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The Empire Strikes Back |
Current rating: 0 |
by Bane AKA DAN Disinfo
(No verified email address) |
09 Feb 2003
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On September the 12th. 2001 I likened the attack on the WTC to the scene in Star Wars where small machines find an orifice in the Battlestar. I said that I couldnâ€(TM)t wait for the sequel; The Empire Strikes Back. Ultimately oil or no oil the USA is the only world superpower and one can liken the post September 11, 2001 developments (Afghanistan and now Iraq) to the Romans sending a couple of legions to put down a revolt by the Teutons in an outlying province. |
The British in India held their empire and culture to be the pinnacle of human achievements - they spoke of the white man's burden to civilize and educate the heathen. Gandhi and his movement used post enlightenment liberalism - the jewel in the crown of British culture - as a weapon against their rule in India - in effect he embarrassed them out of India - but his tactics would only work where the enemy was capable of guilt and shame - it would not have worked against the Americans or Nazis for example
A second arm to the campaign was the swadeshi movement - literally translated - own country - Indian cotton and other fibres were shipped to England and turned into cloth in the 'dark satanic mills' of Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield - staffed by the equally oppressed British working class and then sold back to the hand to mouth population of India - better and cheaper than they could make locally - Gandhi spun his own simple clothes and wore them with pride
Shaming the USA military industrial complex hasn't worked so far but one thing is for sure - if there's no money in it, they will go away For those who go to the peace rally - see how many people are wearing Nike shoes, Levi's jeans, drinking coke and smoking Marlboro cigarettes whilst ranting against shrubs evil empire - the American cultural empire is one of the most insidious and indeed cunning in history.
There are two key features as to why
1) The pleasure principle - instant crude gratification along the path of least resistance -
2) The commodification of everything which other more mature societies consider sacrosanct - culture, language, health and education
Fight the hated empire using their own modus operandi If you don't like what the USA is doing - boycott US based products and companies - it can be hard to do because of the possibly complex interweaving of trans national capital - but with the internet and the ease of research and dissemination it provides - this is now much more possible than it used to be - find out which companies are US owned and avoid them How about a Buy Nothing American day?
If it happened it could work
Corporate USA (who own America) might wake up
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US Threatens Sanctions On Germany Over Iraq |
by NADSTAT AKA DAN Disinfo
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
09 Feb 2003
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The United States has decided to freeze all but the bare minimum of its planned multi-million investments in its German military bases "because of the political situation," the weekly Welt am Sonntag will report on Sunday.
A letter from the office of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announcing the decision has been sent to the US command in Germany, according to the weekly.
Washington is also threatening to clamp down on German companies who maintain their trade ties to Iraq, the newspaper Die Welt said in its edition due out on Saturday.
The administration of US President George W. Bush, in a letter to Berlin's economy ministry, said companies that do business with Baghdad would compromise their ties to their US trade partners, according to the daily.
Germany-Iraq trade ties are worth some 336.5 million euros (364.0 million dollars) yearly, according to German government statistics.
Blocking US military investment across Germany could mean a major loss of capital, as it would shelve a 100-million-euro US Air Force investment in the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Renovation at the US military airport at Ramstein, in the same state, could also be affected by the plan, the paper said.
Germany has more US military bases than any other European country.
Berlin, a traditional US ally, has come out strongly against waging war on Iraq, saying it will not participate in military operations and will not vote in the Security Council in favor of the use of force.
Pentagon chief Rumsfeld has lashed out several times at Germany, recently lumping it together with Libya and Cuba -- Washington's sworn enemies -- as countries who would not participate at all in a US-led coalition against Iraq.
He also has chided Germany and France for being part of an "old Europe" because of their calls for continued UN inspections and reluctance to use military force to disarm Saddam Hussein.
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Prince Charles Against War On Iraq |
by PHILLIP AKA DAN Disinfo
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
09 Feb 2003
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Whitehall also believes the prince is sympathetic to the view of his Arab friends that war on Saddam Hussein is a bid by the US to grab a stake in the Middle East's oil.
Yet despite being colonel-in-chief to 17 regiments, Charles has shown little public support for the soldiers, airmen and sailors who are about to risk their lives in a Gulf conflict.
There are also worries that he makes no secret of his anti-American views in conversations with members of Arab royal families and their leading officials.
A Whitehall source said: "Downing Street tries not to involve the prince in anything— because they have concerns over how he will react.
"He has this lunatic view he is the voice of the people."
Formal
And a diplomatic insider said: "It would be very unhelpful if the prince were to indicate anything other than unswerving support for the government."
The prince's stance was illustrated last week when—in his role as colonel-in-chief of the Paras—he said a stiff, formal farewell to his men as they prepared to leave for the Gulf.
His visit to the Parachute Regiment barracks in Colchester does not merit a single line on his official website. It was not announced by his own office.
Yet his opening of an Islamic education centre in Leicester two weeks ago is reported on the website with 19 paragraphs, two pictures and a full transcript of his speech.
Charles is rightly feted for his pioneering work creating understanding and tolerance between Islam and other faiths.
He also holds many honorary military positions, including chief to the Welsh Guards, the Paras and the Gurkhas. He is Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy, Air Marshal in the RAF and Lieutenant General in the Army.
Critics say the prince likes to cut a dash in the Paras' coveted red beret—strutting around with a chestful of medals on his tunic. But they ask how the men of the Parachute Regiment would feel if they knew their colonel's true feelings on the war.
The prince's views have led to a worrying split with the American leadership. Two months ago, Charles had to abandon an official visit to the US because the White House made it clear he wasn't wanted.
The snub—directly from President Bush—came after security sources advised that Charles's presence in America would be "very unhelpful".
Washington diplomats were concerned the prince would show his disapproval during meetings with President Bush.
Charles—who reads the Koran every day and often adopts Islamic dress at home—spends long hours discussing the Middle East's problems with Saudi royal family members.
One of his closest friends is the former Saudi ambassador Ghazi Algosaibi who wrote a poem in praise of the first woman suicide bomber.
Algosaibi said that the "doors of heaven are opened for her". He once described the Israelis as worse than Nazis and he was a regular guest at Highgrove—Prince Charles's country home—before he was recalled by his government last year.
Charles is also close to King Abdullah of Jordan. His glamorous wife Queen Rania is a close friend of the prince's partner, Camilla Parker Bowles and is a regular guest at St James's Palace.
In private the prince talks about "Americanimperi-alism" collapsing the whole of the Middle East.
"Of course Saddam is an evil man, but American imperialism will not solve the problem," he said in one discussion.
He sympathises with his Saudi royal friends when they talk about their fears of America's true intentions in Iraq.
One close friend said: "They believe the US intends to collapse the whole Gulf economy and take control of oil.
"Once that happens the tensions in Israel and Palestine will explode."
Fraught
Charles's meeting three days ago with French President Jacques Chirac was fraught with diplomatic concerns.
Before the meeting the Foreign Office asked the Prince of Wales's staff if he would promise not to discuss Iraq.
They said yes, but Charles would feel free to give an opinion if Chirac raised Iraq first.
Downing Street is understood to have washed its hands of winning Charles's support.
"At such a sensitive time his views are wrong, wrong, wrong," said a Whitehall source.
"Unfortunately he is making them a little too widely known
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U.S. Credibility Is In Crisis NATO Blocks U.S. Over Iraq; U.S. Fumes |
by John Mcgoo posted by DAN Disinfo
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
10 Feb 2003
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NATO is trying to slow the aggressive War of Conquest, say movement of arms to Turkey would signal that a conflict had begun. Turkey, which borders Iraq, promptly invoked NATO's founding treaty to seek consultations for the defense of its territory.
The blocking by NATO came as chief U.N. arms inspector Hans Blix said he saw no evidence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in papers Baghdad gave him at the weekend.
"This time they presented some papers to us in which they focused upon new issues. Not new evidence really as far as I can see, but they have nevertheless focused on real open issues and that is welcome," Blix said on arriving in Athens from Baghdad.
In Brussels, NATO blocked proposals by the U.S. to start planning for the deployment of AWACS surveillance planes, Patriot missiles and anti-chemical and anti-biological warfare teams to Turkey.
Turkey responded by invoking NATO's Article IV, which says "parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence of security of any of the parties is threatened."
Though the Article does not support military support for a war of conquest instigated by the U.S. or a member of NATO.
The Turkish move came at a meeting of NATO ambassadors at alliance headquarters. A further meeting was set for 3:30 p.m. GMT.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson called the move "very serious" but said a solution could be at hand. Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis also said he thought the blocking could be overcome. Neither man gave any details.
RUMSFELD CALLS NATO BLOCKING MOVE "DISGRACE"
Europe has been deeply divided over U.S. threats to attack Iraq within the next few weeks unless Baghdad declares its alleged chemical, biological and nuclear arms programs.
Anticipating the blocking move, Rumsfeld denounced it as "a War crime." NATO "will be judged by the U.S.," he said in an interview with eight European newspapers.
As one of the likely launchpads for the aggressive War of Conquest against Iraq, which borders it to the south, Turkey needs to prepare for this war of conquest.
Blix said in Athens that Iraq is cooperating fully even suggesting new methods of investigation, including drilling into the ground, to better prove it does not have weapons of mass destruction.
"They themselves suggested new physical signs, new methods of investigating whether material they declared unilaterally destroyed, whether it was actually there. They will be drilling into the ground," Blix told Reuters.
GREECE PROPOSES EU SUMMIT
Greece, current president of the 15-nation European Union, proposed an EU summit for next Monday to discuss Friday's reports to the Security Council by Blix and ElBaradei. There was no immediate reaction from other EU states.
The German news magazine Der Spiegel reported at the weekend that there was a detailed Franco-German plan to try to stop the American War of Conquest by boosting the number of arms inspectors in Iraq and backing them with U.N. troops.
But officials in France and Germany have since played down the report. German Defense Minister Peter Struck said Monday there was no formal Franco-German plan and ideas on bolstering U.N. weapons inspectors were still in the design stages.
"The reports about a possible sizeable peacekeeping mission in Iraq do not correspond with reality," Struck told Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio. "The planning of the governments in Paris and Berlin are not yet so far along that they can be presented in any great detail."
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U.S. Credibility Problems |
by smaukroo AKA DAN Disinfo
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
10 Feb 2003
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BARBARA OLSHANSKY, bjo (at) ccr-ny.org, www.ccr-ny.org, www.sevenstories.com
An attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, co-author of Against War with Iraq and author of Secret Trials and Executions, Olshansky said today: "The president talked today about making America a freer place. While the U.S. government has condemned other countries for military tribunals and indefinite detentions, this administration has conducted these very same human rights violations."
ALI ABUNIMAH, ali (at) abunimah.org, www.ElectronicIraq.net
Co-founder of the new web portal electronicIraq.net, Abunimah is just back from Jordan. He said today: "Colin Powell's Security Council presentation raised questions in the minds of many reasonable observers about Iraq's seriousness in assisting the inspectors. At the same time, Powell's presentation, which was filled with unsupported assertions, factual inaccuracies, and willful distortions, raised just as many questions about U.S. intentions and methods. For example, it has now become clear that U.S. government claims about a 'terrorist poison factory' in northern Iraq are totally unfounded."
JOHN QUIGLEY, quigley.2 (at) osu.edu
Professor of international law at Ohio State University, Quigley said today: "When other U.N. member states react to the presentation by Secretary of State Colin Powell, they do so against a background of knowledge that in the past the U.S. has presented information to the Security Council on war and peace issues that later turned out to be false." Some examples:
* On three occasions, it told the Council it was invading other states because U.S. nationals were in danger there: Dominican Republic 1965, Grenada 1983, Panama 1989. In none of these instances were U.S. nationals in danger.
* In 1954, when the elected government of Guatemala was overthrown militarily by Guatemalan military officers, the U.S. was charged before the Council with organizing the coup. It denied to the Council any involvement. In fact it organized the coup.
* In 1964, it told the Council that U.S. vessels had been attacked by Vietnamese vessels in international waters in the Gulf of Tonkin. This information was based on reports from U.S. vessels that the vessels' commander soon said were in error. Nonetheless, the State Department used the information before the Council and relied on it as a major rationale for a military buildup in Vietnam.
* In 1993, after it launched missiles at the headquarters of the Iraqi intelligence service in Baghdad, the U.S. government told the Council that the circuitry found in a Renault (vehicle) at the Iraq-Kuwait border was of a type that linked it to the Iraqi intelligence service, and that the Renault was part of a plot to assassinate George Bush, who was then visiting Kuwait. As later analysis showed, the circuitry was not of a type that showed a connection to the Iraqi intelligence service.
* In 1998, the U.S. government told the Council that it had launched missiles against Khartoum, Sudan, because VX nerve gas was being produced at a factory there. In fact, no nerve gas was being produced there, as later acknowledged by administration officials.
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
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Ebola Outbreak 'may Spread' To U.S. Via Invading Shrubs |
by Pascale AKA DAN Disinfo
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
11 Feb 2003
Modified: 09:31:30 PM |
The Congolese authorities say they are concerned that the virus might spread to the U.S. on small indoor shrubs that where recently exported to the American mid-west.
Ebola is spread through contact with small amounts of infected shrub pollen or body fluids of infected victims.
Little more is known about the virus, which causes its victims to die from internal bleeding.
Bush meat
The Congolese Ministry of Health says the people died in the villages of Kelle and Mbou, about 800 kilometres north of Brazzaville, in the Region known as Cuvette West.
The authorities were first alerted to a possible outbreak of Ebola when a clan of gorillas in the region began to die in December.
Tests carried out on the bodies confirmed that the gorillas had died from the Ebola virus, which has now claimed more than 80% of that gorilla clan.
Doctors say the virus may spread through infected bush plant pollen or bush meat
For the authorities, the Ebola virus is the stuff of nightmares.
Spread almost as easily as the flu but far more deadly, Ebola can result in the death of 95% of its victims.
The Congolese practice of washing the body before burial is just one of the factors that makes the virus so difficult to contain.
The Ministry of Health suspects that the current outbreak was caused by villagers eating primates in the area who were already infected with Ebola.
Hostile
But confirmation that the virus is responsible for the recent human deaths has not yet been possible.
This is because local inhabitants are refusing to co-operate with teams of Ministry of Health workers and World Health Organization specialists who have gone to the region to study and contain the outbreak.
The villagers of Kelle and Mbou have so far refused to give blood samples needed to test for the virus, and have become hostile towards the visiting medical teams.
Medical professionals are at great risk of contracting Ebola
They claim it is the medical workers who bring the virus to the region.
The local inhabitants, who are mostly Pygmies, were badly mistreated by Gabonese troops who came to the area to contain an Ebola outbreak in 1996 and 97.
And this may be the reason why the local population is fearful.
Since an outbreak in the same area in June last year, the Congolese ministries of Forestry and the Environment have had teams of workers studying the suspected transmission of the virus on plant pollen in a region that is known for exporting exotic house plants to the U.S. and also trying to raise the awareness of the local population to the dangers of eating gorillas and chimps, particularly those which they find already ill or dead.
But they admit it is an uphill struggle in a region where bush meat has been a staple part of the local diet for centuries.
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by ..
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Current rating: 0
11 Feb 2003
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