Cost of the War in Iraq
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31.10.04
FULL UNEDITED TEXT OF OBL (VIA Al Jazeera)
Finally! Here is the UNEDITED version of OBL's "speech to America" (from two days ago). I have yet to see any solid analysis on it. Will post it as and when I get it. In fairness to CNN (!), this Al Jazeera translation has shortcomings, on par with the CNN shortcomings. If you compare them, and have a basic knowledge of Arabic (or Arabic translations), you will see this yourself. Al Jazeera failure to translate OBL's "praise" of the 19 hijackers, is one example. One should compare the two texts in order to get the best interpretation of the two translations.
Praise be to Allah who created the creation for his worship and commanded them to be just and permitted the wronged one to retaliate against the oppressor in kind. To proceed:
Peace be upon he who follows the guidance: People of America this talk of mine is for you and concerns the ideal way to prevent another Manhattan, and deals with the war and its causes and results.
Before I begin, I say to you that security is an indispensable pillar of human life and that free men do not forfeit their security, contrary to Bush's claim that we hate freedom.
If so, then let him explain to us why we don't strike for example - Sweden? And we know that freedom-haters don't possess defiant spirits like those of the 19 - may Allah have mercy on them.
No, we fight because we are free men who don't sleep under oppression. We want to restore freedom to our nation, just as you lay waste to our nation. So shall we lay waste to yours.
No one except a dumb thief plays with the security of others and then makes himself believe he will be secure. Whereas thinking people, when disaster strikes, make it their priority to look for its causes, in order to prevent it happening again.
But I am amazed at you. Even though we are in the fourth year after the events of September 11th, Bush is still engaged in distortion, deception and hiding from you the real causes. And thus, the reasons are still there for a repeat of what occurred.
So I shall talk to you about the story behind those events and shall tell you truthfully about the moments in which the decision was taken, for you to consider.
I say to you, Allah knows that it had never occurred to us to strike the towers. But after it became unbearable and we witnessed the oppression and tyranny of the American/Israeli coalition against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it came to my mind.
The events that affected my soul in a direct way started in 1982 when America permitted the Israelis to invade Lebanon and the American Sixth Fleet helped them in that. This bombardment began and many were killed and injured and others were terrorised and displaced.
I couldn't forget those moving scenes, blood and severed limbs, women and children sprawled everywhere. Houses destroyed along with their occupants and high rises demolished over their residents, rockets raining down on our home without mercy.
The situation was like a crocodile meeting a helpless child, powerless except for his screams. Does the crocodile understand a conversation that doesn't include a weapon? And the whole world saw and heard but it didn't respond.
In those difficult moments many hard-to-describe ideas bubbled in my soul, but in the end they produced an intense feeling of rejection of tyranny, and gave birth to a strong resolve to punish the oppressors.
And as I looked at those demolished towers in Lebanon, it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressor in kind and that we should destroy towers in America in order that they taste some of what we tasted and so that they be deterred from killing our women and children.
And that day, it was confirmed to me that oppression and the intentional killing of innocent women and children is a deliberate American policy. Destruction is freedom and democracy, while resistance is terrorism and intolerance.
This means the oppressing and embargoing to death of millions as Bush Sr did in Iraq in the greatest mass slaughter of children mankind has ever known, and it means the throwing of millions of pounds of bombs and explosives at millions of children - also in Iraq - as Bush Jr did, in order to remove an old agent and replace him with a new puppet to assist in the pilfering of Iraq's oil and other outrages.
So with these images and their like as their background, the events of September 11th came as a reply to those great wrongs, should a man be blamed for defending his sanctuary?
Is defending oneself and punishing the aggressor in kind, objectionable terrorism? If it is such, then it is unavoidable for us.
This is the message which I sought to communicate to you in word and deed, repeatedly, for years before September 11th.
And you can read this, if you wish, in my interview with Scott in Time Magazine in 1996, or with Peter Arnett on CNN in 1997, or my meeting with John Weiner in 1998.
You can observe it practically, if you wish, in Kenya and Tanzania and in Aden. And you can read it in my interview with Abdul Bari Atwan, as well as my interviews with Robert Fisk.
The latter is one of your compatriots and co-religionists and I consider him to be neutral. So are the pretenders of freedom at the White House and the channels controlled by them able to run an interview with him? So that he may relay to the American people what he has understood from us to be the reasons for our fight against you?
If you were to avoid these reasons, you will have taken the correct path that will lead America to the security that it was in before September 11th. This concerned the causes of the war.
As for it's results, they have been, by the grace of Allah, positive and enormous, and have, by all standards, exceeded all expectations. This is due to many factors, chief among them, that we have found it difficult to deal with the Bush administration in light of the resemblance it bears to the regimes in our countries, half of which are ruled by the military and the other half which are ruled by the sons of kings and presidents.
Our experience with them is lengthy, and both types are replete with those who are characterised by pride, arrogance, greed and misappropriation of wealth. This resemblance began after the visits of Bush Sr to the region.
At a time when some of our compatriots were dazzled by America and hoping that these visits would have an effect on our countries, all of a sudden he was affected by those monarchies and military regimes, and became envious of their remaining decades in their positions, to embezzle the public wealth of the nation without supervision or accounting.
So he took dictatorship and suppression of freedoms to his son and they named it the Patriot Act, under the pretence of fighting terrorism. In addition, Bush sanctioned the installing of sons as state governors, and didn't forget to import expertise in election fraud from the region's presidents to Florida to be made use of in moments of difficulty.
All that we have mentioned has made it easy for us to provoke and bait this administration. All that we have to do is to send two mujahidin to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al-Qaida, in order to make the generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic, and political losses without their achieving for it anything of note other than some benefits for their private companies.
This is in addition to our having experience in using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers, as we, alongside the mujahidin, bled Russia for 10 years, until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat.
All Praise is due to Allah.
So we are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah.
That being said, those who say that al-Qaida has won against the administration in the White House or that the administration has lost in this war have not been precise, because when one scrutinises the results, one cannot say that al-Qaida is the sole factor in achieving those spectacular gains.
Rather, the policy of the White House that demands the opening of war fronts to keep busy their various corporations - whether they be working in the field of arms or oil or reconstruction - has helped al-Qaida to achieve these enormous results.
And so it has appeared to some analysts and diplomats that the White House and us are playing as one team towards the economic goals of the United States, even if the intentions differ.
And it was to these sorts of notions and their like that the British diplomat and others were referring in their lectures at the Royal Institute of International Affairs. [When they pointed out that] for example, al-Qaida spent $500,000 on the event, while America, in the incident and its aftermath, lost - according to the lowest estimate - more than $500 billion.
Meaning that every dollar of al-Qaida defeated a million dollars by the permission of Allah, besides the loss of a huge number of jobs.
As for the size of the economic deficit, it has reached record astronomical numbers estimated to total more than a trillion dollars.
And even more dangerous and bitter for America is that the mujahidin recently forced Bush to resort to emergency funds to continue the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq, which is evidence of the success of the bleed-until-bankruptcy plan - with Allah's permission.
It is true that this shows that al-Qaida has gained, but on the other hand, it shows that the Bush administration has also gained, something of which anyone who looks at the size of the contracts acquired by the shady Bush administration-linked mega-corporations, like Halliburton and its kind, will be convinced. And it all shows that the real loser is ... you.
It is the American people and their economy. And for the record, we had agreed with the Commander-General Muhammad Ataa, Allah have mercy on him, that all the operations should be carried out within 20 minutes, before Bush and his administration notice.
It never occurred to us that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would abandon 50,000 of his citizens in the twin towers to face those great horrors alone, the time when they most needed him.
But because it seemed to him that occupying himself by talking to the little girl about the goat and its butting was more important than occupying himself with the planes and their butting of the skyscrapers, we were given three times the period required to execute the operations - all praise is due to Allah.
And it's no secret to you that the thinkers and perceptive ones from among the Americans warned Bush before the war and told him: "All that you want for securing America and removing the weapons of mass destruction - assuming they exist - is available to you, and the nations of the world are with you in the inspections, and it is in the interest of America that it not be thrust into an unjustified war with an unknown outcome."
But the darkness of the black gold blurred his vision and insight, and he gave priority to private interests over the public interests of America.
So the war went ahead, the death toll rose, the American economy bled, and Bush became embroiled in the swamps of Iraq that threaten his future. He fits the saying "like the naughty she-goat who used her hoof to dig up a knife from under the earth".
So I say to you, over 15,000 of our people have been killed and tens of thousands injured, while more than a thousand of you have been killed and more than 10,000 injured. And Bush's hands are stained with the blood of all those killed from both sides, all for the sake of oil and keeping their private companies in business.
Be aware that it is the nation who punishes the weak man when he causes the killing of one of its citizens for money, while letting the powerful one get off, when he causes the killing of more than 1000 of its sons, also for money.
And the same goes for your allies in Palestine. They terrorise the women and children, and kill and capture the men as they lie sleeping with their families on the mattresses, that you may recall that for every action, there is a reaction.
Finally, it behoves you to reflect on the last wills and testaments of the thousands who left you on the 11th as they gestured in despair. They are important testaments, which should be studied and researched.
Among the most important of what I read in them was some prose in their gestures before the collapse, where they say: "How mistaken we were to have allowed the White House to implement its aggressive foreign policies against the weak without supervision."
It is as if they were telling you, the people of America: "Hold to account those who have caused us to be killed, and happy is he who learns from others' mistakes."
And among that which I read in their gestures is a verse of poetry. "Injustice chases its people, and how unhealthy the bed of tyranny."
As has been said: "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure."
And know that: "It is better to return to the truth than persist in error." And that the wise man doesn't squander his security, wealth and children for the sake of the liar in the White House.
In conclusion, I tell you in truth, that your security is not in the hands of Kerry, nor Bush, nor al-Qaida. No.
Your security is in your own hands. And every state that doesn't play with our security has automatically guaranteed its own security.
And Allah is our Guardian and Helper, while you have no Guardian or Helper. All peace be upon he who follows the Guidance.
|
Finally! Here is the UNEDITED version of OBL's "speech to America" (from two days ago). I have yet to see any solid analysis on it. Will post it as and when I get it. In fairness to CNN (!), this Al Jazeera translation has shortcomings, on par with the CNN shortcomings. If you compare them, and have a basic knowledge of Arabic (or Arabic translations), you will see this yourself. Al Jazeera failure to translate OBL's "praise" of the 19 hijackers, is one example. One should compare the two texts in order to get the best interpretation of the two translations.
Praise be to Allah who created the creation for his worship and commanded them to be just and permitted the wronged one to retaliate against the oppressor in kind. To proceed:
Peace be upon he who follows the guidance: People of America this talk of mine is for you and concerns the ideal way to prevent another Manhattan, and deals with the war and its causes and results.
Before I begin, I say to you that security is an indispensable pillar of human life and that free men do not forfeit their security, contrary to Bush's claim that we hate freedom.
If so, then let him explain to us why we don't strike for example - Sweden? And we know that freedom-haters don't possess defiant spirits like those of the 19 - may Allah have mercy on them.
No, we fight because we are free men who don't sleep under oppression. We want to restore freedom to our nation, just as you lay waste to our nation. So shall we lay waste to yours.
No one except a dumb thief plays with the security of others and then makes himself believe he will be secure. Whereas thinking people, when disaster strikes, make it their priority to look for its causes, in order to prevent it happening again.
But I am amazed at you. Even though we are in the fourth year after the events of September 11th, Bush is still engaged in distortion, deception and hiding from you the real causes. And thus, the reasons are still there for a repeat of what occurred.
So I shall talk to you about the story behind those events and shall tell you truthfully about the moments in which the decision was taken, for you to consider.
I say to you, Allah knows that it had never occurred to us to strike the towers. But after it became unbearable and we witnessed the oppression and tyranny of the American/Israeli coalition against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it came to my mind.
The events that affected my soul in a direct way started in 1982 when America permitted the Israelis to invade Lebanon and the American Sixth Fleet helped them in that. This bombardment began and many were killed and injured and others were terrorised and displaced.
I couldn't forget those moving scenes, blood and severed limbs, women and children sprawled everywhere. Houses destroyed along with their occupants and high rises demolished over their residents, rockets raining down on our home without mercy.
The situation was like a crocodile meeting a helpless child, powerless except for his screams. Does the crocodile understand a conversation that doesn't include a weapon? And the whole world saw and heard but it didn't respond.
In those difficult moments many hard-to-describe ideas bubbled in my soul, but in the end they produced an intense feeling of rejection of tyranny, and gave birth to a strong resolve to punish the oppressors.
And as I looked at those demolished towers in Lebanon, it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressor in kind and that we should destroy towers in America in order that they taste some of what we tasted and so that they be deterred from killing our women and children.
And that day, it was confirmed to me that oppression and the intentional killing of innocent women and children is a deliberate American policy. Destruction is freedom and democracy, while resistance is terrorism and intolerance.
This means the oppressing and embargoing to death of millions as Bush Sr did in Iraq in the greatest mass slaughter of children mankind has ever known, and it means the throwing of millions of pounds of bombs and explosives at millions of children - also in Iraq - as Bush Jr did, in order to remove an old agent and replace him with a new puppet to assist in the pilfering of Iraq's oil and other outrages.
So with these images and their like as their background, the events of September 11th came as a reply to those great wrongs, should a man be blamed for defending his sanctuary?
Is defending oneself and punishing the aggressor in kind, objectionable terrorism? If it is such, then it is unavoidable for us.
This is the message which I sought to communicate to you in word and deed, repeatedly, for years before September 11th.
And you can read this, if you wish, in my interview with Scott in Time Magazine in 1996, or with Peter Arnett on CNN in 1997, or my meeting with John Weiner in 1998.
You can observe it practically, if you wish, in Kenya and Tanzania and in Aden. And you can read it in my interview with Abdul Bari Atwan, as well as my interviews with Robert Fisk.
The latter is one of your compatriots and co-religionists and I consider him to be neutral. So are the pretenders of freedom at the White House and the channels controlled by them able to run an interview with him? So that he may relay to the American people what he has understood from us to be the reasons for our fight against you?
If you were to avoid these reasons, you will have taken the correct path that will lead America to the security that it was in before September 11th. This concerned the causes of the war.
As for it's results, they have been, by the grace of Allah, positive and enormous, and have, by all standards, exceeded all expectations. This is due to many factors, chief among them, that we have found it difficult to deal with the Bush administration in light of the resemblance it bears to the regimes in our countries, half of which are ruled by the military and the other half which are ruled by the sons of kings and presidents.
Our experience with them is lengthy, and both types are replete with those who are characterised by pride, arrogance, greed and misappropriation of wealth. This resemblance began after the visits of Bush Sr to the region.
At a time when some of our compatriots were dazzled by America and hoping that these visits would have an effect on our countries, all of a sudden he was affected by those monarchies and military regimes, and became envious of their remaining decades in their positions, to embezzle the public wealth of the nation without supervision or accounting.
So he took dictatorship and suppression of freedoms to his son and they named it the Patriot Act, under the pretence of fighting terrorism. In addition, Bush sanctioned the installing of sons as state governors, and didn't forget to import expertise in election fraud from the region's presidents to Florida to be made use of in moments of difficulty.
All that we have mentioned has made it easy for us to provoke and bait this administration. All that we have to do is to send two mujahidin to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al-Qaida, in order to make the generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic, and political losses without their achieving for it anything of note other than some benefits for their private companies.
This is in addition to our having experience in using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers, as we, alongside the mujahidin, bled Russia for 10 years, until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat.
All Praise is due to Allah.
So we are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah.
That being said, those who say that al-Qaida has won against the administration in the White House or that the administration has lost in this war have not been precise, because when one scrutinises the results, one cannot say that al-Qaida is the sole factor in achieving those spectacular gains.
Rather, the policy of the White House that demands the opening of war fronts to keep busy their various corporations - whether they be working in the field of arms or oil or reconstruction - has helped al-Qaida to achieve these enormous results.
And so it has appeared to some analysts and diplomats that the White House and us are playing as one team towards the economic goals of the United States, even if the intentions differ.
And it was to these sorts of notions and their like that the British diplomat and others were referring in their lectures at the Royal Institute of International Affairs. [When they pointed out that] for example, al-Qaida spent $500,000 on the event, while America, in the incident and its aftermath, lost - according to the lowest estimate - more than $500 billion.
Meaning that every dollar of al-Qaida defeated a million dollars by the permission of Allah, besides the loss of a huge number of jobs.
As for the size of the economic deficit, it has reached record astronomical numbers estimated to total more than a trillion dollars.
And even more dangerous and bitter for America is that the mujahidin recently forced Bush to resort to emergency funds to continue the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq, which is evidence of the success of the bleed-until-bankruptcy plan - with Allah's permission.
It is true that this shows that al-Qaida has gained, but on the other hand, it shows that the Bush administration has also gained, something of which anyone who looks at the size of the contracts acquired by the shady Bush administration-linked mega-corporations, like Halliburton and its kind, will be convinced. And it all shows that the real loser is ... you.
It is the American people and their economy. And for the record, we had agreed with the Commander-General Muhammad Ataa, Allah have mercy on him, that all the operations should be carried out within 20 minutes, before Bush and his administration notice.
It never occurred to us that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would abandon 50,000 of his citizens in the twin towers to face those great horrors alone, the time when they most needed him.
But because it seemed to him that occupying himself by talking to the little girl about the goat and its butting was more important than occupying himself with the planes and their butting of the skyscrapers, we were given three times the period required to execute the operations - all praise is due to Allah.
And it's no secret to you that the thinkers and perceptive ones from among the Americans warned Bush before the war and told him: "All that you want for securing America and removing the weapons of mass destruction - assuming they exist - is available to you, and the nations of the world are with you in the inspections, and it is in the interest of America that it not be thrust into an unjustified war with an unknown outcome."
But the darkness of the black gold blurred his vision and insight, and he gave priority to private interests over the public interests of America.
So the war went ahead, the death toll rose, the American economy bled, and Bush became embroiled in the swamps of Iraq that threaten his future. He fits the saying "like the naughty she-goat who used her hoof to dig up a knife from under the earth".
So I say to you, over 15,000 of our people have been killed and tens of thousands injured, while more than a thousand of you have been killed and more than 10,000 injured. And Bush's hands are stained with the blood of all those killed from both sides, all for the sake of oil and keeping their private companies in business.
Be aware that it is the nation who punishes the weak man when he causes the killing of one of its citizens for money, while letting the powerful one get off, when he causes the killing of more than 1000 of its sons, also for money.
And the same goes for your allies in Palestine. They terrorise the women and children, and kill and capture the men as they lie sleeping with their families on the mattresses, that you may recall that for every action, there is a reaction.
Finally, it behoves you to reflect on the last wills and testaments of the thousands who left you on the 11th as they gestured in despair. They are important testaments, which should be studied and researched.
Among the most important of what I read in them was some prose in their gestures before the collapse, where they say: "How mistaken we were to have allowed the White House to implement its aggressive foreign policies against the weak without supervision."
It is as if they were telling you, the people of America: "Hold to account those who have caused us to be killed, and happy is he who learns from others' mistakes."
And among that which I read in their gestures is a verse of poetry. "Injustice chases its people, and how unhealthy the bed of tyranny."
As has been said: "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure."
And know that: "It is better to return to the truth than persist in error." And that the wise man doesn't squander his security, wealth and children for the sake of the liar in the White House.
In conclusion, I tell you in truth, that your security is not in the hands of Kerry, nor Bush, nor al-Qaida. No.
Your security is in your own hands. And every state that doesn't play with our security has automatically guaranteed its own security.
And Allah is our Guardian and Helper, while you have no Guardian or Helper. All peace be upon he who follows the Guidance.
|
30.10.04
MAN ATTEMPTS TO RUN DOWN HARRIS, 4 YRS TOO LATE
(CNN) -- Police in Sarasota, Florida, arrested a man accused of trying to run down Rep. Katherine Harris and her supporters with a car Tuesday, a police spokesman said.
A silver Cadillac "swerved off the road and drove up the sidewalk" heading "straight towards Ms. Harris," according to the police arrest report.
"Harris stated that she was afraid for her life," according to the police report, "and could not move as the vehicle approached her."
No one was injured in the alleged incident.
|
(CNN) -- Police in Sarasota, Florida, arrested a man accused of trying to run down Rep. Katherine Harris and her supporters with a car Tuesday, a police spokesman said.
A silver Cadillac "swerved off the road and drove up the sidewalk" heading "straight towards Ms. Harris," according to the police arrest report.
"Harris stated that she was afraid for her life," according to the police report, "and could not move as the vehicle approached her."
No one was injured in the alleged incident.
|
29.10.04
FULL TEXT OF OBL (via CNN)
Here is the full text of OBL--almost. CNN, regretably (predictably?), doctored it, in at least two horrible ways--(1) by cutting out the references to Allah/God, which are almost always present in official message from a Muslim leader; and (2) sticking in bracket text on ["President George W."]--as if (a) he was elected; and (b) we need a reminder (!). I will look for an undoctored version and post it as soon as possible. (I suspect in the coming days Al jazeera-English will have a more direct, UN-translated/style version.)
You, the American people, I talk to you today about the best way to avoid another catastrophe and about war, its reasons and its consequences.
And in that regard, I say to you that security is an important pillar of human life, and that free people do not compromise their security.
Contrary to what [President George W.] Bush says and claims -- that we hate freedom --let him tell us then, "Why did we not attack Sweden?" It is known that those who hate freedom don't have souls with integrity, like the souls of those 19. May the mercy of God be upon them.
We fought with you because we are free, and we don't put up with transgressions. We want to reclaim our nation. As you spoil our security, we will do so to you.
I wonder about you. Although we are ushering the fourth year after 9/11, Bush is still exercising confusion and misleading you and not telling you the true reason. Therefore, the motivations are still there for what happened to be repeated.
And I will talk to you about the reason for those events, and I will be honest with you about the moments the decision was made so that you can ponder. And I tell you, God only knows, that we never had the intentions to destroy the towers.
But after the injustice was so much and we saw transgressions and the coalition between Americans and the Israelis against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it occurred to my mind that we deal with the towers. And these special events that directly and personally affected me go back to 1982 and what happened when America gave permission for Israel to invade Lebanon. And assistance was given by the American sixth fleet.
During those crucial moments, my mind was thinking about many things that are hard to describe. But they produced a feeling to refuse and reject injustice, and I had determination to punish the transgressors.
And as I was looking at those towers that were destroyed in Lebanon, it occurred to me that we have to punish the transgressor with the same -- and that we had to destroy the towers in America so that they taste what we tasted, and they stop killing our women and children.
We found no difficulties in dealing with the Bush administration, because of the similarities of that administration and the regimes in our countries, half of which are run by the military and half of which are run by monarchs. And our experience is vast with them.
And those two kinds are full of arrogance and taking money illegally.
The resemblance started when [former President George H.W.] Bush, the father, visited the area, when some of our own were impressed by America and were hoping that the visits would affect and influence our countries.
Then, what happened was that he was impressed by the monarchies and the military regimes, and he was jealous of them staying in power for tens of years, embezzling the public money without any accountability. And he moved the tyranny and suppression of freedom to his own country, and they called it the Patriot Act, under the disguise of fighting terrorism. And Bush, the father, found it good to install his children as governors and leaders.
We agreed with the leader of the group, Mohammed Atta, to perform all attacks within 20 minutes before [President George W.] Bush and his administration were aware of what was going on. And we never knew that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would leave 50,000 of his people in the two towers to face those events by themselves when they were in the most urgent need of their leader.
He was more interested in listening to the child's story about the goat rather than worry about what was happening to the towers. So, we had three times the time necessary to accomplish the events.
Your security is not in the hands of [Democratic presidential nominee John] Kerry or Bush or al Qaeda. Your security is in your own hands. Any nation that does not attack us will not be attacked.
|
Here is the full text of OBL--almost. CNN, regretably (predictably?), doctored it, in at least two horrible ways--(1) by cutting out the references to Allah/God, which are almost always present in official message from a Muslim leader; and (2) sticking in bracket text on ["President George W."]--as if (a) he was elected; and (b) we need a reminder (!). I will look for an undoctored version and post it as soon as possible. (I suspect in the coming days Al jazeera-English will have a more direct, UN-translated/style version.)
You, the American people, I talk to you today about the best way to avoid another catastrophe and about war, its reasons and its consequences.
And in that regard, I say to you that security is an important pillar of human life, and that free people do not compromise their security.
Contrary to what [President George W.] Bush says and claims -- that we hate freedom --let him tell us then, "Why did we not attack Sweden?" It is known that those who hate freedom don't have souls with integrity, like the souls of those 19. May the mercy of God be upon them.
We fought with you because we are free, and we don't put up with transgressions. We want to reclaim our nation. As you spoil our security, we will do so to you.
I wonder about you. Although we are ushering the fourth year after 9/11, Bush is still exercising confusion and misleading you and not telling you the true reason. Therefore, the motivations are still there for what happened to be repeated.
And I will talk to you about the reason for those events, and I will be honest with you about the moments the decision was made so that you can ponder. And I tell you, God only knows, that we never had the intentions to destroy the towers.
But after the injustice was so much and we saw transgressions and the coalition between Americans and the Israelis against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it occurred to my mind that we deal with the towers. And these special events that directly and personally affected me go back to 1982 and what happened when America gave permission for Israel to invade Lebanon. And assistance was given by the American sixth fleet.
During those crucial moments, my mind was thinking about many things that are hard to describe. But they produced a feeling to refuse and reject injustice, and I had determination to punish the transgressors.
And as I was looking at those towers that were destroyed in Lebanon, it occurred to me that we have to punish the transgressor with the same -- and that we had to destroy the towers in America so that they taste what we tasted, and they stop killing our women and children.
We found no difficulties in dealing with the Bush administration, because of the similarities of that administration and the regimes in our countries, half of which are run by the military and half of which are run by monarchs. And our experience is vast with them.
And those two kinds are full of arrogance and taking money illegally.
The resemblance started when [former President George H.W.] Bush, the father, visited the area, when some of our own were impressed by America and were hoping that the visits would affect and influence our countries.
Then, what happened was that he was impressed by the monarchies and the military regimes, and he was jealous of them staying in power for tens of years, embezzling the public money without any accountability. And he moved the tyranny and suppression of freedom to his own country, and they called it the Patriot Act, under the disguise of fighting terrorism. And Bush, the father, found it good to install his children as governors and leaders.
We agreed with the leader of the group, Mohammed Atta, to perform all attacks within 20 minutes before [President George W.] Bush and his administration were aware of what was going on. And we never knew that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would leave 50,000 of his people in the two towers to face those events by themselves when they were in the most urgent need of their leader.
He was more interested in listening to the child's story about the goat rather than worry about what was happening to the towers. So, we had three times the time necessary to accomplish the events.
Your security is not in the hands of [Democratic presidential nominee John] Kerry or Bush or al Qaeda. Your security is in your own hands. Any nation that does not attack us will not be attacked.
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25.10.04
GREENPEACE SIGNS "No-protest" DEAL WITH EXXONMOBILE
On the more outrageous front Greenpeace signed an absolutely horrible deal with ExxonMobile not to protest against the company. The deal could set a dangerous and dramatic precendent further undermining free speech of other activist pressure groups.
Activists' hands tied for 7 years
(from FT)
Some of the protesters wore tiger suits; others wore brightly coloured T-shirts under business suits. They entered the front lobby or climbed on the roof of ExxonMobil's headquarters in Irving, Texas. The protest, involving more than 30 members of Greenpeace, the environmental activist group, was aimed at the world's largest oil company and its policies on global warming.
Now, almost 18 months later, Greenpeace has signed a court agreement that will prevent its supporters from staging any similar protests against ExxonMobil, not only in Texas but anywhere in the US, for seven years.
(FULL LINK)
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On the more outrageous front Greenpeace signed an absolutely horrible deal with ExxonMobile not to protest against the company. The deal could set a dangerous and dramatic precendent further undermining free speech of other activist pressure groups.
Activists' hands tied for 7 years
(from FT)
Some of the protesters wore tiger suits; others wore brightly coloured T-shirts under business suits. They entered the front lobby or climbed on the roof of ExxonMobil's headquarters in Irving, Texas. The protest, involving more than 30 members of Greenpeace, the environmental activist group, was aimed at the world's largest oil company and its policies on global warming.
Now, almost 18 months later, Greenpeace has signed a court agreement that will prevent its supporters from staging any similar protests against ExxonMobil, not only in Texas but anywhere in the US, for seven years.
(FULL LINK)
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AND THINGS GET WEIRD...OR WORRISOME?
Just getting in some twisted news, that could be meaningless or very worrisome. Its your call.
FIRST REPORT:
From the Spanish El Mundo Osama has been found in Northwest China. (link in Spanish) (in English).
SECOND REPORT:
Oct. Surprise is not discovering Osama, but attacking Iran. (link)
US will provide cover for Israel that will lead the attack, according to source,
ex-Reagan NSA official Wayne Madsen.
When I mentioned these rather hyperbolic reports to a colleague who's read the NeoCon playbook (Project for a New American Century) she gasped out loud. Apparently the last chapter is not about a showdown in the Middle East, but taking the rope-a-dope to China.
Now just before the Tora Bora incident (which is back in the blogosphere, again, via TPM), China made clear that it would not permit Osama entry. (link on China refusal)
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Just getting in some twisted news, that could be meaningless or very worrisome. Its your call.
FIRST REPORT:
From the Spanish El Mundo Osama has been found in Northwest China. (link in Spanish) (in English).
SECOND REPORT:
Oct. Surprise is not discovering Osama, but attacking Iran. (link)
US will provide cover for Israel that will lead the attack, according to source,
ex-Reagan NSA official Wayne Madsen.
When I mentioned these rather hyperbolic reports to a colleague who's read the NeoCon playbook (Project for a New American Century) she gasped out loud. Apparently the last chapter is not about a showdown in the Middle East, but taking the rope-a-dope to China.
Now just before the Tora Bora incident (which is back in the blogosphere, again, via TPM), China made clear that it would not permit Osama entry. (link on China refusal)
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23.10.04
OUR PRESS RELEASE ON RUSSIAN KYOTO RATIFICATION
Today, Russia’s lower house of parliament ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Today’s action means the international global warming treaty is just days away from ratification in Russia and months away from coming into force globally..
“While we support the Kyoto Protocol as a first step, we need much stronger action by polluting countries like the U.S., and soon,” said Daphne Wysham, a Fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies. “All of the emissions reductions Kyoto requires of rich countries can be met by playing a dangerous shell game called carbon trading—which gives the illusion of meaningful action, but means more business as usual.”
The Kyoto Protocol will create transferable rights from country to country to dump carbon in the biosphere far in excess of the earth’s ability to handle it. Corporations are spending billions of dollars to protect their rights to dump greenhouse gases, while the costs of future reductions in fossil fuel use —as well as the cost of climate change itself — are already falling disproportionately on the public sector, communities, indigenous peoples and individual taxpayers.
“It is unreasonable to expect that the most serious environmental problem the world has known will be solved by giving new privileges to the very corporations that have helped create it,” continued Wysham.
“Averting the climate crisis means, above all else, reducing investment in and use of fossil fuels, yet carbon trading lets big polluters delay reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by pushing developing countries into becoming their carbon colonies,” said Michael Dorsey, assistant professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College.
Among the new carbon "dump" projects on the books already are land-gobbling eucalyptus plantations in Brazil, monoculture pine plantations subject to severe fire risk in a treeless zone high in the Andes, and toxic waste dumps in South Africa and coal mines in China made more profitable by investment aimed at capturing methane. In addition to their questionable contribution to climate protection, such projects help marginalize already vulnerable local communities by appropriating land, water or air supporting their lives and livelihoods.
The global trade in carbon was recently scrutinized by scientists and specialists who gathered in Durban, South Africa from October 4-7, 2004; they emerged with a statement condemning the rapidly emerging market in carbon as a false solution to the problem. Participants came from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Germany, India, The Netherlands, Samoa, South Africa, Sweden, Uganda, the UK, the US and Uruguay.
To view the Durban Declaration on carbon trading, visit: www.sinkswatch.org
(FULL LINK COMING TO SEEN SOON)
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Russia to Ratify Kyoto,
Protocol’s Carbon Trading Condemned
Protocol’s Carbon Trading Condemned
Today, Russia’s lower house of parliament ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Today’s action means the international global warming treaty is just days away from ratification in Russia and months away from coming into force globally..
“While we support the Kyoto Protocol as a first step, we need much stronger action by polluting countries like the U.S., and soon,” said Daphne Wysham, a Fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies. “All of the emissions reductions Kyoto requires of rich countries can be met by playing a dangerous shell game called carbon trading—which gives the illusion of meaningful action, but means more business as usual.”
The Kyoto Protocol will create transferable rights from country to country to dump carbon in the biosphere far in excess of the earth’s ability to handle it. Corporations are spending billions of dollars to protect their rights to dump greenhouse gases, while the costs of future reductions in fossil fuel use —as well as the cost of climate change itself — are already falling disproportionately on the public sector, communities, indigenous peoples and individual taxpayers.
“It is unreasonable to expect that the most serious environmental problem the world has known will be solved by giving new privileges to the very corporations that have helped create it,” continued Wysham.
“Averting the climate crisis means, above all else, reducing investment in and use of fossil fuels, yet carbon trading lets big polluters delay reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by pushing developing countries into becoming their carbon colonies,” said Michael Dorsey, assistant professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College.
Among the new carbon "dump" projects on the books already are land-gobbling eucalyptus plantations in Brazil, monoculture pine plantations subject to severe fire risk in a treeless zone high in the Andes, and toxic waste dumps in South Africa and coal mines in China made more profitable by investment aimed at capturing methane. In addition to their questionable contribution to climate protection, such projects help marginalize already vulnerable local communities by appropriating land, water or air supporting their lives and livelihoods.
The global trade in carbon was recently scrutinized by scientists and specialists who gathered in Durban, South Africa from October 4-7, 2004; they emerged with a statement condemning the rapidly emerging market in carbon as a false solution to the problem. Participants came from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Germany, India, The Netherlands, Samoa, South Africa, Sweden, Uganda, the UK, the US and Uruguay.
To view the Durban Declaration on carbon trading, visit: www.sinkswatch.org
(FULL LINK COMING TO SEEN SOON)
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AAA & UNION MATTERS
I am just now learning about the American Anthropological Association (AAA) struggles and UNITE hotel workers strike surrounding the up-coming conference in SF. (Where in the hell have I been!?) You can track these matters via the:
AAAUNITE Blog
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I am just now learning about the American Anthropological Association (AAA) struggles and UNITE hotel workers strike surrounding the up-coming conference in SF. (Where in the hell have I been!?) You can track these matters via the:
AAAUNITE Blog
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22.10.04
RUSSIAN DUMA RATIFIES KYOTO
The Russian Duma just gave the greenlight to support the Kyoto Protocol.
"MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Russia's lower house of parliament ratified the Kyoto Protocol on combating global warming Friday, putting the sweeping environmental pact firmly on the road to realization.
The State Duma voted 334-73 to approve the treaty which gives industrialized nations eight years to cut their collective emissions of six key greenhouse gases to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels.
Once approved by Russia's upper house and President Vladimir Putin -- which is all but expected -- the pact will have been ratified by the necessary 55 countries that accounted for at least 55 percent of global emissions in 1990."
(FULL LINK FROM CNN)
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The Russian Duma just gave the greenlight to support the Kyoto Protocol.
"MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Russia's lower house of parliament ratified the Kyoto Protocol on combating global warming Friday, putting the sweeping environmental pact firmly on the road to realization.
The State Duma voted 334-73 to approve the treaty which gives industrialized nations eight years to cut their collective emissions of six key greenhouse gases to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels.
Once approved by Russia's upper house and President Vladimir Putin -- which is all but expected -- the pact will have been ratified by the necessary 55 countries that accounted for at least 55 percent of global emissions in 1990."
(FULL LINK FROM CNN)
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FINANCIAL TIMES RUNS OUR OP-ED ON CARBON TRADING
The FT ran our op-ed today on the false hope of carbon trading:
We must reduce fossil fuel use, not trade carbon
By Michael K Dorsey
Published: October 21 2004 03:00
Michael K. Dorsey, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, Dartmouth College, US Soumitra Ghosh, National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers, India
Jutta Kill, Sinks Watch, UK
Larry Lohmann, The Corner House, UK
Daphne Wysham, Sustainable Energy and Economy Network, Institute for Policy Studies, US Tamra Gilbertson and Heidi Bachram, Carbon Trade Watch, Transnational Institute, The Netherlands
Anne Petermann, Co-Director, Global Justice Ecology Project, US
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The FT ran our op-ed today on the false hope of carbon trading:
We must reduce fossil fuel use, not trade carbon
By Michael K Dorsey
Published: October 21 2004 03:00
From Prof Michael K. Dorsey and others.
Sir, The recent boom in the carbon market may be exciting for the financial services industry and the International Petroleum Exchange, but it is not good news either for the climate or for poorer communities in the line of fire of global warming.
Averting climate crisis means, above all else, reducing investment in and use of fossil fuels. Carbon trading is designed to do just the opposite: to allow big fossil fuel users to delay reductions by buying their way out of trouble or by building new dumps (such as tree plantations) to park their carbon in temporarily.
The losers include not only the climate and the communities threatened most by sea level rises and other effects of global warming. They also include the communities that have to absorb the worst pollution from the hydrocarbon industry, whether near drilling sites in the Niger delta, refinery areas such as Durban, power plant clusters in poor North American neighbourhoods, or elsewhere.
Other losers include communities affected by new carbon "dump" projects, such as the peasants and indigenous peoples opposing carbon finance for land-gobbling eucalyptus plantations in Brazil.
"Giving carbon a price" will not prove to be any more effective, democratic or conducive to human welfare than giving genes, forests, biodiversity or clean rivers a price. There is no point in governments, export credit agencies, corporations and international financial institutions constructing a carbon market with one hand while, with the other, continuing to finance fossil fuel developments and forest destruction and dedicating only token sums to renewable energy.
Signed by:Michael K. Dorsey, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, Dartmouth College, US Soumitra Ghosh, National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers, India
Jutta Kill, Sinks Watch, UK
Larry Lohmann, The Corner House, UK
Daphne Wysham, Sustainable Energy and Economy Network, Institute for Policy Studies, US Tamra Gilbertson and Heidi Bachram, Carbon Trade Watch, Transnational Institute, The Netherlands
Anne Petermann, Co-Director, Global Justice Ecology Project, US
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RUMOR MILL
Who wants to head the UN?
Friends in the glass tower on the East River passed me this:
"Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has set his sights on becoming U.N. secretary-general. A Clinton insider and a senior U.N. source have told United Press International the 56-year-old former president would like to be named leader of the world body when Kofi Annan's term ends early in 2006.
"Behind the scenes China is already pushing the candidacy of Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, who also seems to have U.S. support. If Clinton does emerge as a candidate, however, China would most likely shift its support, the experts say."
(FULL LINK)
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Who wants to head the UN?
Friends in the glass tower on the East River passed me this:
"Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has set his sights on becoming U.N. secretary-general. A Clinton insider and a senior U.N. source have told United Press International the 56-year-old former president would like to be named leader of the world body when Kofi Annan's term ends early in 2006.
"Behind the scenes China is already pushing the candidacy of Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, who also seems to have U.S. support. If Clinton does emerge as a candidate, however, China would most likely shift its support, the experts say."
(FULL LINK)
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20.10.04
Human Genome Pioneer Joins AusBiotech 2004 - Unravelling the Genetic Code of Australia’s Biodiversity
AusBiotech, Australia’s Biotechnology Organisation, is pleased to announce that Dr Craig Venter, the man who cracked the human genetic code, will address delegates at ClubBioDiversity, the official Satellite meeting of the AusBiotech 2004 National ‘Going Global’ Biotechnology Conference in November.
Long since Dr Venter armed himself with a powerful set of gene-sequencing machines and unravelled the human genome years before its expected completion, today Dr Venter is turning to the enormous potential that exists in the biodiversity of our planet. (full link)
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AusBiotech, Australia’s Biotechnology Organisation, is pleased to announce that Dr Craig Venter, the man who cracked the human genetic code, will address delegates at ClubBioDiversity, the official Satellite meeting of the AusBiotech 2004 National ‘Going Global’ Biotechnology Conference in November.
Long since Dr Venter armed himself with a powerful set of gene-sequencing machines and unravelled the human genome years before its expected completion, today Dr Venter is turning to the enormous potential that exists in the biodiversity of our planet. (full link)
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In Wartime, Deceit Can Be the Better Part of Valor
(follow-up to: August piece)In August some folks shared with me some info on a leak by Bush Admin folks on an al Qaeda operative. Here is a very noteworthy follow-up on that matter...
By Michael Schrage
When "unnamed U.S. government officials" leaked the story this fall that al Qaeda computer expert Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan had been arrested in Pakistan, media reports described British and Pakistani intelligence officials as furious about the resulting firestorm of coverage. Officials were quoted as saying that the news had blown a global sting operation by destroying Khan's value as a "double agent" who'd been turned against his al Qaeda colleagues. U.S. senators and British MPs on both sides of the aisle publicly deplored this shocking intelligence "debacle."
What a terrific story. But was any of it -- Khan's purported role as a double agent, the outrage of intelligence officers -- really true? There's a good chance that much of it wasn't.
(full link from Cryptome.org)
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COMMENT AND VOTE ON MY ARTICLE
Share the World's Resources released my piece on "Democratic Control of Corporate Crime" at last week's European Social Forum.
Review it and others on their site.
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Share the World's Resources released my piece on "Democratic Control of Corporate Crime" at last week's European Social Forum.
Review it and others on their site.
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19.10.04
European Environment and Health Ministers's blood contaminated by 55 industrial chemicals
The WWF performed blood tests on fourteen European Environment and Health Ministers in June 2004 and found out that they are contaminated with dozens of industrial chemicals, including those used in fire-resistant sofas, non-stick pans, grease proof-pizza boxes, flexible PVC, fragrances, pesticides, and twenty two PCBs. Some are still in use today although they were banned decades ago. (Report pdf)
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The WWF performed blood tests on fourteen European Environment and Health Ministers in June 2004 and found out that they are contaminated with dozens of industrial chemicals, including those used in fire-resistant sofas, non-stick pans, grease proof-pizza boxes, flexible PVC, fragrances, pesticides, and twenty two PCBs. Some are still in use today although they were banned decades ago. (Report pdf)
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UN Revisits Cloning Treaty
This week the United Nations is scheduled to vote on a human cloning ban, and U.S. policy will play a big part in the outcome.
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This week the United Nations is scheduled to vote on a human cloning ban, and U.S. policy will play a big part in the outcome.
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Coming soon: babies with three biological parents
"UK medical authorities say they will almost certainly approve the application in the next few weeks. The aim of the technique is to prevent mothers passing on degenerative genetic diseases to their children. But campaigners say it could lead to significant increases in elderly women having children. They also claim it represents an unacceptable step towards the creation of designer babies.
"'By creating a child with three genetic parents, these scientists are taking the first step towards genetic engineering of human beings. That is not a direction in which we should be going,' said Dr David King, director of Human Genetics Alert."
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"UK medical authorities say they will almost certainly approve the application in the next few weeks. The aim of the technique is to prevent mothers passing on degenerative genetic diseases to their children. But campaigners say it could lead to significant increases in elderly women having children. They also claim it represents an unacceptable step towards the creation of designer babies.
"'By creating a child with three genetic parents, these scientists are taking the first step towards genetic engineering of human beings. That is not a direction in which we should be going,' said Dr David King, director of Human Genetics Alert."
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18.10.04
Muslim Peacekeepers? ... 'Absolutely not'--says US President.
Yet another reason to get rid of him.
(via Kos) "President George W. Bush has rebuffed a plan for a Muslim peacekeeping force that would have helped the United Nations organize elections in Iraq, according to Saudi and Iraqi officials.
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Yet another reason to get rid of him.
(via Kos) "President George W. Bush has rebuffed a plan for a Muslim peacekeeping force that would have helped the United Nations organize elections in Iraq, according to Saudi and Iraqi officials.
"As a result, the UN continues to have a skeletal presence in Iraq, with only four staff members working full time on preparing for elections set for the end of January. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has refused to establish a new UN headquarters in Baghdad unless countries commit troops for a special force to protect it." (full link)
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According to the Pew Hispanic Center's Wealth Report the most recent recession has hit hardest among blacks and Hispanics.
The report using government data finds that the money gap between whites and blacks and Hispanics has grown even larger after the most recent economic downturn.
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17.10.04
Bush's Operative & Bag Man
Looks like another of Dubya's operatives is up to no good:
From Naomi Klein: "Bush's special envoy, James Baker, is asking countries to forgive Iraq's debts even as he tries to recover $27 billion from Iraq on behalf of the Carlyle Group."
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Looks like another of Dubya's operatives is up to no good:
From Naomi Klein: "Bush's special envoy, James Baker, is asking countries to forgive Iraq's debts even as he tries to recover $27 billion from Iraq on behalf of the Carlyle Group."
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Visualize the News
Ever wonder the relative size of a story compared to all the rest of the news?
Now you can find your answer with Newsmap. (Click here)
(WARNING: You will need a high speed connection)
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Ever wonder the relative size of a story compared to all the rest of the news?
Now you can find your answer with Newsmap. (Click here)
(WARNING: You will need a high speed connection)
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16.10.04
Look at this insane video of Bush addressing the Iraq Survey Group --surreal. Easy to understand once we recognize were are in a proto-dictatorship with imperial politicians on the loose. Sources say someone form the ISG leaked it to Kos but the references to David Kay seem to indicate that it was made some time ago.
(via Mat Yglesias)|
15.10.04
A coalition of U.S.-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has petitioned the United Nations seeking international observers to monitor the upcoming U.S. presidential elections. (via IPS Wire)
(FULL STORY)
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(FULL STORY)
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Friends at underCurrents have put out a call for videos and films for:
5th Video Activist Documentary Festival
November 19th-20th 2004
19-20 Tachwedd 2004
Patti Pavilion, Oystermouth Road, Swansea, Wales, UK
5th Video Activist Documentary Festival
November 19th-20th 2004
19-20 Tachwedd 2004
Patti Pavilion, Oystermouth Road, Swansea, Wales, UK
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14.10.04
Carbon reaching danger level says UK scientist
The UK government's leading scientist says levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere already represent a danger.
Professor Sir David King told a London audience the world had to adapt to prepare for significant changes ahead, and also to reduce greenhouse gases.
He said climate change was "the most serious issue facing us this century and beyond", needing global solutions.
On present trends, Sir David said, the world was just 60 years from triggering an irreversible climate disaster.
Sir David, the government's chief scientific adviser, was delivering the annual Greenpeace business lecture, entitled Global Warming: The Science Of Climate Change - The Imperatives For Action.
'Tipping point'
He said measurements of atmospheric CO2 taken at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii, and published earlier this year, were significant.
(FULL LINK)
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The UK government's leading scientist says levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere already represent a danger.
Professor Sir David King told a London audience the world had to adapt to prepare for significant changes ahead, and also to reduce greenhouse gases.
He said climate change was "the most serious issue facing us this century and beyond", needing global solutions.
On present trends, Sir David said, the world was just 60 years from triggering an irreversible climate disaster.
Sir David, the government's chief scientific adviser, was delivering the annual Greenpeace business lecture, entitled Global Warming: The Science Of Climate Change - The Imperatives For Action.
'Tipping point'
He said measurements of atmospheric CO2 taken at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii, and published earlier this year, were significant.
(FULL LINK)
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A mountain of blog chatter on "Was the President wearing a wire...?"
Of course he was. Duh!
Let us consider the materialist orientation:
Thus:
James Atkinson (http://www.tscm.com) writes:
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Of course he was. Duh!
Let us consider the materialist orientation:
Thus:
James Atkinson (http://www.tscm.com) writes:
I have carefully reviewed the image that was taken during the Presidential debates where picture was obtained from the back which show an interesting bulge.First, the President is likely wearing body armor. The jacket is not concealing the armor well and it is "printing though" his clothing.
Second, there are four elements that appear to be "printing" on the back of his suit coat. While it is impossible to identify the system, we can review various equiment of the same size and shape.
1. A "box" section of the device which appears to be located between his shoulder blades, and just over his spine. This is the "bodypack."
2) A wire running vertically up his back across his shoulder blade.
3) A shadow behind his right ear may be an ear-piece, but it is difficult to tell due to the poor resolution of the picture. It would be most unwise for a public figure to use an ear piece that was visible, so this may just be a shadow.
4) There appears to be something actually IN his ear, and it is likely a monitor or cueing prompter.
A system like this works by receiving a signal from a wireless microphone being used by a coach or advisor who is speaking to the person wearing the system. The "bodypack" receives the signal and supplies the coaching or cueing to the ear canal by either a hard wire, or though a magnetic neck loop induction system. The covert neck loop systems are very popular in cases where the speaker does not want the public to know they are being coached.
The frequencies for these units are very well known, and someone can sit outside many concerts with radio monitoring gear and listen to the assistants reading the words to the songs to the musicians, coaching them what to say, and quite often someone can sit outside a comedy club and listen to one-liners to cue the comedians and entertainers. Around political events these types of systems are very, very popular as the politician can have a half dozen members of his staff feeding him data, thus creating the illusion the suit has a clue of what he speaks.
When the president visited Boston back in March 2004 he stayed at the Park Plaza Hotel. The signal from the system he was using could clearly be heard 1500+ feet away, and one of his advisors could be heard doing voice checks and then feeding him data about the school he was about to visit.
The funny thing about these kinds of system is that mischief makers can set up a transmitter thousands of feet away and feed persons bogus data, and really cause them to screw up their public appearances.
Here are links to some of the more popular systems the government uses, and one which the White House has purchased over the past few years.
http://shure.com/pdf/specsheets/spec_psm/psm700.pdf
http://www.comtek.com/IFBCueing/ifbcueing.html
I can supply you with frequency tables for the more popular systems they are using.
SEE:
http://www.comtek.com/IFBCueing/ifbcueing.html
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13.10.04
The Real Deal on Maathai's Nobel...
(original in Norwegian from Africa.no)
Jubilation and anxiety as Maathai's Nobel Prize is celebrated
By Nixon Ng'ang'a
Unable to conceal his excitement, President Mwai Kibaki declared Prof
Wangari Maathai's Nobel Peace Prize an honour that had thrown the country
into a celebratory mood.
But beyond the clinking of glasses and the deserved toast to the singular
achievement of his Environment assistant minister, Kibaki was faced with the
one task he hates: pondering political rearrangements and adjustments.
The international prominence that attends those who win the Nobel Peace
Prize makes it near impossible to keep Prof Maathai in her relatively junior
post.
The international prominence that attends those who win the Nobel Peace
Prize makes it near impossible to keep Prof Maathai in her relatively junior
post.
Her current position could also prove tricky for her immediate boss,
Environment Minister Kalonzo Musyoka. Having a global icon as your deputy
has its inherent discomforts - even when the latter is a deliberately modest
character like Prof Maathai.
Her win enables her to join a select elite of political and social icons in
the league of Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Jimmy Carter.
As with previous winners of the same prize, international engagements and
liaisons with the world's who-is-who beckon. Essentially, it means it is now
much far easier for her than for Kibaki to meet, for instance, US President
George Bush or UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
The least Kibaki can do is to elevate her to a full ministerial position.
But in a country where Cabinet posts are politically delicate, ethnic and
regional balancing acts, such a promotion has implications that may not
necessarily be in sync with Kibaki's wishes.
Nyeri, the President's home district, currently has one Minister, Dr Chris
Murungaru, with Prof Maathai as the only assistant Minister. The two are not
exactly good friends, and her elevation could potentially alter the region's
political balance.
In a government ravaged by factional bickering, Prof Maathai has been
anything but anyone's cheerleader. She may be striving to be above the
incessant feuds between coalition partners Liberal Democratic Party and
National Alliance Party of Kenya - but insiders of Kibaki's kitchen cabinet
are not exactly her best friends.
Her public comments urging for honouring of the contentious Memorandum of
Understanding - the genesis of the Narc disunity - have been interpreted as
betraying sympathies to LDP.
With a Sh108.8 million cash prize, global acclaim that is certain to last
for a while and relatively "young" at 64, there is no reason for Prof
Maathai to tame her ambitions. It is among the factors Kibaki must weigh
against his expected running for re-election.
Away from political consideration, the former veterinary lecturer in flowing
Kitenge dress, some dreadlocks sneaking into view from under her headscarf,
unflattering shoes and when not in Parliament, an even unusual-looking
kiondo, is not your ideal Nobel Prize winner.
History making is however nothing new to her. In 1966, she made history by
becoming the first Kenyan woman to be awarded a Masters degree in Biological
Sciences.
Three years later, she became the first Kenyan woman lecturer at the
Department of Veterinary Anatomy. In 1975, she made history as the first
woman to head the department - before setting more records as the first
woman Associate Professor in the department the following year.
But it is her ability to see the environmental (read trees) link in just
about any issue on the planet that marks her out as truly committed to her
course. Her obsession can be amusing. While everyone mourns Aids for
decimating the most productive cadre of the society, Prof Maathai's main
concern is that with every death, another tree will have to be felled to
make wood for the coffin.
While those opposed to tobacco, and specifically cigarettes, see the
immediate health risks, Prof Maathai's grouse is that kilns for curing
tobacco consume too much wood fuel, thus encouraging deforestation.
But beyond the material simplicity is a tough, focused and relentless woman
who is unafraid to lock horns with opponents - especially to her
environmental cause - even when the spotlight turned to her potentially
embarrassing private life.
Kanu and the Australia-born media mogul Robert Maxwell discovered just that
in 1989 when Prof Maathai came on top of the battle to stop the construction
of the proposed 60-storey Kenya Times Media Complex at Uhuru Park.
As would be the case with protests against the grabbing of Karura Forest in
1999, Prof Maathai through her Greenbelt Movement established in 1977,
argued serious environmental degradation would surely follow.
She was also active in fighting political aggression. In 1991, she led
mothers of political prisoners in stripping at Uhuru Park to demand the
release of their children.
(VIA Debate SA)
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(original in Norwegian from Africa.no)
Jubilation and anxiety as Maathai's Nobel Prize is celebrated
By Nixon Ng'ang'a
Unable to conceal his excitement, President Mwai Kibaki declared Prof
Wangari Maathai's Nobel Peace Prize an honour that had thrown the country
into a celebratory mood.
But beyond the clinking of glasses and the deserved toast to the singular
achievement of his Environment assistant minister, Kibaki was faced with the
one task he hates: pondering political rearrangements and adjustments.
The international prominence that attends those who win the Nobel Peace
Prize makes it near impossible to keep Prof Maathai in her relatively junior
post.
The international prominence that attends those who win the Nobel Peace
Prize makes it near impossible to keep Prof Maathai in her relatively junior
post.
Her current position could also prove tricky for her immediate boss,
Environment Minister Kalonzo Musyoka. Having a global icon as your deputy
has its inherent discomforts - even when the latter is a deliberately modest
character like Prof Maathai.
Her win enables her to join a select elite of political and social icons in
the league of Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Jimmy Carter.
As with previous winners of the same prize, international engagements and
liaisons with the world's who-is-who beckon. Essentially, it means it is now
much far easier for her than for Kibaki to meet, for instance, US President
George Bush or UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
The least Kibaki can do is to elevate her to a full ministerial position.
But in a country where Cabinet posts are politically delicate, ethnic and
regional balancing acts, such a promotion has implications that may not
necessarily be in sync with Kibaki's wishes.
Nyeri, the President's home district, currently has one Minister, Dr Chris
Murungaru, with Prof Maathai as the only assistant Minister. The two are not
exactly good friends, and her elevation could potentially alter the region's
political balance.
In a government ravaged by factional bickering, Prof Maathai has been
anything but anyone's cheerleader. She may be striving to be above the
incessant feuds between coalition partners Liberal Democratic Party and
National Alliance Party of Kenya - but insiders of Kibaki's kitchen cabinet
are not exactly her best friends.
Her public comments urging for honouring of the contentious Memorandum of
Understanding - the genesis of the Narc disunity - have been interpreted as
betraying sympathies to LDP.
With a Sh108.8 million cash prize, global acclaim that is certain to last
for a while and relatively "young" at 64, there is no reason for Prof
Maathai to tame her ambitions. It is among the factors Kibaki must weigh
against his expected running for re-election.
Away from political consideration, the former veterinary lecturer in flowing
Kitenge dress, some dreadlocks sneaking into view from under her headscarf,
unflattering shoes and when not in Parliament, an even unusual-looking
kiondo, is not your ideal Nobel Prize winner.
History making is however nothing new to her. In 1966, she made history by
becoming the first Kenyan woman to be awarded a Masters degree in Biological
Sciences.
Three years later, she became the first Kenyan woman lecturer at the
Department of Veterinary Anatomy. In 1975, she made history as the first
woman to head the department - before setting more records as the first
woman Associate Professor in the department the following year.
But it is her ability to see the environmental (read trees) link in just
about any issue on the planet that marks her out as truly committed to her
course. Her obsession can be amusing. While everyone mourns Aids for
decimating the most productive cadre of the society, Prof Maathai's main
concern is that with every death, another tree will have to be felled to
make wood for the coffin.
While those opposed to tobacco, and specifically cigarettes, see the
immediate health risks, Prof Maathai's grouse is that kilns for curing
tobacco consume too much wood fuel, thus encouraging deforestation.
But beyond the material simplicity is a tough, focused and relentless woman
who is unafraid to lock horns with opponents - especially to her
environmental cause - even when the spotlight turned to her potentially
embarrassing private life.
Kanu and the Australia-born media mogul Robert Maxwell discovered just that
in 1989 when Prof Maathai came on top of the battle to stop the construction
of the proposed 60-storey Kenya Times Media Complex at Uhuru Park.
As would be the case with protests against the grabbing of Karura Forest in
1999, Prof Maathai through her Greenbelt Movement established in 1977,
argued serious environmental degradation would surely follow.
She was also active in fighting political aggression. In 1991, she led
mothers of political prisoners in stripping at Uhuru Park to demand the
release of their children.
(VIA Debate SA)
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12.10.04
Senator to close office on election day...
(AP Wire) WASHINGTON A Democratic senator says he's closing his Washington office -- through the election -- because of a security threat
Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton says the top-secret intelligence report made him fear for his staff's safety.
Dayton says his office in the Russell Senate Office Building across the street from the Capitol will be closed while Congress is in recess through Election Day. He says his staff will work out of his Minnesota office and in Senate space off Capitol Hill.
Dayton says he can't reveal details of the intelligence report, which he says Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee presented to senators at a briefing two weeks ago.
(VIA LudovicSpeaks)
ANALYSIS:
Recall & remember that Ben Affleck film...if you're at a big event and the secret service rushes the president away, you should run too.
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(AP Wire) WASHINGTON A Democratic senator says he's closing his Washington office -- through the election -- because of a security threat
Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton says the top-secret intelligence report made him fear for his staff's safety.
Dayton says his office in the Russell Senate Office Building across the street from the Capitol will be closed while Congress is in recess through Election Day. He says his staff will work out of his Minnesota office and in Senate space off Capitol Hill.
Dayton says he can't reveal details of the intelligence report, which he says Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee presented to senators at a briefing two weeks ago.
(VIA LudovicSpeaks)
ANALYSIS:
Recall & remember that Ben Affleck film...if you're at a big event and the secret service rushes the president away, you should run too.
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11.10.04
STWR to distribute my Corporate Crime Memo (Version 1.0)
At the coming European Social Forum (14-17 Oct), Share the World's Resources will distribute the first edition of my Corporate Crime Memo (Version 1.0). It very briefly, scopes the extent of current corporate crime. The memo (some might say manifesto) is also part of a new project with folks at Friends of the Earth International, Groundwork South Africa and the Center for Environmental Health. (Comments and provocations on this appreciated.)
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At the coming European Social Forum (14-17 Oct), Share the World's Resources will distribute the first edition of my Corporate Crime Memo (Version 1.0). It very briefly, scopes the extent of current corporate crime. The memo (some might say manifesto) is also part of a new project with folks at Friends of the Earth International, Groundwork South Africa and the Center for Environmental Health. (Comments and provocations on this appreciated.)
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FBI Seizes IndyMedia Servers; Uses MLAT
(October 8, 2004) Indymedia has learned that the request to seize Indymedia servers hosted by a US company in the UK originated from government agencies in Italy and Switzerland. More than 20 Indymedia sites, several internet radio streams and other projects were hosted on the servers. They were taken offline on October 7th after an order was issued to Rackspace, Inc., one of Indymedia's web hosting providers.
Joi Ito notes, "In past, Indymedia has done stuff like posting photos of undercover police officers. However, according to Indymedia, the "FBI asked for the Nantes post on swiss police to be removed, but admitted no laws were violated". This time the FBI has not told them what they've done wrong and Rackspace is under a gag order so they can't even tell Indymedia exactly what hardware they removed."
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(October 8, 2004) Indymedia has learned that the request to seize Indymedia servers hosted by a US company in the UK originated from government agencies in Italy and Switzerland. More than 20 Indymedia sites, several internet radio streams and other projects were hosted on the servers. They were taken offline on October 7th after an order was issued to Rackspace, Inc., one of Indymedia's web hosting providers.
Joi Ito notes, "In past, Indymedia has done stuff like posting photos of undercover police officers. However, according to Indymedia, the "FBI asked for the Nantes post on swiss police to be removed, but admitted no laws were violated". This time the FBI has not told them what they've done wrong and Rackspace is under a gag order so they can't even tell Indymedia exactly what hardware they removed."
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