤ US ends funds for African Aids programme
¤ 9/11 victims' last words to be revealed
¤ Hindu pilgrims crushed to death in river stampede
¤ 45 killed in Indian stampede
¤ Man kills six colleagues in shooting
¤ US Navy's sonar is danger to sea life, judge rules
¥ On the land, in the air and under the sea the U.S is always a threat
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2003
¤ Hiding the Body Count The Little Deaths
¤ The War is Not Going Well for Bush
¤ The Trigger for the Lastest Suicide Bombings?
¤ A People-Less Country?
¤ The Jihad All-Stars
¤ Only Iraqis can save Iraq
¤ Time To Get Real In Iraq
¤ United Nations At War With United States
¤ Jews must reward Bush for stance on Israel
¤ Tens of billions of dollars needed to rebuild Iraq: Bremer
¤ When will Bush administration admit mistakes?
¤ Bush Sounds Backtracking on His Vision Promised to Palestinians
¤ Harrison Ford Blasts U.S. Iraq Policy
¤ Getting into Iraq proved easy. Getting out is already a nightmare
¤ Israeli missile attack on Hamas leader misses target and kills passerby
¤ Palestinian Man Killed in Botched Strike
¤ Israeli troops seize two wounded Palestinians from intensive care unit
¤ Even the optimists are losing heart as Iraq goes from bad to worse
¤ Bremer: Iraq Effort to Cost Tens of Billions
¤ Concern rises over costs of war in patriotic town
¤ Defiant Bush vows to 'stay the course' in terror war
¤ Keeping up appearances
¤ Bush may yet fall victim
¤ Bush to tackle Iraq doubts as death toll rises
¤ Bush, Barbie or Bob the builder - a choice to toy with
¤ US launches operation in Iraq; two more soldiers killed
¤ ‘US should cut its nuclear arsenal’
¤ Iran feels the squeeze, again
¤ French soldiers killed amid fear of new Ivory Coast coup
¤ Iraqis impatient for promised democracy
¤ How and Why Did Iraqi Die? 2 Tales of Anger and Denial
¤ Attacks spark new security fears
¤ For humanitarian aid workers, Iraq is dangerous country
¤ Bush's team kept energy investigators in the dark
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, August 26, 2003
¤ A Tradition of Smearing the Dead
¤ Baghdad Deadlier Than Ever
¤ Postwar U.S. Iraq Deaths Exceed Toll During War
¤ Unprepared for Peace in Iraq
¤ Dust and Deception
¤ Grassroots Democracy in Iraq, American Style
¤ Kerry’s Deceptions on Iraq Threaten His Presidential Hopes
¤ Dubious Dossier Fueled Bush Deceits
¤ African Uranium and the Scarlett Dossier
¤ How to Get U.S. Attention?
¤ America's Double Standard Infuriates Rest of the World
¤ GM Industry Falling Apart Worldwide
¤ Military Serving Soylent Green Let's Eat Our Own
¤ The Racists Are On! Hypocrisy Of The Left
¤ U.S. Losing War On Terror In Iraq
¤ UN rethinks work amid Baghdad chaos
¤ Iraq Could Become U.S.'s West Bank and Gaza
¤ Israeli Soldiers Raid West Bank Hospital
¤ Veteran correspondent attacks war rescue 'stunt'
¤ 2 U.S. Officials Liken Guerrillas to Renegade Postwar Nazi Units
¤ U.S. Soldier Killed in Iraq, Troops Hunt Guerrillas
¤ Is US force too small? Not in Bush view of Iraq
¤ Liars couldn't expect flowers after bombs and occupation
¤ 45 killed in Bombay bomb blasts
¤ US to train Iraqi police volunteers in Hungary
¤ Ethnic Violence Simmers in Kirkuk, Iraq
¤ EU and US demands threaten trade round
¤ Beware the bluewash
¤ Bush may yet fall victim to the electors' revenge
¤ 47 killed in Mumbai blasts
¤ India in fear of further attacks after twin bomb blasts
¤ 50 Taliban killed in Afghanistan
¤ Iran, Turkey slam US-led coalition over instability
¤ Trust Us, We're the Government
¤ Marching Toward Apocalypse
¤ Searching for a real man to fight the real wars
¤ Give the UN a self-protection force in Iraq
¤ U.S. stands by as key Iraqi archive is destroyed
¤ US asks Israel to explore the reopening of an oil pipeline from Iraq
¤ Inside Israel's secret prison
¤ Fractious Shiites keep US invasion forces guessing
Latest News
Posted: Monday, August 25, 2003
¤ US/Canada Ties in the Wake of the Iraq Invasion
¤ A Weapons Cache We'll Never See
¤ The US left picking up the pieces
¤ I Fear Things are Going Badly
¤ Gunpoint Democracy in Iraq
¤ Saving Face, Losing a War
¤ Bus stop blasts hit Russian city
¤ On Defensive in Baghdad, U.S. Forces Are Uneasy
¤ International Troops to Stay in Afghanistan Until 2006
¤ 'Over 400 women kidnapped, raped in post-war Iraq'
¤ Danish soldier killed by his own troops
¤ Blair Rocked By File Storm
¤ U.S. Jets Bombard Suspected Taliban Camp
¤ Iran's press regroups amid crackdown
¤ War Isn't Hell.
Flashback ¤ Unprovoked Attack on the UN in Iraq? Ask the Iraqis!
¤ The Real Winners
¤ 'Foreign' Logic
¤ In Iraq, building peace will cost more lives than winning the war
¤ Then we'll have another war
¤ Osama, Saddam, Wars, Terrorism, and the US: Who Outwitted Whom?
¤ Forced To Beg, Buy Or Borrow
¤ Boutros Ghali lambasts pliant UN
¤ The foot soldiers are rebelling
¤ World balks at growing Iraq perils
¤ Ashcroft's Lack Of Credibility
¤ American censure demonstrates bias
¤ All the news that fits the stereotype
¤ A tally of US taxpayers' tab for Iraq
¤ The end of reason
¤ At least 40 dead in Bombay explosions
¤ 40 dead, 125 hurt in Bombay blasts
¤ Bombay Blasts Kill 25 People, Injure 150
¤ Israel kills four in missile attack
¤ Iraq ,The Only Choice Before US
¤ Growing opposition to Bush re-election
¤ Blasts Rock Bombay; Six Reported Killed
¤ Iran Minister: U.K. Arrest Will Harm Ties
¤ How the French View the American Predicament
¤ Explosions Kill Three in Southern Russia
¤ Bomb kills three in Najaf
¤ Anti-war feeling fuels the rise of Dean
¤ Bush's witchfinder-general had carte blanche to snoop on Americans
¤ Campbell laid battle lines for war with BBC two months before report
¤ Kelly family protested over smear campaign
¤ Ethnic clash in oil city spells more trouble for US
¤ Kagame accused of manipulating fear to win new term as Rwandan leader
¤ Bush uses crises to push preset agenda
¤ Army insists it must still win support of locals
¤ $2.10 a gallon?! How gas prices got so high in the U.S
¤ Hamas chief dies in Israeli helicopter attack
¤ For Afghan women: new regime, centuries-old barriers
¤ 12 Afghan soldiers die in Taliban attack
¤ U.S. Said to Plan Bigger Afghan Role, Stepping Up Aid
¤ 3 Senators Say Iraq Needs More U.S. Troops and Money
¤ Canberra defies troop call
¤ U.S. to Send Iraqis to Site in Hungary for Police Course
¤ U.S. rejects Israeli request to join visa waiver plan
¤ U.S. tells Israel: Boycott of Arafat continues
¤ Soldiers' deaths add to pressure on MoD
¤ Rumsfeld prepares to overhaul the military
¤ U.S. Officials Reject Iraq Reinforcements
¤ Troops for Iraq
¤ US sprinter's track tantrum
¤ Should a Mafia Don lead World Muslims?
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, August 24, 2003
¤ Blair damned by avalanche of evidence
¤ America and its Friends
¤ Bogged down in Iraq, US encounters limits to military power
¤ U.S. mired in a mess of its own making
¤ It's time to fire Rumsfeld
¤ Another Casualty of the Iraq War
¤ We Have A Long And Dishonourable Tradition Of Smearing The Dead
¤ At Least 4 Are Reported Killed in Israeli Missile Strike in Gaza
¤ Former UN chief: bomb was payback for collusion with US
¤ Teaming Up Again?
¤ Foreign Islamic Militants Add To Coalition Worries in Iraq
¤ Palestinian Leaders Wage Power Struggle
¤ Bremer: U.S. seeks more Iraqi help
¤ Rumsfeld Seeking to Bolster Force Without New G.I.'s
¤ Where Do They Go From Here?
¤ U.S. Marines return to ships off Liberia
¤ Europe Reacts Coolly to Bush's Call to Freeze Charities' Assets
¤ 11 Killed In Ethnic Violence In N. Iraq
¤ Palestinians Launch Rocket Attack on Israel
¤ Palestine, brutally occupied for 36 years
¤ Israeli Occupation Forces Assassinate Palestinian Activist
¤ Israel, Palestinian hardliners reject new truce bid
¤ Poll shows more Americans wouldn't vote for Bush
¤ Nights in white gunfire in Kirkuk
¤ Israel to discuss transfer of oil from Iraq
¤ Kelly death inquiry Blair's Watergate
¤ Iraqis killed in holy city bomb
¤ Analysts Doubt U.S. Claim on Iraqi Drones
¤ Having Bush instead of Gore has cost Americans $39,233 each so far
¤ Iraq, a quagmire or another Vietnam?
¤ Our Arrogant Friend
¤ Crossing the Fine Line Between Spinning and Lying
¤ Venezuelans Keep Faith in Hugo Chavez
¤ A war without end?
¤ Diehards who kill for a revolution
¤ Blair duped us on Iraq WMD say two thirds of the public
¤ U.S. Seeks More Iraqi Help, Official Says
¤ British soldiers gunned down in Basra ambush
¤ Farewell America
¤ Bombers could cost Bush the White House
¤ Revealed: how ministers tried to gag David Kelly
¤ Israel urges EU to freeze assets of Hamas funders
¤ French NGO rejects Bush allegations of links to Hamas
¤ Alone, the US will fail
¤ Police confusion heightens US sniper spree fears
¤ The tragedy is compounded by absurdity
¤ Etiquette of email
¤ Paedophile US priest is killed in prison
¤ Group denies role in U.N. bombing
¤ Six in Guard unit injured in Iraqi ambush, relatives say
¤ Foreign Terrorism Said 'Emerging' in Iraq
¥ Which ones the U.S or British soldies
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, August 23, 2003
Flashback We Don't Need U.N. Permission
Flashback Schröder Rules Out Troops for Iraq
¤ "No War" A Full-Throated Cry
¤ Insults to Intelligence
¤ Forest or Against Us
¤ So Many Deaths, So Few Answers
¤ Who Are the Extremists?
¤ The Roadmap is Finished, Mr. Secretary
¤ Another Round of Suicide Bombings?
¤ Hamas says Bush is "Islam's biggest enemy"
¤ No Flinching in War on Terror, Bush Says
¤ Half Century Of Israeli Assassinations
¤ Govt 'lied every time' over Iraq, Wilkie says
¤ Judge throws book at Fox News
¤ In Courtroom, Laughter at Fox and a Victory for Al Franken
¤ Bush appoints anti-Muslim to peace role
¤ It's official - Saddam was not an imminent threat
¤ A man is dead, but who will pay the price?
¤ Australian intelligence on Iraq ‘a clear dishonesty’
¥ This is the same 'intelligence' that the U.S and Britian used
¤ Australian case for Iraq war was 'fabricated'
¥ So was the U.S and British case.
¤ Don't attack me - just explain, pleads Australian Wilkie
¤ America’s call
> The UN position even now is that the Anglo-American invasion
> and occupation of Iraq was, and is, illegal.
> Therefore, Iraq is a US, and not UN, venture and any UN action
> in support of the occupation would violate its own stance and Charter.
¤ Powell's call for more troops and money falls on deaf ears
¤ France dismissed the US request for countries provide troops for Iraq.
¤ Sanctions Harden Iraqis Attitude to U.N.
¤ US heads fail to win Iraqi hearts
¤ Annan throws doubt on international help in Iraq
¤ US finds Britain its lone supporter
¥ Partners in crime
¤ Death of a cameraman
¤ The plot thickens
¤ Blair returns to face Hutton
¤ The philosophers of chaos reap a whirlwind
¤ Three British Soldiers Killed, One Hurt
¤ Three British soldiers killed in Basra
¤ Two more US soldiers killed in Iraq
¤ Injustice in Guantánamo
¤ America is losing the battle for Arab opinion
¥ Only Americans believe that everyone 'liked' them
¤ Bush's pollution charter
¤ Bush gives power plants a get-out on pollution control
¤ Afghan Forces Kill Four Suspected Taliban
¤ Four Taliban among six killed in Afghanistan
¤ Inside story of the hunt for Bin Laden
¤ Israel to kill more militant chiefs
¤ US Allowed for Israel to ‘Negotiate Roadmap’ Instead of Implementing It
¤ Kharazi due in India for talks on Iraq
¤ Space race launch pad blast kills 21
¤ Grounded ship carrying unprocessed uranium to U.S.
¤ Liberia's chief wants amnesty, not trials
¤ China Wary of Weapons Searches
Latest News
Posted: Friday, August 22, 2003
¤ Moral Schmoral
¤ The Longer We Stay, the Deeper They Will Hate Us
¤ Now It’s Your Turn
¤ Sharon is Now a Danger to US Troops and Hopes in Iraq
¤ Powell Asks Countries for More Money, Troops in Iraq
¤ 50 years later, Iranians remember US-UK coup
¤ Write a Story, Go to Jail
¤ No Easy Exit
¤ Action Figures For Imbeciles
¤ Going It Alone is Road Map to Perdition
¤ If Famous Journalists Became Honest Rappers
¤ Behind the Failure
¤ One Sad and Scary Anniversary Deserves Another
¤ That giant sucking sound
¤ 'Who forged the Iraq evidence and why?'
¤ Cheap Thrills
¤ Cheap thrills: Bush buys lies to push war
¤ Now We Are The Iraq Extremists
¤ Lootocracy
¤ Bush Orders U.S. to Freeze Assets of Hamas Leaders
Flashback: ¤ Israel, U.S. sign loan guarantees worth $9 billion
¤ New UN resolution won't stop "decomposition" of Iraq: French FM
¤ Dead, then alive: Chemical Ali is captured by troops
¥ In a few months we may hear that they arrested Saddam two sons
Flashback: "Chemical Ali" dead...again, not still
¤ 'Chemical Ali' dead: UK officials
¤ ‘Chemical Ali’ Dead?
¤ British military: Body of 'Chemical Ali' found
¤ Chemical Ali may be dead after Basra air strike
¤ Chemical Ali believed dead-US troops in Baghdad palace
¤ Chemical Ali 'could still be alive'
¤ Violence spirals out of control in Afghanistan
¤ Kelly had said: 'I'll be found dead in woods'
¤ Butler mystified why WMD not found
¤ Government 'sexed up' WMD report: Wilkie
¤ US goes cap in hand to UN for reinforcements
¤ America needs friends to help it out of the Iraq mess
¥ It is highly unethical for the U.S. the world's last 'Super Power' to ask
any other country that did not support their invasion to help now.
They ignored other opinions in their haste to Invade.
They are now facing the consequences of their poor actions.
¤ Getting rid of villains doesn’t solve all the world’s problems
¤ Attack on UN is no surprise
¤ Liberian foes choose leader
¤ 12 Chechen militants, eight Russians killed in clash
¤ UN withdrawing staff from Iraq
¤ Two More US Soldiers Die in Iraq
¤ U.S. Faces Uphill Fight on New Iraq Draft
¤ Israel Warns It Will Kill More Militants
¤ Free the Dixie Three
¤ Death toll in French heatwave rises to 10,000
¤ The Intellectuals and Interventionism
¤ Recollecting Previous Madnesses
¤ After Saddam, the real terrorist threat
¤ US and Britain facing fight for support in Iraq
¤ 'Neutral' businessman to be Liberia leader
¤ Israel Warns of More Militant Targetings
¤ Killing of Hamas leader ends truce
¤ Hamas warns Pakistan against recognising Israel
¤ Powell asks Arafat to help stop killing
¤ Chirac goes on TV to quell heatwave anger
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, August 21, 2003
¤ What Osama Might Learn from UN Bombing
¤ Bush's Tinker-Toy Ideology Toward Permanent War?
¤ Who Forged the Iraq Evidence and Why?
¤ Rapes, Murders and Slaps on the Wrists
¤ The US Media's Double Standard
¤ The Grid Ate My Homework
¤ A Price Too High
¤ Wanted: Presidential Plan for Iraq
¤ Even the Obits are Going Against Bush
¤ UN will not leave Baghdad, Annan promises
¤ Israel Kills Hamas Leader, Militants Call Off Truce
¤ U.S. soldier killed in Iraq explosion
¤ Colleague: U.K. Scientist Feared Iraq War
¤ 'Terror coalition' feared in Iraq
¤ US foreign strategy comes down with a sickening thud
¤ A Price Too High
¤ Weapons Expert Talked of Being 'Found Dead,' Witness Says
¤ Shock doesn't lessen Iraqi frustration Many still see U.S. as main problem
¤ Lip-service democracy
¤ Troops get death and pay cuts while Bush gobbles barbecue, rakes in dough
¤ Burning down the White House
¤ They work for the devil and call him Jesus
¤ WorldCom in Iraq: No ethics? No experience? No problem!
¤ Investigation reveals why America is hated
¤ Latvia seizes illicit arms shipment bound for Iran
¤ UN's Annan blasts U.S. over lack of security in Iraq
¤ Into the quagmire
¤ US soldier, Iraqi translator killed
¤ Another optimistic Bush fantasy up in smoke
¤ U.S. Asks Allies for Iraq Occupation Help
¤ Guerillas ensuring US pleas for help fall on deaf ears
¤ U.S. Seeks Reinforcements for Iraq
¤ The Baghdad blast
¤ Campbell wanted to leak success of mole hunt to paper, inquiry told
¤ Security mistakes made by US, UN: Annan
¤ Chaos is breeding support for terrorists
¤ In for the long haul: credibility blown to shreds in the Middle East
¤ Poland to withdraw troops from 'high-risk area' near capital
¤ In Iraq, UN blurs with US
¤ Afghan violence snares civilians
¤ Sects, lies and videotapes
¤ Israel, U.S. sign loan guarantees worth $9 billion
¥ Just who benefits from 'attacks' on Israel?
¤ Israeli Troops Raid Two West Bank Towns
¤ Israeli Troops Roll Into Nablus, Jenin
¤ Israeli troops move into West Bank towns
¤ Sharon orders revenge strikes for bus bombing
¤ Gunbattle as tanks move on Jenin
¤ Palestinians riot in Israeli prison
¤ French heatwave death toll put at 13,600
¤ Ousted of Africa
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, August 20, 2003
¤ Bush's Crumbling Authority in Iraq Now No One is Safe
¤ The UN Bombing Act of Terrorism or Guerrilla Warfare?
¤ Lest we forget: September's dossier did not send us to war
¤ Life and Death on the Front Lines
¤ Who Wants to Go to Iraq Now?
¤ How America Created a Terrorist Haven
¤ Baghdad Bomb The Dream Of Empire Is Exploding In 0ur Faces
¤ A guerrilla war takes root
¤ Blast highlights U.S. failure to end chaos in Iraq
¤ Why we're losing in Iraq
¤ Spider and the fly
¤ 16 Words, But Not the Ones You're Thinking Of
¤ Quagmire Or Expensive Mud
¤ Arrogance of empire
¤ Losing hearts and minds
¤ Who is paying for rising costs in Iraq, Afghanistan?
¤ 'More bodies may be buried' at UN HQ
Flashback Why the UN is a target
¤ Anything, anyone could be hit
¤ Iraq: the agony goes on
¤ U.N. Halts Iraq Operations After Bombing
¤ Iraq bombing: The ball is in US hands
¤ The mounting cost of havoc in Iraq
¤ America's image problem in Southeast Asia
¤ Iran: The road not taken
¤ Bloodshed in Baghdad
¤ Iraq blast fits pattern of sabotage
¤ Experts Suggest Outsiders in Iraq Blast
¤ Bring Our Troops Home and Send In the Neocons
¤ Suicide bomber takes deadly toll
¥ Which side uses these 'attacks' to their advantage?
¤ Israel Cancels Handover After Bombing
¤ Sharon suspends contact with Palestinians
¤ Palestinian suicide bomber kills 20 and shatters peace process
¤ Road-map in tatters as Israel halts withdrawals
¤ Attacks Rising Vs. Humanitarian Workers
¤ Transexual marriage contested by children
¤ Afghan aid workers attacked
¤ 10 Afghan cops die in Taliban attack
¤ Massacre of the peacemakers
¤ Gilligan e-mail to MP exposed Kelly as source, inquiry told
¤ The influence of the wealthy
¤ The White House distorts science for political ends
¤ The price of going it alone
¤ Magnet for Evil
¤ Present Is Where The Danger Is
¤ Former detainees accuse US of ill-treatment
¤ Troops accused of negligence in shooting cameraman dead
¤ Indonesian terror raises fears of military rule
¤ Blood on the sky-blue flag
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, August 19, 2003
¤ At Least 18 Killed and Scores Wounded in Attack
¤ The Truth About Intelligence In Iraq: "Bring It On"
¤ Baghdad Blast
¤ Grenade Attack Wounds Two U.S. Soldiers in Iraq
¤ A Shock to the System Blackouts Happen
¤ What the hell are the US troops upto in Iraq?
¤ Govt. Excuses Wearing Very Thin! Inefficiency, Mistaken Identities And Cameras
¤ Media Casualties
¤ Cameraman feared being shot by US soldiers
¤ Zero (B.S.) Tolerance The Criminalization Of Sticking Up For Yourself
¤ Iraq becomes a battleground in war on infidels
¤ It was punishment without trial
¤ Idiot or Liar? Either Way, Bush Is Unfit for Office
¤ Bush's lie tactics to make case for Iraq war are Orwellian
¤ Bogus Blair, Bogus Bush
¤ Lies, damned lies, and news
¤ Home of Afghan president's brother bombed
¤ Ten Policemen Killed in Worsening Afghan Violence
¤ Rebel violence intensifies in Afghanistan
¤ In Iraq, a 'comfortable' 118°
¤ Ex-Prisoners Allege Rights Abuses by U.S. Military
¤ Iraq victory fails to oil world economy
¤ Bush Revises Views On 'Combat' in Iraq
¤ Why I attacked US troops
¤ While the lights are on, America shuts its eyes
¤ US troops 'crazy' in killing of cameraman
¤ Groups Want Probe in Iraq Shooting Death
¤ US admits cameraman was shot dead at close range
¤ US escalates GM food row with Europe
¤ American voters have two choices: Bush or Bush-lite
¤ Mass graves to reveal Iraq war toll
¤ U.S. Soldier Killed in Baghdad Blast
¤ Three killed in Taliban raid on police post
¤ Taliban strike back with deadly assaults
¤ 30% of black men in US will go to jail
¤ No 10 knew: Iraq no threat
¤ The e-mails, the rewritten dossier and how No 10 made its case for war
¤ 12 ex-Iraqi soldiers killed in blast
¤ Why to seek the UN cover now?
¤ US risks miscalculation on Iran
¤ Captured in the name of terror
¤ Sabotage deprives Baghdad of water
¤ Saboteurs strike oil pipeline again
¤ Drug war distortions
¤ Investigators hunt US sniper after three killings
¤ Blair's office ordered rewrite of dossier, inquiry told
¤ Harsh truths starting to dawn in Iraq
Latest News
Posted: Monday, August 18, 2003
¤ 'Tourture in Israel has again become routine'
¤ Fight the Power (Companies)!
¤ Desperate Imperialism
¤ Government soldiers kill 17 rebels in Nepal
¤ Media urge probe of journalist's death
¤ U.S.: Troops killed reporter in 'tragic incident'
¤ Former intelligence officer wanted his objections to dossier known
¤ US unveils new secret weapon
¤ The Fall Guy
¤ Blair, the BBC and the Devil's Dilemma
¤ The U.S., the U.N. and Iraq
¤ Vietnam In The Sand It Was In Fact About Oil Markets
¤ I am returning my George W. Bush 'action figure
¤ America two years after 9/11: 25 things we now know
¤ Forgive me. I voted for George W. Bush
¤ A chilling double standard turns U.S. into its own enemy
¤ The hidden dangers of documents
¤ Another U.S. war crime? Iraqi cities 'hot' with depleted uranium
¤ Rumsfeld 'led Bush to war'
¤ US troops gun down Reuters cameraman in Iraq
¤ Iraq hit by fresh attack on oil pipeline
¤ Saudis insist Britons were guilty
¤ 22 die in Taliban attack on police station
¤ After the fall
¤ Electricity warnings to prevent new US blackout
¤ When Wal-Mart comes to town
¤ Sabotage threatens Iraq's economy
¤ Intelligence officer's 'unease' at Straw's Iraq claims
¤ Bush blamed for chaos which led to blackouts
¤ US unveils new secret weapon
¤ Attacks in Iraq May Be Signals of New Tactics
¤ Iran denies enrichment of uranium
¤ Five US soldiers wounded
¤ Britain supports lifting of UN sanctions against Libya
¤ Sabotage stretches coalition in Iraq
¤ New York goes back to batteries
¤ Roadmap to slavery
¤ French death toll may have reached 5000
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, August 17, 2003
¤ Bush a 'very weak' man
¤ Top conservative says Iran should resist Western demands on nuclear issue
Flashback Weapons claim hearsay
¤ 22 killed in gunbattle at Afghan police station
¤ Strategy of chaos
¤ Danish Soldier Killed, Two U.S. Soldiers Wounded
¤ Wave of Sabotage Hits Iraq, Baghdad Jail Attacked
¤ Saboteurs strike at Iraq's oil, water supply
¤ Pentagon quashed report on U.S. help for Liberia
¤ Cautionary tale of Iraqi 'martyr'
¤ George Bush leads by omission and distortion
¤ Bush's goofball science
¤ Will the CIA Protect the White House?
¤ Investigations, Blame Surround U.S. Energy Crisis
¤ Reuters Cameraman Shot Dead in Iraq
¤ Man dies alone during blackout
¤ Israeli jets buzzed Assad palace as warning to Syria
¤ Blast rocks Lebanon's largest Palestinian camp
¤ Israeli police forced Palestinian boy to swallow chemical
Flashback Israeli Plan to Shoot Down British Jet
¤ What Went Wrong
¤ Troops shoot dead 11 suspected rebels in Aceh in fresh violence
¤ Lessons in how to lie about Iraq
¤ Revealed: last-minute changes to Iraq dossier
¤ Vatican told bishops to cover up sex abuse
¤ Iran Says It Foiled Terror Attack
¤ Iraq Blames Saboteurs for Pipeline Blaze
¤ Philippine Army Kills Suspected Extremists
¤ Israeli Army Sets Up Two Hebron Outposts
¤ Two Dead, 56 Injured in China Earthquake
¤ Record heatwave closes Mont Blanc to tourists
¤ Revealed: how Israel helped Amin to take power
¤ Amin: the lapdog turned butcher who destroyed Uganda
¤ Britons admit to al-Qa'ida link in plea bargain deal
¤ US-Pakistan relations
¤ Additional U.S. Troops Requested For Liberia
¤ Curb the talk of terrorism
¤ Wake-up call for the city that never sleeps
¤ Mine attack on US troops
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, August 16, 2003
¤ 'Dubya indemnity'
¤ The occupation is a shambles
¤ U.S Troops Are Now Oppressors, US Military Families Tell Bush
¤ Pipe dream: Oil no assurance of wealth
¤ 'Taking responsibility'
¤ Have Americans Forgotten All About Vietnam?
¤ New Israeli Financial Incentives to Increase Settlements' Population
¤ War For Israel
¤ Doctrine defenders
¤ Army Apology Rejected; US Convoys Come Under Attack
¤ N. Korea regime change next?
¤ The Dodgy Dossiers
¤ British utility owns failed power grid
¤ The Latest Bogus Fossil-Nuke Blackout
¤ Outage pinned on 3 failed lines in Ohio
¤ Ahnuld, Ken Lay, George Bush, Dick Cheney and Gray Davis
¤ Blood on the Hands of Bush and Blair
¤ Lacking water and power, Iraqis run out of patience
¤ N. Iraq Oilfields Halt Flow Temporarily
¤ Hot enough for you?
¤ Killer heatwave a sign of blistering times to come
¤ Afghan resistance takes shape
¤ Fast-track probe ordered as oil tanker breaks
¤ Stark message
¤ Soldier killed in Iraq was reconstruction expert
¤ Bemusement, anger and exhaustion in cities left without power
¤ US orders extra security for Iraq's Governing Council
¤ Just another day
¤ Why the US is failing in Iraq
¤ Inside the resistance
¤ Riots in Baghdad over affront to flag
¤ Idi Amin dead
¤ Sending troops to Iraq un-Islamic: MMA
¤ Israel pays young couples to move to settlements
¤ 'A global superpower with a Third World electricity grid'
¤ When the lights go out
¤ America still in the dark over power disaster
¤ Blackout Shows Vulnerability of Nation
Latest News
Posted: Friday, August 15, 2003
¤ Power Outage Traced To Dim Bulb In White House
¤ A Tale of Two Power Outages
¤ Iraqis Offer Tips Over U.S. Blackout
¤ From Birmingham to Baghdad, Imperialism's Freedom Ride
¤ America's Worst Side in Iraq
¤ Stop the Wall 'Snaking Through the West Bank'
¤ With Science, Bushies Play Fast and Loose
¤ Atomic Bombing of Japan, the Ultimate Act of Terrorism
¤ US told to tackle Israeli violence
¤ Two U.S. Soldiers, 3 Iraqis Hurt in Attack on Convoy
¤ Two U.S. Soldiers Wounded, Iraqis Flock to Flashpoint
¤ Trail uncovered leading from Hoon to Blair
¤ Blair's role in grilling of Dr Kelly
¤ Iraq democracy a dream, Bush told
¤ Iraq: US running with the enemy
¤ UN envoy recalled by Spain in Iraq row
¤ British officer killed by bomb in Iraq
¤ Most British deaths occur after war's end
¤ US voices deep regret for Baghdad flag incident
¤ Saudi Arabia-US: For better and for worse
¤ US forces shoot dead six Iraqis
¤ Australia can't tiptoe quietly away from its obligations in Iraq
¤ Heatwave has killed 3,000 people, France admits
¤ Kenyan women demand rape inquiry
¤ Iran defies US with plan for second nuclear plant
¤ 'It was punishment without trial'
¤ Stark message of the mutiny
¤ How the political establishment hounded Dr Kelly to the end
¤ The Andean condor among the hawks
¤ Much ado about a missile
¤ Israelis kill Islamic Jihad commander in gun battle
¤ Newsweek is spreading hate
¤ It's our media that are simplistic, not Arnie
¤ Pride and peril for US as global cop
¤ Will Taylor's departure help the US blackmail the ICC?
¤ Libya agrees £1.7bn Lockerbie compensation deal
¤ Huge power cut hits US east coast
¤ Bush Doesn't Let Blackout Upset Lunch With Troops
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, August 14, 2003
¤ Huge power failure strikes East Coast
¤ Major power outage hits New York, other large cities
¤ US tried to plant WMDs, failed: whistleblower
¤ Thousands die in European heat wave
¤ Shiites Demand U.S. Troops Leave Baghdad
¥ Get out, get out, get out......
¤ Troops in Iraq Face Pay Cut
¤ The Iraq War Could Become The Greatest Defeat In U.S. History
¤ Terrorists Sprouting Under Nose of American Troops?
¤ Relentless Iraqi Heat Becoming Fatal
¤ British Soldier Killed, Two Wounded in Iraq
¤ Don't Use Those Words: Fox News Owns Them
¤ News Flash -- This Is Not a "Silly Season"
¤ The Bush Deceit
¤ White House Fantasies on Iraq
¤ Arms race fear over new bomb
¤ Spain: Aznar government faces crisis over Iraqi WMD
¤ Wall Street Bullish on the Spoils of War
¤ What's next in Iraq?
¤ U.S. Apologizes for Sparking Baghdad Protest
¤ Covert-action curbs fought by Pentagon
¤ Two Afghan Aid Workers Killed in Attack
¤ U.S. Troops Kill Protester in Baghdad
¤ US soldiers shoot into Iraqi crowd
¤ Two US soldiers killed; thousands demonstrate against America
¤ Al-Qaeda 'hates Iran as much as it hates the US'
¤ U.S. Abandons Idea of Bigger U.N. Role in Iraq Occupation
¤ Destabilize and prevail
¤ U.S. power in Iraq? Let's start with electricity
¤ Vatican backing sparks GM row
¤ Taliban blamed as Afghan bus bomb kills 15
¤ A pattern of aggression
¤ BBC reporter accuses bosses of 'pressurising' her over Kelly
¤ Briton wanted to sell missiles to shoot down American planes
¤ 65 killed as violence erupts in Afghanistan
¤ 11 killed in held Kashmir
¤ Israel is turning the road map into a road block
¤ Hutton seeks certainty in a world of wobbly truths
¤ Scientist uneasy over dossier wording, inquiry told
¤ US beefs up security for Iraqi council
¤ Armitage vows to find Iraq's WMDs
¤ Parents of Troops in Iraq Fight to Get Them Home
¤ Colombian gun-running scandal links shady Israelis, Al-Qaeda
¤ When language means business
¤ NATO's hot potato
¤ Nation-building mental blocks
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, August 13, 2003
¤ The bully whines
¤ America, the Fourth Reich
¤ Russian Colleague Doubts Kelly Committed Suicide
¤ The Heavy Cost of Empire
¤ Executing the Innocent Murderous Errors
¤ Imperial wars, then & now
¤ Questions for Condoleezza
¤ The Saudi Hot Potato
¤ Terror's Gains
¤ Western vice - Iraq's new tyrant
¤ Strategic Manipulation of the "War on Terror"
¤ Iraq War Critics Purged
¤ Franken Makes Light of Fox Slogan Lawsuit
¤ Liberian rebel says U.S. troops not needed
¤ General gets earful from Okinawa governor
¤ Poindexter Resigns but Defends Programs
¤ Bremer Says U.S. Troops Are 'Not Sitting Ducks'
¤ U.S. troops face fresh attacks in Iraq
¤ Sixty-One Said Killed as Afghan Violence Erupts
¤ Iraq pumps first oil through Turkish pipeline since war
¤ Pakistan slams Israel's sale of Phalcon radar system to India
¤ Marine dies of heart attack 3 hours after coming home from Iraq
¤ The president's real goal in Iraq
¤ Sharon sketches awful alternative
¤ Gregory Hines 1946-2003 Tapping Into History
¤ A war fought under false pretences
¤ Study of Bush's psyche touches a nerve
¤ Two reporters, one story: Campbell sexed up the dossier
¤ Kelly believed Iraq threat minimal: BBC man
¤ Weapons, but no Saddam
¤ While the cat's away
¤ Iraqi oil pipeline blown up, US soldier killed in blast
¤ US defends deadly tank attack on Baghdad hotel
¤ Saddam bodyguard caught, soldiers die in sleep
¤ Iraq drawing a new tide of Islamic militants
¤ Bush's penny-pinching puts soldiers at risk
¤ Is Colin Powell Terminator 4?
¤ Baghdad Blogger
¤ Two Israelis killed in twin suicide bombings
¤ Israel's Red Flag on Iran
¤ US to sell military goodies to India
¤ Nepal attracts US attention, to India's dismay
¤ Snide remarks don't help nuclear standoff in Korea
¤ Conflict reignites in Monrovia despite Taylor's departure
¤ Triumphant rebels demand a lead role
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, August 12, 2003
¤ Relax, It Was All a Pack of Lies
¤ Hubris in the White House
¤ The Bush Administration, Civil Rights and Iraq
¤ The Incantations of Empire Myth
¤ The 'Big Impact' Is One More Weapon of Mass Deception
¤ Saddam and the Bomb: More Evidence He Wasn't Trying for One
¤ Is Colin Powell Being Duped Or Is He A Liar?
¤ BBC Reporter Testifies in Inquiry of Dead Scientist
¤ Gilligan damned by evidence of colleagues
¤ One US Soldier Dead, Two Wounded in Iraq Attack
¤ Bremer defends Iraq occupation
¤ Iraq: Invasion That Will Live in Infamy
¤ At home with George Bush Flash
¤ U.S. soldiers fire on Iraqi family; 4 die
¤ Radically different from the truth
¤ Comparing Iraqis to '60s Blacks Is a Stretch
¤ Take this jobless recovery and shove it
¤ Bush perfects the art of the false impression
¤ With eyes wide shut
¤ Six explosions rock US base in flashpoint Iraqi town
¤ US forces launch new raids in Iraq
¤ British soldiers face wrath of Iraqis as hatred festers in Basra
¤ Armoured cars guard petrol stations
¤ Germany rules out troops to Iraq
¤ Iraq has wrecked our case for humanitarian wars
¤ British open Iraq war inquiry
¤ Iraq dossier blow for Blair
¤ The dossier is damned again
¤ Murky world of intelligence laid bare in the public gaze
¤ Senior intelligence officers expressed dossier doubts
¤ Pentagon ready to mollify Blair over Camp Delta
¤ Number of new moons goes sky high
¤ Two Pak troops killed in US attack near Afghan border
¤ 14 more killed in held Kashmir violence
¤ 50 die in French heatwave
¤ China terms US-North Korea gap over nuclear issue serious
¤ 2 Israelis Killed in Two Suicide Bombings
¤ Merrill Lynch rocked by $43m embezzlement claim
¤ A circus fit for the fruit and nut state
Latest News
Posted: Monday, August 11, 2003
¤ Know Means Know
¤ There Are No War Crimes War Is A Crime
¤ Under Ashcroft, Justice Is Blind and Handcuffed
¤ Homeland Security for Whom?
¤ BBC Takes Stand at Dead British Scientist Inquiry
¤ Scientist was leading expert on Iraq's weapons
¤ Kelly was in 'normal' frame of mind days before his death
¤ Rapport between Bush, Sharon masks differences on key issues
¤ The Art of the False Impression
¤ 200,000 Gather at Larzac Festival
¤ Iran-Contra, Amplified
¤ Oil Wealth May Not Mean Iraq Will Prosper
¤ Postwar Iraq likely to cost more than war
¤ Lack of Intelligence
¤ US troops kill Iraqi police
¤ Americans launch new sweep in Iraq
¤ Taylor goes into exile in Nigeria
¤ A Villager Attacks U.S. Troops, but Why?
¤ One American Soldier Killed, 2 Wounded in Attack North of Baghdad
¤ Three dead in Basra violence
¤ Taylor Rips U.S. in Farewell Address
¤ I'm the whipping boy, says Taylor as he bids farewell
¤ Eruption of violence in Basra angers army
¤ ER, Baghdad style
¤ The US, race and war
¤ Tory Leader Calls for Blair Apology
¤ 'Greatest tap dancer of his generation' dies aged 57
¤ You think that's hot? Try being in Baghdad...
¤ 100ºF: Britain's hottest day
¤ A call to arms, a troubled scientist and the unravelling of a death
¤ Israel hits back after shells kill youth
¤ Fake piety is no way to show respect
¤ Pipes and new US inquisition
¤ Heirs to war
¤ A Hard Look at Europe's 'Hard Cases'
¤ Jewish leaders split on fence
¤ The US can't stay in Iraq forever.
¤ Hoon to take blame for weapons expert's death
¤ Israel warns Syria it will strike its targets in Lebanon
¤ History is now bunk nouveau
Chavez in T and T
Posted: Sunday, August 10, 2003
Chavez says he'll repay TT with love
Saying that he would pay "amor con amor," Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, spoke about and evinced love and affection, based on a deep sense of gratitude for Trinidad and Tobago's assistance in his darkest hour. As he addressed the media at the Hilton Trinidad, Chavez, who has faced serious unrest over the last year, painted a picture of a virtual rescue mission, in which 500,000 barrels of Trinidad and Tobago oil played an important role in helping to frustrate the efforts of the "terrorists". "When the terrorists in Venezuela, the coup leaders, the opposition, tried to stifle the Venezuelan economy, we received oxygen from Trinidad and Tobago so that our lungs could breathe again," the embattled President said.
Rewriting the rules of globalisation
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, August 10, 2003
¤ Rewriting the rules of globalisation
¤ Depiction of Threat Outgrew Supporting Evidence
¤ It's time for the truth about Iraq war
¤ Powell's U.N. Speech, 6 Months Later
¤ Not All Yearn to Be Free
¤ To Win Over Iraqis
¤ Riots erupt again in Basra, warning shots fired
¤ Basra residents protest fuel shortage; 2 die
¤ The President Keeps His Distance
¤ Israel to Continue Building Security Fence, Despite US Opposition
Flashback Washington is being toothless on Israel
¤ Is Israel using nerve gas again?
¤ Bad Iraq info will hurt talks on nukes
¤ Col David Hackworth (Ret) Calls Rumsfeld An 'Asshole'
¤ London hits 100, European fires rage -- and the Pope prays for rain
¤ Impeaching the President?
¤ British troops battle to control mobs in Basra
¤ Iraqis riot over slow rebuilding
¤ Four US soldiers wounded in fresh attacks
¤ Family shot dead by panicking US troops
¤ CIA 'loots' villa where Saddam's sons died
¤ What language is U.S. speaking in Iraq?
¤ Iraq situation
¤ The Iraq cancer
¤ CIA warned administration of postwar guerrilla peril
¤ 'Bring us home': GIs flood US with war-weary emails
¤ Words from the front
¤ U.N. Suspends Road Travel in Afghanistan
¤ Shelling in Hezbollah Kills 1, Hurts 4
¤ Israel's wall sparks row among US Jews
¤ The Niger timebomb
¤ The diplomat, the forgery and the suspect case for war
¤ 'Niger was an ideal choice. We cannot defend ourselves easily'
¤ US admits it used napalm bombs in Iraq
¤ 'No weapons' in Iraq trailers
¤ U.S. Moved to Undermine Iraqi Military Before War
¤ Hoon to take blame for weapons expert's death
¤ Venezuela's slum army takes over
¤ Tongue-tied Arnie takes hits from left and right
¤ Running Man
¤ Hutton Inquiry 'will leave Blair like Clinton after Lewinsky affair'
¤ Blair on the brink
¤ US church offers $84m over abuse
¤ They're shooting horses and storming the swimming pools over in France
¤ 100,000 attend 'anti-globalisation Woodstock'
¤ US need not fear the ICC
¤ MICHAEL MOORE: Smart White Man
Rewriting the rules of globalisation
Posted: Sunday, August 10, 2003
By Raffique Shah, www.trinicenter.com/Raffique
LAST Friday, Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez paid a fleeting visit to this country to hold talks with Prime Minister Patrick Manning. According to spokespersons for the Trinidad and Tobago Government, the two leaders were expected to discuss matters of mutual interest, namely oil and gas on the economic front, and crime, especially the illicit drugs and guns "trade" between criminal elements in both countries. I have no idea whether they got around to discussing multilateral trading agreements, especially those like the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement (FTAA), on which Chavez and Manning hold opposing views.
The Manning government is all "gung ho" about the FTAA, so much so that overtures have been made to have its head offices sited in Port of Spain. In fact, the head of Manning's "Vision 2020 Task Force", Arthur Lok Jack, is known to be an ardent promoter of the FTAA and similar protocols that supposedly will allow free trade. Chavez on the other hand has spoken out against it, strongly critical of the economic havoc it could wreak on poorer countries in the region. For his stand on that and other mechanisms of globalisation, he has had to face stiff opposition in his own country, mainly from the business sector.
It is ironical that big business, especially domestic manufacturers in countries like ours and Venezuela, would want to rush in where bigger businesses that are better positioned to enjoy the benefits of such protocols, are treading cautiously. Because the first entrepreneurs who feel the heat of unfair competition fostered by free trade are small-to-medium manufacturers. Before them, the agricultural sector in most countries go under, victims of low cost producers. In the latter case, for example, we have witnessed the death of the banana industry in the Eastern Caribbean at the hands of US$2-a-day-labourers working the plantations in Central America for agro-giants like Grace and Chiquita.
For several years now, more so since the last GATT Agreement was signed in the early 1990s, countries like ours have rushed to fulfil the requirements long before the developed countries even thought about them. One of the bigger scams in that regard was what transpired with the sugar industry in EU countries. They did not touch the subsidies they granted to beet farmers, as required by the GATT. They continued much the way they operated earlier, dumping subsidised white sugar in Third World markets. The food producers' lobby in the US and the EU are so powerful, their interests so intertwined with those of big capital and globalisation, they won't be touched.
Take world coffee producers as another example of victims of globalisation. A recent Oxfam report showed that coffee farmers sell their beans at around 60 per cent of what it costs them to produce. Ten years ago producer-country exports captured one-third of the value of the coffee market. Today, their earnings are less than ten per cent. Farmers in Vietnam are pulling their children out of school, they no longer afford basic medicines, and they are even cutting back on food. Meanwhile the big four coffee roasters—Kraft, Nestle, Proctor & Gamble, and Sara Lee—each have coffee brands worth more than US$1 billion. That's the power of globalisation. The rich get richer, the poor poorer.
When the FTAA kicks in, and if countries like those in the Caricom, ACS and the Andean Pact do not actively resist it, or better still prepare ourselves to meet its challenges head-on, agriculture will either fall into the hands of the multinationals or die, and manufacturing will suffer a similar fate. One way to fight the giant-of-an-enemy is for developing countries to "go downstream", meaning to cooperate with each other to add value to whatever we produce, be it oil or gas, bananas or bodi. Venezuela and Trinidad, being oil and gas producers, will be central to any such "fight back".
In his incisive new book The New Rulers of the World, Australian born journalist John Pilger writes of the "global economy": "On the surface it is instant financial trading, mobile phones, McDonald's, Starbucks, holidays booked on the net. Beneath this gloss, it is the globalisation of poverty, a world where most human beings never make a phone call and live on less than US$2 a day, where 6,000 children die every day from diarrhoea because most have no access to clean water."
Pilger continues: "In this world, unseen by most of us the global north, a sophisticated system of plunder has forced more than 90 countries into 'structural adjustment" programmes... This is known as 'nation building' and 'good governance' by the 'quad' dominating the World Trade Organization (the US, the EU, Canada and Japan) and the Washington triumvirate (the World Bank, the IMF and the US Treasury) that controls even minute aspects of government policy in developing countries."
Sounds familiar? Remember the pay cut public servants took when the NAR government went to the IMF? Listen to the rooftop cries of decision makers like Ken Valley and John Rahael? "No subsidies! Sell your shares to Cemex! Make a profit or die!" I don't know if they read, but if they do they fail to understand the implications of the FTAA, of structuring the economy by-the-IMF-book. Yes, we have oil and gas, and yes we can expect an economic boom of sorts. But what would such inflow of revenues mean if or when our farmers are driven away from food production, if our manufacturers have to compete against Thai or Brazilian businesses that pay workers US$2 a day? We will never be able to enjoy our wealth if, in bending to the will of the domineering North, we sacrifice the already low quality of life too many of our citizens have to endure. It's the same situation in Venezuela, rich in oil but riddled with poverty. And Chavez did not cause that: he came to power just a few years ago.
So while most people will have wanted Manning and Chavez to seek to plug the illicit gun-trade gap, there are issues that are infinitely more important than that. Hell, even talks on oil and gas pale before the central questions about a common, collective response to globalisation, to the FTAA, to the gross inequity of the WTO and the IMF. I know many would view this column as the rantings of a "leftover leftist".
But I will not stay silent and see my beloved country toe the thin line between poverty and prosperity, make the wrong choices that will spell doom for so many ordinary citizens. No oil boom should come-and-go and leave us with huge pockets of poverty. Never again.
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, August 9, 2003
¤ The Fallacies of the Hippie Movement
¤ As Ordered, It's About Oil
¤ Kids, lies, and President Bush
¤ What makes the front page and what gets buried
¤ Media Spin Remains in Sync with Israeli Occupation
¤ UN tells Israel stop building fence
¤ Basra explodes over slow pace of reconstruction
¤ More Guerrilla Attacks In Iraq
¤ A buck naked Bush gets Gored
¤ Bush's friends in low places
¤ Americans pay price for speaking out
¤ Iraq mystery trailers' use for weapons is doubted
¤ Britons set free after secret deal
¤ Iraq: 100 days of 'peace'
¤ US troops kill six Iraqis
¤ US shoots two dead at start of softer rule
¤ New Attacks Wound 4 U.S. Troops in Iraq
¤ Bush says war has helped Iraqis, Americans alike
¤ Al-Qaeda chief told us Iraq supplied WMD material: US
Flashback Wolfowitz: Iraq, No Ties To Al-Qaeda
¤ Four Palestinians killed in Israeli raid
¤ Walking into Israel's trap
¤ Hamas Threatens Revenge After Israel Raid
¤ A road to peace that's paved with the worst intentions
¤ Israel To Halt Work On Parts Of Wall
¤ Cheney firm's rival is forced to drop oil bid
¤ The US is starting a nuclear fight that will be hard to stop
¤ Who exposed U.S whistleblower's wife?
¤ Indians stay away from cola drinks
¤ Addition and long division
¤ More in U.S. Following African Religions
¤ How advance of the modern world threatens to wipe out ?lost tribes?
¤ Chechen warlord threat to security: US
¤ Japan flexes its muscles, thinking the unthinkable
¤ Arms dealer in talks with US officials about Iran
¤ Secret talks could jeopardise US contacts with Iran
¤ Bush administration paralyzed over Iran
¤ Last minutes of suicide flight 93, destination the White House
¤ Europe's heat wave to go another week
¤ US warns of new terror attacks
¤ Urban legends thrive in military occupation of Iraq
¤ Gore attacks Bush but still denies he will oppose him
¤ Death too becoming
Latest News
Posted: Friday, August 8, 2003
¤ As Ordered, It's About Oil
¤ Bush team makes federal lands more open to oil, gas drilling
¤ Al Gore: 'Setting it right'
¤ 16 Words + 28 Pages = 44 Distractions
¤ Straight & Narrow
¤ The war in Iraq is just starting
¤ What the US Says Goes
¤ Iraq War Emboldens Bush Space Plans
¤ FEMA's Paranoid Communities
¤ More U.S. Troops Will Die in 'Iraq-Nam'
¤ Some Traitors Are Invisible U.S. Corporations, For Example
¤ The CEO-In-Chief
¤ Letter to President Bush Regarding his Justifications For War
¤ U.S. Tactics Never Pointed Iraq to Peace
¤ Father of dead soldier claims Army coverup
¤ Examples Of Hate Speech
¤ Spy chiefs prepare new dossier
Flashback Scientists Still Deny Iraqi Arms Programs
¤ Jordanian embassy blast kills 11 in Baghdad
¤ Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Gunman
¤ Troops Kill Suspected Iraqi Arms Dealers
¤ Smiling bomber to face firing squad for Bali blasts
¤ The smile of a bomber sentenced to death
¤ Chaos in Baghdad as bomb destroys Jordanian embassy
¤ Nigerians roll into siege city to ecstatic Liberian welcome
¤ Nukes still won't help Japan
¤ Who is the beneficiary?
¤ The myth of free trade
¤ American threat to human race
¤ 12 killed in Taliban attacks
¤ U.S. Warns Germany Over Sale To Libya
¤ Behind the barrier
¤ Israel bows to U.S., halting work on parts of wall
¤ Private Lynch Pulls Out of Proposed Movie Deal With NBC
¤ US defends use of napalm-like firebombs
¤ Tony Blair's troubles
¤ Suicide scientist at heart of Iraq row buried
¤ Baghdad embassy blast kills 16
¤ A hawk nests in the State Department
¤ For Liberians, old ties to US linger
¤ The study that leaves a million women with an unenviable dilemma
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, August 7, 2003
¤ When the Bully Whines
¤ 100 days after official end of combat, Bush still tied up with Iraq
¤ Two US soldiers killed in Baghdad
¤ Who Will Speak Up? Conscience Takes a Holiday
¤ Adding Indifference to Injury
¤ The War in Iraq is Just Starting
¤ In Search of WM(S)D
¤ Mass Distraction Is Bush Worried About Impeachment?
¤ Immunity for Iraqi oil dealings raises alarm
¤ Bush's deadly wishful thinking
¤ We are screwed if you don't support the truth tellers
¤ The seven mortal sins of American blindness
¤ Powell toughens stance on Israeli security fence
¤ Visa Is Everywhere You Want to Be, Like Baghdad
Flashback Israeli firm wins public telephone contract in Iraq
¤ Taliban Attack Kills Six Afghan Soldiers
¤ Why States Seek to Acquire Nuclear Weapons
¤ Britain losing new Afghan opium war
¤ Wolfowitz: Iraq Not Involved in 9-11, No Ties to al-Qaeda
¤ Seven die in Baghdad embassy blast
¤ Jakarta bombing exposes 'war on terror' flaws
¤ Joy and anger as Israel frees 339
¤ Israel frees 334 prisoners but fails to satisfy Palestinians
¤ Israel pleases few with prisoner release
¤ When a Wall Becomes a Fence
¤ I'll be back to take governorship, Schwarzenegger tells California
¤ World to warm by 8C, says thinktank
¤ The climate must change
¤ 34 die as Europe gasps
¤ An axis of junkies
¤ Iran not to give up N-plan, says Khatami
¤ Powell's second term to be decided later: Bush
¤ US-led invasion of Iraq violated UN charter, says Blix
¤ Hiroshima mayor slams US nuclear policies
¤ Shortchanging U.S. security
¤ Insider fires a broadside at Rumsfeld's office
¤ Masters of deceit
¤ 'Dr Strangeloves' meet to plan new nuclear era
¤ Female Suicide Bombers Unnerve Russians
¤ To Mollify Iraqis, U.S. Plans to Ease Scope of Its Raids
¤ Saudi Arabia 'We Have Nothing to Hide'
¤ SOLOMON Islands Harold Keke to 'resist' Australians
¤ Goodwill towards British melts in Basra as power cuts keep heat on
¤ Iraq's oil booty will only pay part of rebuilding costs
¤ It Is All in History
¤ Iraqi council faces many hurdles
¤ Jihad virus attacks Pentagon logic
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, August 6, 2003
¤ Prewar statements by Cheney under scrutiny
¤ It's the security fence or loans, US tells Israel
¤ Rice: Security fence will not affect loan guarantees
¤ Hiroshima Mayor Lashes Out at Bush on Atomic Bombing Anniversary
¤ Expanding Settlements Invade Palestinian Lands
¤ Neocon Coup at the Department d'État
¤ The Plan - Apartheid Wall The Reality For The World To See
¤ Mr. Bush, Show Some Guts
¤ Terror in Iraq – the Discovery of a Weapon of Mass Destruction
¤ US holding Iraqis at Saddam's notorious torture prison
¤ Iraqis increasingly view U.S. troops as foreign occupiers
¤ The President's Inflated Ego
¤ We don't feel like heroes anymore
¤ Bush/Rove and the politics of backlash.
¤ Saudi Secrets Are Safe With Bush
¤ There's no quick way out of Iraqi mess we've made
¤ Losing our liberty in the name of fighting terrorism
¤ I Thought We Would Never Use Napalm Again
¤ Iraq continues resistance to US troops
¤ Bush Plays the Good Cop While Schumer Blasts Saudis
¤ Activists Get the Drop on Bush
¤ Iraq Was Not Involved In 9-11 Terrorist Attacks, No Ties To Al-Qaeda
¤ The hypocrisy of Western debates on the Iraq war
¤ Voice of free Iraq walks out on US
¤ Global warming may be speeding up, fears scientist
¤ Bush OKs Small Support Force for Liberia
¤ Israel's fence draws threat of US sanctions
¤ Powell, Armitage Meet With Bush in Texas
¤ David Kelly A sorry, sorry affair
¤ Lies, damn lies and the Kelly case
¤ Blair's press office admits campaign to discredit Kelly
¤ Reticent, deadpan but above all loyal to Downing Street
¤ Has Blair Sexed Up Saddam’s Atrocities, Too?
¤ Bush threatens to withhold loans if Israel continues security wall
¤ Thirst for news prompts media free-for-all in Iraq
¤ Cooking the facts to keep the White House happy
¤ 'What is happening is worse than a war'
¤ Three US soldiers among 8 hurt in Iraq police station attack
¤ Thousands made to cheer fighters despite humanitarian crisis
¤ Liberian rebels hail truce as victory
¤ Israel detains 47 protesters at West Bank barrier
¤ Why the nuclear attack on Japan was right
¤ Blair told it like it was... to an empty hallway
¤ You killed him: Pyonyang accuses Seoul
¤ Gulliver unbound: can America rule the world?
¤ US set to elect gay bishop after sex assault claims dismissed
¤ Iraq, Israel and Pakistan's interests
¤ The threat remains real
Chavez to meet Manning
Posted: Tuesday, August 5, 2003
Chavez comes to Trinidad and Tobago
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is scheduled to arrive in Trinidad on Friday for an official one-day visit and talks with Prime Minister Patrick Manning on a wide range of bilateral matters including the development of cross-border oil and gas reserves. Chavez, whose country is one of Trinidad’s closest neighbours, made the announcement during his weekly radio programme Hello President on Sunday and said he was responding to an invitation from Manning. It will be Chavez's first official visit to Trinidad and his first meeting with Manning.
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, August 5, 2003
¤ It's Time to End the Reign of Terror
¤ "We Cook Estimates to Go"
¤ America's Habit of Revenge
¤ The Other Iraq Fraud
¤ Let Iraqis Decide What to Privatize
¤ $2 Billion A Day Where's It Going?
¤ A Dangerous Irony in Iraq
¤ Bad call
¤ Call it What It Is: Nazi-Style Propaganda
¤ Casualities hidden, mystery illness hits US troops in Iraq
¤ Bush team plays games with history
¤ Imperial Rules Compared
¤ No 10 admits attempt to smear Dr Kelly
¤ Officials confirm dropping firebombs on Iraqi troops
¤ Bush backs Bolton's tough talk
¤ Arab Nations Won't Recognize Iraq Council
¤ How to Mislead a Nation Into War
¤ Eight killed in Jakarta hotel blast
¤ Iraqis Deny al-Qaida Fighting U.S. Troops
¤ Powell, Armitage to quit if Bush re-elected
¤ Powell denies he'll quit if Bush wins in 2004
¤ Israel suspends pullback from occupied areas
¤ Civilians struck down in hunt for Saddam
¤ Some things are true even if George Bush believes them
¤ Bush's oil move backfires
¤ No 10 apologises for 'Walter Mitty' slur against dead weapons expert
¤ Downing St accused of new low after 'Walter Mitty' smear of Kelly
¤ Five US soldiers, Iraqi aide injured
¤ Welcome to Iraq-Nam
¤ Will the US go the way of the Soviet Union?
¤ Murder! Murder!
¤ The Afghanistan imbroglio
¤ US tightens payouts for casualties
¤ Death marches at double in Iraq but US public unaware
¤ Butch or Botox? The cowboy should wax
¤ The many voices of US foreign policy
¤ Shi'ites raise new battle cry
¤ Portrait of a US combat casualty
¤ Daily life in postwar Baghdad
¤ Iraqi holy men leap into postwar politics
Latest News
Posted: Monday, August 4, 2003
¤ Bitterness grows in Iraq over deaths of civilians
¤ Marriage Insecurity from Sharon to Bush
¤ The 'wall' and the 'messiah'
¤ In Israel, Settlers Resist
¤ What Was Behind the Pentagon's Betting Parlor?
¤ Bumbling Bush may have Given Osama an Open Goal
¤ U.S. Steals Captives' Rights - Constitution Ignored at Guantanamo Bay
¤ Media Industry's Criticism of Iraq Coverage Reveals Deeper Problems
¤ Tyrants And Terrorists They Just Love Those Big Cities
¤ Bush's WMD Flimflams
¤ US troops at airport north of Baghdad come under mortar fire
¤ Pakistani Spokesman Blasts U.S. Official
¤ Explosion kills 13, injures 21 in north Afghanistan
¤ No 10 denies Kelly slur
¤ Hidden facts brought out in open
¤ The greatest crime of all
¤ The past is present: Watergate, Vietnam and Iraq
¤ The bureaucrats of evil
¤ Bush's lies never seem to catch up
¤ Some vacation!
¤ Letting Up On Osama
¤ US baffled as troops in Iraq hit by killer virus
¤ The unreported cost of war: at least 827 American wounded
¤ Bush's honeymoon continues
¤ Kremlin threat to US-Yukos deal
¤ World hunger needs a simple solution rather than hi-tech GM food
¤ How many Americans will die for oil?
¤ No 10 dismisses Kelly as a 'Walter Mitty'
¤ Cautious welcome for peace-keepers
¤ Al-Qa'ida lieutenant warns US will 'pay dearly' if it harms detainees
¤ Whistleblower on Niger uranium accuses White House of 'dirty-tricks campaign'
¤ Army buys peace with compensation payments
¤ Iraqi president looks forward to exit of Americans
¤ Hyundai Chief Commits Suicide
¤ Danger begins when guns amnesty runs out
¤ Bombing toll rises to 50 as rescue operation off
¤ America goes 'metrosexual'
¤ Bid to assassinate Afghan governor foiled
¤ US arms negotiator John Bolton described as 'human scum'
¤ US move to expand military influence
¤ Bloody retribution
Was the US behind the ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia?
Posted: Sunday, August 3, 2003
By Stephen Gowans www3.sympatico.ca
It was one of those peeks into what really happened that are occasionally glimpsed long after anyone cares, like finding out after the invasion of Iraq that the US and Britain had already begun aerial operations to pick apart Iraq's defenses long before the invasion had begun, at a time both countries were denying they had already made a decision to go to war ("U.S. Moved Early for Air Supremacy: Airstrips on Iraqi Defenses Began Long Before Invasion, General Says," The Washington Post, July 20, 2003). Those who saw the news reports may have raised their eyebrows, but the reports were too obscure to have flitted, even briefly, across the consciousness of most (even ardent) newspaper readers. The secret, though technically out, remained a secret, lost in the deluge of other news, bereft of any urgency for being about an event that had happened months before.
So who's going to care about something that happened almost eight years ago?
"In early August 1995," writes researcher Gregory Elich, "the Croatian invasion of Serbian Krajina precipitated the worst refugee crisis of the Yugoslav civil war. Within days, more than two hundred thousand Serbs, virtually the entire population of Krajina, fled their homes, and 14,000 Serbian civilians lost their lives." ("The invasion of Serbian Krajina," NATO in the Balkans: Voices of Opposition, International Action Center, New York, 1998.)
This was Operation Storm, "the largest single act of ethnic cleansing of the Yugoslav civil war," according to Even Dyer, a journalist with CBC Radio. "And yet not one person has been arrested and brought before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia" ("Croatian atrocities being forgotten: Cdn. Officers," CBC News, July 21, 2003.)
The popular mythology about the Yugoslav civil war is that it was the Serbs, led by Slobodan Milosevic, who embarked on a program of ethnic cleansing to create a greater Serbia. Milosevic is on trial at the Hague Tribunal, facing genocide charges.
So it should strike a dissonant chord that:
The single greatest act of ethnic cleansing does not have the Serb's signature on it (they were the victims); and the Hague Tribunal, which professes to be impartial, has done nothing to bring the authors of the atrocity to book.
The Tribunal says the evidence is circumstantial, but senior Canadian soldiers, including a general who commanded peacekeeping forces in the area of Operation Storm, say they suspect the real reason for the Tribunal's inaction is that Western governments were in the background pulling the strings. For example, Argentina provided artillery to the Croats, despite a UN embargo on supplying materiel and even though their own troops were in Croatia as peacekeepers.
And a private US military contractor, Military Professional Resources Inc (MPRI), headed by a former US Army Chief of Staff, likely planned the operation.
Canada's Major-General Andrew Leslie says he doubts the Croats could have pulled off Operation Storm themselves. "That was done by people who really knew what they were doing."
Leslie's colleague, Major-General Alain Fourand, agrees. He says he suspects it was MPRI that was behind the operation.
The MPRI Web site, according to CBC news, "points to an article in which the Croatian government praised the job MPRI has done for it."
There is much that is misunderstood about the Yugoslav civil war, and the Hague Tribunal.
For one, the Croats were a lot closer to the image of Nazis than the Serbs were, though it was Serbs who were portrayed, for propaganda reasons, as successors of Hitler's fascists. After the breakaway Croat republic violently seceded from Yugoslavia in 1991, Franjo Tudjman, the country's president, began to resurrect symbols of Croatia's Nazi puppet state past. According to Elich, "the Croatian fascist(s) murdered as many as one million Serbs, Jews and Romani" during WWII.
And the Tribunal is funded in part by billionaire financier George Soros, who has a long history of underwriting programs to destabilize countries whose markets are closed, or partly closed, to Western investment. Once a renitent government is ousted, and a Western friendly regime is installed, Soros swoops in to buy up state assets at fire sale prices. Soros is said to have his eyes on the massive Trepca mining complex in Kosovo, worth an estimated $5 billion. The Hungarian émigré spent $100 million to oust Milosevic, who presided over a largely socially owned economy ("The billionaire trader has become Eastern Europe's uncrowned king and the prophet of an 'open society." But open to what?" New Statesman, June 2, 2003.)
The US and Germany began supporting secessionist forces in Yugoslavia after the collapse of Communism in the former Soviet Union, when the Yugoslav federation refused to be brought wholly into the Western orbit. Former Communist countries were undergoing a spate of privatization. But, according to Neil Clark, "Over 700,000 Yugoslav enterprises remained in social ownership and most were still controlled by employee-management committees, with only 5% of capital privately owned." ("The quisling of Belgrade," The Guardian (UK), March 14, 2003.) The West aligned itself with Alija Izetbegovic in Bosnia, who wanted to makeover the multi-ethnic republic as an Islamic religious state, though Bosnia had a large non-Muslim, including Serb, population. And Tudjman, the West's favorite in Croatia, reeked to heaven of fascism and anti-Serb fanaticism. But both were useful as instruments to tear apart the federation and deliver it, piece by piece, into the hands of the West, and its corporate sector.
Later, secessionist in Kosovo would be encouraged, trained, and bankrolled by the West, sparking a civil war that furnished NATO with a pretext to launch a "humanitarian" war, and ultimately, the ouster of Milosevic, working through its proxy, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia.
The atrocities of August 1995 are now largely forgotten in the West, and while they seem to be old news, they do shed light of recurrent patterns that can be glimpsed today. The West's penchant for precipitating crises that can be used as pretexts for intervention in countries that seek to pursue an independent course hasn't abated. And it's all too common for victims of Western-backed aggressions to be portrayed as the aggressors themselves. North Korea, for example, is now widely understood to be a hostile nation, even though it is the US that shows every indication of being hell-bent on resuming a war with the impoverished country it has never entirely renounced. Cuba, Belarus, Zimbabwe, part of a complement of nations George W. Bush has designated "captive nations," along with North Korea ("Bush blacklists Zimbabwe, Cuba," news24.com, July 19, 2003) are portrayed as brutal, repressive, regimes, though the reason they're demonized has everything to do with their inhospitable orientation to the global capitalist economy dominated by the United States.
That too was the Serb's offense, in the eyes of the West, which is why there ever was an Operation Storm, why there's a Star Chamber at the Hague, and why MPRI won't soon be facing war crimes charges.
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, August 3, 2003
¤ Sensational Memos Lift the Lid on News Control
¤ America has killed the freedom of expression in Iraq
¤ U.S. officials see deep rift between Islam and West
¤ Shattering myths of gigantic proportions
¤ Ashcroft: Al-Qaida could strike again
¤ Was the US behind the ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia?
¤ Disguised worm evades antivirus software
¤ Questions grow over Iraq links to Qaeda
¤ Reuters' Lynch article brings grief to reporter
¤ $600M gold cache really brass
Flashback: US forces find 2000 gold bars
¤ MI6 chief to quit
¤ Death of weapons inspector -- David Kelly
¤ Halliburton Profits Skyrocket On Iraq Deals
¤ Niger demands formal exoneration of Bush's Iraq-uranium allegation
¤ Why so many U.S. soldiers are dying in Iraq
¤ Blair and Bush join forces to spin away weapons issue
¤ Warmongers Bush and Blair caught in their own web of lies over Iraqi
¤ America silences Niger leaders in Iraq nuclear row
¤ Americans Killed Near Baghdad
¤ Blast Kills 14, Wrecks 3 Indian Buildings
¤ Blast in Northern Pakistan Kills 45
¤ Blindly, a new empire strikes back
¤ The backlash: growing doubts over Kelly's story
¤ Fury as Hoon skips Kelly funeral to take holiday
¤ Can Blair ever win back the trust of the electorate?
¤ MI6 chief to quit after split on Iraq
¤ Blair tells Bush: We don't want Guantanamo Britons
¤ Liberian leader agrees to go as fighting in city intensifies
¤ US anti-war activists hit by secret airport ban
¤ US and China exchange taunt for detente
¤ Pakistan not informed of US allegations
¤ Suicide bombing kills two in Mombasa
¤ Death toll in Russia suicide attack rises to 44
¤ Toll in Russia Climbs to 41 in Bombing at a Hospital
¤ Stupidly rich
¤ Slip between the lip and the cup
¤ It was always a divided region, but now Israel has made that permanent.
¤ Two Presidents Under Siege
¤ Porn king meets Arnie in US poll farce
¤ Two Saudis met Sept 11 hijackers
¤ Senate Considers Sanctions On Saudis
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, August 2, 2003
¤ The Real Saudi Ties are U.S. Ties
¤ Human rights groups denounce US pressure on Belgium to repeal genocide law
¤ Bush press conference highlights government crisis
¤ The Bush administration's desperation is showing
¤ Blair Drug Vow Fiasco
¤ U.S. debates killing Saddam to avoid trial
¤ Victory?
¤ Not over and not won
¤ Meet the Real WMD Fabricator
¥ The U.S still has to accept responsibility for using the fabrications
¤ Neo-Cons, Fundies, Feddies and the University of Chicago
¤ Pictures from Death's Other Side
¤ Their Master's Voice Blair as Bush's Creature
¤ Who Forged the Letters that Sucked Us into War?
¤ What's Driving the Liberian Bloodbath
¤ Saudi Government Provided Aid to 9/11 Hijackers, Sources Say
¤ Report on 9/11 Suggests a Role by Saudi Spies
¤ Attacks Intensify In Western Iraq
¤ Hussein's Sons Buried; U.S. Soldier Killed
¤ U.S. Forces Shoot Iraqi Woman After Bomb Attack
¤ UK soldier sleeps in fridge to escape Iraq heat
¤ More than 100 US soldiers in Iraq struck with pneumonia
¤ Nearly 600 Palestinian prisoners in Israel refuse meals in protest
¤ Chatting with God
¤ Saddam Hussein: Taking out the CIA's trash
¤ Killing Saddam: A summer blockbuster
¤ N Korea says no talks if nuclear issue taken to UN
¤ Who are you calling evil?
¤ How the war was spun
¤ The Emperor Has No Evidence
¤ Washington cries wolf
¤ A threat is all in the wording
> "The fact that the US Government would issue an advisory like that
> without telling one of its closest allies makes you wonder,"
¤ Fighting the war on error
¤ GI Killed, 3 Hurt in Attack Near Baghdad
¤ Iraq's key oil pipeline blown up
¤ Suicide truck bomb kills 35 at Russian military hospital
¤ Beirut Car Bombing Kills at Least Two
¤ Prisoners protest at Israeli 'security'
¤ Wall makes Palestinian farmers refugees on their own land
¤ Israel digs in on settlements
¤ The sheep turn on Wolfie
¤ Seven killed in Taliban shoot-outs
¤ Five Taliban among eight killed in Afghanistan
¤ Saudis squirm as US friends voice suspicion
¤ War on Iraq impacts on press freedom in Middle East
¤ Get that man a doctor
¤ What did drive Dr Kelly to suicide?
¤ MoD tried to burn Kelly 'media plan'
¤ The Hutton inquiry: A government in the dock
¤ GM crops do harm surrounding flora and fauna, farm trials likely to reveal
¤ Taylor avoids peace envoys in Liberia
¤ US oil firm on trial over Burma abuses
¤ More bases won't curb terrorism
¤ China rejects US claim about missile capability
¤ The loneliness of the superpower
¤ The nerds who want to punt on our future
¤ Terrorist attacks are a good bet but West Texas Crude is better
¤ US will help Taipei defend itself
Latest News
Posted: Friday, August 1, 2003
¤ US Moves to Close Down Al-Jazeera TV
¤ Let Iraqis rebuild their own country
¤ The Missing Wounded Injury and Decorum in Iraq
¤ Missing Iraqi air force turns up
¤ China Getting Ready for Severe Blitzkrieg
¤ The Days of Wonder in Iraq
¤ A Trilogy of Dysfunction
Flashback: Oil-Hungry U.S. Reconsiders Iraq
¤ Arrogance, or something darker?
¤ Democracy in Iraq? Bush does not want it; it won't happen!
¤ U.S soldiers doling out "Dirty Harry" style vigilante justice
¤ What Does Bush Have To Hide? Censoring The 9/11 Report
¤ Bush And The Saudis Sittin' In A Tree . . . Kay Eye Ess Ess Eye En Gee
¤ Bushies, Arab media at odds over Iraq coverage
¤ The soaring costs of 'rescuing' Iraq
¤ Against all enemies, foreign and domestic...
¤ The Bush administration keeps passing the buck on 9/11'
¤ George W. Bush Means Nothing
¤ Snuffed Candles
¤ Distortions of history
¤ Set aside the myths, and what remains?
¤ US fostering sinister sort of democracy
¤ The West's attempt at nation-building falters
¤ America helped ruin Liberia. Now it must help repair it
¤ Pyongyang says Washington igniting war
¤ Conflict 'may have driven Muslims into arms of al-Qa'ida'
¤ Be patient, weapons expert tells inquiry
¥ It takes time to plant evidence....
¤ Israel’s fresh limit on Palestinians
¤ Sharon won't tolerate roadmap violations
¤ Strange Reactions
¤ Same old stuff from Bush
¤ US slammed for human rights abuses
¤ Congress begins to say 'no' to White House
¤ Swing voters, politicians: 'Dubya duped us'
¤ Time to rethink your world role, Annan tells UN
¤ Gun amnesty in Solomons - and this one's serious
¤ US hawk accuses Kim Jong Il of tyranny
¤ Why Saudi Arabia is outraged
¤ This is the way the killing fields end
¤ Blair, Hoon and Gilligan to face Kelly inquiry
¤ The Price of Security
¤ Under fire in Iraq, US sees elections by mid-2004
¤ Damning report tells of the bad Times
¤ Hope's obituary written by dead man
¤ U.S. gives warning about hackers
¤ Six killed in held Kashmir violence
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