Capture
El-Masri travelled from his home in Ulm to go on vacation in Skopje at the end of 2003. He was detained by Macedonian border officials on December 31, 2003, because his name was identical (except for variations in English spelling) to that of Khalid al-Masri, an alleged mentor to the al Qaeda Hamburg cell who has not been apprehended, and because of suspicion that his German passport was a forgery. He was held in a motel in Macedonia for over three weeks and questioned about his activities, his associates and the mosque he attended in Ulm.
The Macedonian authorities also contacted the local CIA station, which contacted the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia. A December 4, 2005, article in the Washington Post said that an argument arose within the CIA over whether they should remove him from Macedonia in an extraordinary rendition. The decision to do so was made by the head of the al Qaeda division of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center on the basis of a hunch he was involved in terrorism. The Macedonians released him on January 23, 2004 and American security officials, described in an MSNBC article as members of a "black snatch team", came to Macedonia, and detained him. They beat him, stripped him naked, drugged him, and gave him an enema. He was then dressed in a diaper and a jumpsuit, and flown on a Boeing 737 N313P to Baghdad, then immediately to "the salt pit", a covert CIA interrogation centre in Afghanistan which contained prisoners from Pakistan, Tanzania, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Afghanistan detention
While held in Afghanistan, El-Masri wrote in the Los Angeles Times that he was beaten and repeatedly interrogated. He has also claimed that he was raped. He was kept in a bare, squalid cell, given only meager rations to eat and putrid water to drink. In February, CIA officers in Kabul began to suspect his passport was genuine. The passport was sent to the CIA headquarters in Langley where in March the CIA's Office of Technical Services concluded it was indeed genuine. Discussion over what to do with El-Masri included secretly transporting him back to Macedonia, without informing German authorities, dumping him, and denying any claims he made. In the end they did inform the German government, without apologizing, and were able to persuade the Germans to remain silent.
In March 2004 El-Masri took part in a hunger strike, demanding that his captors afford him due process or watch him die. After 27 days without eating, he forced a meeting with the prison director and a CIA officer known as "The Boss". They conceded he should not be imprisoned but refused to release him. El-Masri continued his hunger strike for 10 more days until he was force-fed and given medical attention. He had lost more than 60 pounds since his abduction in Macedonia.
In April 2004, CIA Director George Tenet learned that El-Masri was being wrongfully detained. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice learned of his detention shortly thereafter in early May and ordered his release. El-Masri was released on May 28 following a second order from Dr. Rice. American authorities met with him and agreed to release him if he agreed never to tell the story of his ordeal to anyone. They flew him out of Afghanistan and released him at night on a desolate road in Albania, without apology, or funds to return home. At the time he believed his release was a ruse, and he would be executed. He was eventually intercepted by Albanian guards, who believed him to be a terrorist due to his haggard and unkempt appearance. He was subsequently reunited with his wife who had returned to her family in Lebanon, with their children, because she thought her husband had abandoned them. Using isotope analysis, scientists at the Bavarian archive for geology in Munich analyzed his hair and verified that he was malnourished during his disappearance.
its gonna be even less easily digested than a bigmac, crown jewel of gringo cuisine!
8.6.06
fancy a world cuppa?
FEVER PITCH
So the bi-annual orgy of football-related marketing is with us once again. Becks, Lamps, Rooney et al will all be starring in a feast of slick new jingoistic advertising and merchandising (which happily can be completed without regard to injuries). Taking place at the same time is the FIFA World Cup, this
time to be held at adidas and Puma HQ - otherwise known as Germany.
A few billion will be glued to their television sets for a month - including many England fans in £40 replica kits made by Chinese workers on 40p a day - thrilling at the cheating, overpaid primadonna-wannabe-Maradonas. Their 'heroics' will provide the hook for heroic marketing campaigns from sponsors
like Coke, Gillette, McDonald's and a full rogues gallery of the biggest corporate baddies.
The ball in question will be made by some exploited child labourer in Pakistan more than likely, where 90% of the world's balls are made. Brief outrage during France 1998 at media exposure of sweatshop practices in Pakistan led to 'code of practice' being adopted by FIFA and the major sportswear multinationals,
promising no forced labour, equality of opportunity, work hour restrictions, minimum wages and all the rest. Backed up by independent monitoring of course!
Eight years later and... guess what, little's changed. Child labour and substandard working conditions are prevalent as ever, with subcontractors farming work out to villages away from the monitoring zones, while some companies are switching production to China where they get even less scrutiny.
At the end of the day, an event like the world cup is a business gravy train for corporate juggernauts - which has got nothing to do with helping the sport on a grassroots level. Corporate shareholders and corrupt officials in football associations around the world will make sure that precious little of the bonanza
reaches the bare-foot kids in the majority world, all huddled round one battered portable TV, dreaming of glory in the 'beautiful game'.
Nevermind, none of that's nearly so dramatic as a penalty shootout....c'mon Eng-er-land!
from the latest schnews
25.5.06
computer games, training, psy-ops and imperialism
Venezuelan anger at computer game article from the BBC
Venezuelan politicians have complained about a forthcoming "shoot-em-up" computer game that simulates an invasion of the South American nation. In production by Los Angeles-based Pandemic Studios, Mercenaries 2: World In Flames is based around the overthrow of an imaginary Venezuelan "tyrant".
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has long accused the US of planning to invade, something Washington denies. His supporters say the game aims to drum up support for a real invasion.
'Realistic possibility'
Pandemic has insisted that the title - due to be released next year - is solely about entertainment. "Pandemic has no ties to the US government," Greg Richardson, the firm's vice president of commercial operations, told the Associated Press. "Pandemic Studios is a private company, focusing solely on the development of interactive entertainment."
Yet Pandemic's publicist Chris Norris said its designers "always want to have a rip from the headlines". He added: "Although a conflict doesn't necessarily have to be happening, it's realistic enough to believe that it could eventually happen."
Messes with oil
Mr Chavez and the US have been at daggers drawn for most of the eight years since he came to power in 1998. In addition to repeatedly accusing Washington of seeking to overthrow him, Mr Chavez has greatly increased state control over its oil industry, the world's fourth largest, and responsible for 15% of US supplies.
In Mercenaries 2: World In Flames, gamers play soldiers sent to overthrow "a power-hungry tyrant [who] messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a war zone".
Venezuelan congressman Ismael Garcia, a supporter of Mr Chavez, said the computer game was preparation work for a real invasion. "I think the US government knows how to prepare campaigns of psychological terror so they can make things happen later," he said.
"no ties to the US government?"
Pentagon and CIA enlist video games Simulations developed for training and recruitment
By Matt Slagle
Updated: 11:10 a.m. ET Oct. 3, 2003
Oct. 3 - Hunched with his troops in a dusty, windswept courtyard, the squad leader signals the soldiers to line up against a wall. Clasping automatic weapons, they inch single-file toward a sandy road lined with swaying palm trees. The squad leader orders a point man to peer around the corner, his quick glance revealing several foes lying in wait behind a smoldering car. A few hand signals, a quick flash of gunfire, and it’s over. The enemy is defeated, but no blood is spilled, no bullet casings spent: All the action is in an upcoming Xbox-based training simulator for the military called “Full Spectrum Warrior.”
INCREASINGLY, THE PENTAGON is joining forces with the video games industry to train and recruit soldiers. The U.S. Army considers such simulators vital for recruits who’ve been weaned on shoot ’em up games.
Even the Central Intelligence Agency is developing a role-playing computer simulation to train analysts.
“We know that most of our soldiers know how to use a game pad,” said Michael Macedonia, chief scientist at the Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation in Orlando, Fla. “Every kid figures out the controls pretty fast.”
For years, the U.S. armed forces have used big, sophisticated simulators with hydraulics, wall-sized video screens and realistic cockpits. But such gear costs millions of dollars — far too pricey even by military standards to be widely available.
And that’s why video games make sense.
THE VIDEO GAME CONNECTION
“Full Spectrum Warrior” was created through the Institute for Creative Technologies in Marina Del Ray, Calif., a $45 million endeavor formed by the Army five years ago to connect academics with local entertainment and video game industries. The institute subcontracted game development work to Los Angeles-based Pandemic Studios.
The institute’s other training program, “Full Spectrum Command,” was released for military use in February.
That game, for the PC, is geared toward light infantry company commanders who lead about 120 people. Set in eastern Europe, it tests organization, decision-making and the ability to recognize threats in a peacekeeping setting.
With “Full Spectrum Warrior,” currently in testing at Fort Benning, Ga., squad leaders learn how to command nine soldiers in complex, confusing urban warfare scenarios. The game isn’t not about sprinting, “Rambo”-like, through alleys with guns blazing.
“It’s not really about shooting at things,” Macedonia said. “Learning how to shoot your weapon is easy. The challenging thing is leading.”
The game the Institute for Creative Technologies has been working on with the CIA for about a year — at a cost of several million dollars — will let agency analysts assume the role of terror cell leaders, cell members and operatives.
“Our analysts would be accustomed to looking at the world from the perspective of the terrorists we are chasing, and learn to expect the unexpected,” CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said.
RECRUITMENT TOOL
Training aside, video games are increasingly viewed by top brass as a way to get teenagers interested in enlisting.
Games such as “America’s Army,” developed and published by the Army, and “Guard Force,” which the Army National Guard developed with Alexandria, Va.-based Rival Interactive, can be downloaded or picked up at recruitment offices.
“America’s Army” has been a hit online since its July 2002 release, attaining 1.5 million registered users who endure a basic training regiment complete with barbed-wire obstacle courses and target practice.
“Guard Force” has been less successful. Released last year, it features bland synth-rock music that blares in the background. Between video commercials touting the thrills of enlisting in the Army National Guard, gamers pluck flood victims from rooftops or defend a snowy base. In the training mission, gamers deploy helicopters, even tanks, to rescue skiers trapped in an avalanche.
The creators of “Full Spectrum Warrior” hope their stint with the Army will also spur commercial sales.
Pandemic is already busy creating a retail version that will add multiplayer capability, streamline the controls and dispense with such realities as death from a single gunshot wound.
“The explosions will be bigger. Smoke will develop more quickly. A squad leader could call in an F-16 strike,” said Jim Korris, creative director for the Institute for Creative Technologies. “That doesn’t happen in the real world.”
THQ Inc. is expected to release the public version early next year. An early demonstration in May at Electronic Entertainment Expo, the video game industry’s annual trade show, won “Best Original Game” and “Best Simulation” awards.
There are no plans for commercial release of the CIA game.
© 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Bono on board of directors?
Venezuelan politicians have complained about a forthcoming "shoot-em-up" computer game that simulates an invasion of the South American nation. In production by Los Angeles-based Pandemic Studios, Mercenaries 2: World In Flames is based around the overthrow of an imaginary Venezuelan "tyrant".
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has long accused the US of planning to invade, something Washington denies. His supporters say the game aims to drum up support for a real invasion.
'Realistic possibility'
Pandemic has insisted that the title - due to be released next year - is solely about entertainment. "Pandemic has no ties to the US government," Greg Richardson, the firm's vice president of commercial operations, told the Associated Press. "Pandemic Studios is a private company, focusing solely on the development of interactive entertainment."
Yet Pandemic's publicist Chris Norris said its designers "always want to have a rip from the headlines". He added: "Although a conflict doesn't necessarily have to be happening, it's realistic enough to believe that it could eventually happen."
Messes with oil
Mr Chavez and the US have been at daggers drawn for most of the eight years since he came to power in 1998. In addition to repeatedly accusing Washington of seeking to overthrow him, Mr Chavez has greatly increased state control over its oil industry, the world's fourth largest, and responsible for 15% of US supplies.
In Mercenaries 2: World In Flames, gamers play soldiers sent to overthrow "a power-hungry tyrant [who] messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a war zone".
Venezuelan congressman Ismael Garcia, a supporter of Mr Chavez, said the computer game was preparation work for a real invasion. "I think the US government knows how to prepare campaigns of psychological terror so they can make things happen later," he said.
"no ties to the US government?"
Pentagon and CIA enlist video games Simulations developed for training and recruitment
By Matt Slagle
Updated: 11:10 a.m. ET Oct. 3, 2003
Oct. 3 - Hunched with his troops in a dusty, windswept courtyard, the squad leader signals the soldiers to line up against a wall. Clasping automatic weapons, they inch single-file toward a sandy road lined with swaying palm trees. The squad leader orders a point man to peer around the corner, his quick glance revealing several foes lying in wait behind a smoldering car. A few hand signals, a quick flash of gunfire, and it’s over. The enemy is defeated, but no blood is spilled, no bullet casings spent: All the action is in an upcoming Xbox-based training simulator for the military called “Full Spectrum Warrior.”
INCREASINGLY, THE PENTAGON is joining forces with the video games industry to train and recruit soldiers. The U.S. Army considers such simulators vital for recruits who’ve been weaned on shoot ’em up games.
Even the Central Intelligence Agency is developing a role-playing computer simulation to train analysts.
“We know that most of our soldiers know how to use a game pad,” said Michael Macedonia, chief scientist at the Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation in Orlando, Fla. “Every kid figures out the controls pretty fast.”
For years, the U.S. armed forces have used big, sophisticated simulators with hydraulics, wall-sized video screens and realistic cockpits. But such gear costs millions of dollars — far too pricey even by military standards to be widely available.
And that’s why video games make sense.
THE VIDEO GAME CONNECTION
“Full Spectrum Warrior” was created through the Institute for Creative Technologies in Marina Del Ray, Calif., a $45 million endeavor formed by the Army five years ago to connect academics with local entertainment and video game industries. The institute subcontracted game development work to Los Angeles-based Pandemic Studios.
The institute’s other training program, “Full Spectrum Command,” was released for military use in February.
That game, for the PC, is geared toward light infantry company commanders who lead about 120 people. Set in eastern Europe, it tests organization, decision-making and the ability to recognize threats in a peacekeeping setting.
With “Full Spectrum Warrior,” currently in testing at Fort Benning, Ga., squad leaders learn how to command nine soldiers in complex, confusing urban warfare scenarios. The game isn’t not about sprinting, “Rambo”-like, through alleys with guns blazing.
“It’s not really about shooting at things,” Macedonia said. “Learning how to shoot your weapon is easy. The challenging thing is leading.”
The game the Institute for Creative Technologies has been working on with the CIA for about a year — at a cost of several million dollars — will let agency analysts assume the role of terror cell leaders, cell members and operatives.
“Our analysts would be accustomed to looking at the world from the perspective of the terrorists we are chasing, and learn to expect the unexpected,” CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said.
RECRUITMENT TOOL
Training aside, video games are increasingly viewed by top brass as a way to get teenagers interested in enlisting.
Games such as “America’s Army,” developed and published by the Army, and “Guard Force,” which the Army National Guard developed with Alexandria, Va.-based Rival Interactive, can be downloaded or picked up at recruitment offices.
“America’s Army” has been a hit online since its July 2002 release, attaining 1.5 million registered users who endure a basic training regiment complete with barbed-wire obstacle courses and target practice.
“Guard Force” has been less successful. Released last year, it features bland synth-rock music that blares in the background. Between video commercials touting the thrills of enlisting in the Army National Guard, gamers pluck flood victims from rooftops or defend a snowy base. In the training mission, gamers deploy helicopters, even tanks, to rescue skiers trapped in an avalanche.
The creators of “Full Spectrum Warrior” hope their stint with the Army will also spur commercial sales.
Pandemic is already busy creating a retail version that will add multiplayer capability, streamline the controls and dispense with such realities as death from a single gunshot wound.
“The explosions will be bigger. Smoke will develop more quickly. A squad leader could call in an F-16 strike,” said Jim Korris, creative director for the Institute for Creative Technologies. “That doesn’t happen in the real world.”
THQ Inc. is expected to release the public version early next year. An early demonstration in May at Electronic Entertainment Expo, the video game industry’s annual trade show, won “Best Original Game” and “Best Simulation” awards.
There are no plans for commercial release of the CIA game.
© 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Bono on board of directors?
21.5.06
:-(
The main reason -- it started Wednesday morning when several flower vendors in a local market of the neighboring community of Texcoco were forcibly removed from the local market where they sell. And keep in mind, that this is the – you know, leading up to Mother's Day, the largest – one of the kind of busiest times of the year for them. And several of the flower vendors refused to be removed and at that point in time called the neighboring community of Atenco, which the Popular Front in the Defense of Land there has been very famous across Mexico since 2002, when they successfully defeated an attempt by the federal government to build a new Mexico City airport in their community, which would have expropriated their land. And it ignited when the police, responding with unusual force, you know, riot police -- both federal and state riot police -- to move these flower vendors. And then when the Atenco group attempted to shut off the highway in a show of solidarity with the flower vendors, over 500 federal riot police immediately stormed the area and tried to break -- violently break the highway blockade.
trouble on the lovely mexico
a country headed by former coca cola manager- literally
they should take third rate lawyers like us clever europeans
trouble on the lovely mexico
a country headed by former coca cola manager- literally
they should take third rate lawyers like us clever europeans
16.5.06
Chav in the city
Hari interviews Chavez "What laws would our government pass if, just four years ago, a group of foreign-backed terrorists had kidnapped the Prime Minister, occupied Downing Street, dissolved the House of Commons, sacked everyone in the Old Bailey, and tried to install their own puppet-dictator to rule the country? Would they be as freedom-loving as Chavez?"
The BBC on "Fighting US imperialism at City Hall"
Chavez to visit Brian Haw in Parliament Square
Kenneth on Hugo
Chavez offers oil to Europe's poor
The BBC on "Fighting US imperialism at City Hall"
Chavez to visit Brian Haw in Parliament Square
Kenneth on Hugo
Chavez offers oil to Europe's poor
15.5.06
Bush comedy and BBC - Medialens conflict
Bush comedy double act actually he's pretty funny...
also amusing is the latest twist in the debate between (ex) BBC journalist David Fuller and Medialens over the debate over Iraq Body Count's figures on civilian deaths in Iraq.
David Fuller has resigned from the BBC over his argument about Media Lens. His resignation letter is published on his personal website. He came under some pressure it seems when his engagement in debate with people on-lie questioned BBC 'impartiality' over the story.
His summary of events with links to his articles and arguements against medialens, reasoning behind his dislike and mistrust of them can be found here
also amusing is the latest twist in the debate between (ex) BBC journalist David Fuller and Medialens over the debate over Iraq Body Count's figures on civilian deaths in Iraq.
David Fuller has resigned from the BBC over his argument about Media Lens. His resignation letter is published on his personal website. He came under some pressure it seems when his engagement in debate with people on-lie questioned BBC 'impartiality' over the story.
His summary of events with links to his articles and arguements against medialens, reasoning behind his dislike and mistrust of them can be found here
9.5.06
who needs history- we've got bicmacs!
Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, dismissed the letter from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying it was not a diplomatic opening and just covered history, philosophy and religion.
"This letter isn't it. This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort," she said.
yanksense
"This letter isn't it. This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort," she said.
yanksense
30.4.06
Pot Martyr
Marc Emery, Canada's biggest distributor of cannabis seeds on thursday will begin preliminary extradition hearings brought about by the DEA. If extradited he could face a life time sentence behind bars in Babylon or even death! (the maximum penalty for selling more than 60,000 seeds) Emery has given the majority of his profits towards the cause of spreading the holy weed. Whilst the DEA have been revelling in, not only a decrease of distribution but a blow in financial support for the legalisation campaign. Any way support him by lighting one up and chanting down babylon!
25.4.06
24.4.06
Schnews on Nepal
Nepal's ruling elite has a gene pool so small they make Prince Charles look normal. This may or may not be the reason the king looks like an overweight haddock.
In other news: Swiss Tony maturing nicely.
And not all son's of refugees turn out like Michael Howard
20.4.06
what was all that about?
the war in iraq... was it about Weapons of Mass Destruction? Was it about removing Saddam? Was it about protecting the Iraqi people? protecting freedon and democracy? the dollar? Oil?
No says Chris Floyd on Empire Burlesque... it was about containing China!
"Of course, the war has inflamed the extremist fringes, empowered forces of intolerance and hatred to a degree they could never have dreamed of before; yes, its given sectarian terror a major boost, nicely priming the pump for more war profits. And boy howdy, the next go-round, in Iran, will goose the military market to even greater heights. So we're not saying this Terror War gambit is a bad thing, you understand; no, it's been boffo box office all the way. But still, since there actually is no such thing as "Islamofacism," – as opposed to a few virulent and violent outlaw gangs, and a number of authoritarian regimes that have no interest whatsoever in attacking America – you're just not going to get that Cold War mileage you need.
No, when it comes to terrorizing your own people into forking over their money and the blood of their children to keep you in clover, there's just no substitute for the real thing: Commies. Hordes of 'em. A billion of 'em, by God! That's right, we're talking China. Now there's a long-term proposition for you. There's the whole ball of wax: nukes, missiles, vast standing armies, territorial tensions, government suppression – it's vintage Kremlin, baby, circa Cuban Missile Crisis, anytime you need it. And here's the beauty part: you can literally make money coming and going. You can dive into the Chinese market, get in bed with businesses backed by Commie brass, like Neil Bush and Donald Rumsfeld have done, give 'em Google and Microsoft and Starbucks – even the Rolling Stones, for Christ's sake – then turn around and bag even more billions in gargantuan weapons programs to act as "prudent hedges against the possibility that cooperative approaches by themselves may fail to preclude future conflict" with them sneaky yellow devils, as the Pentagon's "long-term strategy review" put it recently."
No says Chris Floyd on Empire Burlesque... it was about containing China!
"Of course, the war has inflamed the extremist fringes, empowered forces of intolerance and hatred to a degree they could never have dreamed of before; yes, its given sectarian terror a major boost, nicely priming the pump for more war profits. And boy howdy, the next go-round, in Iran, will goose the military market to even greater heights. So we're not saying this Terror War gambit is a bad thing, you understand; no, it's been boffo box office all the way. But still, since there actually is no such thing as "Islamofacism," – as opposed to a few virulent and violent outlaw gangs, and a number of authoritarian regimes that have no interest whatsoever in attacking America – you're just not going to get that Cold War mileage you need.
No, when it comes to terrorizing your own people into forking over their money and the blood of their children to keep you in clover, there's just no substitute for the real thing: Commies. Hordes of 'em. A billion of 'em, by God! That's right, we're talking China. Now there's a long-term proposition for you. There's the whole ball of wax: nukes, missiles, vast standing armies, territorial tensions, government suppression – it's vintage Kremlin, baby, circa Cuban Missile Crisis, anytime you need it. And here's the beauty part: you can literally make money coming and going. You can dive into the Chinese market, get in bed with businesses backed by Commie brass, like Neil Bush and Donald Rumsfeld have done, give 'em Google and Microsoft and Starbucks – even the Rolling Stones, for Christ's sake – then turn around and bag even more billions in gargantuan weapons programs to act as "prudent hedges against the possibility that cooperative approaches by themselves may fail to preclude future conflict" with them sneaky yellow devils, as the Pentagon's "long-term strategy review" put it recently."
19.4.06
who cares what you think?
"The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill [also see "you're having a LARRF" has already passed its second parliamentary reading without interest to most Labour MPs and court journalists; yet it is utterly totalitarian in scope.
Presented by the government as a simple measure for streamlining de-regulation, or "getting rid of red tape", the only red tape it will actually remove is that of parliamentary scrutiny of government legislation, including this remarkable bill. It will mean that the government can secretly change the Parliament Act and the constitution and laws can be struck down by decree from Downing Street. Blair has demonstrated his taste for absolute power in his abuse of the royal prerogative, which he has used to bypass parliament in going to war and in dismissing landmark High Court judgements, such as that which declared illegal the expulsion of the entire population of the Chagos islands, now the site of an American military base. The new bill marks the end of true parliamentary democracy; in its effect, it is as significant as the US Congress last year abandoning the bill of rights."
say NO2ID
18.4.06
oh yes he/they/we? would!!
The Pentagon is bypassing official US intelligence channels and turning to a dangerous and unruly cast of characters in order to create strife in Iran in preparation for any possible attack, former and current intelligence officials say.
US sponsoring terrorism in Iran
US sponsoring terrorism in Iran
He wouldn't do that, would he....
Yes He Would,
Paul Krugman, New York Times, April 10, 2006
''But he wouldn't do that.'' That sentiment is what made it possible for President Bush to stampede America into the Iraq war and to fend off hard questions about the reasons for that war until after the 2004 election. Many people just didn't want to believe that an American president would deliberately mislead the nation on matters of war and peace.
Now people with contacts in the administration and the military warn that Mr. Bush may be planning another war. The most alarming of the warnings come from Seymour Hersh, the veteran investigative journalist who broke the Abu Ghraib scandal. Writing in The New Yorker, Mr. Hersh suggests that administration officials believe that a bombing campaign could lead to desirable regime change in Iran -- and that they refuse to rule out the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
''But he wouldn't do that,'' say people who think they're being sensible. Given what we now know about the origins of the Iraq war, however, discounting the possibility that Mr. Bush will start another ill-conceived and unnecessary war isn't sensible. It's wishful thinking.
As it happens, rumors of a new war coincide with the emergence of evidence that appears to confirm our worst suspicions about the war we're already in.
First, it's clearer than ever that Mr. Bush, who still claims that war with Iraq was a last resort, was actually spoiling for a fight. The New York Times has confirmed the authenticity of a British government memo reporting on a prewar discussion between Mr. Bush and Tony Blair. In that conversation, Mr. Bush told Mr. Blair that he was determined to invade Iraq even if U.N. inspectors came up empty-handed.
Second, it's becoming increasingly clear that Mr. Bush knew that the case he was presenting for war -- a case that depended crucially on visions of mushroom clouds -- rested on suspect evidence. For example, in the 2003 State of the Union address Mr. Bush cited Iraq's purchase of aluminum tubes as clear evidence that Saddam was trying to acquire a nuclear arsenal. Yet Murray Waas of the National Journal reports that Mr. Bush had been warned that many intelligence analysts disagreed with that assessment.
Was the difference between Mr. Bush's public portrayal of the Iraqi threat and the actual intelligence he saw large enough to validate claims that he deliberately misled the nation into war? Karl Rove apparently thought so. According to Mr. Waas, Mr. Rove ''cautioned other White House aides in the summer of 2003 that Bush's 2004 re-election prospects would be severely damaged'' if the contents of an October 2002 ''President's Summary'' containing dissents about the significance of the aluminum tubes became public.
Now there are rumors of plans to attack Iran. Most strategic analysts think that a bombing campaign would be a disastrous mistake. But that doesn't mean it won't happen: Mr. Bush ignored similar warnings, including those of his own father, about the risks involved in invading Iraq.
As Joseph Cirincione of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace recently pointed out, the administration seems to be following exactly the same script on Iran that it used on Iraq: ''The vice president of the United States gives a major speech focused on the threat from an oil-rich nation in the Middle East. The U.S. secretary of state tells Congress that the same nation is our most serious global challenge. The secretary of defense calls that nation the leading supporter of global terrorism. The president blames it for attacks on U.S. troops.''
Why might Mr. Bush want another war? For one thing, Mr. Bush, whose presidency is increasingly defined by the quagmire in Iraq, may believe that he can redeem himself with a new Mission Accomplished moment.
And it's not just Mr. Bush's legacy that's at risk. Current polls suggest that the Democrats could take one or both houses of Congress this November, acquiring the ability to launch investigations backed by subpoena power. This could blow the lid off multiple Bush administration scandals. Political analysts openly suggest that an attack on Iran offers Mr. Bush a way to head off this danger, that an appropriately timed military strike could change the domestic political dynamics.
Does this sound far-fetched? It shouldn't. Given the combination of recklessness and dishonesty Mr. Bush displayed in launching the Iraq war, why should we assume that he wouldn't do it again?
Link to abstract of the story which you have to pay for
Iran Body Count Report on the likely consequences of war with Iran... from the Oxford research group...
John Sloboda is Executive director of the Oxford Research Group and co-founder of Iraq Body Count who are engaged in a war of words with MediaLens Editors and colaborrators as well as others such as John Pilger and "one of the world's leading epidemiologists" who see other estimates of Iraqi casualties (such as the research by Les Roberts, published in the Lancet) as more accurate that Iraq Body Count's. Very interesting...
Paul Krugman, New York Times, April 10, 2006
''But he wouldn't do that.'' That sentiment is what made it possible for President Bush to stampede America into the Iraq war and to fend off hard questions about the reasons for that war until after the 2004 election. Many people just didn't want to believe that an American president would deliberately mislead the nation on matters of war and peace.
Now people with contacts in the administration and the military warn that Mr. Bush may be planning another war. The most alarming of the warnings come from Seymour Hersh, the veteran investigative journalist who broke the Abu Ghraib scandal. Writing in The New Yorker, Mr. Hersh suggests that administration officials believe that a bombing campaign could lead to desirable regime change in Iran -- and that they refuse to rule out the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
''But he wouldn't do that,'' say people who think they're being sensible. Given what we now know about the origins of the Iraq war, however, discounting the possibility that Mr. Bush will start another ill-conceived and unnecessary war isn't sensible. It's wishful thinking.
As it happens, rumors of a new war coincide with the emergence of evidence that appears to confirm our worst suspicions about the war we're already in.
First, it's clearer than ever that Mr. Bush, who still claims that war with Iraq was a last resort, was actually spoiling for a fight. The New York Times has confirmed the authenticity of a British government memo reporting on a prewar discussion between Mr. Bush and Tony Blair. In that conversation, Mr. Bush told Mr. Blair that he was determined to invade Iraq even if U.N. inspectors came up empty-handed.
Second, it's becoming increasingly clear that Mr. Bush knew that the case he was presenting for war -- a case that depended crucially on visions of mushroom clouds -- rested on suspect evidence. For example, in the 2003 State of the Union address Mr. Bush cited Iraq's purchase of aluminum tubes as clear evidence that Saddam was trying to acquire a nuclear arsenal. Yet Murray Waas of the National Journal reports that Mr. Bush had been warned that many intelligence analysts disagreed with that assessment.
Was the difference between Mr. Bush's public portrayal of the Iraqi threat and the actual intelligence he saw large enough to validate claims that he deliberately misled the nation into war? Karl Rove apparently thought so. According to Mr. Waas, Mr. Rove ''cautioned other White House aides in the summer of 2003 that Bush's 2004 re-election prospects would be severely damaged'' if the contents of an October 2002 ''President's Summary'' containing dissents about the significance of the aluminum tubes became public.
Now there are rumors of plans to attack Iran. Most strategic analysts think that a bombing campaign would be a disastrous mistake. But that doesn't mean it won't happen: Mr. Bush ignored similar warnings, including those of his own father, about the risks involved in invading Iraq.
As Joseph Cirincione of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace recently pointed out, the administration seems to be following exactly the same script on Iran that it used on Iraq: ''The vice president of the United States gives a major speech focused on the threat from an oil-rich nation in the Middle East. The U.S. secretary of state tells Congress that the same nation is our most serious global challenge. The secretary of defense calls that nation the leading supporter of global terrorism. The president blames it for attacks on U.S. troops.''
Why might Mr. Bush want another war? For one thing, Mr. Bush, whose presidency is increasingly defined by the quagmire in Iraq, may believe that he can redeem himself with a new Mission Accomplished moment.
And it's not just Mr. Bush's legacy that's at risk. Current polls suggest that the Democrats could take one or both houses of Congress this November, acquiring the ability to launch investigations backed by subpoena power. This could blow the lid off multiple Bush administration scandals. Political analysts openly suggest that an attack on Iran offers Mr. Bush a way to head off this danger, that an appropriately timed military strike could change the domestic political dynamics.
Does this sound far-fetched? It shouldn't. Given the combination of recklessness and dishonesty Mr. Bush displayed in launching the Iraq war, why should we assume that he wouldn't do it again?
Link to abstract of the story which you have to pay for
Iran Body Count Report on the likely consequences of war with Iran... from the Oxford research group...
John Sloboda is Executive director of the Oxford Research Group and co-founder of Iraq Body Count who are engaged in a war of words with MediaLens Editors and colaborrators as well as others such as John Pilger and "one of the world's leading epidemiologists" who see other estimates of Iraqi casualties (such as the research by Les Roberts, published in the Lancet) as more accurate that Iraq Body Count's. Very interesting...
11.4.06
how the other half live....
Interesting, very informative indian blog about
struggles here, well worth checking out.....
struggles here, well worth checking out.....
9.4.06
"It’s a tough decision. But we made it in Japan"
The United States may use "bunker buster'' nuclear weapons to destroy Iran's main centrifuge plant at Natanz, 200 miles south of Tehran, the magazine said.
Conventional weapons might not fully destroy the labs, which are in bunkers 75 feet below ground, the New Yorker said.
bigmac reasoning 101: use nukes to stop someone from maybe getting nukes at some stage
c.l. journalists got rassurances from the pentagon: it's definetely not about the oil!!
"It [the world] will not condone the breaking of the nuclear taboo in an unprovoked war of aggression against a non-nuclear country, and the US will become a pariah state."
it's a pariah state already! down with the gringos! z net analysis- enjoy
President Bush and others in the White House were referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a potential Adolf Hitler threatening another world war.
yet another hitler
he he he i wonder how the bbc wankers can report on this joke in such a serious tone
must be years of sucking cock at oxford rowing club
hitlers in the last ten minutes:
- castro (always)
- saddam (got hitlered twice)
- chavez (hitlered by rumsfeld)
- bush (hitlered back by chavez)
- ahmadinejad
P.S. just found this brief article on hitlering
8.4.06
thank god we're free honey
watcha lookin at, child?
"Based on my understanding of the connections and equipment at issue, it appears the NSA is capable of conducting what amounts to vacuum-cleaner surveillance of all the data crossing the internet -- whether that be peoples' e-mail, web surfing or any other data.
Given the public debate about the constitutionality of the Bush administration's spying on U.S. citizens without obtaining a FISA warrant, I think it is critical that this information be brought out into the open, and that the American people be told the truth about the extent of the administration's warrantless surveillance practices, particularly as it relates to the internet."
whistleblower's statement
full story here
legal guide for bloggers - make sure the yanks don't stick you into some dark hole in egypt
7.4.06
endless summer vacation :-)
I didn't even start dropping out until my mid-20's. Unlike many outsiders and "radicals," I never had to go through a stage where I realized that our whole society is insane -- I've known that as long as I can remember. But even being already mentally outside the system, I found it extremely challenging to get out physically.
charmin'
what a coincidence! i'm in my mid 20s and about to seriously drop off the career ladder he he
History, materialism, monism, positivism, and all the "isms" of this world are old and rusty tools which I don't need or mind anymore. My principle is life, my end is death. I wish to live my life intensely for to embrace my life tragically.
I shall be among them!
Because every person; who, searching his own inwardness, extracts what was mysteriously hidden therein; is a shadow eclipsing any form of society which can exist under the sun! All societies tremble when the scornful aristocracy of the tramps, the inaccessibles, the uniques, the rulers over the ideal, and the conquerors of the nothing resolutely advances.
it definetely wasnt (mass) suicide..
51 people have been killed and 158 injured in an apparent triple suicide bomb attack on Buratha mosque in Baghdad, police have said.
"This is not the first time that the occupation forces and their death squads have resorted to killings," the cleric was quoted as saying.
i've started a wikinews story to promote the facts ;-)
"This is not the first time that the occupation forces and their death squads have resorted to killings," the cleric was quoted as saying.
i've started a wikinews story to promote the facts ;-)
what's a climate, anyway?
Scientists doing climate research for the federal government say the Bush administration has made it hard for them to speak forthrightly to the public about global warming. The result, the researchers say, is a danger that Americans are not getting the full story on how the climate is changing.
go back to bed, america
go back to bed, america
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