In another first class article Ramzy Baroud looks back at the Iraq invasion, Gaza and other matters in the Middle East. He starts with the observation about,” When the Iraqi army fell before invading U.S. and British troops in 2003, the latter’s mission seemed to be accomplished. But nearly eight years after the start of [...]
Archive for December, 2010
A former UK ambassador talks about the use of torture by the UK and the US
December 31, 2010
Craig Murray was a former UK ambassador and during a recent talk he gave some very chilling insights into the use of torture by both the US and the UK. He commences with the background to his appointment when he says in a Real News Site at link. “ You know, I was a British [...]
Torture,and US Black Sites
December 31, 2010
The US always has a way of squirming out of anything remotely looking like a commitment. Take the so called position with Black Sites. That interesting term refers to just how the imperial project seeks to torture people in another country and thereby escape, they hope, any sanctions against them for its highly unlawful behaviour. [...]
63 per cent against the Afghan war in the US
December 31, 2010
As far as public opinion is concerned the madness that drives the imperial project in Afghanistan mixes with the US desire to secure oil pipelines and gas strategies and produces an atmosphere where it will take some catastrophic losses in the area before there is a political rethink. The same applies to Australia, the recent [...]
Assange and living in fear
December 31, 2010
It seems that Assange is working on an insurance policy, and who can blame him. He has been looking into the teeth of stupid US politicians who have shown their murderously true colours in calling for his assassination. Jason Ditz has written a short piece at the Anti War site at link that says quite [...]
Killing and maiming the newborn in Iraq. Imperial project style
December 31, 2010
When you are in the killing business as the imperial project is the future can be made very grim for those populations that have the sheer audacity to oppose you taking whatever you can lay your hands on. In Iraq a study has been underway into birth defects in Fallujah following the horrendous assault on [...]
Is this the new ‘Holding Company’?
December 30, 2010
There is another brief report at the Anti War site at link. It is always nice to see the occasional General breaking ranks with other murderers, including politicians, when the pressure gets a bit too tough. This time it a German from the NATO extermination brigades that has not chosen his words in a conventional [...]
Freeze, thaw then severe water problems
December 30, 2010
In an article at the Guardian site at link it seems that there has been a terrible consequence to the big freeze and subsequent thaw in the UK. Watermains have burst and parts of Ireland have been without water for some time. If it continues it could become quite catastrophic. The guardian reports that,” As [...]
Pepe Escobar on Wikileaks
December 29, 2010
It is always a pleasure reading anything by Pepe Escobar. What follows is one of his latest pieces that concentrates on Assange and Wikileaks. You can see the article at the Asia Times site at link. The article is titled, “Emperor waits in wings with waterboard” A lot has been written about Wikileaks but you [...]
The US-Getting good and even better at killing
December 29, 2010
This page has constantly pointed out how the imperial project requires war and conflict to keep its agenda for hegemony afloat. Capital itself requires the same efforts to keep the massive expenditure going and ensuring that the equally massive profits in a very very few pockets. As a result the poor, oppressed, marginalised and abused [...]
Torture and the truth
December 28, 2010
In line with some of the worst practices in totalitarian regimes the Israeli method of extracting confessions iscontinuing. Palestinians are subjected to some od the most basic forms of mental and physical abuse as this so called “only democracy in the Middle East” continues its declared policies of ethnic cleansing, transfer and complete oppression of [...]
Obama and lies and deceptions
December 28, 2010
As the lame duck US President tries to aquirm and crawl his way from one crisis to another. At least those who saw it all coming can take some pride in their insight. The oily speeches, the false hopes and the lies thrust on his kegion of supporters will haunt him for a long tiime [...]
Monbiot-inequality-elderly deaths from the cold
December 28, 2010
George Monbiot has produced an interesting piece on elderly deaths, inequality and cold weather in the UK. It is the role of inequality tthat is extremely important in the article which you can read at link. He commences with this observation,” Roughly twice as many people, per capita, die here than in Scandanavia and other [...]
When you can print as much money as you like you just keep spending
December 26, 2010
When you are in the business of printing money you have to spend, spend, spend. The imperial project requires war and conflict on a continuing basis. So what follows should come as no surprise,” Defying Beltway expectations, both chambers of Congress approved a $724.6 billion defense bill for the current fiscal year. Congress was feeling [...]
Internet neutrality- is it on the line?
December 26, 2010
For those of you who treasure the ability the net can give you to look at other opinions not often available in the mainstream media or that is hidden from view by the hegemons that run the imperial project and the capital economy there is a very good article at the guardian site at link. [...]
Internet neutrality- is it on the line?
December 26, 2010
For those of you who treasure the ability the net can give you to look at other opinions not often available in the mainstream media or that is hidden from view by the hegemons that run the imperial project and the capital economy there is a very good article at the guardian site at link. [...]
2010 interactive site at the Guardian
December 26, 2010
The Guardian has a very interesting interactive year site at link. It allows you to add your own material as well as look at theirs. All in all a top class effort. George Ikners ikners.com joomla
The Israeli way of making meaningful discussion go away
December 26, 2010
The words and the lyrics never seem tio change in the song played out in the US Congress and no doubt around the world. There are some who would like to or perhaps even love to state that they oppose the monstrous Israeli treatment of the Palestinians. It defies logic and commonsense to imagine that [...]
Atwan on Wikileaks Israel and Diplomacy
December 25, 2010
Whenever you need a concise appraisal of current events it is always good to look at opinions expressed by Abdel Bari Atwan. In a recents editorial he discusses the Wikileaks and Israeli involvement. In the process he draws a very valuable distinction between material that discloses and material that confirms. In his view the previous [...]
A statement from a women’s group in Afghanistan
December 22, 2010
What follows is a statement by RAWA in Afghanistan. It is titled, ”Peace with Criminals, War with People! And it is a,” Statement of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) on “Consultative Peace Jirga” It really speaks for itself and the statement follows. (George Ikners ikners.com Joomla)
Must watch videos at the Real News Site
December 22, 2010
There are two excellent videos available at the Real News site. The first concerns a lawsuit in Ecuador about the enormous environmental damage done by Texaco (now Chevron) during oil exploration in the past 30 years. One major impediment to the lawsuit is the fact that a settlement together with a release from future liability [...]
Michael Moore and the Bush Administration- happenings in New Zealand
December 22, 2010
More of the Wikileaks at the Guardian site (link) show up the fact that,” the US government under George Bush really loathed the documentary filmmaker Michael Moore.” True to the diplomats code of searching out the truth and reporting the real facts what emerges is that,” US diplomats in Havana falsely claimed Cuba had banned [...]
Killing civilians in Afghanistan
December 22, 2010
Jason Ditz at the Anti War site has written about civilian deaths and casualties in the war in Afghanistan. These are the facts and in some cases the figures you hardly ever see in the local press and media here in Australia. The article is at link. And no it is not a report from [...]
UK diplomats, talking out of school
December 22, 2010
When it comes to spy guys and gals you really do not have to have a tiny miniature camera, hidden listening devices and of course a magnifying glass. This is an extract from a Guardian article (link) about expelling diplomats from the UK. It may make good reading for those of you see that the [...]
The benefit of UK torture techniques
December 22, 2010
It seems that according to a Wikileaks report in the Guardian that UK training in torture techniques was standard issue to Bangladeshi Rapid Action Battalion. You can see the article at link. From the material the article says that.” Bangladeshi ‘death squad’ trained by UK government Rapid Action Battalion, accused of hundreds of extra-judicial killings, [...]
The $30 billion buses
December 21, 2010
At Gilad Atzmon’s site you can look at a video from Seattle in the US. It is a local Seattle news presentation that features advertising on the sides of buses. People are asked their thoughts and give them to various reporters. The group leader that is using the advertising also gives his point of view. [...]
Another Downer but still born to the Libaral Party
December 21, 2010
Every great Diplomat has his or her day. The same goes for Ministers of State. Alexander Downer’s contribution to matters requiring delicacy and honesty you mat think is often not what it seems or is said to be. Usually you are howled down by his supporters and told of his many achievements, if they can [...]
Baroud on Palestine and the continuing struggle
December 21, 2010
Here is another first rate offering from Ramzy Baroud who is an internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story (Pluto Press, London), now available on Amazon.com. It describes in vivid, lucid and logical terms the difficulties confronting Palestinians in their continuing struggle [...]
Syria and the Ukraine
December 21, 2010
A name that keeps surfacing in places like Al Jazeera and the Asian Times is that of Sami Moubayed, who is the editor of Forward Magazine in Syria. Some of his articles have been included in material on this site so you may find the following article primarily about Syrian-Ukraine relations of interest. The article [...]
Statistics and the other sides of the coin
December 21, 2010
There are times when figures simply do not state the trues position. In a recebt article at the Guardian site, Polly Toynbee deals with census type matters and related occurrences. You can read the full article at link However the final paragraph is extremely interesting it commences in this way,” (And) consider another census error [...]
Monbiot-The UK Cold Snap and Global Warming
December 21, 2010
In another interesting article George Monbiot discusses the recent cold weayher in the UK and global warming he suggests that,” Yes, the extreme cold in the UK right now really could be a result of global warming. The article is titles Cold Burn you can look at it at link. (George Ikners ikners.com Joomla)
Islamophobia Manufacturing Hatred and Fear
December 21, 2010
There is a very good article at the Tom Dispatch site. It is written by,” Max Blumenthal (who) is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Beast, the Nation, the Huffington Post, the Independent Film Channel, Salon.com, Al Jazeera English, and other publications. He [...]
Guardian link
December 18, 2010
This is the link to the Guardian’s site for the complete list of Wikileaks US Embassy releases http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/the-us-embassy-cables
Some thoughts on Iran and sanctions
December 18, 2010
In an interesting article at link on the Al Jazeera site, Reza Efandiari makes several very good points about sanctions used against countries with an ability to fight off the constraints imposed. Efandiari reaches a point where he observes that,” Because of American-led economic sanctions, Iran has now taken measures to cease the old practice [...]
The BBC and opinionated journalism
December 18, 2010
Just in case you thought that truth and some sense of precision was necessary in media reporting and that it is that proposition that is under attack from the likes of Rupert Murdoch, rest easy because the BBC has joined in. What the looming battle is for is politely called “opinionated journalism”. What he said [...]
Deal makers step up to make a run for a conviction
December 18, 2010
It does not seem to matter what jurisdiction you are in, when the going gets rough for the prosecution, the prosecution gets down and dirty. There’s nothing better than an informer to the prosecution when they are missing a vital link. So out go the feelers and often all sorts of sewer sludge emerge to [...]
Q and A on Assange and the Swedish allegations
December 18, 2010
There is an interesting Q and A on Assange at the Guardian site at http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/17/julian-assange-q-and-a It will give you a short form guide to Assange and the allegations against him. Remember that in recent years the EU has become quite extradition crazy. Poland seems to be getting people some as old as 80 extradited to [...]
The Australian treatment of its murdered and arrested citizens
December 18, 2010
For whatever reasons Australia has always gone overboard to shore up and strengthen a relationship with Indonesia. Even when the government seems to be critical of Indonesia there is usually nothing more done than just that. It is all empty words often spoken by some of the so called luminaries of the right wing Labor [...]
Drones the killing weapon of choice in the push button war
December 18, 2010
Do you remember the wonderful Australian gesture to grant the Atomics Corporation the right to mine uranium. All done by courtesy of the ex rock and roller Garrett, Minister at that time for mistakes and nonsense and the relied on figurehead to tell the public the bad news about the governments lack of initiative on [...]
Rice blunders Bush watches on we all pay
December 17, 2010
Here is another way of seeing some pretty screwed up thinking from 2 people who had their fingers far too close to buttons capable of launching the final destination for the planet. It comes from an article by Sami Moubayed at Al Jazeera (link) What is really shows is how those undeservedly in power see [...]
Major protest from Get Up and many others in the US
December 17, 2010
a recent protest in the US among those arrested were Daniel Ellsberg, Ray McGovern and others. Ellsberg talked about the fact that he wanted more Bradley Mannings. The protest was organised by the Australian group Get Up. The Get up full page advertisements in major news outlets in the US. Chris Hedges a write with [...]
How Israel is treating Palestinian children
December 17, 2010
Jonathan Cook has produced an article that is available at the Sabbah site at link. You may find it a very important topic and as a result it is reproduced here in full. Cook starts with the comment that,” Israeli police have been criticized over their treatment of hundreds of Palestinian children, some as young [...]
Afghanistan we’re there to stay no matter what you say
December 17, 2010
If you think there is some real flexibility in the US approach to the invasion of Afghansitan a recent article at the Anti War site may interest you. It appears that the US to use a term they apply to al-Qa’ida is “hunkering down” To put it more bluntly those in power are slowly but [...]
Tracking in an invasion the US in Afghanistan
December 17, 2010
It seems that Obama may have a different view, along with his wonderful military advisers as to what “on track” means. You do not have to be a passenger on a railway train, all stops, express or super fast to at least have an idea what the term means. This latest report from the Guardian [...]
India and the use of torture
December 17, 2010
In a situation that has been widely held to be true for many years Indian efforts regarding the use of torture are now the subject of some Wikileaks documents. In an article at the Guardian site the headline is,” India accused of systematic use of torture in Kashmir” The article continues to say that, “Beatings [...]
Gaza blockade a perspective from UK Amnesty International
December 16, 2010
There is a fascinating article at the Sabbah site by, Kate Allen who is the Director of Amnesty International UK. You can read the article at link. Ms Allen comeenes with the observation that, “As anyone who’s ever seen or heard Israeli Prime Minister’s spokesman Mark Regev in action will know, Israel is no slouch [...]
Bill McKibben and carbon emissions and climate
December 16, 2010
Bill McKibben from the 350 organisation has written an article on the Cancun talks in Mexico you can get to read the article at the Tom Dispatch site. McKibbens most basic point is that, “You Can’t Bargain About Global Warming with Chemistry and Physics” What he then goes on to say is that the conference,” [...]
Franklin Lamb on the position in Lebanon
December 16, 2010
Franklin Lamb has an article at the Sabbah site at link, it concerns developments and some historical background to the present position in Labanon. He commences with the proposition that,” The European Union can redeem its charter and alleviate widespread suffering in Lebanon’s refugee camps.” Lamb then traces many historical events and the article continues [...]
Pilger on Wikileaks, free speech and the media
December 16, 2010
In an interesting interview on the Democracy Now site at link, John Pilger gives his views on the Wikileaks matter, Assange and the role of US secrecy and militarism. A transcript is provided and the interview as usual is very well conducted by Amy Goodman from Democracy Now. Pilger’s interview with Assange is featured during [...]
A simple demand
December 15, 2010
“Be Reasonable Demand The Impossible” is a quote borrowed from Guy Debord it now features on anything from posters to T shirts to footpaths and buildings. However, it does contain a very interesting message. The reasonableness it refers to stems from a central factor. The elites that rule the planet have as a major goal [...]