[ Wednesday, March 30, 2005 ]
Homosexual Blackmail In Government & The Top Ranks of the US Marine Corps (VIDEO)
Kay Griggs VIDEO
Kay Griggs, wife of General George Griggs, USMC (retired USMC Commandant): 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, found her husband's diary, which contains details of homosexual blackmail in the top ranks of the US Marine Corps and names leading politicians and military leaders. Kay Griggs's information about the US government also comes from observations and people she met. She exposes initiation rituals, the raping of young men and blackmail and murders to keep people quiet. Much of this, according to Griggs, is related to secret society activity and she names figures like Henry Kissinger and a string of other top government individuals.
Kay Griggs reveals her revelations in a video interview available from:
http://www.hugequestions.comHere's the video interview, Desperate Wives Part 1:
Here's the video interview, Desperate Wives Part 2:
This type of corruption has probably always been the case but it's interesting that this woman is speaking out about it and it's also even MORE interesting it's getting zero coverage from the mainstream McMedia...Forward this video to all!Thanks to
JonRonson for this gem of the web.
art [8:05 PM]
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Ralph Shoenman 911 videoDownload the QuickTime Video Now (Right-Click to Save)
http://sandiego.indymedia.org/media/2004/04/103866.movRalph Shoenman, former Executive Director of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation, is seen here in this video speaking about 9/11. Always articulate, often controversial, this is a rare interview with the man who brings
"Taking Aim" to air every week.
From
Dominion WeblogINSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE
art [7:53 PM]
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The Assassination of Rafiq Hariri: Who Benefited?The US media has responded predictably to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, echoing the bellicose threats of the Bush administration against Syria and amplifying unsubstantiated charges that the regime in Damascus was the author of the killing.
art [7:27 PM]
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To Sit in the Dark-
Gilad AtzmonA talk at the
SOAS Palestinian SocietyI am sure that some of you are familiar with the old Jewish joke: What
does it take for a Jewish mother to change a light bulb? Then
impersonating an elder Jewish mother, applying a high pitch east
European accent you spit it out: ”no vorries I vill sit in the dark”.
As it seems, the Jewish mother embodies the essence of modern Jewish
existence. To be a Jew is to sit in the dark, to be a Jew is to be a
victim and to enjoy your symptoms. If we analyse this bizarre tendency
in the light of Freud’s pleasure principle, we might mistakenly deduce
that the Jewish mother find pleasure in inflicting pain on herself.
Some may even diagnose the Jewish mother as a mythical masochistic
figure. In fact, it is the other way around, The Jewish mother doesn’t
enjoy her own suffering at all. The Joke is supposed to reveal a very
different message. The Jewish mother, instead of improving her general
state of being, rather than enjoying reading the ‘Jewish Chronicle’ in
the light, she voluntarily offers to sit in the dark, she gains
satisfaction initiating some remorse feeling amongst the Other, whoever
the Other is. Usually it is her beloved kind (son) but it can as well
be her partner, the neighbour, the social worker, the Swiss banker or
even the United Nations. The Jewish mother vill sit in the dark as long
as someone there is happy to feel guilty for her sitting in the dark.
To be a proper Jewish mother means to daily exploit the entire victim
vocabulary. But it isn’t really the Jewish mother, as it seems, victim
mentality is occupying the hard nucleus of modern Jewish identity. As
we all know many of those who call themselves Jews are far from being
religious. Some are even atheists. Many of our Jewish friends are far
from being Zionist (at least that’s what they say), some are even anti
Zionist, but then once a Jew drops his victim status he becomes an
ordinary boring being. To be a Jew is to believe in the holocaust, to
be a Jew is to believe in a historical narrative constructed around
endless merciless sagas of persecution and harassment. To be a Jew is
to believe that all that suffering is far from being over, in fact a
new holocaust may be re-launched tomorrow morning, why tomorrow, today,
this very minute. To be a Jew is set oneself in a state of self imposed
paranoia. Thus, to be a Jew is to believe in ' us and them' rather than
in just ‘being amongst others’. To be a Jew is to believe that anti
Semitism is an irrational tendency intrinsically symptomatic to gentile
existence. But who are the Gentiles? Ladies and gentleman, the Gentiles
are the human family, thus I would deduce that to be a Jew is to
believe that the human family behave irrationally at least when it
comes to Jews.
But then, what is so appealing in being a ‘victim’, I assume that most
people would be embarrassed when being blamed for victimising
themselves or even suspected to be paranoid. Somehow, this wouldn’t
happen with most Jews. A Jew would be offended when being suggested
that he is victimising himself. Moreover, an accusation as such would
be perceived by him as a clear anti Semitic assault not to say a form
of a ‘holocaust denial’. When it comes to Jewish common
self-perception, victim is not an act, it is rather a state of being.
Within the contemporary Jewish word view, the Jews are the only real
ultimate genuine sufferers. If this is not enough, the fact that they
are ‘the true real and only genuine sufferers’ is now legally imposed.
To suspect this very fact may result in a court case. For instance, in
case you happen to be a new historian and you may doubt some facts to
do with the latest Nazi Judeocide, you probably find yourself behind
bars or just removed from your academic post.
When it comes to the unique case of the Jewish family, the Jewish
mother strategies are found to be very effective. Sitting in the dark
‘pays off’. The Jewish mother maintains her absolute hegemony within
the family cell. Consequently, the guilt ridden Jewish child (no doubt
the real victim) will attend medical or law school just to keep his
mother happy. He will bring home the highest possible marks just to
ease her sitting in dark. By the time he finally realises that he
himself had been the real victim, he his ready to join his father's
business and in any case, he is too old to rebel. By now he himself
becomes a victim and the rest of the world should feel guilty for him.
But then, he is far from being happy, rather than being out there
amongst others, he is now pushed back to the ghetto, tied for the rest
of his life with a clannish knot. Funny enough, this is enough to make
him a neurotic character as well an astonishingly good accountant or
psycho-analyst.
Looking at the Jewish family cell we see a successful operating
machine, the parents volunteer to take-on some insignificant suffering,
in return the guilt ridden young generation bring home excellent
academic results. But then, this very mechanism goes far beyond the
Jewish family cell or even the segregated Jewish community. In fact,
post WW2 Jewish western affairs are based on the very same philosophy.
This may as well be the hidden layer behind the current misleading
contemporary presentation of the complementary Judeo Christian bond:
The Judeo subject insists to be the ultimate victim and the Christian
world is enthusiastically endorsing the opportunity to celebrate guilt.
As bizarre as it may sound, in 1948, while the Israelis ethnically
cleansed the Palestinian population, the ‘guilty’ West was sitting and
praising ‘Jewish heroism’. Very much the same happened following the
miraculous Israeli victory in 1967. For many years, ‘guilt’ became the
core of European parliamentary left blind support of Israel. As
revolting as it may sound, the modern Jewish identity is copying the
role of the Jewish elder mother and the European parliamentary left is
taking the role of the Jewish guilt ridden toddler. Take a look at
British contemporary politics: On the right end we find the Christian
prime minister, Mr Tony Blair, the guilty Gentile, being the leader of
once a socialist institute, he is now publicly supporting a bourgeoisie
racist, nationalist, colonialist state, Michael Howard, on the very
same end, being a secular Jew, wouldn’t bother to share with us some
deep spiritual Jewish insights, instead, he is telling us about his
Jewish grandmother, the Holocaust victim.
Today I am talking about Jewish Identity. In practice, I am talking
about Jewish identification, I leave out Judaism, or any reference to
Jewish cultural heritage. I don’t even talk about the Jewish people.
Instead, I ask what does it mean to be a secular Jew. I try to find out
what Jewish secular people identify with when they call themselves
Jews. I would argue that as far as contemporary Jewish identity is
concerned two major ideological schools are offering a clear answer.
One is Zionism and the other is Jewish lefticsm.
Let’s start with the Zionist school.
Following the 19th century European national awakening some Jews
decided that Jewishness is actually a manifestation of nationalistic
aspiration. Although European nationalism was intrinsically associated
the patriotic subject with the land he dwelled on, Jewish nationalism
was based on a mere fantasy. It associated the Jew with the land he was
supposed to dwell on. The early Zionists' popular slogan at the time
was: ‘land with no people for people with no land’. While many
historians justly ridicule the above statement proving beyond doubt
that the land of Palestine was in fact overwhelmingly occupied with
indigenous Palestinians, the main problem with slogan has to do with
the fact that People with no land can never establish a genuine
nationalistic movement. Zionism was and still is, as groundless as,
let’s say, an Italian claim for ownership of the land of England just
because England was once a part of the Roman empire. Jewish nationalism
was always an ideologically baseless utopian belief. It is an invalid
nationalistic movement simply because the Jews are not a nation. More
over even in their alleged ‘home land’, they are just about to become a
minority. And yet, Zionism was a sign of a change, the Jews decided
willingly to change their doomed fate, to become ‘normal’ people,
people who love their land, people who engage with nature and live in
nature. The Zionist Jew desired to redeem himself from the state of
victimhood. The Zionist Jew desired to take his own fate in his hands.
This reformed perception held till 1967, until then the Zionist Jew
regarded himself as a proud self sufficient colonialist. Till 1967 the
Holocaust had merely an instrumental role, it was something to
capitalise on rather than a major tragic event. If anything, for my
parents' generation, the holocaust was something to be ashamed of. The
image of ‘cattle led to the slaughter’ filled them and even my
generation with contempt towards anything that smelled like Diaspora.
Tom Segev was very articulate in conveying the story of Israelis'
disdain towards the ‘Seventh Million’ (those who managed to survive the
war). Needless to say that the current state of Israel clearly reveals
how unsuccessful Zionism proved to be. The transformation of the Jewish
people into a modern western civilised society failed completely. The
Israelis are far from being attached to the land which they apparently
shred with apartheid walls. Not only that Israelis didn’t manage to
erect a civilised society, it is hard to think of any current modern
state as morally corrupted and racially motivated as the Jewish state.
And yet, Zionism was an attempt to transform the Jew into a dignified
being, A strong, blond athletic productive subject rather than one who
prefers voluntarily to sit in the dark.
The alternative Jewish ideological answer to Zionism is provided by the
Jewish left thinkers. On the surface it sounds poetic and peaceful but
in practice it is at least as devastating as Zionism. The left Jew
would roll his eyes up and state with sheer defeat that “it was Hitler
rather than Moses who made him into a Jew”. Basically, it is the Other,
the Gentile, who makes the Jew into a Jew. As funny as it may sound,
most of those righteous Jews would argue in the same breath that the
Palestinians should enjoy the right of ‘self determination’. I do ask
myself how is it that when it comes to themselves, those left Jews are
far from being generous. Somehow, so it appears, the left Jew is
reluctant to self determine himself. Apparently, for the left Jew, WW2
has never ended, day by day, they are all defeated by Hitler or more
generally speaking by the Gentile world. But isn’t this an absurd
proposition? In fact, there is no Gentile world. Gentile world is in
itself a Jewish invention. Gentile people do not identify themselves as
‘non Jews’, there are far more interesting predicates to embrace.
Hence, we can clearly see that Jewish lefticsm is in itself a form of
‘sitting in the dark’ it is an exercise in victim practice. In short,
like the Jewish mother they are sitting in the dark (probably not too
far from their mothers). They are self appointed victims. Thus, we must
admit then that it is not Hitler who turned them into Jews. They are
Jews because enthusiastically, they endorse the Jewish identity. They
prefer to be victims. It is their own preference not to change the
light bulb.
But then why is it necessary? Surely the Jewish leftist knows that
these days he can express his calling without presenting any ethnic
traces, we are supposed to live in a multi cultural society. Your voice
is supposed to be heard regardless of your ethnic origin, your
religious background, your sexual preferences or any other social
grouping. I would argue that the voluntarily tendency to sit in the
dark is the new Jewish religion. It is a sophisticated ideological
mechanism that makes the Other, the Western Gentile, feel unwelcome or
inferior in any political discourse to do with Palestine. In practice
it locates the humanist Jews in the centre of Palestinian affairs. But
then, in practice it serves Israel with an ideological and moral body
armour. As soon as those humanist Jews become recognised as a genuine
voice for Palestine we learn from them that one state solution is
utterly impractical. Somehow, for them, the Jewish cause is slightly
more important than the Palestinian one. In the end of the day the Jews
really suffered.
The victim strategy is the latest and most sophisticated form of Jewish
supremacist segregation. Not only that I surround myself with walls, I
even make the other feel guilty for me building those walls around
myself (by the way, I don’t know whether you are aware of the bizarre
fact that within the Israeli discourse it is the Palestinians that are
blamed for the Jews building the apartheid wall). You can take from the
Jew his religion, you can take away the chicken soup you can even put
‘sea fruit’ on his plate but once you take away the victim tendency,
the Jew isn’t a Jew anymore. Once you lift the colossal threat of
Hitler then the Jew becomes an ordinary boring being. Let me tell you,
this is not going to happen.
art [6:22 PM]
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Naomi Klein Reveals New Details About U.S. Military Shooting of Italian War Correspondent in IraqOn the road to nowhere: Sgrena's car on road prepared for Negroponte
Thanks to
The Cutter and to
Umkahlil for this tip to the
Democracy Now radio interview with Naomi Klein. Klein had just met with Giuliana Sgrena, the Italian journalist who was shot at by US troops in Baghdad immediately after having been liberated from those who had kidnapped her.
art [5:59 PM]
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Israeli Envoy to Ethiopia Shoots Himself...Suicide?ADDIS ABABA - Israel’s envoy to Ethiopia appears to have shot and critically wounded himself, Ethiopian police said on Wednesday. “There was no indication that other parties were involved in the injuries suffered by the ambassador,” Ethiopian police said in a statement read on state-run television.
ATTEMPTED SUICIDE?
Ambassador Doron Grossman was discovered bleeding from a gunshot wound in his room at the Addis Ababa Hilton hotel by security guards on Tuesday.
art [4:50 PM]
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[ Friday, March 25, 2005 ]
It's your turn to pull out, Syria tells USWASHINGTON: Syria's ambassador to Washington said on Wednesday he hoped the United States and Israel would follow his country's example and withdraw from Iraq and Palestinian areas, just as Syria was leaving Lebanon.
"I hope this will inspire other countries in the Middle East to withdraw their occupations from Iraq and Palestine and from Syria itself," he said.
"President Bush has many times spoken about making Iraq a model that will inspire the whole Arab world... I think the Arab people will love to see this (Syrian) model followed by the Americans and the Israelis."
Moustapha was critical of US policies throughout his speech, saying many were hypocritical or dictated by Israel.
"I do not feel proud that Syria has political detainees just like you have in Guantanamo Bay, people who don't know what are they charged of, when will they ever be released, if they will be tried, and if they have access to their attorneys," he said. "Our plans are by June 2005 not to have a single political prisoner in Syria. We want to make anything similar to your Guantanamo Bay a part of our past," Moustapha said.
"I don't think any country in the world would like to be regarded as an enemy to the US. If you don't believe me, go and ask the list of 30 countries that were invaded by your troops in the past 30 years," the Syrian envoy said.
art [4:51 PM]
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USCFL Intelligence: Israeli General Sees War with Syria on the Horizion(March 18, 2005) Israel's military is bracing for the increasing prospect of a war with Syria in a confrontation expected to include Iran and Hizbullah. The General Staff has discussed an assessment by the military's Northern Command of an emerging threat from Syria and Hizbullah over the next year. Military sources said Maj. Gen. Benny Gantz, chief of Northern Command's warning was the latest by several senior officers who envision a major war with Syria by 2007. The sources said Iran and Syria have used Hizbullah to weaken Israel strategically and erode its morale. The sources said the General Staff has not discussed an Israeli strike on Iran. Hizbullah has been regarded as the leading supporter of the Palestinian war against Israel, which began in 2000. The Shi'ite insurgency group has also infiltrated the Israeli Arab community and recruited citizens for intelligence and other operations. So far, the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has resisted the military's urging for a major operation against Hizbullah to reduce its threat to the Jewish state. The sources said Sharon does not want a confrontation with Syria as he seeks to end the Palestinian war and withdraw from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. Hizbullah has been bracing for an Israeli air or ground assault on its positions in Lebanon. The sources said Hizbullah has built tunnels and hideouts filled with explosives in an effort to slow down any Israeli ground invasion. At the same time, Hizbullah has obtained medium-range rockets. They include 220 mm rockets from Syria, with a range of 75 kilometers, as well as the 240 mm Fajr-3, with a range of 43 kilometers. For his part, Gantz did not envision a conventional Syrian attack on Israel, rather a scenario whereby Iran or Damascus would use Hizbullah for a proxy war. The general said Hizbullah became a strategic threat even before Israel withdrew unilaterally from Lebanon in 2000. "Hizbullah was already a strategic threat [in 2000]," Gantz said. "The only thing that changed was that Hizbullah got closer and that because of [Syrian President Assad] Bashar, Hizbullah got stronger. It [Israel's withdrawal] was a social and political decision and not necessarily a strategic decision."
art [4:46 AM]
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[ Thursday, March 24, 2005 ]
Turkey Walks Syria Tightrope
art [11:53 PM]
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Turkish Expressions of Solidarity with SyriaThe Turkish media has recently expressed a high level of solidarity with Syria directed primarily against the U.S. It called upon Turks to travel to Syria in order to demonstrate solidarity in the face of alleged American military plans against the Syrian regime. [1]
Next month Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will conduct his visit to Damascus, as planned. This visit was the basis for a further deterioration of U.S.-Turkish relations, following a comment by U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman which was interpreted as criticism of Sezer's visit. [2] The comment aroused harsh reactions in the Turkish media, with widespread calls for his removal from Turkey. The subsequent resignation of Ambassador Edelman was reported by the Turkish media with a sense of victory.
The following are excerpts from a few articles in the Turkish press about the ongoing diplomatic tension between Turkey and U.S. (the format of the text appears as in the original):
Milliyet on the Subject of Damascus: Ankara Looks Out of Step with the World and in Tune with Hizbullah
Columnist Yasemin Çongar of Milliyet, the second largest, mainstream, moderate Turkish daily, wrote: [3]
"If you follow the world agenda only through the voices and pens in Turkey, you can be fooled by the recent messages about Syria. Please don't!
"Don't, because by looking at 'some anti-war intellectuals' going to Damascus to show solidarity with Syria, you might come to think that 'the USA might [really] be planning to attack Syria after Iraq, and that the bombings are imminent.' If you do, you would be very wrong.
"Your respect to the status and the personality of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul might push you to believe his recent statement, which said: 'Syrian leader Bashar Assad is very much loved by his people and must be strengthened.' Don't [believe it]!
"[…] Looking at the majority of the many recent columns in the Turkish newspapers dealing with Syria, you might also think that the U.S., out of the blue and all by itself, is starting a campaign against Syria. Beware!
"If you are not careful, you might be carried away to believe that the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri benefited the U.S. and Israel and that it opened the way for them to put pressure on Syria. And you might miss hearing the combined voices of France, England, Germany, in fact all of the European Union, and of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Union, Russia and the United Nations (with its Resolution 1559 of September 2004). Most importantly, you would be closing your ears to the voice of the Lebanese people.
"[…] Don't be blinded not to see the winds of change towards democratization blowing in the region, because of those [journalists] who continuously pump you with animosity to the U.S.
"[…] The new statements by the U.S. government show that their argument is picking up strength from the elections in Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq, as well as the anti-Syria demonstrations in Beirut.
"This is the argument that there are [important] steps being taken on the way to democracy in the larger Middle East, and [all these developments] are not coincidental or unrelated.
"Washington is accusing the countries in the region with anti-democratic regimes for being 'against the new current' and pushing for change in those countries (including in Saudi Arabia and Egypt).
"President Bush and Secretary of State Rice are criticizing the capitals in the region that do not follow the trend toward democratization and accuse them of being 'out of step.' They see the upcoming municipal elections in Saudi Arabia, and the recent decisions by Egypt and Qatar to hold elections as 'even if imperfect, important beginnings for democracy.'
"How Ankara, which gives the impression that, regarding Syria, it is out of step with the world, but in harmony with Hizbullah, will catch up with these regional changes remains to be seen."
Turkish Media Reporting on Ambassador's Comment: "A 'Radikal' Contribution to Anti-Americanism"
Erdal Guven, of the center-left liberal daily Radikal, critical of the way his paper had reported on the remarks by Ambassador Edelman, wrote: [4]
"On March 14, USA's Ambassador in Ankara Eric Edelman was in Bursa. One of the reporters there asked him a question. The question was: 'There is news in today's papers that President Sezer will go to Syria at the pre-planned time, despite America's expectations for postponement. What are your evaluations on that?'
"Edelman answered: 'The important point is that the international community is in consensus behind Resolution 1559 of the U.N. Security Council. This resolution was jointly prepared by France and the U.S., and calls for immediate withdrawal of all Syrian forces from Lebanon and arming of the Lebanese militias. This [position] has international support. During President George W. Bush's visit to Europe, this agreement was confirmed by Chirac, Schroeder, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. We believe this is the way to follow, in order to maintain the stability in the region. We hope Turkey will join this international coalition. Of course, evaluating this position of the international community is Turkey's decision.'
"Those were Edelman's words. Words that were clear, comprehensible and said in a well defined context…
"[…] Now let's look at the way they were presented at Radikal on March 15, 2005: […] The opening sentence of the news: 'U.S. Ambassador in Ankara Eric Edelman yesterday gave Turkey an ultimatum-like message about Syria.' Second sentence goes like this: 'Edelman warned that if Turkey does not join in the international demands of Syria to pull out of Lebanon, it [Turkey] will remain outside the international community.'
"An ambassador, even of a superpower, cannot give 'ultimatum-like' messages to a country where he serves. […]
"You read [the ambassador's words] above: Edelman did not give Turkey 'ultimatum-like' messages, did not claim 'Turkey would be left outside the international community, if it did not join the demands for Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon' and did not say 'put pressure on Syria.'
"The American Embassy said in a statement that Edelman's words were distorted. […] Of course, this statement was not given to Radikal alone. The subject was reported in the same [distorted] manner by other newspapers as well.
"No doubt, the reason for 'perception' to overshadow 'the essence' [the facts] was due to the anti-Americanism prevalent in Turkey. Whether it is right or wrong, anti-Americanism is a political stand, and should not be attached to news reporting. News is news.
"In relation to this particular news, we as Radikal have gotten a failing grade. Obviously we made a 'Radikal' [radical] contribution to the anti-Americanism in Turkey."
Milliyet: U.S. Ambassador – "Persona Non Grata"
Milliyet columnist Can Dündar wrote, in an article titled "Persona Non Grata:" [5]
"When a diplomat makes a public statement regarding the domestic and foreign policy of the country where he serves, this is called 'diplomatic interference.'
"Respectable countries can demand the immediate removal of a diplomat who behaves in that manner.
"The U.N. confirmed this in the framework of the 1961 'Vienna agreement on Diplomatic Relations.'
"A diplomat who is regarded as 'persona non grata' must pack his suitcase and return to his country the next day.
"Asked on March 14 about [Turkish] President Sezer's possible visit to Syria, U.S. Ambassador Eric Edelman said: 'I hope Turkey will join the international consensus supporting the rapid withdrawal of Syria from Lebanon,' thus giving the message 'don't go.'
"[…] With Edelman, Turkey-USA relations have seen the worst period.
"If Turkey today is the leader in the race of 'America hating countries,' Edelman has played a major part in it.
[…] The Turkish people is moving toward giving up their 200-year-old dream of westernization, because of the Westerners who keep waving their fingers at us and tell us what to do and what not to do […] with the attitude of colonial governors.
"[…] It is pleasing that despite such pressures our President reconfirmed that he will be going to Damascus.
"For Turkey to continue its efforts to develop good relations with our neighbors is the best answer to such [U.S.] pressures.
"To show the door to the 'unwanted man' is the other good answer."
AKP Unofficial Mouthpiece: "Edelman Must Go"
Columnist Ahmet Kekeç of the Islamist daily Yeni ?afak, known as the unofficial mouthpiece of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) wrote: [6]
"It's been two years that I am writing 'this Ambassador will cause a lot of headache'… Yes, he will [have to] do all that is dictated by the interests of the country he represents. But Edelman is not mindful of the sensitivities in the country where he serves and is not acting in accordance with the interests of the country he represents.
"A rude and crude diplomat.
"His style is problematic, his attitude is problematic, and his policy (whatever that may be) is problematic.
"In the past he had been on our [Yeni ?afak] case. He still is.
"There was that news about the 'savage [sexual] assault [by U.S. soldiers] in Iraq' which [later] we at Yeni ?afak had corrected. The Ambassador was furious and started bashing our newspaper everywhere. In revenge, he first documented the relationship (!) between Yani ?afak and certain porn sites and then […] used a high circulation newspaper to disseminate distorted news. Not satisfied with this, he resorted to a psychological attrition campaign [against Yeni ?afak].
"[…] We [in Turkey] were angry upon reading the ugly (arrogant) article of Robert Pollock, the Wall Street Journal editor; and we were astonished at how he had obtained all his information. We shouldn't be astonished. Things that Pollock wrote were in line with Edelman's statements. […]
"The Ambassador did nothing to alleviate our annoyance. As a matter of fact, he acted as if he was on a 'special mission' to ruin the relations between Turkey and America.
"As a result [of all this] he now is declared an 'unwanted man.' […]
"Edelman must go. […]"
Nationalist Islamic Daily: Suspicions About Hariri's Murder Focus on the U.S. and Israel
In an article in the nationalist-Islamic daily newspaper Yenica?, columnist Ferruh Sezgin asks: [7]
"[…] Edelman in his statement shows [us] the stick and hints: 'If Sezer goes to Syria, we will distance Turkey from the international community.' […]
"[…] I keep wondering about [the question] 'on whose behalf Edelman speaks.'
"On behalf of the U.S., of which he is a citizen and a high-ranking official, or the country of his race Israel? Which one would you serve, if you were Edelman?... Every kind of pressure is being applied to prevent Sezer from going to Syria.
"But it is becoming more and more apparent that the culprit in Hariri's murder, which they use as a pretext, is not Syria. As the fog lifts, suspicions are focusing on [the] U.S.-Israel [duo].
"[…] ?brahim Karagül of Yeni ?afak, in his March 15 article, elaborated that Hariri was a pan-Arabist and was opposed to a U.S. airbase in the north of Lebanon […] which would be built in the model of El-Udeid base in Qatar, for covert operations against the Assad regime and to safeguard the oil pipelines of Baku-Tiflis-Ceyhan and Mosul-Kerkuk-Ceyhan. […]
"Why was Hariri murdered?
"Will our [Turkish] Foreign Office brief our President, prior to his visit in Syria […] about these recent developments? The building of a large U.S. airbase in the north of Lebanon may necessitate the shaping of a Turkey-Syria 'joint stand.'"
Hürriyet: Colonial Governor
In an article in the largest mainstream moderate daily Hürriyet, columnist Oktay Ek?i wrote: [8]
"[…] The U.S. Ambassador in Ankara who at every possible opportunity expressed 'displeasure' about President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's upcoming visit to Syria, claims he has made no insinuations regarding Sezer's Syria visit.
"So who was the one who kept expressing displeasure about this visit?
"[Or] was it Zambia's ambassador who was showing Turkey the 'stick,' when talking about Syria's pull out of Lebanon?
"No, Edelman never makes any such insinuations.
"[…] Let no one be fooled. It is obvious that Ambassador Edelman saw in himself the authority to try and prevent the visit President Sezer will pay to Syria. But as you read in yesterday's papers, he received a short and clear response from Sezer: 'Most certainly, we will go!.'
"We also think that [the President's] decision which was openly backed by the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdo?an, is the right one.
"[…] It is clear that the source of the differences of the views [between Turkey and the U.S.] is the question, 'should Turkey be run by Washington or Ankara?'
"We believe that Turkey is and should be run by Ankara."
Sabah: Bye Bye…
In an article in the popular mainstream moderate daily Sabah, columnist Umur Talu wrote: [9]
"It is not correct to talk behind somebody's back. But if that somebody has not yet left, and has still not 'grasped' [certain things] one can talk about him. To the ambassador who has recently resigned here [in Ankara] but who probably will go to a [more important] key position […] and take his place in the heart of the nucleus that designs USA's policies, goodbye from us.
"[…] The 'resigned' ambassador of the U.S. who could not digest Turkey's values, feelings, reactions […] and the different, opposing views in the general media as a 'necessity of democracy,' unleashed on us his deep indigestions in the form of a 'propaganda war.' […]
"[…] Instead of truths to be found and voiced, he [Edelman] released distortions like 'anti-Americanism' or 'anti-Semitism' or 'false news' and in doing so he crossed all professional lines and helped create a 'cloud of threats.'
"In response to what he perceived was a 'local hatred.' he developed his own 'hatred.' […]"
[1] Turkish intellectuals indeed paid highly publicized visits to Syria. See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 874, "Turkish Media on the Anniversary of the March 1, 2003 Parliamentary Resolution Not Allowing U.S. Troops to Open a Northern Front Against Iraq from Turkish Soil," March 8, 2005,
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP87405 [2] Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's upcoming visit to Syria was criticized by the leader of the Lebanese opposition Walid Jumblatt in an interview on March 21, 2005, in the Turkish daily Tercuman (Turkey), conducted by Cengiz Candar. According to the article, Walid said of the official visit "Mish Mnih," or "It is not good." When asked how he evaluates Sezer's expected visit to Syria, Jumblatt was quoted as saying: "This is completely up to Turkey and we cannot interfere in Turkey's decisions. [...] Turkey got rid of military regime and became a democracy.We too want to get rid of the Syrian military and the Muhabarat regime and build our democracy.The country in this region that would best understand this is Turkey… The whole world supports the Lebanese democracy. They are behind Lebanon. Turkish authorities know this. Therefore we expect them to act accordingly."
art [11:40 PM]
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Wolfowitz's To Do List.
Someone called Saifedean Ammous has been in touch with an interesting message. They "managed to hack into Paul Wolfowitz’s laptop" and found his To-Do List for the Bank. It includes: "Third World governments that can’t pay back their debts to have their Finance Ministers sent to the Repayment Department headquarters in Abu Ghraib".
Worldbankpresident.org is pleased to provide you the Wolfowitz list, as supplied by Ammous.
World Bank To-Do List
1. Launch preemptive war on poverty; kill all the poor
2. Since the war on Iraq made the whole world a safer place, all countries of the world will have to pay the US back its costs, with interest
3. The World Bank to be renamed ‘American Enterprise Institute-Executive Branch’
4. No more ‘Structural Adjustment Programs.’ Replace with ‘Regime Change Programs’
5. Third World governments that can’t pay back their debts to have their Finance Ministers sent to the Repayment Department headquarters in Abu Ghraib
6. Developing countries not to get loans or grants, only private accounts that they can invest in the New York Stock Exchange
7. The World Bank to divest itself from any organization that carries out or supports abortion or contraception
8. Launch preemptive war on AIDS, kill all patients
9. World Bank to exclude all Muslim states from membership
10. “You’re either with us, or you’re with the Central Planners”
11. All countries of the world to have complete accountability and transparency, so that all blame can be pinned on them and the World Bank isn’t accountable to anything.
12. David Duke to be placed in charge of African Affairs
13. Bill O’Reilly to be appointed Chief Economist of the World Bank
14. Pat Robertson to be placed in charge of Islamic Affairs
15. World bank to ditch lending and go into borrowing; generating a $600billion deficit
16. International enforcement of Bush’s tax cuts, all the rich of the world should never pay taxes
17. All loans to developing countries conditional on all their citizens watching two hours of FOX news every day
18. Complete regions of the world to be privatized, only Halliburton can
bid
19. All oceans to be privatized, only Halliburton can bid
20. Forget Kyoto, the atmosphere to be privatized, only Halliburton can
bid
AN APPEAL BY EUROPEAN ECONOMISTS AGAINST WOLFOWITZS NOMINATION
art [9:06 PM]
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Excerpts: UN report on killing of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri25 Mar 2005 01:22:46 GMT
Source: Reuters
art [7:08 PM]
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WHY WE MUST LOSE THE WAR IN IRAQ
Gwynne Dyer isn’t exactly a wimp. Not many guys from Newfoundland are. Born during World War II, he has been fascinated by things military all his life, and has served in three navies — ours, Canada’s and Great Britain’s. He has university degrees from all three countries too, and a Ph.D. in military and Middle Eastern history. During the 1980s, he produced and narrated the best documentary series about the nature of war that I’ve ever seen.
And here’s what he says about what we are doing:
“The United States needs to lose the war in Iraq as soon as possible. Even more urgently, the whole world needs the United States to lose the war in Iraq. What is at stake now is the way we run the world for the next generation or more, and really bad things will happen if we get it wrong.”
Those are the opening lines of his latest and perhaps most important book, Future Tense: The Coming World Order (paperback, McClelland and Stewart, $12.95). If you plan on reading only one book this year, make this the one. In perfectly clear prose, with arguments as well-researched as they are compelling, this military expert explains why what we’re doing is mad.
He explains how we haven’t grasped that the world has changed, that we aren’t living in our old superpower world anymore, one in which we’re the leader of the forces of light against the evil dark powers of communism. Nor are we, in fact, even a military superpower in the way we like to think we are; in reality, our military machine can only be used against very weak countries. As he notes, “War with a serious opponent would lead to a level of American casualties that the U.S. public would not tolerate for long.”
What the world needs most in the long run (if there’s to be a long run), he reminds us, is a stable international order in which all nations gradually work on abandoning war as an acceptable way of settling any differences. Dyer isn’t starry-eyed about this; he thinks it will take a hundred years at least to get major countries to stop resorting to war, “for it is trying to change international habits that had at least 5,000 years to take root.”
That, he reminds us, is the whole purpose of the United Nations, which we played the major role in starting exactly 60 years ago this spring. Yes, we’ve resorted to war before, as have other countries, but we always at least pretended that what we were doing was legally justified by international standards.
Now, however, the current administration is essentially spitting on this, and openly proclaiming our right to intervene unilaterally anywhere we want. Why is that so bad? Because others will do it too, and, eventually, it will break down even the ideal of an international order, causing a general return to “the old world of alliances, arms races and all the other old baggage.”
Dyer writes, “No other major power wants to abandon the project to outlaw war … but if the world’s greatest power becomes a rogue state, they won’t have much choice.” Some days, it appears we’ve already crossed the line.
Interestingly, if that happens, we may not be able to afford to be a rogue state for very long. In what’s surely the most telling and terrifying part of this book, the author takes on the most frightening topic of all — the real condition of the American economy, which is now totally dependent on foreign investment.
You’d scarcely know it from the “mainstream media,” but we’re now the biggest debtor nation in history, owing far more to foreign countries than they do to us, and running up $500 billion more on our “credit card” every year.
Why does this go on? Dyer argues what other economists have told me in whispers: “The U.S. economy is a confidence trick based on everybody else’s perception that the United States is centrally important for the world’s security and that its economy is centrally important for the world economy.”
That was absolutely true in 1945, and largely true even in 1985. But not anymore. If you look at only those foreign investments that could be liquidated fairly quickly, the total, he estimates, would come to about $8 trillion. If those investments started to move elsewhere, the value of the dollar could be cut in half, Dyer estimates, overnight.
That would mean not only no more Lincoln Navigators, it more than likely would lead to the end of democracy as we know it. Which would be especially unfortunate since, as he notes, “global warming and other environmental problems are going to hit us very hard over the next 50 years.”
“How fast they hit and how great the resulting upheavals will be cannot be known in advance, but very few people apart from the usual suspects in the United States any longer doubt that climate change is a reality.”
Incidentally, if you’re tempted to tell me why Gwynne Dyer is all wrong, I’ll be willing to listen — but not if you haven’t read this book first.
Jack Lessenberry opines weekly for Metro Times. Send comments to letters@metrotimes.com.
art [2:34 PM]
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[ Wednesday, March 23, 2005 ]
Libyan leader defends Syria’s role in Lebanon23 March 2005
ALGIERS - Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi defended Syria’s role in Lebanon at a meeting of Arab leaders on Wednesday, saying in a long off-the-cuff speech that often drew laughs from the leaders that Damascus should be thanked for what he called its sacrifices in Lebanon.
“Syria should be rewarded because it sacrificed for the sake of civil peace in Lebanon,” Gadhafi said at the annual summit of the 22-member Arab League.
He warned in a speech immediately following UN chief Kofi Annan’s remarks favorable of the withdrawal ordered by the Security Council that Lebanon’s security situation may worsen after the pullout.
Gadhafi, whose flamboyant style and blunt remarks at past summits often have irritated fellow Arab leaders, drew laughs when he said both Israelis and Palestinians were “stupid” the Israelis because they neglected the West Bank for 20 years and the Palestinians because failed to establish a state there.
The Libyan leader also criticized the international pressure on Syria to pull back its troops from its smaller neighbour. “Is Syria the only country in the world with an army outside its own?” he asked, in a clear reference to American and US-allied forces in Iraq.
“Is 1559 the only sacred resolution in the United Nations?” he asked, wondering aloud why only UN resolutions against the Arabs were binding, saying those regarding Israel were not.
art [7:21 AM]
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[ Tuesday, March 22, 2005 ]
Christian Zionists, Israel and the 'Second Coming'The term Christian Zionism is of relatively recent vintage and was rarely
used prior to the early 1990s. Self-proclaimed Christian Zionist organizations
such as the International Christian Embassy-Jerusalem and the US-based Bridges for Peace, both with offices in Jerusalem, have been operating for 20 years, but were under the radar of most Middle East experts and the mainstream media until after Sept. 11, 2001.
Briefly stated, Christian Zionism is a movement within Protestant
fundamentalism that sees the modern state of Israel as the fulfillment of
Biblical prophecy and thus deserving of political, financial and religious
support. Christian Zionists work closely with the Israeli government,
religious and secular Jewish Zionist organizations, and are particularly
empowered during periods when the more conservative Likud Party is in
control of the Knesset. Both the secular and religious media place
Christian Zionism in the Protestant evangelical movement, which claims
upward of 100-125 million members in the US. However, one would more
accurately categorize it as part of the fundamentalist wing of Protestant
Christianity, since the evangelical movement is far larger and more diverse
in its theology and historical development.
Christian Zionism grew out of a particular theological system called
"premillennial dispensationalism," which emerged during the early 19th
century in England, when there was an outpouring of millennial doctrines.
The preaching and writings of a renegade Irish clergyman, John Nelson
Darby, and a Scotsman, Edward Irving, emphasized the literal and future
fulfillment of such Biblical teachings as "the rapture," the rise of the
Antichrist, the Battle of Armageddon and the central role that a revived
nation-state of Israel would play during the latter days.
Premillennialism is a type of Christian theology as old as Christianity
itself. It has its roots in Jewish apocalyptic thought and generally holds
that Jesus will return to earth before he establishes, literally, a
millennial kingdom under his sovereignty. Darby added the distinctive
elements of the rapture (or removal to heaven) of true, born-again
Christians prior to Jesus' return, and interpreted all major prophetic
texts as having predictive value. He also marked world history according to
certain periods called "dispensations," that served to guide believers in
how they should conduct themselves. The fulfillment of prophetic signs
became the central task of Christian interpretation.Darby's ideas became a central feature in the teachings of many of the great preachers of the 1880-1900 period, including evangelists Dwight L.Moody and Billy Sunday, the major Presbyterian preacher James Brooks,Philadelphia radio preacher Harry B. Ironsides, and Cyrus I. Scofield.
When Scofield applied Darby's eschatology to the Bible, the result was a
superimposed outline of premillennial dispensationalist notations on the
Biblical text, known as the Scofield Bible. Gradually, the Scofield Bible
became the only version used by most evangelical and fundamentalist
Christians for the next 95 years.
In developing a working definition of Christian Zionism, one can say it
is a 19th and 20th century movement within Protestant fundamentalism that
(particularly last century and today) supports the maximalist claims of
Jewish political Zionism, including Israel's sovereignty over all of
historic Palestine, including Jerusalem. The modern state of Israel, as a
fulfillment of prophetic scriptures, is regarded as a necessary stage prior
to the second coming of Jesus. Christian Zionism is marked by the following
theological convictions: God's covenant with Israel is eternal, exclusive and
will not be abrogated,according to Genesis 12:1-7; 15:4-7; 17:1-8; Leviticus 26:44-45; and Deuteronomy 7:7-8.
There are two distinct and parallel covenants in the Bible, one with Israel
that is never revoked and the other with the Church that is superseded by
the covenant with Israel. The Church is a "mere parenthesis" in God's plan,
and as such it will be removed from history during the Rapture (1
Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 5:1-11). At that point, Israel, as a nation, will
be restored as the primary instrument of God on earth.
Christian Zionists claim that Genesis 12:3 ("I will bless those who bless
you and curse those who curse you") should be interpreted literally and
lead to political, economic, moral and spiritual support for the state of
Israel and for the Jewish people in general.
Christian Zionists interpret the Bible literally and have a hermeneutic
understanding of Apocalyptic texts - the book of Daniel, Zechariah 9-12,
Ezekiel 37-8, 1 Thessalonians 4-5 and the Book of Revelations - and assume
their messages will be fulfilled in the future. To be more precise, the
version of premillennialism popularized by Darby, Irving and Scofield
should be called "futurist premillennial dispensationalism," so as to
differentiate it from historic premillennialism, the eschatology held by
many Church Fathers, such as Tertullian, Cyril of Jerusalem, Justin Martyr
and others.
Christian Zionists adopt a dispensationalist approach to history as
advanced by Darby and popularized by Scofield's version of the Bible,
published by Oxford University Press in 1909. Because fundamentalist
leaders, clergymen, Bible colleges, institutes and seminaries used the
Scofield Bible, it became the most significant transmitter of premillennial
dispensationalism and, as such, paved the way for Christian Zionism.
Christian Zionists and premillennial dispensationalists have a pessimistic
view of history and wait in eager anticipation for the unfolding of a
series of wars and tragedies pointing to the return of Jesus. The
establishment of the state of Israel, the rebuilding of the Third Temple,
the rise of the Antichrist and the buildup of armies poised to attack
Israel, are among the signs leading to the final battle and Jesus'return.
Leading Christian Zionist authorities in Bible prophecy seek to interpret
political developments according to the prophetic schedule of events that
should unfold according to their view of scripture. As an apocalyptic
and dualistic type of theology, the movement looks in history for the
escalation of power and influence of satanic forces aligned to the
Antichrist, who, as the end draws near, will do battle with Israel and
those aligned with it. Judgment will befall nations and individuals
according to how they "bless Israel" (Genesis 12:3).
Christian Zionists differs from church doctrine, due in part to its being
developed by anti-state church clergymen and theologians in England.
Today its views find significant support among the charismatic, Pentecostal and
independent Bible churches in Protestant fundamentalism. Christian Zionists
often view mainline Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic denominations with
hostility and have at times considered the World Council of Churches and
related bodies to be tools of the Antichrist. In the Holy Land,Christian
Zionists have been hostile toward Palestinian Christians and generally
detest Muslims as evil forces worshipping another God. Recent comments by
Christian Zionists such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham
(the son of evangelist Billy Graham) have added to the suspicion with which many Muslims view the Christian West.
Christian Zionism is a growing political and religious movement within the
most conservative branches of Protestant fundamentalism, but it can also be
found in the broader evangelical branches of Christianity, including the
evangelical wings of the mainline Presbyterian, United Methodist,Lutheran
and other Protestant churches. It thrives during periods of political and
economic unrest such as the present, characterized by international
terrorism, global recession and fear of wars in the Middle East. With its
pessimistic view of history, Christian Zionism seeks to provide simple and
clear answers through a literal and predictive approach to the Bible.Some
estimate that 20-25 million American fundamentalist Christians hold these
views, and the phenomenon is growing.
Donald Wagner is professor of religion and Middle Eastern studies at
North Park University in Chicago and executive director of the Center for
Middle Eastern Studies.
art [3:08 AM]
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[ Wednesday, March 16, 2005 ]
BBC HARDTALK VIDEO INTERVIEW w/ RAFIK HARIRIRafik Hariri was killed in an explosion in Beirut
On the 15th February, HARDtalk repeated an interview with former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri who was killed in Beirut last month.
After the Iraq war, and despite the disaster of the occupation and the defeat of electoral candidates supported by Washington, major manoeuvres are now under way against countries that have long been on the US hit list: Iran and its ally, Syria, which is clearly the weakest link. Were those who killed Rafik Hariri aware that they were symbolically offering the international community the Syrian regime’s destiny on a plate?
The catalyst for the current turmoil, the assassination of Lebanese businessman-politician Rafik Hariri, is wreathed in mystery, but it seems that Syria is among the least likely of many possible suspects. The BBC recently rebroadcast a post-9/11 interview with the fallen leader in which the interviewer continually heckeled him to condemn Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, and seize their assets – instead, Hariri characterized Hezbollah as a legitimate "resistance" and condemned Israel and NOT Syria as "our enemy."
art [8:38 PM]
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[ Sunday, March 13, 2005 ]
Special ReportHariri reportedly assassinated to make way for large US air base in Lebanon
By Wayne Madsen
March 11, 2005—According to high-level Lebanese intelligence sources—Christian and Muslim—former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was reportedly assassinated in a sophisticated explosion-by-wire bombing authorized by the Bush administration and Ariel Sharon's Likud government in Israel.
There are also strong indications that the Hariri assassination was carried out by the same rogue Syrian intelligence agents used in the 2002 car bombing assassination of Lebanese Christian leader Elie Hobeika, who was prepared to testify against Sharon in a Brussels human rights court. That case involved the Israeli Prime Minister's role in the 1982 massacre by Israeli troops of Palestinian refugees at the Sabra and Chatilla camps in Beirut. The Hariri assasination used wire-bombing technology because Hariri's security personnel used electronic countermeasures to fend off a remote control bomb using wireless means. It has been revealed that the Bush administration has used Syrian intelligence agents to torture al Qaeda suspects through the program known as "extraordinary rendition."
Hariri, a pan-Arabist and Lebanese nationalist, was known to adamantly oppose the construction of a major U.S. air base in the north of Lebanon. The United States wants Syrian troops completely out of Lebanon before construction of the base is initiated. Hariri's meetings with Hezbollah shortly before his death also angered Washington and Jerusalem, according to the Lebanese intelligence sources.
Washington and Jerusalem media experts spun Hariri's assassination as being the work of Syrian intelligence on orders from President Bashar Assad. However, a number of Middle East political observers in Washington claim that Hariri's assassination was not in the interests of Assad, but that the Bush and Sharon administrations had everything to gain from it, including the popular Lebanese uprising against the Syrian occupation.
Lebanese intelligence sources report that even without a formal agreement with Lebanon, the contract for the northern Lebanese air base has been let by the Pentagon to Jacobs Engineering Group of Pasadena, California. Other construction support will be provided by Bechtel Corporation.
Jacobs Engineering and Jacobs Sverdrup are currently contracted for work in Saudi Arabia for Aramco, Iraq for the U.S. occupation authority, Bosnia, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Lebanese air base is reportedly to be used as a transit and logistics hub for U.S. forces in Iraq and as a rest and relaxation location for U.S. troops in the region. In addition, the Lebanese base will be used to protect U.S. oil pipelines in the region (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Mosul/Kirkuk-Ceyhan) as well as to destabilize the Assad government in Syria. The size of the planned air base reportedly is on the scale of the massive American Al Udeid air base in Qatar.
A number of intelligence sources have reported that assassinations of foreign leaders like Hariri and Hobeika are ultimately authorized by two key White House officials, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliot Abrams. In addition, Abrams is the key liaison between the White House and Sharon's office for such covert operations, including political assassinations.
"Abrams is the guy they [the Israelis] go to for a wink and a nod for such ops," reported one key source.
art [1:15 AM]
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[ Saturday, March 12, 2005 ]
Neoconservatism Turning Middle-East Into Powder Kegby Matt Singer
The neoconservatives are facing a problem they didn’t expect:
Democracy spreading in the Middle East. This may sound like it fits nicely within the plans of the president, but the so-called “Cedar Revolution” under way in Lebanon, the increased likelihood of open elections in Egypt and the recent election in Iraq pose major foreign policy problems for the United States.
As soon as Lebanese protesters ousted the Syrian-backed government in Beirut, right-wing pundits started their crowing:
Bush’s democratic revolution was working. One problem: it wasn’t Bush’s. Its leaders have cheered the killing of American soldiers. And Bush’s own advisers have made clear a democratic tidal wave was not really their intention in invading Iraq.
In fact, elections were not part of the original plan in Iraq. The short time frame on elections in Iraq was a concession to Ayatollah al-Sistani and the insurgency. Al-Sistani’s Shia followers have since been quite successful in establishing a parliamentary majority.
Since then, they have been calling for a U.S. withdrawal as well as working on closer ties with Iran. They have also increased fears of establishing Shariah — Islamic law — which would pose strict regulations, especially on Iraq’s women.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the major faction opposing withdrawal of Syrian power is the Hezbollah (literally, the “Party of God”) and other Shi’ites. Hezbollah is probably a name well-known to Americans.
They are the party responsible for the death of 241 U.S. Marines in Lebanon in 1983. Fingers remain pointed at Hezbollah for anti-semitic terrorism around the world. Yet for many in the Middle East, Hezbollah is a heroic organization, having been the only Arab army to ever defeat Israel in a military conflict.
And at this point, no one sect comprises a majority of the Lebanese population. The CIA World Factbook estimates that about 60 percent of the population is Muslim, while 40 percent is Christian. The Muslims are divided between multiple factions, with a Shia plurality; a small, economically well-to-do Sunni bloc; and the unorthodox Druze making up large factions as well. The Christians largest contingency is the Maronites who have had an uneasy relationship with Muslims at many points, yet there are also Melkites, Armenians, Catholics, and Protestants within the Christian community.
So if you think that democracy in Iraq, with Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish factions looks messy, perhaps a brief history lesson is in order.
Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, is synonymous with violent anarchy. And the explosion of violence that occurred in Lebanon in the 1970s is exactly what precipitated the Syrian occupation that so many local leaders are now claiming to oppose.
Even as Druze leaders like Walid Jumblat call for democracy, one needs only read papers months old to see these leaders reveling in the spilling of American blood. More honest perhaps than most is Hezbollah, which strictly opposes the removal of Syrian power in part because it would increase pressure on them to disarm.
But while Syrian withdrawal may set the stage for Hezbollah disarmament, it could also lead to explosive violence in a number of ways. First, let us remember that this is still Beirut, a city with more armed factions than UM has academic departments. Second, one factor currently limiting Hezbollah’s electoral success is anti-Syrian sentiment. If Syria leaves, Hezbollah may actually grow in electoral power. Even if they disarm, their ability to control Lebanon’s military would only grow.
And no one should doubt the continued dislike — perhaps hatred is the proper term — of Israel among residents of these Arab and Persian nations. Just as full democracy in Iran would not stop the drive for nuclear arms, democracy in Lebanon would not stop the likelihood of state terror against Israel.
Israel, then, is not aided, but possibly endangered, by Islamic republics popping up through the region, especially if they fall, one-by-one, to extreme Shia leaders.
If America can navigate this process of democratization and can convince Israel’s Mossad to allow democratization and both nations can figure out how to build security, we’ll be much better off. But the coming years are fraught with danger.
The main opposition to the process of democratization has not arisen from racism or cruelty, as many on the right have implied or explicitly stated. Rather, it has arisen from a concern that too many of the right-wingers and hawks in the Bush administration have repeatedly misunderstood the forces they have let loose upon the world.
The Bush administration originally envisioned that by this point, we would basically be withdrawn from Iraq, with a relatively stable chieftain comfortably installed. Fortunately, democracy is emerging in the Middle East. But it is no time to pop the corks or the hangover we experience may be unlike anything we can imagine. Bush has destabilized the Arab and Persian worlds. We’ll be dealing with them for a long time.
art [5:33 PM]
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[ Monday, March 07, 2005 ]
Barney Has Found Miss Beazley(Click on the image for a video )
Gives new meaning to Wag The Dog
The President of the United States and the so called leader of the free world George W Bush Jr.took the time off his busy schedule to introduce The New White House Dog Barneys new Bitch Miss Beazley to the whole Washington Press Corps.
They present Miss Beazley who Laura declares to the world "Arent they cute? She's also VERY interested in kids" and Barney sniffes Beazley out and in a minute does what any red blooded dog would do, he tries to hump her and she runs away with the first lady of the United States running after her and the President looking dumbfounded like he usualy does and Laura picks up Miss Beazely and brings her back to the hundreds of photographers and says something reassuring the free world that "Barney has already bonded with Beazley before this photo op.
So Laura Bush puts Miss Beazley down again and hope for a better photo op the second time around but it was not meant to be.Miss Beazley takes one look at horny Barney and takes off to the bushes and away from the Bushes once again.To which the President of the United States of America George W Bush gives up and says "She dont behave like Barney"..then he adds to the throng of reporters present in his most stately of smirks..." Well so much for yall..thank ya so much for coming to see us wag the dog."
Dont take our word for it,
watch the video.5 US Marines were blown to bits the night before.
10 Dead in a downed British RAF Hercules aircraft.Not to mention that there is a war going on and rapidly approaching two thousand misguided marines have been
killed and over ten 10 thousand
wounded.
http://icasualties.org/Not to mention the countless
thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians killed and hundreds of thousands displaced or wounded or imprisoned in
Abou Graib.Not to mention the world is still reeling from the hundreds of thousands killed in the Tsunami and the assasination of Prime Minister. Hariri which puts Lebanon and Syria and Israel on the brink of war and the whole middle east on RED ALERT.
Not to mention that Italy and the rest of Europe is up in arms over the murder of one of Italys top agents and wounding of the rescued journalist and two others by US friendly fire.
With friends like these who needs enemies?
Not to mention that we yet have to see any Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.PLEASE dont add insult to our already injured intelligence and tell us they are now in Syria or Lebanon.
Not to mention that we yet have to see any proof that a plane crashed into the Pentagon the irrefutable proof that Tony Blair saw that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that
Bin Laden masterminded 911 and now that Syria was behind the Hariri assassination.
Not to mention that Iran is agahst over the US sabre rattling and the destabilization of the entire region on its western boarder.
And the Bushes have the nerve to show off their new dog in their new adventure in their lives with Barney Has Found Miss Beazley.
Wag the dog? You betcha! Not just wag but Wag the dog In your face!
What arrogance. What gall. What nerve.
And We have the nerve still to ask WHY do they hate us so?
People are getting killed the world over and the Bushes want us to see their new doggie in the White House?
Can you imagine Putin coming out with his wife at a time like this to show off his dog? Can you imagine Mahatir or Mandela? Can you picture Chirac or Schroeder? Can you picture any head of state with the exception of the British Poodle Tony Bliar, doing anything even remotely so insensitive?
There can be no other way.They have the nukes and these
madmen are just itching to use them.They are provoking the Arabs and Moslems to the point of no return.
Bush Blair and Sharon are war criminals and Blusharon must be stopped and tried for their crimes before they make NUCLEAR history.
art [8:28 PM]
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[ Saturday, March 05, 2005 ]
DONE DEAL!
Pentagon Favors Air Strikes on Syria to Overthrow Assad, Free Lebanon - Its A Done Deal!The Pentagon is now convinced that air strikes on Syria have become necessary to overthrow the Assad regime, liberate Lebanon and stop support of insurgents waging a guerrilla war against American forces in Iraq as well as Palestinian militants against Israel, the U.S.-sponsored Al Hurra TV network says.
"Political action to deal with the problem of Syria's presence in Lebanon and its support of terrorism against Israel and Iraq is no longer deemed effective," Al Hurra quoted American intelligence sources as saying, according to slain ex-Premier Hariri's Al Mustaqbal newspaper on Friday.
"Diplomacy as a means to deal with countries supporting terrorism is over and out. The situation is now open to all eventualities as far as Syria is concerned," the sources were quoted as saying by the Arabic-language Al Hurra.
"Resolving problems with Syria now requires changing the Syrian regime or mounting air attacks similar to those staged against Afghanistan and Sudan in August 1998 to wipe out terrorist centers once and for all," the U.S. intelligence sources were quoted as saying.
"The U.S. central command for Iraq and Afghanistan is closely following the situation in Lebanon and Syria and senior Pentagon officials are now convinced that hitting terrorist targets in Syria is necessary," Al Hurra said.
"The elimination of Syrian-supported terrorism groups is now deemed 'strategically vital' for stability in the Middle east, particularly Iraq, which is unattainable at present under the current Syrian regime," the station said.
art [10:20 PM]
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The Syrian Hoaxby Harry Browne
Once again the Bush propaganda machine has swung into action, inciting America to believe there’s a terrible threat to the world’s future — a threat that must be destroyed, by force if necessary.
And that threat is Syria.
Once again, the Bush administration has cried "Havoc!" and is gearing up to unleash the Dogs of War.
And if we’re smart, we won’t believe a word of it.
art [10:03 PM]
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Syria Warns Lebanese of Dangers After Withdrawal
Mar. 5, 2005 - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned the Lebanese on Saturday against forging their own peace with Israel, saying the period after Syria's withdrawal would be fraught with dangers.
art [4:35 PM]
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Congressman Says Syria Nuke Comment a JokeYEAH RIGHT!
DALLAS - A congressman who raised eyebrows with recent remarks about personally wanting to drop a nuclear bomb on Syria now says he was joking.
The Feb. 19 remarks by Rep. Sam Johnson (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, at a church pancake breakfast were first reported this week in Roll Call. The Capitol Hill newspaper reported it had heard a recording of the talk made by someone in attendance.
According to Roll Call, Johnson said he was talking with President Bush (news - web sites) and GOP Rep. Kay Granger (news, bio, voting record) at the White House about weapons of mass destruction that troops failed to find in Iraq (news - web sites).
According to Roll Call, Johnson said he told the president: "Syria is the problem. Syria is where those weapons of mass destruction are, in my view. You know, I can fly an F-15, put two nukes on 'em and I'll make one pass. We won't have to worry about Syria anymore."
Johnson, 74, is a former Air Force combat pilot who served in Korea and Vietnam, where he was shot down and spent 7 1/2 years as a prisoner of war.
Johnson did not respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press on Friday. However, he told The Dallas Morning News that he was surprised anyone took his comments seriously and has never advocated a nuclear strike on Syria.
"I was kind of joking — you know, we were talking between veterans," he said. He added that President Bush knew he was joking.
art [3:38 PM]
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art [6:55 AM]
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Harriri's Assistant Points Finger at Israeli Mossad
http://www.todaysalternativenews.com/index.php?event=link,150&values[0]=1&values[1]=2268Tehran, Feb 15, IRNA -- Late Lebanese politician Rafiq Hariri`s
consultant Mustafa al-Naser told IRNA Monday evening, "Assassination
Hariri is the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad`s job, aimed at
creating political tension in Lebanon."
Al-Naser added, "Beyond doubt, the peace, stability, and high
level security prevailing in Lebanon in recent years, in creation of
which all Lebanese groups play a harmonious role, is in direct
contrast with Israel`s political intentions for the region, and above
that with the illegitimate nature of that usurper regime."
He added, "Israel seeks the continuation of its existence in
creation of constant tension in the region, and that was the reason
why Tel Aviv imposed many years on civil war, and over a decade of
occupation and instability against our nation."
art [6:43 AM]
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This is about Israel, not anti-semitismNot to speak out against this injustice would not only be wrong. It would ignore the threat it poses to us all.Ken Livingstone
Friday March 4, 2005
The Guardian
Racism is a uniquely reactionary ideology, used to justify the greatest
crimes in history - the slave trade, the extermination of all original
inhabitants of the Caribbean, the elimination of every native inhabitant of Tasmania,apartheid. The Holocaust was the ultimate, "industrialised" expression of racist barbarity.Racism serves as the cutting edge of the most reactionary movements. An ideology that starts by declaring one human being inferior to another is the slope whose end is at Auschwitz. That is why I detest racism.
Ken Livingstone is the London mayor.
VIVA LIVINGSTONE!
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