It Takes All of US

After more than half a year of securing my own future and neglecting my online status, I now have the time to continue where I left off. As much as things change over time, they stay the same.

I am in Washington, DC, a territory of the United States of America this winter. I say a territory, but with perhaps less status than other US territories like Puerto Rico or Guam. You see, residents of other US territories don't have voting representation in congress, and neither does the District of Columbia, but neither do they bear the burden of paying federal income taxes as do District residents. And the others get to field their own olympic team, while the District does not. Confusing, you say? Sort of like a US foreign policy that champions trade with totalitarian red China while enforcing an economic embargo on the poor island of Cuba for not wanting to be a US model island like Haiti.

Yesterday, there was a peace protest down by the Capitol. It was the first one I attended, and was an experience full of revelation. The first thing I noticed was that the mall was set up to enforce crowd control. Peaceniks were allowed to walk only in fenced off areas to get to a somewhat larger open area where the official speakers were to speak, with such amplification that others had a hard time hearing eachother. The next thing was that as a demostration novice, I was being bombarded with organizations wanting me to wear their stickers, carry their signs, take their newspapers, and donate some all important greenbacks. They tricked me for a minute and I started to collect signs because I had come unprepared in that regard. But then I saw many who had created their own signs and realized that the mass message wasn't the same message I would choose if I were to make a sign. The mass messages seemed to be:

1. No to the surge
2. US out of Iraq because too many soldiers have died there (it's making us look bad)
3. Fairness to Palestine

As Martin Luther King day has passed, literally and figuratively, of course being in the Empire for the first extended time in many years at this time of year, it was fresh on my mind. To further emphasize the importance to me personally, I just found out that my mother, pregnant with me, went to King's march in 1963. King was successful because a majority of Americans were against the physical thuggery of white on black crime that defined black peoples' daily existence in the deep South. The latter years of the reverend's life were spent preaching against the economic repression and the war in Vietnam, where he got far less support. But now that he's dead and no longer a threat to the system, we celebrate him as a friendly loveable hero, much like Christ.

Well, the signs to me pointed at the same kind of thing, where Americans are put off by images and news of dead American soldiers in the one place in the world that is receiving corporate media attention, Iraq. It's like saying Iraq is bad because we're getting bad press - and the press can't ignore dead US soldiers just like it couldn't ignore peaceful blacks with baton bloodied faces.





And at the same time saying that the answer to Palestinians is an unequal two state solution. Common sense would say that if the US lived up to its founding principles, US foreign policy would champion a one-state one vote per adult democracy with equal rights, strong anti-discrimination laws, and just compensation (fair market value) for those who were dispossesed in the region. Call it Islestine or Palrael, or call it whatever you like but don't support an unequal 'solution' as being fair.


Out of the powerful PA zones, there were many groups of independently minded peaceniks, performing theatre, puppet shows, drum music, and engaging in meaningful conversation. There was a brilliant piece of artwork which was a paper wall of the thousands of names of dead US soldiers. What made it brilliant was that it was not secured to the ground, and to stand it required volunteers to hold it up. So by holding up the weight of the dead, we were supporting them, and that was beautiful and moving. And it was precisely here, in the independent zones, where the police presence made itself known. Cops were roaring around on motorcycles, oddly enough some of which had 'Rebel' emblazoned on the gas tank, popping wheelies and screeching rubber like one would expect from Hell's Angel thugs, not in the spirit of fairness and equality one would associate from upholders of the law in what people fondly refer to as the capital of the free world.

And that's exactly the point here. If you look at representatives of the System and judge actions louder than words, you quickly discover that official policy is thuggery and intimidation.

So if I had another chance, I would create a sign that would say "Thuggery as Foreign Policy is Unamerican in Spirit."

USA Top Five List

Top five lists are great, because you can't put everything - only the most essential things. I would have listed the internet as one of the top ten, but it would have to beat out something else. And seeing that it is becoming a tool to track everyone and their preferences, I can't rank it higher than the things that are already listed. More important than the things on the list are the kinds of people who worked to develop these things, and that's what makes the USA great in my mind.

1. Jazz
2. Funk
3. Martinis
4. Bloody Marys
5. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

If this were a top ten list, it would include soul music, variety and availability of ethnic foods, and the internet - but it's not, it's a top five list. I encourage any of you who are reading this to try to make a top five list of your country, your city or town, and rediscover things you like.

Israel Super-effective at Creating Enemies

So their right wing expansionist extremists can maintain a stranglehold on power and help to destabilise the middle east.

See a video from Lebanon

Why Do They Hate Us?

I was at an outdoor cafe, here in Spain, watching the USA vs. Ghana world cup game, and something like 20 US American youngsters turned out. The seats were arranged around tables and there was space in the front and back between the seats and the buildings at the edge of the alley, where pedestrians could pass. There was also shade close to the building in the back. A group of six or seven yanks arrived late, and took back row seats near my group. Well, they took the seats and moved them against the back wall so no one could pass, and they cooled off in the shade.

At first pedestrians found other ways around, then they approached the seats that were blocking the way, hoping the occupants would move to let them through, but they didn't. Insults were then given to the young yanks. By now, Ghana was winning 2-1.

A leader of the group said, "Let's move somewhere where people don't hate us." A colleague overheard and pointed out that there were seats near her. The leader asked if they were in the shade, and if they had a good view of the tv. They were and did, so they all moved and the foot traffic once again resumed its normal course.

What struck me was the complete denial that the group's actions could have caused the ill feelings the leader described as hatred. It reminded me of quotes I've read from Israelis saying that Palestinians hate them, and from the US that Muslims are full of hate for the USA. If this is going to be the future generation, the USA is in trouble.

As a further observation, the USA gets about the same amount of respect in the world as their football team, despite their world-class uniforms, which the tiny fourth-world Ghana soundly eliminated from the World Cup tournament, by far the biggest sporting event in the world by any measure. And this, of course, mirrors the performance of the US military in Iraq. Why do they hate us?

E Pluribus Unum

From Many, One. It's right there on the money, it's our national motto, and it's what made our country great. Consider for a moment the poem on the Statue of Liberty, the door through which many of our ancestors passed seeking freedom from an impossible economic stucture and the liberty to create a better situation.

"The New Colossus"

"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land,
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome, her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin-cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she,
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore;
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

1883

Immigrants have made this country great. Their hard work ethic, their fondness for innovation, their intelligence, fueled by the desire to speak several languages, and their insistance on equal rights which all helped US businesses and their leaders to prosper and created a thriving middle class. All of which were stifled in their country of origin - they needed to come here to make it happen.

From outside the US, the world used to see the US as the creator of the great music of jazz, drawing from all cultures to result in a unique music with afficionados world wide, the originators of flight, fighters against the German facism and Russian totalitarianism, and a place that stood up for the underdog, a place where humble immigrants prospered to the extent that their women didn't need to work outside the house to survive.

Now, that view has been changed. The US now exports crappy commercial music and propaganda films showing everyone living like millionaires, Boeing aircraft that cram passengers like sardines, a foreign policy that supports dictators and totalitarianism, a place that stands up for the richest of the rich, and a place now unwelcome to immigrants where both man and woman need to work full time just to survive, while their children are raised on television programming.

How things have changed. Many of the anti-immigrants' ancestors fought to a bloody death for forced immigration of poor Africans just a few generations ago, and Georgia, for example was even started as a penal colony. Now not even voluntary immigrants with no prior criminal record are allowed.

To make matters even worse, the US now demands the right to go around the world extracting resources, through free one-way trade, while closing the borders to those who would seek to follow their resources or buy US businesses. The US provides forceful support to ruthless dictators and oligopolies that destroy comfortable living conditions around the world, but then cry foul when those affected seek to enter the states.

US immigration laws are a far cry from the spirit of our national motto, and the spirit in which the Statue of Liberty, a formerly defining monument, was gifted to us. The tired, the poor, the huddled masses, the wretched refuse, the homeless have changed their tune. Now, the poor huddled masses are refused a visitors' visa even if they can save the money for airfare and vacation. To get an entry visa, just to visit and not even to work, one must prove that he or she has a stable, well paying job in their country of origin and family or friends to visit in the states. I've never heard of anyone, not friends of friends of friends of friends, not anyone who's ever received a working visa who hasn't married a US citizen or been an US supported aristocrat fleeing popular movements that led to their overthrow. So to those who say our current undocumented immigrants are illegal and they should have followed the immigration laws, I say that's just another way of saying to them, "Stay where you are while we make your life a living hell there by extracting resources and supporting repressive regimes. At least we're not systematically doing the actual murdering, like in Iraq - things could be worse if we weren't so stretched out."

The Statue of Liberty's initials are now more fitting for immigrants than the original intent - S.O.L., or shit out of luck. Someone needs to put out the torch.

If we had stopped immigration after the English arrived, we'd all be eating English food. Think about that for a while and try a kidney pie with blood pudding.

Iraqi Minister Backs Iran on Nuclear Research

Doh! US neocon leaders foiled again. $280 billion in 'aid' doesn't buy much influence these days.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 26 — Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari of Iraq today endorsed the right of Iran to pursue the "technological and scientific capabilities" needed to create nuclear power for peaceful purposes, in the first high-level meeting between officials from the new Iraqi government and its eastern neighbor.

General who Eavesdropped on Public is new CIA Chief

By Rupert Cornwell
Published: 09 May 2006

President Bush yesterday named Michael Hayden, a four-star air force general, to be the new director of the CIA, with the task of rebuilding the effectiveness and morale of the battered US spy agency.

General Hayden, a 30-year veteran of the intelligence world, is well regarded by both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill. However, President Bush, who hit a new low of 31 per cent in a USA Today/Gallup poll yesterday, faces stiff opposition to his selection in some quarters.

General Hayden is expected to face tough questioning both for his military background and his role superintending the warrantless domestic eavesdropping programme by the ultra-secret National Security Agency, which he led between 1999 and 2005. But his confirmation by the Senate seemed in little doubt last night.

Since 2005 he has been deputy to John Negroponte, named last year as the new US intelligence "tsar" to co-ordinate the work of the country's 15 separate intelligence agencies. General Hayden's immediate task will be to reinvigorate the CIA, sapped by leak allegations and the loss of many senior officials who were dismissed or forced out by the previous director, Porter Goss. Mr Goss stepped down last week, under pressure from Mr Negroponte and fierce criticism on Capitol Hill.

Mr Negroponte said Stephen Kappes, the popular CIA deputy director of operations ousted in late 2004 by the incoming Goss team, would return to his old job under General Hayden. The new chief, however, will face familiar turf wars with Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon, which accounts for the lion's share of the estimated $40bn (£22bn) US intelligence budget.
President Bush yesterday named Michael Hayden, a four-star air force general, to be the new director of the CIA, with the task of rebuilding the effectiveness and morale of the battered US spy agency.

General Hayden, a 30-year veteran of the intelligence world, is well regarded by both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill. However, President Bush, who hit a new low of 31 per cent in a USA Today/Gallup poll yesterday, faces stiff opposition to his selection in some quarters.

General Hayden is expected to face tough questioning both for his military background and his role superintending the warrantless domestic eavesdropping programme by the ultra-secret National Security Agency, which he led between 1999 and 2005. But his confirmation by the Senate seemed in little doubt last night.

Since 2005 he has been deputy to John Negroponte, named last year as the new US intelligence "tsar" to co-ordinate the work of the country's 15 separate intelligence agencies. General Hayden's immediate task will be to reinvigorate the CIA, sapped by leak allegations and the loss of many senior officials who were dismissed or forced out by the previous director, Porter Goss. Mr Goss stepped down last week, under pressure from Mr Negroponte and fierce criticism on Capitol Hill.

Mr Negroponte said Stephen Kappes, the popular CIA deputy director of operations ousted in late 2004 by the incoming Goss team, would return to his old job under General Hayden. The new chief, however, will face familiar turf wars with Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon, which accounts for the lion's share of the estimated $40bn (£22bn) US intelligence budget.

With Friends Like These (In Iraqi Gov't) Who Needs Enemies?

US secrets for sale outside Bagram airbase

By Tom Coghlan and Tahir Luddin in Bagram
Published: 13 April 2006

Top-secret US military intelligence documents which could compromise Hamid Karzai's government have turned up for sale in an Afghan bazaar, after apparently being stolen from a nearby US military base.

The security lapse will embarrass the US military, and the Afghan and Pakistani governments. The files are stored on computer memory sticks and among those to come to light so far are lists of top Afghan officials, including cabinet members, suspected of involvement in the drugs trade or of supporting the Taliban insurgency.

One of the most potentially damaging files, which was bought unwittingly by an Afghan journalist, names senior Afghan ministers whom US intelligence agencies believe to be drug smugglers. Described as "Tier One Warlords", they include Marshal Mohammad Fahim, former defence minister and now a member of the upper house of the Afghan parliament; General Rashid Dostum, Chief of Staff of the army; and General Mohammad Daoud,presently the Interior Minister for Counter-Narcotics. The Interior Ministry has refused to comment.
All three have denied past speculation that they were involved in Afghanistan's £1.5bn drugs trade.

Another file includes a list of 12 senior provincial officials the US wants removed from office. These include provincial governors and police chiefs believed to be involved with the drugs trade or supporters of the Taliban.

One of those on the list is Sher Mohammad Akhundzada, until recently governor of Helmand province where the first of 3,500 British troops are currently deploying.

Mr Akhundzada was given a seat in Afghanistan's new upper house of parliament by President Karzai in December, shortly after 10 tons of opium were found stored in his offices. The "promotion" followed intense pressure from British and US officials to remove him. The current police chief of Helmand, Abdul Rahman Jan, is accused on the list of providing security for heroin shipments through the desert borders with Pakistan.

Other files implicate members of the Pakistani security forces in "assisting cross-border insurgent activities" and accuse the Pakistan government of "false and inaccurate reports of border incidents".

One memory stick obtained by The Independent contained files marked "SECRET//REL GTCF" on which was stored an intelligence assessment of the Taliban in the run-up to last year's parliamentary elections. This included lists of prominent Taliban commanders who were interested in joining a government reconciliation programme, as well as such intelligence titbits as the fact that one of the most senior Taliban commanders based in Pakistan, Mullah Obaidullah, misappropriated Taliban funds to finance a relative's wedding, angering Taliban rank and file.

Most of the documents appear to originate from late 2004 and the first half of 2005.
The computer memory sticks, which are about the size of a small Swiss army knife, were bought in the shabby bazaar which lines the road just 50 metres from the huge US airbase at Bagram, north of Kabul.

US authorities have not denied the security lapse. A US Army spokesman Lieutenant Mike Cody said the US forces "take operational security seriously. We will not comment in detail on these reports but the circumstances are being reviewed."

Despite checks on all workers coming on or off the base, the bazaar is well known as a repository for equipment and goods stolen by Afghan workers or sold on the black market by US servicemen or contractors.

Top-secret US military intelligence documents which could compromise Hamid Karzai's government have turned up for sale in an Afghan bazaar, after apparently being stolen from a nearby US military base.

The security lapse will embarrass the US military, and the Afghan and Pakistani governments. The files are stored on computer memory sticks and among those to come to light so far are lists of top Afghan officials, including cabinet members, suspected of involvement in the drugs trade or of supporting the Taliban insurgency.

One of the most potentially damaging files, which was bought unwittingly by an Afghan journalist, names senior Afghan ministers whom US intelligence agencies believe to be drug smugglers. Described as "Tier One Warlords", they include Marshal Mohammad Fahim, former defence minister and now a member of the upper house of the Afghan parliament; General Rashid Dostum, Chief of Staff of the army; and General Mohammad Daoud,presently the Interior Minister for Counter-Narcotics. The Interior Ministry has refused to comment.
All three have denied past speculation that they were involved in Afghanistan's £1.5bn drugs trade.

Another file includes a list of 12 senior provincial officials the US wants removed from office. These include provincial governors and police chiefs believed to be involved with the drugs trade or supporters of the Taliban.

One of those on the list is Sher Mohammad Akhundzada, until recently governor of Helmand province where the first of 3,500 British troops are currently deploying.

Mr Akhundzada was given a seat in Afghanistan's new upper house of parliament by President Karzai in December, shortly after 10 tons of opium were found stored in his offices. The "promotion" followed intense pressure from British and US officials to remove him. The current police chief of Helmand, Abdul Rahman Jan, is accused on the list of providing security for heroin shipments through the desert borders with Pakistan.

Other files implicate members of the Pakistani security forces in "assisting cross-border insurgent activities" and accuse the Pakistan government of "false and inaccurate reports of border incidents".

One memory stick obtained by The Independent contained files marked "SECRET//REL GTCF" on which was stored an intelligence assessment of the Taliban in the run-up to last year's parliamentary elections. This included lists of prominent Taliban commanders who were interested in joining a government reconciliation programme, as well as such intelligence titbits as the fact that one of the most senior Taliban commanders based in Pakistan, Mullah Obaidullah, misappropriated Taliban funds to finance a relative's wedding, angering Taliban rank and file.

Most of the documents appear to originate from late 2004 and the first half of 2005.
The computer memory sticks, which are about the size of a small Swiss army knife, were bought in the shabby bazaar which lines the road just 50 metres from the huge US airbase at Bagram, north of Kabul.

US authorities have not denied the security lapse. A US Army spokesman Lieutenant Mike Cody said the US forces "take operational security seriously. We will not comment in detail on these reports but the circumstances are being reviewed."

Despite checks on all workers coming on or off the base, the bazaar is well known as a repository for equipment and goods stolen by Afghan workers or sold on the black market by US servicemen or contractors.

Rumsfeld Calls for Censorship, Falsifying of Information

Rumsfeld Zeros in on the Internet

By Mike Whitney 02/24/06 "ICH"

-- -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was warmly greeted at the recent meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations. The CFR is the hand-picked assemblage of western elites from big-energy, corporate media, high-finance and the weapons industry. These are the 4,000 or so members of the American ruling class who determine the shape of policy and ensure that the management of the global economic system remains in the hands of U.S. bluebloods.

As the Pentagon’s chief-coordinator, Rumsfeld enjoys a prominent place among American mandarins. He is the caretaker of their most prized possession; the high-tech, taxpayer-funded, laser-guided war machine. The US Military is the crown-jewel of the American empire; a fully-operational security apparatus for the protection of pilfered resources and the ongoing subjugation of the developing world.

Rumsfeld’s speech alerted his audience to the threats facing America in the new century.

He opined: “We meet today in the 6th year in what promises to be a long struggle against an enemy that in many ways is unlike any our country has ever faced. And, in this war, some of the most critical battles may not be in the mountains in Afghanistan or in the streets of Iraq, but in newsrooms—in places like New York, London, Cairo, and elsewhere.”

“New York”?

“Our enemies have skillfully adapted to fighting wars in today’s media age, but for the most part our country has not”.

Huh? Does Rummy mean those grainy, poorly-produced videos of Bin Laden and co.?

“Consider that the violent extremists have established ‘media relations committees’—and have proven to be highly-successful at manipulating opinion-elites. They plan to design their headline-grabbing attacks using every means of communications to intimidate and break the collective will of free people”.

What gibberish.

It’s foolish to mention “intimidating and breaking the collective will of free people” without entering Abu Ghraib, Guantanomo and Falluja into the discussion. Rumsfeld is just griping about the disgrace he’s heaped on America’s reputation by his refusal to conform to even minimal standards of decency. Instead, he insists that America’s declining stature in the world is the result of a hostile media and “skillful enemies”; in other words, anyone with a computer keyboard and a rudimentary sense of moral judgment.

(Our enemies) “know that communications transcend borders…and that a single news story , handled skillfully, can be as damaging to our cause and as helpful to theirs, as any other method of military attack”.

If the Pentagon is really so worried about “bad press coverage” why not close down the torture-chambers and withdrawal from Iraq?

Instead, Rumsfeld is making the case for a preemptive-assault on free speech.

“The growing number of media outlets in many parts of the world….too often serve to inflame and distort, rather than explain and inform. And while Al Qaida and extremist movements have utilized this forum for many years, and have successfully poisoned the Muslim public’s view of the West, we have barely even begun to compete in reaching their audiences.”

“Inflame and distort”?

What distortion? Do cameras distort the photos of abused prisoners, desperate people, or decimated cities?

Rumsfeld’s analysis borders on the delusional. Al Qaida doesn’t have a well-oiled propaganda mechanism that provides a steady stream of fabrications to whip the public into a frenzy. That’s the American media’s assignment. And, they haven’t “poisoned Muslim public opinion” against us. That has been entirely the doing of the Pentagon warlords and their White House compatriots.

“The standard US government public affairs operation was designed primarily …to be reactive rather than proactive…Government, however, is beginning to adapt”

“Proactive news”? In other words, propaganda.

Rumsfeld confirms his dedication to propaganda by defending the bogus stories that were printed in Iraqi newspapers by Pentagon contractors. (We) “sought non-traditional means to provide accurate information to the Iraqi people in the face of an aggressive campaign of disinformation….This has been deemed inappropriate—for examples the allegations of ‘buying news’”.

A brazen defense of intentionally planted lies; how low can we sink?

This has had a “chilling effect for those who are asked to serve in the military public affairs field.”

Is it really that difficult to print the truth?

Rumsfeld boasts of the vast changes in “communications planning” taking place at the Pentagon.

A “public affairs” strategy is at the heart of the new paradigm, replete with “rapid response” teams to address the nagging issues of bombed-out wedding parties, starving prisoners, and devastated cities. No problem is so great that it can’t be papered-over by a public relations team trained in the black-art of deception, obfuscation, and slight-of-hand. Trickery now tops the list of military priorities.

“US Central Command has launched an online communications effort that includes electronic news updates and a links campaign that has resulted in several hundred blogs receiving and publishing CENTCOM content.”

The military plans to develop the “institutional capability” to respond to critical news coverage within the same news cycle and to develop a comprehensive scheme for infiltrating the internet.

The Pentagon’s strategy for taking over the internet and controlling the free flow of information has already been chronicled in a recently declassified report, “The Information Operations Roadmap”; is a window into the minds of those who see free speech as dangerous as an “enemy weapons-system”.

The Pentagon is aiming for “full spectrum dominance” of the Internet. Their objective is to manipulate public perceptions, quash competing points of view, and perpetuate a narrative of American generosity and good-will.

Rumsfeld’s comments are intended to awaken his constituents to the massive information war that is being waged to transform the Internet into the progeny of the MSM; a reliable partner for the dissemination of establishment-friendly news.

The Associated Press reported recently that the US government conducted a massive simulated attack on the Internet called “Cyber-Storm”. The wargame was designed, among other things, to “respond to misinformation campaigns and activist calls by internet bloggers, online diarists whose ‘Web logs” include political rantings and musings about current events”.

Before Bush took office, “political rantings and musings about current events” were protected under the 1st amendment.

No more.

The War Department is planning to insert itself into every area of the Internet from blogs to chat rooms, from leftist web sites to editorial commentary. Their rapid response team will be on hair-trigger alert to dispute any tidbit of information that challenges the official storyline.

We can expect to encounter, as the BBC notes, “psychological operations (that) try to manipulate the thoughts and the beliefs of the enemy (as well as) computer network specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks.”

The enemy, of course, is anyone who refuses to accept their servile role in the new world order or who disrupts the smooth-operation of the Bush police-state.

The resolve to foreclose on free speech has never been greater.

As for Rumsfeld’s devotees at the CFR, the problem of savaging civil liberties is never seriously raised. After all, these are the primary beneficiaries of Washington’s global resource-war; should it matter that other people’s freedom is sacrificed to perpetuate the fundamental institutions of class and privilege?

Rumsfeld is right. The only way to prevail on the information-battlefield is to “take no prisoners”; police the Internet, uproot the troublemakers and activists who provide the truth, and “catapult the propaganda” (Bush) from every bullhorn and web site across the virtual-universe. Free speech is a luxury we cannot afford if it threatens to undermine the basic platforms of western white rule.

As Rumsfeld said, “We are fighting a battle where the survival of our free way of life is at stake.”

Indeed, it is.

Free Speech? Only Against Muslims.

Free speech is to be heralded when newspapers publish drawings defiling Mohammed, but punished when it is directed against the corporate press.

Mayor is suspended over Nazi jibe

The Adjudication Panel for England ruled Ken Livingstone had brought his office into disrepute when he acted in an "unnecessarily insensitive" manner.

The ban is due to begin on 1 March and the mayor's deputy Nicky Gavron will stand in for Mr Livingstone.

The mayor said: "This decision strikes at the heart of democracy."

He added: "Elected politicians should only be able to be removed by the voters or for breaking the law.

The case tribunal is concerned that the mayor does seem to have failed... to have appreciated that his conduct was unacceptable

"Three members of a body that no one has ever elected should not be allowed to overturn the votes of millions of Londoners."

Mr Livingstone, whose annual salary is £133,997, said he would announce what action he would be taking next week.

The hearing followed a complaint from the Jewish Board of Deputies, which had not called for the mayor to be suspended over the comment he made to the Evening Standard's Oliver Finegold outside a public-funded party.

The chairman of the panel, David Laverick, said it had decided on a ban because Mr Livingstone had failed to realise the seriousness of his outburst.

He said: "The case tribunal accepts that this is not a situation when it would be appropriate to disqualify the mayor.

The Mayor and the Journalist

Ken Livingstone was recorded asking reporter Oliver Finegold if he is a "German war criminal".
Mr Finegold replies: "No, I'm Jewish, I wasn't a German war criminal. I'm quite offended by that."

The mayor then says: "Ah right, well you might be, but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard, you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?"

"The case tribunal is, however, concerned that the mayor does seem to have failed, from the outset of this case, to have appreciated that his conduct was unacceptable, was a breach of the code (the GLA code of conduct) and did damage to the reputation of his office."

Mr Laverick went on to say that the complaint should never have reached the board but did so because of Mr Livingstone's failure to apologise.

In a statement, the Board of Deputies of British Jews said it regretted the guilty result, but said Mr Livingstone had been "the architect of his own misfortune" by failing to recognise the upset caused.

It added it had never sought anything more than an apology and an acknowledgement that his words were inappropriate for the "elected representative of Londoners of all faiths and beliefs".

'Outrageous ruling'

But Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron said the incident had been "blown out of all proportion" and described the decision as absurd.

Association of London Government chairman Sir Robin Wales added the "outrageous ruling" would stall the mayor in his work to increase police numbers and prepare the city for the 2012 Olympics.

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "This decision constitutes a clear over-reaction and an affront to our democratic traditions."

Mr Livingstone has said he was expressing his honestly-held political view of Associated Newspapers, but he had not meant to offend the Jewish community.

The Evening Standard's editor Veronica Wadley said that Mr Finegold had behaved impeccably when he was insulted and accused Mr Livingstone of being stubborn.

The London Jewish Forum welcomed the ruling, with chairman Adrian Cohen calling for the mayor to create a strategy to ensure London's Jews would be treated with respect.

Conservative London Assembly Member Brian Coleman said Mr Livingstone had let Londoners down. All three called for the mayor to apologise.

Baroness Hamwee, Liberal Democrat chair of the assembly, said she was "quite taken aback" by the length of the suspension.

If an appeal fails, Mr Livingstone will be responsible for paying his own legal costs, estimated at £80,000.

Food and Civilisation

Many people are writing about how backward and repressive the Islamic culture is. History would prove this wrong. Spain reached its cultural zenith under Islamic rule. Spaniards were left free to worship as they chose, and enjoyed a rich 500 years of multi-cultural society. Under the subsequent Christians began the Inquisition, and a backward and repressive regime that saw Spain lose all the riches and much of knowledge, through murder and expulsion, that they had gained in former times.

It is often repeated that 'you are what you eat,' and to chase this idea, here is a comparison of US culture to Islamic culture vis a vis popular foods. It should be obvious what the saner society is, at least in the kitchen. If it's not, do yourself a favor and either find a Middle Eastern restaurant or find online recipes to try some of these delicious and healthy foods.

United States of America / Middle Eastern States

Big Mac / Falafel
Iceburg Lettuce with Ranch / Tabouli, Greek Salad
Macaroni and 'Cheese' / Rice pilaf
Mayonaise or 'Miracle Whip / Fresh Yogurt
Peanut Butter / Hummus
American Cheese / Feta Cheese
Sour Cream dip / Baba Ghannouj
Oreo cookies / Maamoul
Wonder bread / Pita bread
Potato Chips / Sunflower seeds, Pistachio
Margarine / Olive Oil
Boiled canned green beans / Fuul
Angelfood Cake / Baklava

Rumsfeld: U.S. Losing Media War

According to War Chief Rumsfeld, the neo-conservative U.S. is losing the propaganda war for public sentiment to its enemies. So what's he do? Calls for media to refer to the invasion as "The Long War." Brilliant. How would you like the US to declare a 'Long War' on your country or region? No wonder they're losing.
-ed

US 'losing media war to al-Qaeda'

The US is losing the propaganda war against al-Qaeda and other enemies, defence chief Donald Rumsfeld has said.

It must modernise its methods to win the minds of Muslims in the "war on terror", as "enemies had skilfully adapted" to the media age, he said.

Washington and the army must respond faster to events and learn to exploit the internet and satellite TV, he said.

Separately, President Bush said the US should not be discouraged by setbacks in Iraq and must realise it is at war.

"We shouldn't be discouraged... because we've seen democracy change the world in the past," George W Bush said.

However, he also used his speech in Florida to claim progress in the war on al-Qaeda.
Mr Bush said that slowly but surely the US was finding terrorists where they hid.

'Newsroom battles'

Correspondents say that in recent months victory in the battle for public opinion has become a new front for the Bush administration.

In a speech to the Council of Foreign Relations, Mr Rumsfeld said some of the US' most critical battles were now in the "newsrooms".

"Our enemies have skilfully adapted to fighting wars in today's media age, but... our country has not," he said.

Mr Rumsfeld said al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists were bombarding Muslims with negative images of the West, which had poisoned the public view of the US.

The US must fight back by operating a more effective, 24-hour propaganda machine, or risk a "dangerous deficiency," he said.

Government communications planning must be "a central component of every aspect of this struggle", he added.

"The longer it takes to put a strategic communications framework into place, the more we can be certain that the vacuum will be filled by the enemy."

Stormy Weather for the US Dollar

January 9, 2006

China’s Stranglehold on the Dollar

by Mike Whitney

“It's the death blow to the US dollar,” said Peter Grandich, editor of the Grandich Letter.

On Thursday, The People’s Republic of China fired off the first volley in what could turn out to be economic Armageddon. China announced that it would begin to diversify its foreign-exchange reserves away from US dollar.

Gulp!

The only thing keeping the dollar atop its fragile perch is the fact that other countries have been willing to lap up the $600 billion of American red ink every year via the trade deficit. That amounts to roughly $2 billion per day or nearly 7% GDP.

Currently, China is holding $769 billion, the vast majority of its foreign exchange reserves. This is a humongous sum by any measurement and represents approximately 30% of China’s gross domestic product. Regrettably, the Bush administration’s wasteful spending makes the dollar look like a bad long term investment, so China will either have to change its strategy or face a huge loss on its reserves. It’s a thorny predicament and one that China needs to handle delicately. If they move too aggressively it could trigger a sell-off and send the dollar plummeting.

It is unlikely that China will act recklessly, but even the mere suggestion of change has put the markets on edge.

Gold futures already jumped 4% in one week as large institutional buyers are voting with their feet that the dollar is headed for the dumpster. In fact, since Bush took office, gold has gone from the $200 range to $540 on Friday; a sure sign that investors have lost confidence in Washington’s ability to curb spending.

Even if China does not begin to cash in its greenbacks, we can expect to see considerable market volatility on Monday.

The Federal Reserve had anticipated China’s action for some time. That’s why the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve announced earlier this year that they would cease to publish the M3 monetary aggregate (including the following components: large-denomination time deposits, repurchase agreements, and Eurodollars.) That way the Fed can print enough money to absorb the shock waves of a massive sell-off without the nosy public knowing what’s going on. It’s a clever ruse, and an effective way of bilking the American people out of their hard-earned savings while the dollar continues to burrow into its earthen grave.

Greenspan knew this day was coming, that’s probably why he chose to take an early retirement; splashing around in the Barbados while the dog-dung hits the fan. Here’s what he said in April before the Senate Budget Committee:

“The federal budget is on an unsustainable path, in which large deficits result in rising interest rates and ever-growing interest payments that augment deficits in future years. Unless that trend is reversed, at some point these deficits would cause the economy to stagnate or worse.”

“Unsustainable path”?!?

It was Greenspan and Bush who engineered that “unsustainable path”. He enthusiastically supported the president’s $450 billion per year tax cuts that redistributed America’s wealth to the 1% of the people that he represents. The tax cuts alone set the country on the road to catastrophe. The national debt has increased an unbelievable $3 trillion under the Bush-Greenspan cabal. He also endorsed the shaky lending practices (ARMs; adjustable rate mortgages, interest-only loans; $0 down payments) that inflated the housing bubble and caused an unprecedented wave of speculative buying. As the Fed continues to raise rates and tighten loan-requirements, the bubble is slowly limping towards the abyss carrying America’s economic future with it.

Greenspan anesthetized the country with low-interest rates while Bush and Co. maxed out the national credit card and loaded the boats with everything in the public till. Meanwhile, the economy kept sputtering along while Greenspan concealed the long-range effects of massive deficits behind a mountain of cheap money. Now, the well is running dry, and Americans will be facing rising interest rates, a stagnant economy, and a falling dollar.

China’s action signals that we are entering a period of economic instability, where America’s future is largely in the hands of its creditors. Economic policy in China will now determine the interest rates on mortgages in America.

Welcome to the new world order, comrade.

The Fed believes it can finesse the problem by manipulating the money supply beyond the public view.

We’ll see.

The last time Greenspan tried that trick he ended up dropping rates 12 times in a year and a half as the steam whooshed from the stock market bubble leaving the economy on life support. Greenspan knows that low interest rates (“cheap money”) cannot always forestall disaster. If China starts a sell-off, its doomsday for the greenback. Japan would be forced to sell, with Germany close behind. The smaller nations would join the feeding frenzy, followed by the hedge and pension funds. It would be like a stroll through the Weimar Republic in the early 1930s. So, what’s next?

On Monday, the Fed will “preemptively” sluice zillions into the system to increase liquidity and stave off a possible run on the dollar. That way they can maintain the appearance of normalcy while what little is left of American middle class wealth is shifted into the flannel pockets of the central bankers via inflation. This will put the American economy on a long downward trajectory to third-world penury.

America is on the road towards hyperinflation; designed to savage the middle class, undermine popular social programs, crush organized labor, privatize all areas of the federal government, and “flatten” the workplace (to use the language of globalization guru, Tom Friedman) so that Americans will be forced to compete with the poorest paid workers in the world.

The effects of massive deficits are entirely understood. Eventually, the chickens come home to roost and the poor and middle class suffer horribly. It won’t be any different this time.

System and Intent Behind Propaganda Put Forth as News

US plans to 'fight the net' revealed

By Adam Brookes BBC Pentagon correspondent

A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks.

The document says information is "critical to military success"

Bloggers beware.
As the world turns networked, the Pentagon is calculating the military opportunities that computer networks, wireless technologies and the modern media offer.

From influencing public opinion through new media to designing "computer network attack" weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war.

The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act. Officials in the Pentagon wrote it in 2003. The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, signed it.
Information Operations Roadmap

The "roadmap" calls for a far-reaching overhaul of the military's ability to conduct information operations and electronic warfare. And, in some detail, it makes recommendations for how the US armed forces should think about this new, virtual warfare.

The document says that information is "critical to military success". Computer and telecommunications networks are of vital operational importance.

Propaganda
The operations described in the document include a surprising range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks.

All these are engaged in information operations.

The wide-reaching document was signed off by Donald Rumsfeld

Perhaps the most startling aspect of the roadmap is its acknowledgement that information put out as part of the military's psychological operations, or Psyops, is finding its way onto the computer and television screens of ordinary Americans.

"Information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and Psyops, is increasingly consumed by our domestic audience," it reads.

"Psyops messages will often be replayed by the news media for much larger audiences, including the American public," it goes on.

The document's authors acknowledge that American news media should not unwittingly broadcast military propaganda. "Specific boundaries should be established," they write. But they don't seem to explain how.

"In this day and age it is impossible to prevent stories that are fed abroad as part of psychological operations propaganda from blowing back into the United States - even though they were directed abroad," says Kristin Adair of the National Security Archive.

Credibility problem
Public awareness of the US military's information operations is low, but it's growing - thanks to some operational clumsiness.

When it describes plans for electronic warfare, or EW, the document takes on an extraordinary tone. It seems to see the internet as being equivalent to an enemy weapons system
Late last year, it emerged that the Pentagon had paid a private company, the Lincoln Group, to plant hundreds of stories in Iraqi newspapers. The stories - all supportive of US policy - were written by military personnel and then placed in Iraqi publications.

And websites that appeared to be information sites on the politics of Africa and the Balkans were found to be run by the Pentagon.

But the true extent of the Pentagon's information operations, how they work, who they're aimed at, and at what point they turn from informing the public to influencing populations, is far from clear.

The roadmap, however, gives a flavour of what the US military is up to - and the grand scale on which it's thinking.

It reveals that Psyops personnel "support" the American government's international broadcasting. It singles out TV Marti - a station which broadcasts to Cuba - as receiving such support.

It recommends that a global website be established that supports America's strategic objectives. But no American diplomats here, thank you. The website would use content from "third parties with greater credibility to foreign audiences than US officials".

It also recommends that Psyops personnel should consider a range of technologies to disseminate propaganda in enemy territory: unmanned aerial vehicles, "miniaturized, scatterable public address systems", wireless devices, cellular phones and the internet.

'Fight the net'
When it describes plans for electronic warfare, or EW, the document takes on an extraordinary tone. It seems to see the internet as being equivalent to an enemy weapons system.
"Strategy should be based on the premise that the Department [of Defense] will 'fight the net' as it would an enemy weapons system," it reads.

The slogan "fight the net" appears several times throughout the roadmap.
The authors warn that US networks are very vulnerable to attack by hackers, enemies seeking to disable them, or spies looking for intelligence. "Networks are growing faster than we can defend them... Attack sophistication is increasing... Number of events is increasing."

US digital ambition
And, in a grand finale, the document recommends that the United States should seek the ability to "provide maximum control of the entire electromagnetic spectrum".

US forces should be able to "disrupt or destroy the full spectrum of globally emerging communications systems, sensors, and weapons systems dependent on the electromagnetic spectrum".

Consider that for a moment.

The US military seeks the capability to knock out every telephone, every networked computer, every radar system on the planet.

Are these plans the pipe dreams of self-aggrandising bureaucrats? Or are they real?
The fact that the "Information Operations Roadmap" is approved by the Secretary of Defense suggests that these plans are taken very seriously indeed in the Pentagon.

And that the scale and grandeur of the digital revolution is matched only by the US military's ambitions for it.

Is Art Still Relevant?

Check out what this award winning artist had to say by clicking the headline above. Excerpt: "I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory.
If such a determination is not embodied in our political vision we have no hope of restoring what is so nearly lost to us - the dignity of man." - Harald Pinter

In the footsteps of Che Guevara: Democracy in South America

Thirty-eight years after the revolutionary perished in the Bolivian foothills, Evo Morales is poised to become the first indigenous president of the impoverished country which has been run by politicians of European descent since independence in 1825 .

WP Spells Out Ominous Future for Victims of Future Disasters

The Washington Post today paints a picture of FEMA's concentration camp-like living arrangements for newly homeless victims of Florida hurricane, complete with perimeter fence and armed guards.

From the article:
"Bob Hebert, director of recovery for Charlotte County, [FL] where most FEMA City residents used to live" talks about "FEMA City, a dusty, baking, treeless collection of almost 500 trailers that was set up by the federal emergency agency last fall to house more than 1,500 people made homeless by Hurricane Charley, one of the most destructive storms in recent Florida history. The free shelter was welcomed by thankful survivors back then; almost a year later, most are still there -- angry, frustrated, depressed and increasingly desperate.

"FEMA City's population has barely declined -- its trailers are occupied by 1,500 check-out clerks, nurse's aides, aluminum siding hangers, landscapers and more than a few people too old, too sick or too upset to work. A not-insignificant number of illegal immigrants and ex-convicts live there as well."

"With the constant troubles at FEMA City and the increased tensions throughout the county caused by its housing crisis, Charlotte County Sheriff's Office spokesman Bob Carpenter said his department has had a real education since Charley. It's hard-won knowledge, he said, that they will share with Hancock County, Miss., one of the hardest-hit areas of the Gulf Coast.

'We're sending some officers over there,' he said. 'We know what's going to happen, while they don't have a clue.'"

Charles Clarke Proposes Making Free Speech Illegal

British Home Secretary envisions five years in prison for vocal supporters of violent rejection of violent Anglo-American foreign and economic policy.

"The government's proposed anti-terrorism laws published yesterday are so widely drawn that anyone who "glorifies, exalts or celebrates" any terrorist act committed over the past 20 years could face a sentence of up to five years in prison." - Guardian

The expression "terrorist act" is left undefined, enabling the Home Office to use it as it sees fit.

Formerly Objective BBC to be Gutted

"BBC chief warns that [5.000] job cuts are only the beginning "

The BBC director general, Mark Thompson, has admitted that the BBC will face its "biggest challenge" yet in maintaining its relevance over the next decade. Surely, the cutting of 5.000 positions as a preliminary measure will bring about the destruction of the objectivity, integrity, originality, and therefore, the relevance of the network.

Separately, the wartime director Thompson has recommited the BBC to religious broadcasting.

Farewell, old friend.

Worse Than a Iranian Nuclear Attack

Iranian Oil Bourse set to start in March, 2006

"The proposal to set up a petroleum bourse was first voiced in Iran's development plan for 2000-2005. Last July, Heydar Mostakhdemin-Hosseini, who heads the board of directors of the Iranian Stock Exchange council, said authorities had agreed in principle to the establishment of the IOB, where petrochemicals, crude oil and oil and gas products will be traded [in euros]. The oil exchange would strive to make Iran the main hub for oil deals in the region and most deals will be conducted via the Internet. Experts from London's International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) have reportedly confirmed the feasibility of the project. "

"As this development poses a very real danger to the superior status of the greenback and the interests of the US, the "president of war" can be expected to take a strong line against the winds blowing from the Middle East. One may be reminded that Saddam Hussein had entered into discreet talks with the EU, proposing to sell his oil for euros. That was in the year before the first oil war of this century. "

Afganistan's Karzai to U.S. - Focus on Sources of Terrorism, Please

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Karzai said the US military strategy since the fall of the Taleban had not failed, in spite of the recent increase in violence.

But he warned: "We and the international community and the coalition must sit down and reconsider and rethink whether the approach to the defeat of terrorism that we have taken is the right one."

Mr Karzai then said: "I believe we have to go to the sources of it, where terrorists are trained, where terrorists are prompted up."
President Karzai denied his comment on the "sources of terrorism" was a reference to Pakistan, despite official comments to the contrary.

Iraq to U.S. - "You Can Go Home Any Time Now"

Talabani said, "In my opinion, at least from 40,000 to 50,000 American troops can be [withdrawn] by the end of this year."

That assessment differs dramatically from those offered by Bush and by U.S. military commanders in Iraq.

DHS Unleashes Mercenaries on Citizens of New Orleans

"Blackwater mercenaries are some of the most feared professional killers in the world and they are accustomed to operating without worry of legal consequences. Their presence on the streets of New Orleans should be a cause for serious concern for the remaining residents of the city and raises alarming questions about why the government would allow men trained to kill with impunity in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to operate here."

Situation Normal in New Orleans and FEMA, All Fucked Up

"things are going relatively well." - Michael Brown, FEMA Director - Sep 1, 2005
"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." - George W. Bush - Sep 2, 2005
Meanwhile, victims estimated in the tens of thousands are dying for lack of a federal relief effort.

Iraq's Kirkuk Crude Exports Halted After Pipeline Blast

Better Dead Than Saved by Red Doctors?

Still No Answer to Cuba's Offer of 1500 Doctors and 26.4 Tons of Medical Supplies

"Cuba would be completely powerless to help the crew of a spaceship or a nuclear submarine in distress, but it could offer the victims of hurricane Katrina, facing imminent death, substantial and crucial assistance. And this is what it’s been doing since Tuesday, August 30, at 12:45 pm, when the winds and downpours had barely ceased." - Fidel Castro

At right around the same time, Bush was happily strumming a guitar at a fundraiser.

BBC - More Guns Than Doctors Sent to New Orleans

Mission Accomplished?

[Helicopters] are highly visible but do not explain, for instance, why high wheeled vehicles have not been driven into these more accessible neighbourhoods.

When the authorities do come to these streets, it is more often in pickup trucks with guns.

"There are a lot more cops and guns than doctors," Greg Henderson, a doctor, said.
"For a long time, I'm sorry to say that I was the only doctor down here in central New Orleans."

Cheney's Halliburton Finds Profit in Katrina Disaster

Halliburton hired for storm cleanup

The Navy has hired Houston-based Halliburton Co. to restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris at three naval facilities in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Halliburton subsidiary KBR will also perform damage assessments at other naval installations in New Orleans as soon as it is safe to do so.

KBR was assigned the work under a "construction capabilities" contract awarded in 2004 after a competitive bidding process. The company is not involved in the Army Corps of Engineers' effort to repair New Orleans' levees.

FEMA's New Orleans Response Plan Had Been Privatised

Straight from IEM's website. So this miserable response had been planned?? Let's see the plan, shall we? What was the $500,000 plan - to block relief efforts at gunpoint, cut communications, declare martial law and kill or scatter the democratic base? What kind of SOB approved this?

IEM Team to Develp Catastrophic Hurricane Disaster Plan for New Orleans & Southeast Lousiana
June 3, 2004

IEM, Inc., the Baton Rouge-based emergency management and homeland security consultant, will lead the development of a catastrophic hurricane disaster plan for Southeast Louisiana and the City of New Orleans under a more than half a million dollar contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In making the announcement today on behalf of teaming partners Dewberry, URS Corporation and James Lee Witt Associates*, IEM Director of Homeland Security Wayne Thomas explained that the development of a base catastrophic hurricane disaster plan has urgency due to the recent start of the annual hurricane season which runs through November. National weather experts are predicting an above normal Atlantic hurricane season with six to eight hurricanes, of which three could be categorized as major.

The IEM team will complete a functional exercise on a catastrophic hurricane strike in Southeast Louisiana and use results to develop a response and recovery plan. A catastrophic event is one that can overwhelm State, local and private capabilities so quickly that communities could be devastated without Federal assistance and multi-agency planning and preparedness.
Thomas said that the greater New Orleans area is one of the nation’s most vulnerable locations for hurricane landfall.

“Given this area’s vulnerability, unique geographic location and elevation, and troubled escape routes, a plan that facilitates a rapid and effective hurricane response and recovery is critical,” he said. “The IEM team’s approach to catastrophic planning meets the challenges associated with integrating multi-jurisdictional needs and capabilities into an effective plan for addressing catastrophic hurricane strikes, as well as man-made catastrophic events.”
IEM President and CEO Madhu Beriwal is the recipient of a s pecial merit award from the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association ( LEPA ) for her work in New Orleans hurricane emergency preparedness. IEM, Inc. was founded in 1985, and is one of the leading emergency management corporations in the U.S. While some organizations include emergency management as one of many business areas, helping to plan for and manage emergencies is IEM’s core business . IEM’s clients include some of the foremost federal emergency and defense organizations in the U.S., including the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.ieminc.com
Established in 1956, Dewberry is a multidisciplinary planning, engineering, and design firm, employing more than 1,600 individuals. As FEMA’s largest contractor, Dewberry plays a significant role in the national effort to reduce the impact of both natural (flood, fire, earthquake, tropical storm, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, and winter storm) and man-made (hazardous waste, terrorism, etc.) hazards on people, property, and the economy. www.dewberry.com
URS Corporation provides planning, engineering, architecture, and applied science to hundreds of government agencies and private industrial and commercial companies worldwide. The company has more than 26,000 employees -- the largest Architectural & Engineering firm in the U. S. for the fourth consecutive year.URS has approximately 500 employees in Louisiana. URS has over 30 years of experience in hazard mitigation planning and engineering support work for FEMA and other customers. www.urscorp.com
*James Lee Witt Associates was a member of the original team, but did not participate in the project.

SNAFU - Brown Appointed as FEMA Director After Being Fired From Horse Show Director Job

The Federal Emergency Management Agency official in charge of the New Orleans rescue was fired from his last private-sector job overseeing horse shows.

And before joining FEMA as a deputy director in 2001, Mike Brown, the Republican Party activist, had no significant experience that would have qualified him for the position. But the Oklahoman got the job through an old college friend who at the time was heading up FEMA.

No Answer Yet To [Norwegian] US Aid Offer

FEMA Sabotage of Local Relief Efforts

“I’m sick of the press conferences, for God's sake, shut up and send us somebody.”
-Aaron Broussard, President, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, September 4th, 2005

Want to see what's really happening to the relief effort of the flood victims? Watch this video.

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies

'Many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable,' he said. 'In America, we do not abandon our fellow citizens in their hour of need. And the federal government will do its part. Where our response is not working, we'll make it right. Where our response is working, we will duplicate it.
'We have a responsibility to our brothers and sisters all along the Gulf Coast, and we will not rest until we get this right and the job is done.'
- George W. Bush, 4 September 2005 weekly radio address


So then, who’s getting the ax for leaving the victims in New Orleans to their own defenses – they left their own people to rot - for four days? Who in leadership is going to jail? No one. Oh. How’s that, you say? That would appear to contradict the official rhetoric. Well, what does he really mean then? He was asked to clarify on WWL TV in New Orleans, and he said that the security situation was unacceptable, not the situation of victims dying for lack of food and water. Or, from this perspective, it was unacceptable that the insurance companies were caused further damage from abandoned people and those in concentration camp surroundings securing food and clothing to survive. Their crime is to have the audacity to want and to take steps to survive after losing one’s home and livelihood. After all, the poor don’t typically vote for Republican administrations, and actually, in racist parts of the South, they were restrained by police from voting in the year 2000. And from the neo conservative perspective, if they don’t vote for neo conservatives, what benefit is there to saving their lives?

So a more accurate reading of the quote would go something as follows:

'Many of our (corporate elite and republican) citizens simply are not getting the help they need, (against the appropriation of resources by opposition survivors) especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable,' he said. 'In America, we do not abandon our fellow (elite) citizens in their hour of need. And the federal government will do its part. (to protect the property of elites and insurance companies) Where our response is not working, we'll make it right. Where our response is working, we will duplicate it. (and that’s a threat)
'We have a responsibility to our (fraternity) brothers and (sorority) sisters all along the Gulf Coast, and we will not rest until we get this right and the job is done.'
What Job? Actions Speak Louder than Words
So far the job has been rounding up the poor and disenfranchised, shipping them to concentration camps at gunpoint, depriving them of food, medical care and water, assassinating their character because they refuse to die peacefully, and now dispersing them to unknown destinations against their wills to stop them from organizing. Can relatives come to pick them up? No, they can’t approach within 17 miles. If the bus passes through a town where relatives have offered food and shelter can they get off the bus? No. And what about the now homeless poor in the outlying areas of Louisiana and Mississippi without television cameras and news crews? Well, the Klan will take care of them. Bet on it.

So far the job has been to transfer the nation’s wealth to the elite, through tax cuts, fraud, energy policy, high fuel prices, war, and whatever distractions are necessary to hasten the transfer. Sound like Enron’s treatment of California? You bet. Only Enron was too transparent to be swallowed by the public. Only executive privilege and a stacked Supreme Court can take care of the transparency issue.

So far, we can look to Iraq as the preferred neo conservative model for the US. Well, it’s the most visible and relevant example at this time. It’s nothing new though. One only need look to our policy against our Latin neighbors in the south to trace this policy back through history. Democrat and Republican alike have doggedly pursued this free-take policy. Of course they can’t do it right away, but step by step, sure. It begins with education. Bring religion back into the schools, so those who want to learn to read will start with the Bible, and many will be put off by the difficulty and remain illiterate. How to get there? Start by assaulting Darwin’s science and replace it with divine miracle. Teach this to 14 year olds, and soon they will be voting for well funded righteous candidates.

Call me a liberal, a flaming liberal, un-American, call me what you like, but you’re wrong. I’ve got nothing against a pure free trade policy. It’s where the corporate led government gets involved that the problems occur. Free trade, but with subsidies for our agrochemical corporate farm conglomerates isn’t free trade. Protection against foreigners buying our assets while applying pressure to liberate the assets of foreigners to domestic corporations isn’t free trade. And if resources are allowed to migrate out of poorer countries to richer ones, so should the people whose resources they were formerly. Ah, but they can’t. Well, you say, they would presumably benefit from the foreign “investment” in the natural resources - this investment would improve their lives. Organizations like the National Endowment for Democracy and USAID ensure that this isn’t the case though. They back overwhelmingly corrupt pro US business candidates, or dictators in the case a coup is necessary, and often the “investment” money never leaves the States, instead finding its way into Miami bank accounts. Just ask Mr. Pinochet. So a corrupted free trade policy becomes in effect a free take policy. Privatization of US utilities has the same potential, except that it needs to be done more gradually to silently defeat public rejection. Once it’s done, all we need is a shortage of energy to hasten the looting of the middle class. Enron, anyone? On steroids. When the economy eventually implodes, then resources can be bought up cheaply and efficiently. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, uh, shame, uh, don’t get fooled again!

I have read, from the same kind of people who would label me a flaming liberal for my rejection of the policies of the corporate US government, the idea that the international community didn’t step up and send in relief for the victims, and therefore, we should stop all the money that flows out of the country in foreign aid. Amen, brother, I say, despite the fact that the list of countries that have offered significant aid is huge, despite non-reporting by the corporate media machine. Let’s start with the largest recipient, the oppressive regime in Israel. Usually the ‘aid’ the corporate government dispenses is neither in the interest of the majority of US citizens, nor in the interest of the majority of the citizens in the region where the ‘aid’ is dispensed. That is, if the money even leaves the US and doesn’t go directly into the accounts of US contractors.

But what about New Orleans? The destabilization is underway. To understand what New Orleans was and represented, one needs to spend some time in the Bible Belt. New Orleans was a cultural outlet, a social outlet for the whole region. An evangelically religious, socially repressive area needs a counter balance, and that was the cosmopolitan city of New Orleans. Now it’s gone, citizen has been turned against citizen, and the rebuilt version will resemble nothing more than a hollow whitewashed shell of the original. Jacksonville, FL, Houston, TX, and Charlotte, NC provide examples of the type of blight that will likely follow. The French Quarter will become a Disney version, nothing like the original except for maybe some of the original architecture. In essence, the South has lost its soul. The heart of the South, when found in cardiac arrest, has been surgically removed, shredded, and disposed of. Call it a model for the nation, if you will. Mission accomplished.

I have put off writing about the disaster in New Orleans because I am still in a state of shock. I feel like I need to write about it because just taking the piss out of public statements doesn’t dignify the defeat, death, torture by starvation and dehydration, and suffering of the victims. In a state of shock, one experiences a toxic soup of emotions, much like New Orleans itself these days. First, from the night of Friday, 26 August, it became apparent that Katrina would build in strength and head northwards. I watched the satellite maps and discussions on Yahoo’s CWEI energy board with fear. I sent messages to friends in the States. Slowly, through the weekend, the hurricane gathered strength and made for New Orleans. Nothing to do but wait in horror and with anxiety for the predicted landfall on Monday. From satellite images, I watched the eye as it just missed New Orleans, and waited for the inevitable reports of flooding. Everyone knew there would be massive flooding because of the category 5 storm surges, the fact that New Orleans flooded even in thunderstorms because of its sub-sea level altitude, and the condition of the dikes. I was sad. No federal response. The Canadians had planes loaded and ready to go, but they were denied permission to enter by the Department of Homeland Security. The feds took a week from the time everyone knew there would be a disaster to get around to delivering drinking water and food. The SWAT teams and riot patrols, however, arrived much faster. Unfortunately they weren’t put to work saving lives, just protecting property. As I read stories of survivors and saw footage, read police and National Guard scanner transcripts, survivors being greeted with guns pointed at them, treated like animals, my sadness turned into anger. When reports surfaced that the Canadian help was refused, my anger turned into outrage. I knew the corporate US government didn’t give a shit about the poor, but this despicable confirmation broke my heart. Mother fuckers.

And finally, I thought the $500,000,000,000 “defense” budget was supposed to cover the possibility of a two front, all-out war. Then, why now do we need to pull troops from Iraq to protect the property of the elites in New Orleans? Why is the answer put forward by the corporate media that the middle class should donate to the Salvation Army and the Red Cross, instead of a swift government response? Hello, Carlyle Group, hello General Electric, hello Boeing, hello Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, Bush Sr., and all your spooky cronies making over a million a year! How ‘bout a hand, guys? As a taxpayer, there is something I demand to know. Where the fuck’s my tax money!!? What was it spent on? Who has it now? Which bank account in Switzerland? The bastards don’t give a shit.

You think I make this shit up? Liberal corporate press? Right. Follow these links for backup:

truthout.org/docs_2005/090205R.shtml
observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1562429,00.html
counterpunch.org/landau06252004.html
observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1562415,00.html
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4210674.stm
jang.com.pk/thenews/sep2005-daily/04-09-2005/world/w1.htm
alternet.org/bloggers/evan/24905/
wwltv.com/topstories/stories/090205cckatrinaMayor
wwltv.com/topstories/stories/090105cccakatcorp.4aa63005.html
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4207944.stm
bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4210674.stm

Venezuela's Chavez Comes Through for US Disenfrachised and Forgotten

"[Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA President] Ramirez said that under the Venezuelan government plan, CITGO will set aside up to 10% of its refined oil products to be sold directly to organized poor communities, and institutions in the U.S. without intermediaries."

For the full story, click on the headline

Rumsfeld Shores Up Military Discontent with Pep Rally

The Washington Post published what appears to be a USA-Today sized glossy summary from Rumsfeld's press office, through the defense secretary's apparent WP conduit, Josh White. Editorial comments are in parentheses, bold and italic print.

Rumsfeld: U.S. (Corporations) Won't Lose in Iraq

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 30, 2005; Page A03

FORT IRWIN, Calif., Aug. 29 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld offered a passionate defense of the war in Iraq while speaking to a group of hundreds of soldiers at the Army's National Training Center on Monday afternoon, urging them not to give up on the war (formerly) against (weapons of mass destruction, then Al Quaeda terrorists, and now against US created) extremism (in opposition to US-style free-take economics and indiscriminate murder of innocent civilians) as they prepare to re-enter the fight in coming months.

While Rumsfeld has consistently emphasized the need for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, his speech was particularly emphatic and included criticism of those in Congress and the media who have questioned the rate of (outlandish spending on political supporters, and war industry corporations) progress, specifically in Iraq.

He said some people are emphasizing the negative aspects of the war -- such as the deaths of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians at the hands of insurgents -- while failing to give appropriate attention to the "historic" (puppet) democratic efforts there.

"We have no choice but to take the offensive," Rumsfeld told a packed auditorium of soldiers and families of those already deployed, arguing that a hasty withdrawal from Iraq is not a viable option. "People who want to toss in the towel were wrong yesterday, they're wrong today, and they'll be wrong tomorrow."

Facing mounting domestic pressure over the war as public support has waned in recent months, Rumsfeld directly addressed what he calls a misperception on the part of the American people. When one (planted) soldier asked Rumsfeld at the town-hall-style meeting why troops in Iraq feel the war is going better than people at home do, the defense secretary replied that he believes good news and progress simply cannot compete with the war's bloody images.

Rumsfeld reiterated that (a corporate controlled) democracy takes time and that it is not easy, adding that the problems the Iraqis are having in developing a constitution mirror the difficulties the United States had more than 200 years ago.

"The United States is not losing the global war against terrorism, nor are we losing the war in Afghanistan or Iraq," he said. Railing against violent extremists, he added, "They are what's wrong with the world."

Rumsfeld spoke with soldiers who are training in advance of new tours in Iraq, including a brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, which was part of the first deployment into the war. Pentagon officials said Monday that approximately 55 percent to 60 percent of soldiers with the 4th Infantry preparing to go to Iraq have been there previously, but they return to face insurgents who have grown more lethal and whose level of attacks in some areas of the country have remained consistent, even more than two years later.

After a speech about environmental conservation at a conference in St. Louis on Monday, Rumsfeld told reporters aboard his airplane that the troops about to go to Iraq in December -- about the time elections are scheduled there -- are going to face a very different situation than they did during their last rotation in 2003. Then, the focus was on ousting a dictator's government and freeing the (natural resources of the) people of Iraq; now, it's about supporting (puppet) Iraqi troops and handing the country over to the (pro free-take) Iraqi people.

"The real battle we're fighting is the test of wills," Rumsfeld said en route to the Mojave desert.

At Fort Irwin, where temperatures were near 100 degrees, Rumsfeld echoed those comments to a boisterous and supportive crowd: "The U.S. military is not going to lose a battle or a war over there." (Just tens of thousands of lives of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of lives of innocent civilians)

Still, he reiterated the need to wage war on (petroleum rich) stages like Iraq, saying that such wars are the only means to secure America's (green zone's) freedom and peace, the only way to (create and) stave off the reach of Islamic extremism. He reminded listeners of the deaths on Sept. 11, 2001. (which had nothing to do with Iraq)

"Your mission is to go on offense, (like our foreign policy,) to go on the attack," Rumsfeld told the troops, praising those who are currently fighting. "They are engaging the terrorists where they live, so we don't have to engage them where Americans live (in the green zone, Israel and its occupied territories, and at middle eastern petroleum installations)."

The trip, during which Rumsfeld plans to attend President Bush's speech commemorating V-J Day on Tuesday, comes as Pentagon officials (threaten, and therefore) expect violence in Iraq to get worse leading up to a scheduled constitutional referendum by Oct. 15 and then an election on Dec. 15. The next rotation of troops will allow for a temporary boost in U.S. force levels to roughly 160,000. (to prevent the Sunnis from overwhelmingly turning out to vote the US drafted constitution down.)

After the Fort Irwin stop, Rumsfeld headed to San Diego. He plans to meet with Navy SEALs at the Naval Amphibious Base at Coronado on Tuesday. Rumsfeld visited the troops in California to wish them well and to let them know how much he appreciates what they are doing for the (companies, uh I mean) country.

He took eight (planted) questions, which dealt with a variety of issues, from Rumsfeld's involvement in wrestling in his youth to the Army recruitment shortfall to how to respond to people who suggest the United States should pull out of Iraq. Rumsfeld encouraged the soldiers to be proud and to stand strong.

"Everyone would like it to be perfect, and life isn't perfect," Rumsfeld said. (nor fair for the hundreds of thousands of murdered and/or tortured innocent civilians and the thousands of dead soldiers and their families)

Sunnis Reject Iraq Constitution, Bush Threatens Violence

Last week Bush warned, "We can expect ... atrocities to increase in the coming months because the enemy knows that its greatest defeat lies in the expression of free people in freely enacted laws and at the ballot box."

The term "enemy" is ominously ambiguous, and the Bush administration knows something about this already as the electoral process so far has led to an Iraq now sympathetic, if not inter-related, to the hard line Islamic government in neighboring co-"Axis of Evil" member Iran. And ironically, the US has been applying pressure lately to the Shiite Kurd alliance to refrain from steamrolling the Sunni opposition, but at home has been doing to the opposition exactly the type of steamrolling that they are advising the alliance against.

Much of the Sunni distaste for the proposed constitution comes from what they see as unfair petroleum profit distribution, and they will have an opportunity in October to reject the constitution and start from scratch. That is, if "atrocities" do not keep them from the polls.

click on the headline for the full story

"Back Door" Bolton Torpedoes UN Millenium Goal of Reducing Poverty

"Back Door" Bolton's leaked US version of the 7- month-in-the-making UN Summit Agreement sheds a light on Bush foreign policy goals. "The hundreds of deletions and insertions represent a helpfully annotated map to Washington's disagreements with most of the rest of the world on just about every global issue imaginable."
Click on the headline for the Guardian's full story.

US Establishes Military Base in Paraguay, Suitable for Destabilization of Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia

Long sought after base acquired after closed door meeting, with neither debate nor public input. Highlights of the deal with the politicians representing the second most corrupted nation on Earth include impunity for the heavily armed US troops, and teaching of Paraguayan forces Fort Benning's School of the Americas style terror tactics. While the base was set up nominally for anti narcotics and terrorism operations, at stake are large gas and petroleum reserves and a popular backlash against Washington's free trade (bribes for unhindered access to oil and gas) agenda. Click on the headline for the full story from COHA.

Christian Coalition Leader Calls for Murder of Venezuela's Chavez and Overthrow of Democracy

Editor's comment: I'm shocked. Is this what Jesus taught? Where does Robertson get the idea that Venezuela is a staging ground for communists and Muslim extremists? Why is no proof offered to support this manifestation of psychosis? And why would the US want to destabilize a country that sells and will continue to sell gasoline to the US through its own Venezuelan owned Citgo line of gas stations? When logic can't be applied to a political situation, either follow the money or crackpot religion. I guess Robertson's purpose is to try bring on the armageddon, and that neither honesty nor integrity is necessary to make and save in the range of $200,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 in the US religion business.


Pat Robertson says U.S. "doesn´t need another 200 billion dollar war to get rid of one strong-arm dictator"
U.S. Christian Leader Calls for the Assassination of Venezuelan President

Tuesday, Aug 23, 2005 Print format
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By: Cleto Sojo - Venezuelanalysis.com



For Pat Robertson it is a lot cheaper to assassinate Chavez than to start a war to overthrow him.
Credit: CBN


Caracas, Venezuela, August 23, 2005 (Venezuelanalysis.com).- U.S. Christian televangelist Pat Robertson, host of "The 700 Club" show on the U.S. Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, during his television show on Monday.

"You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it." Reverend Robertson commented after his network aired a news piece highly critical of the twice-elected South American leader.

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another 200 billion dollar war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with," Robertson continued.

In recent months Chavez has hinted that the U.S. government, after failed attempts to remove him from the presidency, might contemplate his assassination, given the fact that his high approval ratings in Venezuela make him very likely to be reelected next year.

"It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United ... This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen," the televangelist continued.

Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, accused the U.S. of not doing enough to overthrow Chavez. "There was a popular coup that overthrew him, and what did the United States State Department do about it? virtually nothing. And as a result, within about 48 hours that coup was broken; Chavez was back in power, but we had a chance to move in," Robertson said referring to the April 2002 coup, which was reversed after millions of Venezuelans took the streets to demand the return of their elected president.

Chavez and many independent analysts argue that the U.S. government was involved in the coup. Documents obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, show that the U.S. government channeled millions of dollars in grants to U.S. and Venezuelan groups opposed to President Chávez, including several that participated in the failed coup. The documents, posted at www.VenezuelaFOIA.info, also show the CIA had advanced knowledge of the coup, giving credibility to reports of U.S. involvement.

Robertson accused Chavez of destroying the Venezuelan economy, which grew 17% in 2004, and is expected to grow double digits again in 2005. "He has destroyed the Venezuelan economy, and he's going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent," he said. Politically-motivated capital flight, lock-outs, strikes, and a coup attempt, caused the Venezuelan economy to contract in 2002 and 2003. The economy later recovered in 2004 after Chavez regained control of the state-owned oil company, and Venezuelans went to the polls exercising their right to demand the recall of the President.

America for the Americans

Robertson invoked the Monroe Doctrine under which the United States must exercise control over the Americas. "We have the Monroe Doctrine; we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly," he said. Venezuela has the highest reserves of crude oil outside of the Middle East and it is one of the main suppliers of oil to the U.S.

The televangelist is a strong supporter of U.S. President George W. Bush, and mobilized his millions of followers during the two recent presidential elections.

Robertson, whose fortune ranges between 200 million and one billion dollars, is a strong believer in God and the power of prayer. "I want to be part of God's plan of what He is doing on earth, and I want to bring Him glory," reads his mission statement on his website.