be just

Russian chopper crashes in Chechnya, 18 die - Europe - MSNBC.com : "ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia - A Russian military helicopter heading to a battle with separatist rebels crashed in Chechnya on Friday, killing all 18 people aboard, emergency officials said."

TomDispatch - Tomgram: The Mother Ship Lands in Iraq It is worth remembering that, when the American commanders whose troops had just taken Baghdad, wanted their victory photo snapped, they memorably seated themselves, grinning happily, behind a marble table in one of those captured palaces; that American soldiers and newly arrived officials marveled at the former tyrant's exotic symbols of power; that they swam in Saddam's pools, fed rare antelopes from his son Uday's private zoo to its lions (and elsewhere shot his herd of gazelles and ate them themselves); and, when in need of someplace to set up an American embassy, the newly arrived occupation officials chose -- are you surprised? -- one of his former dream palaces. They found nothing strange in the symbolism of this (though it was carefully noted by Baghdadis), even as they swore they were bringing liberation and democracy to Saddam's benighted land.

Exit From Iraq Should Be Through Iran : "A rapprochement with Iran, therefore, is the key to restoring regional stability as the US withdraws from Iraq. Can it be reached? Yes, if the US is willing to pay the price of dropping its 'all sticks' policy for stopping Iran’s nuclear-weapons program. Put plainly, the US has two choices: It can have an Iran with nuclear weapons that refuses to cooperate on many shared interests. Or it can have an Iran with nuclear weapons that is willing to cooperate. "

The Surge: From Worse to Worst? - by Mohammed Salih : "In the central parts of the country, Shia and Sunni Muslims are fighting each other. In the mixed areas of the north a conflict, though still small, has broken out between Arabs and Kurds. The western parts of the country are witnessing Sunni tribes fighting the al-Qaeda terror network, and in the south Shia political groups are fighting for power and control of oil-rich areas like Basra. "

'Iraqi police cannot control crime' | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited : "Mark Tran explains the problems plaguing the Iraqi police force "

globeandmail.com: Horror stories of torture hound Ethiopia as it proclaims commitment to reform : "Horror stories of torture hound Ethiopia as it proclaims commitment to reform Evidence suggests nation jails its citizens without reason or trial, tortures many of them and habitually violates its own laws NICK WADHAMS From Tuesday's Globe and Mail May 29, 2007 at 4:13 AM EDT"

Celebrating the Rule of Force, Not Freedom : "One often can write news stories by the calendar, and today is not an exception. This is Memorial Day, and we are going to hear the rhetoric about honoring those who 'died fighting for our freedom.' Indeed, Americans might be honoring the dead from U.S. wars, but in no case did any of those dead whom we memorialize today die for 'our freedom.' They died, instead, because our political classes pointedly understand that promoting war is good for them. I realize this is a statement that will bring anger. Those people who have lost loved ones in one of many U.S. conflicts will be angry because my statement insinuates that these mostly-young people died for a Big Lie. Others who have not been directly touched by one of our many wars simply want to believe that the United States of America is a shining beacon of freedom, and we need to protect that freedom from those who would take it away."

Progressive Independent - Viewing topic 47 Reasons To Oppose The Democratic Party- Revisited

"Good Riddance Attention Whore" : "The first conclusion is that I was the darling of the so-called left as long as I limited my protests to George Bush and the Republican Party. Of course, I was slandered and libeled by the right as a 'tool' of the Democratic Party. This label was to marginalize me and my message. How could a woman have an original thought, or be working outside of our 'two-party' system? However, when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the 'left' started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used. I guess no one paid attention to me when I said that the issue of peace and people dying for no reason is not a matter of 'right or left', but 'right and wrong.'"

Pakistan losing territory to radicals | csmonitor.com

Tuesday: 13 GIs, 169 Iraqis Killed; 146 Iraqis Wounded; 40 Iraqis, 5 Britons Kidnapped - Antiwar.com

Chechnya Weekly from the Jamestown Foundation : "The Mufti of the Chechen Republic, Sultan Mirzaev, has commented on the fact that some young people in the republic have been heading to the mountains to join the rebels. Kavkazky Uzel, on May 23, quoted Mirzaev as stating that during recent months, around twenty young people from the various settlements had “gone into the mountains.” He added: “There will be no more amnesty games with these youths. They will meet their death in the mountains or will sit in prison for the rest of their lives.”"

Joe DeRaymond: Colombia's Civil War and the US : "Colombia is a very dangerous nation for union organizers, journalists, human rights workers, anyone trying to organize in civil society for social change or an end to the war. The assassinations continue daily and the United States support for this system has remained constant over the decades. The US/Colombia program of military action and violence as a solution to the civil war culminated in the Clinton Plan Colombia. Plan Colombia pumped over $4 billion in military aid in 5 years into the conflict, caused enormous environmental and human damage with a misguided fumigation policy, and failed miserably in controlling the civil war, the violence, or the drug trade. Cocaine in the US is actually cheaper today than in 1999, when Bill Clinton ushered his murderous policy through Congress."

Bush bungles a press conference. - By Fred Kaplan - Slate Magazine : "First, the vast majority of the insurgents have nothing to do with al-Qaida or its ideology. They're combatants in a sectarian conflict for power in Iraq, and they have neither the means nor the desire to threaten North America. Second, to the extent that the true global terrorists could attack us at home, they could do so whether or not U.S. troops stay or win in Iraq. The one issue has nothing to do with the other. Third, what kind of thing is this to say in front of the allies? If our main goal in bombing, strafing, and stomping through Iraq is to make sure we don't have to do so on our own territory, will any needy nation ever again seek our aid and cover? Or will they seek out a less blatantly selfish protector?"

LiveLeak.com - Miss USA heckled by live Mexican audience... : " " WHY DO THEY HATE US?

LiveLeak.com - U.S Army Destroys a Mosque

Why I Am Leaving the Democratic Party : "Dear Democratic Congress, Hello, my name is Cindy Sheehan and my son Casey Sheehan was killed on April 04, 2004 in Sadr City , Baghdad , Iraq . He was killed when the Republicans still were in control of Congress. Naively, I set off on my tireless campaign calling on Congress to rescind George's authority to wage his war of terror while asking him 'for what noble cause' did Casey and thousands of other have to die."

In Iraq, Every Day Is Memorial Day : "05/28/07 'Time' -- -- The Shi'ite militias that forced Azhour Ali Mohammed from her home in Baghdad's al-Dolai district last month shot her husband Amer dead before her eyes and torched all her worldly possessions. And the fear that the killers may come back for her and her two little children prevented her from mourning her husband. 'I could not hold a proper wake for him,' says the young widow. 'He deserved at least that.' "

Al Jazeera English - News - Many Killed In Ethiopia Attacks : "At least 16 people were killed and 67 injured in two attacks in eastern Ethiopia, a government official said. The attacks happened early on Monday in two towns of eastern Ethiopia, Jijiga and Degah Abur,"

The Angry Arab News Service/وكالة أنباء العربي الغاضب : "Brother by Lebanese poet Mikha'il Nu`aymah--he wrote it in 1917--(I have written about him in an earlier post and about my meeting with him at the age of 12) (my translation):"

Thanks for invading a defenseless country of Iraq. Thanks for killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people! Thanks for destroying Iraq. Thanks for causing 2 million refugees and refusing to give them asylum in your country. To all military forces, you are serving a terrorist regime established and ruled by a Whiteman which has a trail of blood from the day the first Whiteman arrived in peaceful America. You don’t need to be honored for committing heinous crimes. Mr. Cole, the soldier already told you "It's just a job, sir," a job that teaches you to invade, kill, maim, rape, torture and clogging up the benefiet line when return to the USA. NO MATTER HOW YOU DIGUISED TO BE LIBERAL AND ANTI AGRESSION, YOUR TRUE CLOUR SHOWS A DAY LIKE THIS. You might as well join the fascist camp Mr, Cole.

I lost my son to a conflict I oppose. We were both doing our duty : "Parents who lose children, whether through accident or illness, inevitably wonder what they could have done to prevent their loss. When my son was killed in Iraq earlier this month at age 27, I found myself pondering my responsibility for his death. "

LiveLeak.com - Iraq War Vets talk about random civilian killings : " "

Al Jazeera English - News - Howard Jeered At Aborigine Ceremony : "John Howard, Australia's prime minister, has been heckled as he acknowledged that some of Australia's Aborigines still live on the fringes of society 40 years after a vote recognising them as full citizens. "

Hunt for 'traitors' splits Taliban | World | The Observer : "Spy mania grips the Afghan rebels as top commanders fall victim to tip-offs by informers to coalition troops "

Antiwar.com Blog · 3rd CIA Officer Confirms Ron Paul On Roots of Terrorism : "For the third time this week, a retired CIA officer has told Antiwar Radio that U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is the driving force in al Qaeda’s recruitment and motivation for attacking America on September 11th."

CorpWatch : Trademarking Coffee: Starbucks cuts Ethiopia deal : "Starbucks, the world's largest coffee shop chain, and the Ethiopian government are on the verge of unveiling a deal that the company hopes will end attacks on the company's carefully constructed ethical image. "

Overthrow, America's Century of Regime Change VIDEO : "Overthrow, America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq The recent of Saddam Hussein may have turned 'regime change' into a contemporary buzzword, but it's been a tactic of American foreign policy for more than 110 years. Beginning with the ouster of Hawaii's monarchy in 1893, Kinzer runs through the foreign governments the U.S. has had a hand in toppling Stephen Kinzer presents his most recent book Overthrow, America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. Mr. Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent for The New York Times who has reported from more than fifty countries on four continents. He has served as the paper's bureau chief in Turkey, Germany and Nicaragua."

U.S. Storm Troopers - Occupation Of Iraq - 101 VIDEO : "U.S. Storm Troopers - Occupation Of Iraq - 101 Proud moment in US. military history caught on tape. How are these action different than those of Nazi raids in occupied France?"

TomDispatch - Tomgram: Nick Turse, The Air War in Iraq Uncovered : "Nine words in the report were devoted to the American air war: 'American troops killed eight suspected insurgents on Sunday, the military said -- six in an airstrike near Garma, in Anbar Province, and two southwest of Baghdad.' We have no further information on that air strike in Garma; no idea what kind of aircraft struck, or with what weaponry, or how those in the air were so certain that those dead on the ground were 'suspected insurgents,' or who exactly suspected them of being insurgents. The equivalent Washington Post round-up did not even mention that the operation involved an air strike. This has been fairly typical of the last few years of minimalist to nonexistent mainstream media coverage of the air war in Iraq, based almost singularly on similarly minimalist military press handouts or statements. We do, however, know something about an air strike, also 'in the Garma area,' last ...

 Headlines : " Back in 2004 when the first shocking pictures were originally leaked, the world recoiled in horror, but since then the Bush Administration has fought tooth and nail to prevent the American public from seeing any new images of the treatment of Iraqi detainees, but tonight Dateline reporter Olivia Rousset reveals new photos and videos. Despite the currently overheated international climate, we are showing them because they show the extent of the horror that occurred at Abu Ghraib. A serious warning though - some of the images you're about to see are pretty confronting and may offend some of you. "

Al Jazeera English - News - Mass Religious Conversion In Mumbai : "More than 1,000 nomadic tribal families from India's lowest castes are gathering in Mumbai to convert to Buddhism in an attempt to lift themselves out of poverty."

YouTube - Ron Paul on Bill Maher Show 5-25-07

The Peoples Voice 'Wiped off the Map' – The Rumor of the Century Across the world, a dangerous rumor has spread that could have catastrophic implications. According to legend, Iran's president has threatened to destroy Israel, or, to quote the misquote, "Israel must be wiped off the map." Contrary to popular belief, this statement was never made.

Reuters AlertNet Lite - Amnesty appeals for Muslim detainees in Ethiopia : "NAIROBI, May 24 (Reuters) - Scores of those rounded up by Kenya after a New Year conflict in Somalia remain 'arbitrarily detained' in Ethiopia where they were sent for interrogation, Amnesty International said on Thursday. In a case some rights campaigners have dubbed an 'African Guantanamo', the British-based group called on Kenyan, Somali and Ethiopian authorities to come clean over the whereabouts and fates of some 66 Muslim detainees unaccounted for in Ethiopia."

Standing in the shadow of dad's salary - May. 25, 2007 : "American men in their 30s are earning less than their father's generation did, challenging a long-held belief that each generation will be better off than the one that preceded it, according to a new study published Friday."

The Only Logical Way to Keep Our Democracy - The Smirking Chimp : "If you have been reading the paper, watching TV or surfing the web, you know that this nation has taken one step forward and two steps back. Bush’s news conference yesterday literally put me to sleep. He said nothing new but the “If we don’t fight them there we will fight them here” propaganda (sure, just like the Vietnamese communists). I was awakened by my wife swearing at the TV set. Enough is enough, but what the hell can we do? I felt helpless yesterday to do anything. I felt betrayed by the Democrats that voted to take out the benchmarks."

Secret memo shows Israel knew Six Day War was illegal - Independent Online Edition > Middle East : "A senior legal official who secretly warned the government of Israel after the Six Day War of 1967 that it would be illegal to build Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories has said, for the first time, that he still believes that he was right. "

barrylando.com : "The United States seems to be waging not just a losing but an increasingly lonely struggle—despite the mammoth amounts of money, men and resources they have poured into the region."

Mystery flights : "Binyam Mohammed, a British resident from Ethiopia was 'rendered' to Morocco in a Gulfstream N379P after he was arrested in Pakistan. He says he was tortured there until he agreed to sign a statement his captors had prepared. The statement said that he was a member of al-Qaeda; that he had met Osama bin Laden and that he was part of a plot to explode a radioactive bomb in America. "

Who Are 'These People'? : "The President of the United States is a racist. Or at the very least, an anti-Muslim bigot. In Iraq, Shi'ites and Sunni are fighting each other to the death. Under what possible logic can they be joined by a common identity?"

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich: "Privatizing Iraq's Oil is Theft!" 7 Minute Video Rep. Kucinich explained how the proposed Bill, now pending before the U.S. Congress, via its benchmarks, will provide for the privatization of Iraqi oil. It requires the regime in Iraq to pass a law called, "The Hydrocarbon Act." If they refuse to do so over a billion dollars in reconstruction funds will be blocked by the Bush-Cheney administration, he claimed. This measure, which Rep. Kucinich characterized as "blackmail," would permit multinational oil corporations---many based in the U.S.--to exercise control over the Iraqi oil. The Democratic leadership in the Congress is giving its explicit support to this legislative device. Unless the scheme is stopped, Rep. Kucinich predicted, we will be looking at an Iraqi War "going on forever!"

Permanent Bases: A Recipe for Permanent Terrorism - by Thomas Gale Moore While the White House has often denied having a Plan B for Iraq, it turns out that the Pentagon has thought about what to do if Plan A, the "surge" doesn’t work. According to Steve Inskeep and Guy Raz of National Public Radio, plan B would involve maintaining a series of military bases around Iraq with some 30,000 to 40,000 U.S. troops. That plan would have them stay for decades, under the excuse that they could train the Iraqi troops and deter neighboring countries, such as Iran and Turkey, from sending their own troops into the country. Already the U.S. has built military compounds that look permanent, supplied with air-conditioning, movie theatres, Starbucks coffee houses, and fast food outlets.

Another Day in the Empire : "Of course, for Romney, Tancredo, and a whole lot of other Republicans and Democrats, there is nothing wrong with “covert action” in Iran, that is to say destabilizing the country through terrorism and funding outlaw political groups. "

One Thousand Guns A Day

Foreign Affairs - How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor - C. Ford Runge and Benjamin Senauer In 1974, as the United States was reeling from the oil embargo imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Congress took the first of many legislative steps to promote ethanol made from corn as an alternative fuel. On April 18, 1977, amid mounting calls for energy independence, President Jimmy Carter donned his cardigan sweater and appeared on television to tell Americans that balancing energy demands with available domestic resources would be an effort the "moral equivalent of war." The gradual phaseout of lead in the 1970s and 1980s provided an additional boost to the fledgling ethanol industry. (Lead, a toxic substance, is a performance enhancer when added to gasoline, and it was partly replaced by ethanol.) A series of tax breaks and subsidies also helped. In spite of these measures, with each passing year the United States became more dependent on imported petroleu...

Bosnia strips citizenship from Muslim fighters - Independent Online Edition > Europe : "They came from Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere, and were rewarded with Bosnian nationality by the government of Ali Isetbegovic. But now the government is to strip hundreds of the former mujahedin of their nationality and send them back to their countries of origin, even though they are no longer citizens there."

: "Amnesty: Threefold increase in killings of Palestinians by IDF in 2006 Human rights group’s annual report slams Israel’s activity in the territories, says settlers, soldiers committed ‘serious human rights abuses’; report also says Jewish state committed war crimes during Second Lebanon War "

Not a "Compromise," It's a Blank Check : "the willingness of Pelosi and Reid to advance a measure that does not include a withdrawal timeline allows Bush to conduct the war as he chooses for much if not all of the remainder of his presidency. This failure to abide by the will of the people who elected Democrats to end the war will haunt Pelosi, Reid and their party -- not to mention the United States and the battered shell that is Iraq. "

The entire government has failed us on Iraq - Countdown with Keith Olbermann - MSNBC.com : "For the president, and the majority leaders and candidates and rank-and-file Congressmen and Senators of either party—there is only blame for this shameful, and bi-partisan, betrayal"

Sunni Resistance Receptive to Sadr Alliance - by Gareth Porter Nationalist Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's bid to unite Sunnis and Shi'ites on the basis of a common demand for withdrawal of U.S. occupation forces, reported last weekend by the Washington Post's Sudarsan Raghavan, seems likely to get a positive response from Sunni armed resistance.

YouTube - BlackWater: Privatized Warfare in Iraq (2/2)

YouTube - BlackWater: Privatized Warfare in Iraq (1/2)

Asia Times Online :: Middle East News - Resistance, not terror Ahmed Alhasani al-Baghdadi is one of the grand ayatollahs, the highest in the Shi'ite hierarchy. In religious terms he has followers among Shi'ites in Iraq and abroad, but since 2003 he has been renowned for his opinion of rejecting the presence of the US forces in Iraq. He also refuses to take part in the political process in Iraq under the occupation. He has more than 30 published books that are available to view (in Arabic) on his website www.alsaed-albaghdadi.com, with the best known being Authority

The Raw Story | Hersh: Bush administration arranged support for militants attacking Lebanon Last March, Hersh reported that American policy in the Middle East had shifted to opposing Iran, Syria, and their Shia allies at any cost, even if it meant backing hardline Sunni jihadists. A key element of this policy shift was an agreement among Vice President Dick Cheney, Deputy National Security Advisor Elliot Abrams, and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi national security adviser, whereby the Saudis would covertly fund the Sunni Fatah al-Islam in Lebanon as a counterweight to the Shia Hezbollah

Al Jazeera English - News - Profile: Fatah Al-Islam : "Fatah al-Islam is led by Shaker Abssi, a Palestinian wanted by both Syria and Jordan. He is suspected of having links to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the late Jordanian leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq."

Al Jazeera English - News - Exclusive Footage Of Nahr Al-Bared : "Al Jazeera has broadcast the first pictures from inside the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon as the fighting continues between the national army and Fatah al-Islam."

In Darfur, some Arabs now fight alongside rebels | csmonitor.com

Palestinian Pinochet Making His Move? The Fatah gunmen who are reported to have initiated the breakdown of the Palestinian unity government and provoked the latest fighting may profess fealty to President Abbas, but it’s not from him that they get their orders. The leader to whom they answer is Mohammed Dahlan, the Gaza warlord who has long been Washington’s anointed favorite to play the role of a Palestinian Pinochet. And while Dahlan is formally subordinate to Abbas, whom he supposedly serves as National Security Adviser, nobody believes that Dahlan answers to Abbas — in fact, it was suggested at the time that Abbas appointed Dahlan only under pressure from Washington, which was irked by the Palestinian Authority president’s decision to join a unity government with Hamas.

EthiopianReview.com :: View topic - Saudi Arabia displays bodies of two Ethiopians beheaded : "RIYADH: Saudi authorities yesterday beheaded two Ethiopians convicted of killing a Saudi national in an armed robbery and displayed their bodies in public after the execution, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The statement, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, said Ali Mohammed Ali and Adel Adam Aman were found guilty of fatally shooting and robbing Khaled bin Karim bin Bakhash, the owner of a private telephone services center. "

VIDEO: Impeach 07. Articles of Impeachment against Dick Cheney

US government fans homeland terrorism fear : "The US government and Washington elites are aggressively ramping up their 'war on terrorism' rhetoric and propaganda, stoking fear and paranoia in order to bolster their war agenda, and reinvigorate the mass public perception of new and growing 'homegrown terrorism' threats to the US homeland. The next phase of America’s war abroad (under the management of a post-Bush neocon/neoliberal consensus), and the deepening militarization of the US homeland towards a full police state, are well underway."

The US War and Occupation of Iraq— The Murder of a Society : "Iraq, once among the most advanced countries of the region, has been reduced, in terms of basic economic and social indices, to the level of the poorest countries of sub-Saharan Africa. What is involved is the systematic destruction of an entire society through the unleashing of violence and criminality on a scale not seen since Hitler’s armies ravaged Europe in the Second World War."

US Army Recruiting Mentally Sick : "The United States Army insists that it's not so desperate that it would recruit the mentally ill to serve on the front lines. But now an exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation has the Army investigating three Middle Tennessee recruiters, along with their Dishonorable Deceptions."

Tony Blair in Iraq: War Criminal Admits Guilt : "That tragedy, the depth of which Blair could never comprehend, is encapsulated by Layla Anwar, an Iraqi blogger, who wrote of a friend who said this week: 'I wake up in the morning and death sits next to me. I have my tea and she has one too. I walk and she accompanies me. I go to sleep at night and she is in my bed. I see death, I hear death, I smell death ... she is everywhere. When she will pick me up, is only a question of time.'"

American invaders are looking for their three soldiers perhaps captured by the resistance forces. What strikes me is the fact resources and manpower used in the “search” to find them. According to the invaders commanders 4000 thousand troops are participating in the “search.” The “search” includes breaking people’s houses no doubt, detaining and harassing people, terrorizing the inhabitants. My question is, would Americans a bunch of fools or doing it for public relation purpose? Could they divert another batch of 4000 troops if other troops captured again somewhere in Iraq? It makes no sense to me. America needs to see the bigger picture here. Americans are captured where they committed multiple war crimes in Iraq. The only way out is not committing other crimes but admitting what they have done already and leave Iraq now.

7 U.S. soldiers die in Iraq attacks - Yahoo! News : "'I will go to the U.S.A and stay nearly three weeks to lose weight and have some rest and relaxation ... away from meetings and work,' Talabani, a 73-year-old Sunni Kurd, said before boarding a plane in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles northeast of Baghdad."

For Those Interested in Facts: They Hate Our Foreign Policy - by Scott Horton : "May 19, 2007 For Those Interested in Facts: They Hate Our Foreign Policy by Scott Horton 'There are a lot of things that are different now [that the U.S. occupies Iraq], and one that has gone by almost unnoticed – but it's huge – is that ... we can now remove almost all of our forces from Saudi Arabia. Their presence there over the last 12 years has been a source of enormous difficulty for a friendly government. It's been a huge recruiting device for al-Qaeda."

Al Jazeera English - News : "Carter: Bush 'worst president ever'" Jimmy Carter, the former US president, has called George Bush's presidency as "the worst in history" while also condemning Tony Blair, the out-going British prime minister, for his close support for Bush's policies.

Video LIVE in Gaza!! :: from www.uruknet.info :: news from occupied Iraq - it : "May 19, 2007 Al Jazeera English airs exclusive footage of a series of deadly Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, one of which struck as Gaza correspondent Nour Odeh was live on air."

Shame on Harvard :: from www.uruknet.info :: news from occupied Iraq - it : "May 19, 2007 Harvard is a one of the most respected universities in the world. It is especially renowned for its academic excellence and sound scholarly traditions. However, Harvard’s good name is being tarnished by the presence on its campus of a certified war criminal who is believed to have been responsible for the murder and maiming of thousands of innocent men, women and children in the Middle East."

From ‘al-Qu’eda’ to ‘Abductions’-the deceptions continue :: from www.uruknet.info :: news from occupied Iraq - it : "It’s ages since I’ve dumped on my favourite newspaper, the Independent for its 'news’ coverage but I broke down and bought the damn thing because of what I found on the front page this week. Under the head of 'An American Nightmare' (15/5/07) we read that US troops have been 'kidnapped' by 'al-Qu’ida'. It’s not clear who holds the by-line for the front page, either Rupert Cornwall or Patrick Cockburn, not that it matters either way as on turning to page 2 we find that both are singing from the same song sheet. The copy on the front page asserts without question that the US troops have been 'kidnapped by al-Qu’ida in Iraq' but on page 2 in a piece by Rupert Cornwall we read that '[There is] no firm proof' merely a 'belief' by US commanders that it’s an 'al-Qu’eda’ operation. But no matter, the paltry issue of pr...

I've Got Gas : "We were led to believe that Iraq possessed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. Well, where are they? How did they get the weapons that they had when they were fighting Iraq? Donald Rumsfeld may know the answer, he helped Iraq get them!"

winningpeace

WorldNetDaily: Radio host suggests putting GPS on Muslim immigrants : " radio talk show host in Denver asked his audience to consider whether or not it would be right for all Muslim immigrants admitted to the U.S. to wear GPS units and have the FBI bug their homes and monitor their telephone calls and e-mails. "

Another Day in the Empire : " Corporate Media Embraces 9/11 Blowback Theory Saturday May 19th 2007, 4:23 pm "

TomDispatch Recently Turkey came close to experiencing a soft military coup. In late April, faced with the prospect of the moderate Islamist Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul becoming president, the country's top generals threatened to overthrow the elected government under the guise of protecting "secularism." When the minority secularist parliamentarians boycotted the poll for president, the Constitutional Court, powerfully influenced by the military's threat, invalidated the parliament's vote for Gul on the technical grounds that it lacked a two-thirds quorum -- something that had never been an issue before.

Iraq Today : "Security Incidents for Saturday, May 19, 2007"

Poll: 71% of Israelis want U.S. to strike Iran if talks fail - Haaretz - Israel News : "Fully 71 percent of Israelis believe that the United States should launch a military attack on Iran if diplomatic efforts fail to halt Tehran's nuclear program, according to a new poll. "

Latino Soldiers Who Refused Iraq Speak Out - by Aaron Glantz : "A U.S. Army medic who refused to load his gun in Iraq and then escaped through a base window in Germany rather than be deployed a second time returned home to Los Angeles this week after serving six months in a U.S. military prison. Augustin Aguayo, 31, was born in Mexico and grew up in Southern California. After graduating from high school, he married and had twin daughters, but never got a college degree."

BBC NEWS | Americas | Carter attacks Blair's Iraq role : "Former US President Jimmy Carter has criticised outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his 'blind' support of the war in Iraq. "

Ron Paul Rocks! by Karen Kwiatkowski I am ashamed to admit that I’ve been watching Ron Paul’s recent political acts with fingers and toes crossed, breathless. Seeing Ron Paul educate Wolf Blitzer earlier this week, after his astoundingly fantastic performance in the second Republican debate, makes me sorry I had lost my faith in the power of truth, the power of courage. I’m sorry that I didn’t believe in possibility that a serious person in the American political arena would commit that most radical act of speaking truth to power. And in doing it, not only survive, but thrive!

House Passes $646 Billion Defense Bill : "The House passed a $646 billion defense bill Thursday that supports the Pentagon's ambitious weapons acquisition program but would place new restrictions on foreign-made technology the military could buy."

Kidnap and torture: new claims of Army war crimes in Iraq - Independent Online Edition > Legal : "The British Army is facing new allegations that it was involved in 'forced disappearances', hostage-taking and torture of Iraqi civilians after the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein. One of the claims is made by the former chairman of the Red Crescent in Basra, who alleges he was beaten unconscious by British soldiers after they accused him of being a senior official in Saddam's Baath party."

Latest from McClatchy's Iraqi Staffers: Please, America, Just Go : "The failure of this invasion is a victory for FREEDOM and a defeat for radicals in U.S. and later in Iraq."

"Johnson's intellectual odyssey had begun when the Cold War ended, when the Soviet Union disappeared and the American imperial structure of bases (and policy) in Asia remained standing, remarkably unchanged and unaffected by that seemingly world-shaking event. An invitation, five years later, to visit the heavily American-garrisoned Japanese island of Okinawa, in turmoil over a case in which two U.S. Marines and a sailor had raped a 12 year-old Okinawan girl, also strongly affected his thinking. There, Johnson saw firsthand what our global baseworld looked like and what it did to others on this planet. ('I was flabbergasted by the 37 American military bases I found on an island smaller than Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands and the enormous pressures it put on the population there… As I began to study it, though, I discovered that Okinawa was not exceptional. It was the norm. It was what you find in all of the American military enclaves around the world.') "

A Brief History of the Islamic State of Iraq

The Wacky World of Norman Podhoretz- by Justin Raimondo The United States has rejected every Iranian overture, including one made in 2003 in which Tehran offered to negotiate not only the nuclear issue but also the recognition of Israel (!) and the resolution of all outstanding conflicts between the two countries: the Bush administration rudely rebuffed them. Instead, we labeled Iran part of the "axis of evil" and made it impossible for that country's leaders to back down from their rhetoric, lest they seem like "appeasers" of the West.

AIPAC to pay Weissman's legal fees | Jerusalem Post : "AIPAC reached a deal with lawyers for its former Iran analyst, Keith Weissman, to pay for his defense against Espionage Act charges. "

Good riddance. Jerry Falwell the PIG has dropped dead. This man was a hater and anti Islam- who successfully incite against Muslims and the messenger of God. He was a well known agitator and did everything possible to make Muslim Americans target of attacks. Once he said on television interview, “Muhammad was a terrorist. I read enough of the history of his life written by both Muslims and non-Muslims [to know] that he was a violent man, a man of war. In my opinion … Jesus set the example for love, as did Moses. And I think that Muhammad set an opposite example.” He would realize by now hate wasn’t what Jesus and Muhammad preached. Further comparison of the terrorist man with Osama, a brother in hate.

Somalia crisis worse than Darfur, says UN | International News | News | Telegraph : "Somalia crisis worse than Darfur, says UN By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi Last Updated: 1:45am BST 15/05/2007 The crisis faced by up to 400,000 people fleeing fighting in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, is 'worse than Darfur', the United Nations' humanitarian chief said yesterday."

Ze'ev (Zeev) Jabotinsky-A Brief Biography & Quotes Just before Jabotinsky's death in 1940, he justified "transferring" the Palestinian people out of their homes as follows: "The world has become accustomed to the idea of mass migrations and has become fond of them." He later added, "Hitler--- as odious as he is to us---has given this idea a good name in the world." (One Palestine Complete, p. 407) Ironically, a Jew with Jabotinsky's caliber used Adolf Hitler as precedent to "transfer" the Palestinian people out of their homes. It should be noted that the atrocity of forcible expulsion ("transfer") was among the charges against Adolf Eichmann, one the architects of the Nazi Holocaust. The questions which begs to be asked is:

The CIA -- a Terrorist Organization : "The CIA -- a Terrorist Organization Agency uses same tactics it claims to be fighting By Claudia Nelson 05/14/07 'ICH' -- -- The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) can be considered a terrorist organization according to both international and American definitions of terrorism."

Reuters AlertNet - IRAQ: Poverty drives children to work for armed groups : "'The bombs are used to fight American soldiers. I was really afraid in the beginning but then my parents told me that it was for two good causes: the first is to help our family eat; and the second is to fight occupation forces,' he added."

Al Jazeera English - News : " Since Colombus's landing, millions of tribal Indians are believed to have died as a result of European colonisation backed by the Roman Catholic church through murder, disease or enslavement."

The Trouble With The Entire World Is A Guy Named Ron - The Smirking Chimp This is not a parody. I swear. It’s all true. Just so you’ll know that what follows is scientifically possible, I will acquaint you with a 2003 study funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation and published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychological Bulletin. The study found that conservatism can be explained as a set of beliefs and behaviors that result from a psyche controlled by fear, aggression, closed-minded dogmatism, and intolerance of ambiguity, compounded by mental rigidity and decreased cognitive complexity [dumbness]. Seriously, I’m not making this up. This story is set smack-dab in the middle of the Wisconsin hinterland. But

Bloodshed rises in Iraq as US demands 'victory' - Independent Online Edition > Middle East : "As Tony Blair, one of the architects of the Iraq war, prepares to leave office, it is clearer than ever that his ally's strategy of systematically crushing the Sunni insurgency is not working. In this special report from Baghdad, Patrick Cockburn shows why "

Various websites have reported that Khadija Ibrahim Moussa, an Ethiopian woman, has been beheaded by the Saudi regime. The report alleges that she was beheaded for killing an Egyptian after a dispute. However, no further information is given as to what prompted the Ethiopian woman to take such a drastic action. It is doubtful that an Ethiopian woman would resort to such an extreme measure without being provoked beyond limit by some strong and unusual humiliation. It could also be due to mental health problems. Because of the well known excessive suffering that female workers endure in Saudi Arabia, it is reasonable to speculate that Khadija’s case could be similar to that of another Ethiopian woman who was accused of murder caused by the excessive humiliation she suffered while working as a maid in Bahrain, a neighboring Arab country to Saudi Arabia. Khadija’s beheading by the Saudi Wahabist regime is barbaric and an affront to humanity and a humiliating situation for Ethiopians, Chris...

Ethiopia's opposition parties need to rethink relations with Eritrea The TPLF has managed to establish its own puppet government in Ethiopia for the last sixteen years and is determined to continue to do so in the absence of any major unfragmented opposition. The woyannes are now almost in control of all the national and regional institutions of social, economic and political structures. The TPLF cadres are in control of all key government posts in Ethiopia and have well established themselves in the federal government. They have political cadres in all the regions to watch regional colleagues behave exactly as they are programmed. They do this with the help of a well-crafted incentive system which makes regional bosses bow to the will of their TPLF masters in Addis Ababa...............

US to build Afghan super-madrassas | International News | News | Telegraph

US Marine 'shot dead Iraqis who had their hands up'-News-World-Iraq-TimesOnline : "A US Marine yesterday told a court investigating an alleged massacre in the Iraqi town of Haditha that he watched a superior officer shoot and kill five civilians as they held their hands up in an attempt to surrender."

“This is your god!” That profane outburst fell from the lips of Pfc. Damien M. Corsetti – aka “Monster,” aka “King of Torture” – as he straddled a helpless Saudi detainee in a Soviet-constructed Afghan prison. Corsetti had just threatened to rape the detainee, and the supposed deity he referred to was the appendage with which he would commit that act. At the time, said appendage was pressed against the prisoner's face. ..... ..................read

WorldNetDaily: Iraqi Christians forced to pay 'protection tax' : "Christians in a Baghdad neighborhood are being required to pay a 'protection tax' because Muslims have begun enforcing an Islamic law demanding either the tribute – or conversion to Islam, according to Christians in Iraq. "

Free Iraq: The authentic Iraqi Christian

Ethiopians Fear for Their Interfaith Oasis - washingtonpost.com : "In many ways, Dese is a hodgepodge of a place, where streets are framed by arched doorways built by Arab traders, striped awnings hung by Italian occupiers, and boxy lacquered mini-malls with cafes where large-screen TVs are tuned to al-Jazeera and Randy Travis songs occasionally drift out of open doors. Above all, though, Dese is a symbol of Ethiopia's peaceful religious intermingling, a characteristic that is found to varying degrees across a country where nationalism or ethnicity or even devotion to soccer tends to trump religious fervor. For centuries, Muslims and Christians here have lived in the same neighborhoods, celebrated each other's holidays, intermarried and blended religions with indigenous beliefs. Relationships are cemented through such Ethiopian institutions as the idir -- groups of neighbors, often religiously mixed, that raise money to pay for funerals."

Yusifiyah is a resistance den. Every attempt to terrorize the population of the area into submission through summary execution, rape and killing afterwards didn’t work. Breaking homes or raising living quarters are tactics that didn’t work either. America will be defeated by the resistance and leave soon or later; but, on its wake it adds records of state terrorism that begun before a white man establish independent country from the colonists (British Empire). Americans, especially Caucasian Americans are notorious in supporting their brutal troops which has records of crimes and mass murders around the world. But why would blacks and any other ethnic groups participate in this bloody journey? The journey will one day end, I am sure it is not going to be pretty. A Whiteman’s system is not going to be folded without using the weapons it has build for more than the last 50 years. There is a talk of using nuclear weapons against Iran or any other country that didn’t submit to Americas wil...

Every act has moral and immoral potential. The girl scout who helps an unsteady old man across the street could also have pushed him aside. The aftermath of each action engenders a new range of moral possibilities. Having pushed him aside, she might then regret her act and return to help him. Even when we’ve made bad choices, acted out of indifference or greed rather than compassion and generosity, another choice awaits us: how to compound or rectify the immoral act, stay the course or imagine how to salvage some measure of moral standing. Since even a racist like George Wallace can have a Road to Damascus experience, anything is possible.

He has: 160,000 US troops, 300,000 “Iraqi” troops and police trained by Americans, 100,000 mercenaries as well as billions of dollars spent protecting him, but “Iraqi President” still shitting in his pant while in Green Zone! Begging his master s not to leave Iraq until every resistance fighter killed!

TomDispatch - Tomgram: Patrick Cockburn, Iraq Dismantled

allAfrica.com: Ethiopia: Low Productivity, Income Poverty Describe ETH Economy (Page 1 of 1) : "Despite some recent measurable gains in he Ethiopians' well-being, low productivity in the agricultural sector, and income poverty which remains widespread in the country, characterize the Ethiopia economy, the World Band said in a report on Monday."

Mandela Was Once a Terrorist Leaders of Israel, responsible for the occupation of lands, destruction of people's lives and violations of the Geneva Conventions, are welcomed and even celebrated as international dignitaries. Neither Israeli-perpetrated violence nor its dispossession of indigenous people from their own land is cause for questioning Israel’s leadership. But for South Africa to receive a leading member of Hamas, a violent resistance movement, is a cause for shock if not condemnation.

Thank You Mr. Vonnegut -- In These Times I first met Kurt over the phone, when I interviewed him early in 2003 during those dark weeks leading up the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq. During our talk he railed against the “PPs” or psychopathic personalities who had taken over the government “by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d’etat imaginable.” He was speaking, of course, of Bush and Co. “Those now in charge of the federal government are upper-crust C students,” he said. “Unlike normal people, they are never filled with doubts, for the simple reason that they cannot care what happens next. Simply can’t. Do this! Do that! Mobilize the reserves! Privatize the public schools! Attack Iraq! Cut health care! Tap everybody’s telephone! Cut taxes on the rich! Build a trillion-dollar missile shield! Fuck habeas corpus and the Sierra Club and In These Times, and kiss my ass!”

AlterNet: EnviroHealth: Scientists Have Found the Gene That Decides How Long We Live : "'After 72 years of not knowing how calorie restriction works, we finally have genetic evidence to unravel the underlying molecular programme required for increased longevity in response to calorie restriction,' said Andrew Dillin, of the Salk Institute in San Diego, California. 'It's likely to play a role in the human condition, although we still don't know whether calorie restriction really works in humans. Studies in primates suggest it does.'"

AlterNet: Rights and Liberties: Hate from Within: America's Home-Grown Terrorism : "During the immigrant rights marches last week, plots to attack immigrants with grenades and semi-automatic weapons were uncovered in Alabama, Maryland and Washington, D.C. "

AlterNet: War on Iraq: Hard to Deny: Iraq Is All About the Oil : "How the U.S. is working to secure Iraq's oil -- one of the most important sources of petrochemical energy on the planet -- and how the Iraqis are resisting. "

AlterNet: War on Iraq: Women Under Attack: The Talibanization of Iraq : "'We live in a state of continuous fear -- if our hair shows on the street, if we're not veiled enough at work,' says Mohammed, 47. 'It's a new experience for women in Iraq. After four years, it's turned into Afghanistan under the Taliban.'"

AlterNet: War on Iraq: Tension Mounts as Antiwar Movement Challenges Dems' Commitment to Stop the War There is a growing number of people out there who believe the Reid-Pelosi Iraq war supplemental is a gigantic crock of shit, and who think the Democratic Party leadership should now officially be labeled conspirators in the war effort. I've even seen it suggested that Reid and Pelosi should now be sent official "certificates of war ownership," to formally put them in a club with Bush, Cheney, Richard Perle and the rest of the actual war authors.

Reasons and Opinions: May 2007 : "Via Kevin Drum: international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles is free today. There is stark evidence that the Department of Justice never really cared about this case, botched it up, and may not even appeal. Now, the word 'terrorist' is assuredly over-used, but this guy certainly meets the classic textbook definition: he 'plotted the bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people, and he has admitted being involved in hotel bombings in Havana'. And now he's enjoying life in Miami. I guess the 'war on terror' is not global after all, as it excludes terrorist actions against 'enemies' of the United States. Sounds like moral relativism to me. Then again, this is not a new phenomenon, as, during the heyday of IRA terrorism, their representatives moved with impunity in prominent US political circles. Most of the cash that paid for the bombs was raised in the United States, and those donors had (and still have) bloo...

Reasons and Opinions: Mitt Romney: Stupidity on Steroids? : "A number of commentators (Kevin Drum, Spencer Ackerman, Daniel Larison) have picked up this little nugget from the last GOP presidential hopefuls debate. Remember, Mitt Romney likes to come across as a tough guy. He recently claimed he was a lifelong hunter, but never had a license and went on only two hunting trips in his life (that's not much more than me-- actually, that's two more than me...) But there's something about Republicans needing to prove their manliness by being willing to shoot things, or (more likely) ordering others to do the shooting. And any sign of thoughtfulness, of introspection, is a sign of weakness. So, when asked about Bin Laden, Romney jumps straight into Arnie-mode:"

toohotfortnr: real child of hell : "real child of hell:Behold! Mitt Romney rides a pale horse. From last night's debate: But I don't want to buy into the Democratic "

The EPRDF, Civil Society Organizations and Human Rights in Ethiopia : "The EPRDF, Civil Society Organizations and Human Rights in Ethiopia Paulos Milkias May 7, 2007 The EPRDF party is driven by power as an end in itself. The lure of the current Ethiopian government's authority has in fact transformed the political party into a power-machine that crushes everything on its way, including all major opposing parties and civil-society organizations."..............

Saudi Arabia beheads Ethiopian woman convicted of murdering Egyptian man - International Herald Tribune : "Saudi Arabia beheads Ethiopian woman convicted of murdering Egyptian man" The Associated PressPublished: May 9, 2007 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Saudi authorities beheaded Wednesday an Ethiopian woman convicted of killing an Egyptian man over a dispute, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Khadija Bint Ibrahim Moussa was found guilty of fatally stabbing Mohammed Kamal Shaheen, according to the statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. Moussa had stabbed Shaheen in the neck while he was asleep and then beat his head with a glass bottle. She was executed in the Red Sea port city of Jiddah. No other details were known. Moussa was the first woman to be executed this year. The kingdom last beheaded two women in 2005. Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery can be executed. Behead...

Scoop: Damning Evidence against The David Project Islamic Society of Boston releases Opposition Emails: Damning Evidence against The David Project Summary: The David Project conspired with real estate agents and politicians to organize a campaign to deny the Boston Muslim community their 1st amendment rights to worship freely. This week, Jessica Masse, interfaith coordinator of the Islamic Society of Boston, publicly released recent discovery materials obtained as part of the ISB's conspiracy lawsuit, which reveal that an Israel advocacy organization, which specializes in creating malicious anti-Arab, anti-African and Islamophobic propaganda, met with real estate investors, attorneys, and Republican activists at their office at 210 South Street in Boston to discuss their intentions "to present a legal challenge" to the Roxbury Mosque.............

Chechnya Weekly from the Jamestown Foundation On April 18, Kenneth Roth, executive director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, charged that European institutions have been inefficient in defending civil liberties in Russia despite the countless monitoring bodies that have been set up solely for this purpose and cited Chechnya as the prime example of this problem. According to the Associated Press, Roth told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, France, that while the council can order Russia to amend its laws to prevent human rights abuses, it has no efficient follow-up mechanism to enforce sanctions on Moscow in the case of continuing violations. “The clearest example is the Council of Europe’s striking failure to respond effectively to the continuing, pervasive impunity for grave human rights violations in Russia's Chechnya,” he said. “The problem cannot be chalked up to a lack of information about conditions on the ground. A range of Co...

Chechnya Weekly from the Jamestown Foundation Dokka Umarov’s recent appointment of Supyan Abdullaev as the rebel vice-president highlights an increasing political shift within the Chechen insurgency whereby the secular wing is now accelerating its efforts to restore its broken ties with the radical wing of the separatist movement previously led by Shamil Basaev. Abdullaev, who is the main Chechen Salafi ideologist and was Shamil Basaev’s close ally and financial director (see his profile in Chechnya Weekly, March 29) has reemerged on the scene in Chechnya and is becoming a new figure within the separatist movement.

Another Day in the Empire : "In particular, note the completely and utterly shameful fear-mongering and propaganda pedaling—and censorship of research debunking the junk science of global warming—attributed to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change at 56 minutes into this excellent documentary. "

Inside America's powerful Israel lobby "The sleeping giant of Christian Zionism has awoken!" Hagee proclaimed, taking the microphone at the opening dinner reception on Sunday. The electrified crowd -- most of it Jewish -- roared in support, pounding on the tables. Hagee went on to declare the United Nations a "political brothel" and asserted that Israel must never give up land. He agreed with Israeli writer Dore Gold that granting part of Jerusalem to the Palestinians would be "tantamount to turning it over to the Taliban." And, after rebuking Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he led the crowd in a chant of "Israel lives!" urging them to "shout it from the mountaintops!"

U.S. Allows Mahdi army Security Role :: from www.uruknet.info :: news from occupied Iraq - it : "BAGHDAD - The mosque of Imam Kadhim, the most revered Shiite shrine in Baghdad, is a tempting target for Sunni insurgents. To protect it, Iraqi and U.S. troops rely on the Mahdi Army, the same Shiite militia that Washington considers a threat to Iraq's stability."