"When the government fears the people, you have liberty. When the people fear the government, you have tyranny."
~ President Thomas Jefferson
| Visit the U.S. National Debt Clock You better sit down before you read this one! | "There is dirt under every BUSH!" | Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 |
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CIA Tortured by Questions About Torturing
From fair.org - Friday, May 22, 2009 By Jim Naureckas US interrogators may have killed dozens, human rights researcher and rights group say The independent website Raw Story (5/6/09) recently summarized the human toll of the U.S. government's torture program. Approximately 100 prisoners have died in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to human rights investigators, with 34 of those deaths officially classified as homicides; at least eight individuals were tortured to death. Read More [ permalink ] |
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Obama's Indefinite 'PROLONGED DETENTION' - Prison Guards Raped Children While MOTHERS FORCED TO WATCH!
Thursday, May 21, 2009 By Your-Rights.com Barack Obama plans for indefinite "prolonged detention" of people for crimes the Government merely thinks they might commit! Rachael Maddow did an excellent job of showing us the REAL meaning of what Obama said. CLICK TO SEE THE VIDEO FOR YOURSELF! (YouTube version) Barack Obama gave a speech today talking about this very unconstitutional plan he has while standing right in front of the Constitution of the United States! This is an excellent example of Doublethink. "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -- Benjamin Franklin Obama doesn't specify how long people could be detained, but he hints that it could be as long as 10 years! So, if the Government thinks that someone *MIGHT* commit a crime, they can lock them up for 10 years?! This seems to be Obama's wet dream at the moment, but he could ejaculate this unconstitutional mess all over us at any time! You, me or anyone could be thrown in prison because the Government thinks we might commit a crime!!! Are you prepared to risk this becoming a reality? And for what purpose would this serve? Obama says that this will keep terrorists from executing attacks against the Unites States. However, if you scrape off all the bullshit propaganda from his plan, and actually take a hard look at what he is saying, it is clear. Obama (and his military-industrial complex puppet masters) plan to use this in order to silence the detainees at Guantanamo and elsewhere who have been tortured. It is clear that this plan will prevent those people from being released. Think about this for a moment... If all of the detainees were allowed to have free communication with the outside world, they would communicate to us EXACTLY how and to what extent they were tortured! I can't even imagine the horrors those people have gone through while they have been imprisoned! What we know about so far is WAY worse than what you hear about from the main stream media. I even wonder if the mainstream media could be fined by the FCC for indecency if they even mentioned some of the ways these people have been tortured! On top of that, Barack Obama is hiding thousands of torture pictures under his bed because he does not want the world to see what the preceding administration has done! The reason Obama is seeking to block these photos is because they include those of children being sodomized while their mothers were forced to watch at Abu Ghraib. This practice was explored as an acceptable practice in John Yoo's torture memos. IT IS THAT BAD!! ...and that is only the stuff that we know about!!! When you have the President, who was supposed to be a liberal grassroots organizer, protecting the crimes of the Bush administration, it is clear, beyond all doubt, that we have a special ruling class in our country! How can a person from Barack Obama's background become as corrupt as he apparently now is, judging by the speech he made today?! What exactly is it? Is he doing this willingly? Is someone threatening his family if he doesn't do these things? I just don't understand how someone can become so corrupt! I just can't imagine that someone, who is supposed to be what Barack Obama is supposed to represent, could say what he did today! However, that is just what they wanted us to think. That is what is so wrong with America now... people just can't believe that our own Government could do these things in our name. They just got finished screwing over the trust of the Republicans and now they are doing it to the Democrats. FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU! FOOL ME TWICE, SHAME ON ME!!! Seriously think about what I say here... If there could be anymore of a reason for you to GET ACTIVELY INVOLVED with OPPOSING the regime of the Obama-Bush military-industrial complex, would you be willing to let it go that far before you decide to do something about it??? What will it take to make people open their eyes, to TAKE A HARSH, CRITICAL LOOK AT REALITY for once?? Will it take a new version of Hitler's Stormtroopers knocking down peoples doors before they wake up? If they decide to wake up then, I seriously doubt it will help any while they are being put on the trains headed for the gas chambers! That hopefully won't happen... but as well as we all know that history does repeat, this scenario is entirely made possible... by people who stay asleep and don't oppose it!!!!!!!!!!!! There comes a time when peoples emotions get calloused, numb from being peppered with these atrocities day after day. It is at this particular point that the Government becomes especially dangerous, because this is when the people are most apathetic. Couple that with being pacified with what they thought would be the "Change we can believe in." It now looks like instead of "change" they will get chains and shackles instead! --- "Many people do not have sufficient confidence in themselves, their judgment and their capacities to make them capable of disobedience and resistance. Having no strong will of their own, they accept that of their rulers, and sometimes prefer rulers who will direct their lives and relieve them of the task of making decisions. The subjects may be disillusioned, exhausted, apathetic, or possessed of inertia, or they may lack a belief system which makes it possible both to evaluate when one ought to obey and disobey, and also to give confidence in one's right and ability to make such a decision. Lack of self-confidence may also be influenced by a belief that the ruling group is more qualified to make decisions and to carry them out than are the subjects. This attitude may be based on perceived greater competence, social customs and class distinctions, or conscious indoctrination." --Gene Sharp, Power and Struggle, Part One of The Politics of Nonviolent Action, 1973 --- ** Members of Congress should be compelled to wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers, so we could identify their corporate sponsors. Related News: America's Nightmare: The Obama Dystopia Obama: From anti-war law professor to warmonger in 100 days Does Obama Plan to Give Up a Little Liberty to Get a Little Safety? Obama National Archives Speech (TRANSCRIPT, VIDEO) Direct link to MSNBC video, prefaced with commercials! CIA and Packistan's ISI together created Taliban: Zardari (Note: This is the same ISI that gave the reported lead 9/11 hijacker $100,000 dollars!!!) Zardari: US, Pakistan gave birth to Taliban US and the Saudis created Al-Qaeda The Story of Mitchell Jessen & Associates: How a Team of Psychologists in Spokane, WA, Helped Develop the CIA's Torture Techniques Book Cites Secret Red Cross Report of C.I.A. Torture of al-Qaida Captives Osama Bin Laden Was US Operator: President Asif Ali Zardari FBI holds 10th-grader for months with little contact from family Wikileaks cracks NATO's Master Narrative for Afghanistan Torture was taught by CIA; Declassified manual details the methods used in Honduras; Agency denials refuted CIA Tortured by Questions About Torturing Cheney's speech in defense of torture contained omissions, misstatements. Some folks call those "lies." Read More [ permalink ] |
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Obama caught in Bed with Blackwater
From AlterNet - Wednesday, March 18, 2009 By Jeremy Scahill "President Obama, Why Did You Pay Blackwater $70 Million in February?" "For those already outraged at the AIG bonus scandal, here is a fact that should add more fuel to the fire: The Obama administration has paid the mercenary firm formerly known as Blackwater nearly $70 million to operate in Iraq and, according to The Washington Times, may keep the company on the payroll months past the official expiration of its Iraq contract in May. I reviewed Blackwater's recent transactions with the Obama State Department and discovered a $45 million payment to Blackwater on February 4, 2009 for "protective services-Iraq." It is described as a "funding action only." Here is the interesting part: The estimated "Ultimate Completion Date" is May 7, 2011." ( Note: Blackwater has officially changed its name to "XE", pronounced zee, as in the letter "Z" ) Read More [ permalink ] |
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The Memory Hole and Torture
From OpEdNews - Thursday, February 26, 2009 By wagelaborer Note: You want some eye opening facts, this is full of them! A nice dose of the "Red Pill." Improved METHODS OF PROPAGANDA no longer make it necessary to physically alter past records. Simply coating the corporate media with the new story is enough. How US torture was turned into a new development. :::::::: In George Orwell's book, 1984, Winston Smith's job at the Ministry of Truth was to rewrite history. Part of the job was to literally send the old documents down the memory hole to be incinerated. Then he wrote the new history as ordered by the ruling class. No traces of the old history were allowed to be saved. As it turned out, none of that was necessary. By the time of the actual 1984, Ronald Reagan was President. The United State was supporting "freedom fighters" in Central America and in Afghanistan, sending billions to fund the muhajadeen, and setting up schools in Pakistan, where children were trained with US suppplied textbooks in the ways of jihad. We were officially supporting Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war, sending him arms, intelligence, and biological and chemical weapons. But we also sold arms in secret to Iran, although they were officially our enemy. All of this is now down the memory hole, but only figuratively. Today the documentation isn't burned, you can still find it, but it doesn't matter. The Ministry of Truth, now called the corporate media, simply presents the new truth in an authoritative manner and the proles accept it without question. We are now told that everyone loved Ronald Reagan, and the 2008 election was about who got to be the new Reagan. The Afghan freedom fighters turned into terrorists, but the Central American ones remained heroes, all without historical comment. The madrasses are now bad. We have always been at war with Iran and Iraq. In 1988, we were shocked, shocked to find out that the US was teaching torture techniques to the Central American heroes using a manual called "Human Resources Exploitation Manual", which was an update of the Kubark manual, used in the 60s to teach torture to military forces from Guatemala to Columbia to Vietnam, where we were shocked, shocked to find out about the Phoenix Program, in which the US and its Vietnamese proxies tortured and killed tens of thousands of prisoners. It has been claimed that not one prisoner survived interrogation in the Phoenix Program. We were shocked when Office of Public Safety was shown to have taught torture to police forces in Central and South America in the 70s. We have periodically been shocked when it turns out that some graduate of the SOA is responsible for a massacre that catches our attention for some reason. Maybe they rape and kill nuns, or accidentally murder an American - something out of the ordinary run of the mill peasant suppression massacre. These forms of torture should be classified as terrorism. Multilated bodies thrown into ditches and dropped from helicopters terrorize the population into submission. US involvement in these mass torture and murder projects have usually been covert, hence the "shock" when INFORMATION LEAKS out. How is the George Bush/Dick Cheney administration different? Using the destruction of 9-11, along with a massive fear mongering propaganda campaign afterwards that told us that we were all afraid of terrorists, they embarked on a new chapter in American history - open imperialism, with blatant disrepect for international law, including illegal invasions, indefinite detentions and the unashamed use of torture by Americans. Much to their dismay, Americans who were engaged in torture at Abu Ghraib took PICTURES, enabling more than the usual suspects to find out about real American foreign policy. International outcry forced some sort of response. Those involved who took pictures were tried and convicted. Although evidence surfaced that similar torture techniques were used at Bagram and Guantanamo, no one involved took pictures, and none of them was tried. Alfred McCoy, who had researched the history of American torture, realized that the accounts of the "bad apples" at Abu Ghraib, Bagram and Guantanamo, who we were told all spontaneously came up with similar methods of torture, were actually all using methods which had been developed by the CIA in a massive outsourced research project which lasted for years- 1950-1962- and cost about one billion a year, in 1950's dollars. He wrote "The Politics of Torture" to explain US torture history. The CIA was not trying to find the most painful ways to torture with this research project, although, as I pointed out, horrendous forms of torture were used to terrorize select populations. But the CIA had bigger plans. They wanted to find ways to totally break down and then remake a human. Their goal was mind control. (And, by the way, they researched ways to brainwash an entire society as well as individuals, which seems to be working out pretty well for them.) But I would like to talk about Project Bluebird, which led to Project Artichoke, which became MKULTRA, and had as its goal, "Can we get control of the individual to the point where he will do our bidding against his will and even against fundamental laws of nature, such as self preservation?" In the post WW2 years, when respect for science was at its peak, the CIA turned to universities and hospitals to do the research, passing out grants to psychologists, psychiatrists and professors to find the best ways to break down a human personality. By the end of the project, 3 of the 100 most eminent phycholgists of the 20th century had been involved in torture research, as well as several presidents of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association. Donald Hebb, chair of McGill University's psychology department, wrote a grant proposing a sensory deprivation experiment, in which "slight changes in attitude might be effected". It suceeded beyond expectation, and the CIA began to focus on this cheap, easy way to effect total personality breakdown. Today, years later, the process has been refined. To quote Alfred McCoy, "Through relentless probing into the esential nature of the human organism to identify its physicological and psychological vulnerbilities, the CIA's "sensory deprivation" has eveolved into a total assault on all senses and sensibilities- auditory, visual, tactile, temporal, temperature, survival, sexual and cultural. Refined through years of practice, the method relies on simple, even banal procedures-isolation, standing, heat and cold, light and dark, noise and silence - for a systematic attack on all human senses." This what we saw in the Abu Ghraib photos, hooded victims in stress postitions, kept in bright lights with loud music playing at all times, deprived of sleep and food, naked in freezing conditions, forced into sexual humiliation and terrorized with dogs. Psychologists are still used, especially at Guantanamo, to personalize the torture to each person's private hopes and fears. How did Americans react to the revelations of torture? The people Lincoln referred as those you can fool all of the time, (who are now Fox News viewers)- were fine with it, steeped in fear of Islamic terrorists and helped along by a pro-torture propaganda TV show called 24, where evil doers dastardly deeds were weekly thwarted by the good guys and their torture tools. Sadly, 31 percent of Americans in a recent poll were OK with torture if it would potentially save lives, and 13% are fine with it generally, for a total of 44% approval, up from 36% two years earlier. They had Rumsfield joking about forced standing as a form of torture, saying that he stood at work. Actually, Cornell University researchers found that standing for days was "devastating torture, the legs swelled, the skin erupted in suppurating lesions, the kidneys shut down, hallucinations began." Funny stuff. What about those of us who are harder to fool? The people here tonight? The propaganda must be much more subtle. If too jarring, people may recall facts which have been consigned to the memory hole. So we have New Yorker author Jane Mayer, on a nationwide publicity tour for her book against torture, smoothly mixing facts with fiction to rewrite history. This is Jane on Democracy Now, a progressive news show. "I think, to step back, what you need to know is that the CIA had no experience really in interrogating prisoners. They had never really held prisoners before. And so, they really had no idea how to go about getting information out of people. So they turned to an incredibly strange place, which is a secret program inside the military that had studied torture, and it had studied torture in order to teach our own soldiers how to survive it if they were ever taken captive by some kind of completely immoral regime. Because they understood torture, the CIA turned to them and said, "Well, so how do you do it?" And basically they reverse-engineered this program in the most ironic way, and what became a program that was defensive became instead a-it was like a blueprint for torture. It was, you know, a rulebook." Slick, isn't it? Fox News worthy disinformation, neatly wrapped in a package of anti-torture rhetoric, to make it very easy to swallow without thinking. And Jane Mayer got a lot of corporate media time, unlike Alfred McCoy. And the Democrats in Congress, bravely speaking against waterboarding-thereby minimizing the rest of the program. The entire torture debate in Congress ignored the horrors of professional torture, while focusing on the ancient practice of waterboarding. Here is Senator Kennedy at the confirmation hearings of Michael Mukasey for Attorney General, when the senators postured toughly, extracting promises that Mukasey would, in the future, stop the one practice of waterboarding- "We are supposed to find comfort in the representation by a nominee to the highest law enforcement office in the country that he will, in fact, enforce the laws that we pass in the future? Can our standards really have sunk so low? Enforcing the law is the job of the attorney general. It is a prerequisite, not a virtue that enhances the nominee's qualifications. Make no mistake about it: Waterboarding is already illegal under United States law". Strong words, Sen. Kennedy, but actually, all torture is illegal under US law. From the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Constitution, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to the Geneva Convention Treatment of Prisoners of War, to the UN Convention Against Torture, all the expensively researched torture that the US has commissioned, taught and used is illegal. To stop only waterboarding is like having the local police only enforce jaywalking laws, ignoring speeding, drunk driving and running red lights. Please keep this history in mind when the propaganda machine tries to distract you with token gestures and empty words. Don't just close Guantanamo, close Bagram and all other black sites, close the School of the Americas, obey US and international law. My main interests are in promoting a better world. As they say, it is possible. If we can feed, clothe and house people with fiat currency, we can do it without it. I am appalled at the carnage done in my name, and I want to stop it. *** On the topic of the struggle for economic justice, do also check out the very powerful video clip here: HOW TO DESTROY A FOX NEWS ANCHOR Editors note: That video is the average propaganda from FOX News. What is not typical is the guest they have in that video who rips holes in their propaganda for all to see! If only the propaganda in the rest of the main stream media were so easy to see!!! RELATED: "Wikileaks cracks NATO's Master Narrative for Afghanistan" "Guantanamo Abuse Has Worsened Since Obama: Lawyer" Read More [ permalink ] |
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"Obama's Guantanamo" - Obama denies terror suspects right to trial
From independent.co.uk - Monday, February 23, 2009 By Stephen Foley Human rights groups shocked by refusal to reverse Bush policy in Afghanistan Less than a month after signing an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, President Barack Obama has quietly agreed to keep denying the right to trial to hundreds more terror suspects held at a makeshift camp in Afghanistan that human rights lawyers have dubbed "Obama's Guantanamo". In a single-sentence answer filed with a Washington court, the administration dashed hopes that it would immediately rip up Bush-era policies that have kept more than 600 prisoners in legal limbo and in rudimentary conditions at the Bagram air base, north of Kabul. Now, human rights groups say they are becoming increasingly concerned that the use of extra-judicial methods in Afghanistan could be extended rather than curtailed under the new US administration. The air base is about to undergo a $60m (£42m) expansion that will double its size, meaning it can house five times as many prisoners as remain at Guantanamo. Tags: afghanistan, bagram, guantanamo, human rights, obama, terrorism Read More [ permalink ] |
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Congress Members Visit Gaza, Are Outraged
From house.gov - Monday, February 23, 2009 By Congressman Brian Baird Brian Views Destruction in Gaza -- Calls for Immediate Relief and Change in Policy Washington, D.C. -- Two members of Congress, Brian Baird (D-WA-03), and Keith Ellison, (D-MN-05), visited Gaza on Thursday to view firsthand the destruction from recent Israeli air and ground attacks and to meet with international and local relief agencies. This visit, which did not have the official sanction of the Obama Administration, is the first time anyone from the U.S. government has entered Gaza in more than three years. Prior to Gaza, both Congressmen met with the chief negotiator of the Palestinian Authority, Dr. Saeb Erekat, as well as with Dr. Riad Malki Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Authority. On Friday, Baird and Ellison will tour the Israeli towns of Sderot and Ashkelon, which have been the target of numerous rockets before and throughout the recent attacks launched from within the Gaza strip. "Staff from the U.S. State Department advised us of security concerns for our own safety, and we are well aware of the sensitive political issues involved in this visit," said both Congressmen in an official release. "We believe it is important to be here to see what happened for ourselves, to meet with people who have been affected, and to express our concern and support," said Congressman Baird. "We also want to better understand what can and must be done to recover from the destruction, address the underlying issues, and work toward a lasting, just and peaceful resolution," added Congressman Ellison. After spending the day visiting various locations within Gaza and meeting with civilians and relief workers, Baird and Ellison were deeply affected by what they had seen and heard. "The stories about the children affected me the most," said Ellison. "No parent, or anyone who cares for kids, can remain unmoved by what Brian and I saw here." "The amount of physical destruction and the depth of human suffering here is staggering" said Baird, "Entire neighborhoods have been destroyed, schools completely leveled, fundamental water, sewer, and electricity facilities hit and relief agencies heavily damaged. The personal stories of children being killed in their homes or schools, entire families wiped out, and relief workers prevented from evacuating the wounded are heart wrenching -- what went on here, and what is continuing to go on, is shocking and troubling beyond words." Inquiring about the status of relief efforts, the Congressmen learned that some aid material has been allowed in since the intensity of the attacks lessened a month ago, but much is still being blocked by the Israeli defense forces. Examples of aid that has been banned by the Israeli Government include: lentils, macaroni, tomato paste, lentils and other food. Basic building materials, generator fuel and parts to repair damaged water treatment equipment have also been kept out. "If this had happened in our own country, there would be national outrage and an appeal for urgent assistance. We are glad that the Obama administration acted quickly to send much needed funding for this effort but the arbitrary and unreasonable Israeli limitations on food and repair essentials is unacceptable and indefensible. People, innocent children, women and non-combatants, are going without water, food and sanitation, while the things they so desperately need are sitting in trucks at the border, being denied permission to go in" said Baird and Ellison. The Congressmen's concerns about treatment of Palestinians were not limited to Gaza. They also visited Palestinian hospitals that treat patients from East Jerusalem and the West Bank. There they met with doctors, nurses and hospital directors who described how official Israeli policies and restricted border checkpoints make it exceedingly difficult and expensive for patients, nurses, medical technicians, and other essential personnel to reach the hospital to receive or provide care. "It's hard for anyone in our country to imagine how it must feel to have a sick child who needs urgent care or is receiving chemotherapy or dialysis, then be forced to take a needlessly lengthy route, walk rather than drive, and wait in lines as long as two hours simply to get to the hospital. As a health care professional myself, I found this profoundly troubling, no, actually it's beyond that, it is outrageous," said Baird. Responding to this and other issues the Congressman emphasized that fundamental changes and solutions are needed beyond the immediate challenges in Gaza. "The first and most urgent priority must be helping the people in Gaza. At the same time, the rocket attacks against Israeli cities must stop immediately. Just as the people of Gaza should not be subject to what they have experienced the Israeli civilians should not have to live in fear of constant and indiscriminate rocketing. The entire region and the international community must recommit itself to making the difficult but necessary changes to bring about lasting and just peace and security for the region. President Obama has made important and encouraging initiatives, now it is up to leaders and citizens here to move forward toward that shared goal" Tags: gaza Read More [ permalink ] |
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Americans Growing Kinder to Bud
From fivethirtyeight.com - Monday, February 23, 2009 By Nate Silver We all know that Michael Phelps was on something. But perhaps he was also onto something. Three recent polls show that Americans are more sympathetic to the idea of legalizing marijuana than ever before. The first poll, conducted last week by Rasmussen Reports, has 40 percent of Americans in support of legalizing the drug and 46 percent opposed. The second, conducted in January by CBS News, has 41 percent in favor of legalization and 52 percent against. And a third poll, conducted by Zogby on behalf of the marijuana-rights advocacy group NORML, has 44 percent of Americans in support of legalized pot and 52 percent opposed. Tags: marijuana Read More [ permalink ] |
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A Police Officer's View on Drugs
From demockracy.com - Monday, February 23, 2009 By Tony Smith Quite early in my career as a law enforcement officer, it became very obvious to me that the most dangerous drug was a legal drug. That drug is alcohol. Every riot, every disturbance, every assault, every serious late night motor vehicle accident, every homicide, and every sexual assault almost always involved alcohol. Where were the horrific crimes caused by drug addicts? They were there, but generally speaking they were non-violent property crimes and prostitution. It has been estimated that somewhere between 75-80% of all property crimes are committed by addicts. This begets the question that most policemen in our major cities have asked themselves countless times: why not treat addicts for their addictions, not as criminals, and supply their drugs temporarily until they get help. Apparently, a significant reduction in property crime, reduced jail costs, and lower medical costs is not a sufficient answer. The biggest question, which really changed my thinking toward the criminalization of drugs was, is why do we persist with laws that guarantee that serious criminals will become immensely rich, powerful, and violent toward any other criminals who stand in their way. If drugs were legally available, there would be no profits for the gangsters. U.S. history teaches us of a parallel situation that occurred during alcohol prohibition in the early twenty century, when gangsters became rich and powerful supplying bootleg alcohol. Al Capone's South Side Gang and similar gangs murdered whoever stood in their way. The crime rate shot up 200%. Finally, when alcohol prohibition was canceled, most of the gangs disappeared as the profits were gone, the murder rate returned to what it was before prohibition, AND everyone didn't become an alcoholic overnight! Tags: marijuana Read More [ permalink ] |
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Jailing Kids for Cash
From Truthdig - Wednesday, February 18, 2009 By By Amy Goodman As many as 5,000 children in Pennsylvania have been found guilty, and up to 2,000 of them jailed, by two corrupt judges who received kickbacks from the builders and owners of private prison facilities that benefited. The two judges pleaded guilty in a stunning case of greed and corruption that is still unfolding. Judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan received $2.6 million in kickbacks while imprisoning children who often had no access to a lawyer. The case offers an extraordinary glimpse into the shameful private prison industry that is flourishing in the United States. Read More [ permalink ] |
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Getting Byrned by 'The Man'
From Independent Television Service (ITVS) - Monday, February 16, 2009 President Barack Obama's 2009 economic stimulus package calls for $3 billion in new Byrne grants. Since 1988, the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program (originally named the Edward Byrne State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Grant Program) has provided federal money to establish and operate narcotic task forces across America. However, Byrne grants have been widely criticized, by groups ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union to the more conservative Heritage Foundation. Because the program lacks strict guidelines and standards, its task forces have been plagued with corruption and blamed for countless cases of wrongful incarceration--cases in no way limited to Tulia, Texas. Drug task force scandals are a national problem, involving everything from police perjury and evidence tampering to racial profiling and the misuse of millions of dollars of federal money. Although Texas dismantled its Byrne-funded narcotics forces after the Tulia scandal, more than 600 Byrne task forces remain in operation in the U.S. Despite the Bush administration's efforts to cut the grant program, Congress voted in 2008 to authorize Byrne funding until 2013. President Barack Obama's 2009 economic stimulus package calls for $3 billion in new Byrne grants. NOTE: Click 'Read More' below to view a selected sample of task force-related scandals in recent years via an interactive Google map showing their locations. Read More [ permalink ] |
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Media, Pentagon Spar Over Control of Propaganda
From PR Watch.org - Saturday, February 14, 2009 "You want to make sure you edit it in the right way," said Major Alayne Conway, who served as a U.S. military public affairs officer in Iraq. When preparing videos for media outlets and websites like YouTube, she said her goal was "something that is going to make Joe Six-Pack look up from his TV dinner or his fast-food meal and look up at the TV and say, 'Wow, the American troops are kicking butt.'" The Associated Press notes that "the Pentagon now spends more than $550 million a year -- at least double the amount since 2003 -- on public affairs," not including personnel costs. The military's training manual calls public affairs a "perception management tool," though it's supposed to provide "facts but not spin" to U.S. audiences. Instead, public affairs seems focused on promoting the military, flying "friendly bloggers to Iraq and Afghanistan," increasing media embed rules, "expanding its Internet presence from 300 to 1,000 sites and increasing its free cable programming on the Pentagon Channel by 33 percent to 2,080 programs." AP's chief executive, Tom Curley, is calling for media organizations "to re-negotiate the rules of engagement between the military and the media. ... Now is the time to resist the propaganda the Pentagon produces and live up to our obligation to question authority and thereby help protect our democracy." Source: Associated Press, February 6, 2009 Read More [ permalink ] |
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Hampshire College becomes first college in U.S. to divest from Israeli Occupation
From IMEMC NEWS - Friday, February 13, 2009 By Students for Justice in Palestine Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, has become the first of any college or university in the U.S. to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. This landmark move is a direct result of a two-year intensive campaign by the campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group pressured Hampshire College's Board of Trustees to divest from six specific companies due to human rights concerns in occupied Palestine. Over 800 students, professors, and alumni have signed SJP's "institutional statement" calling for the divestment. Read More [ permalink ] |
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State Secrets and Deceit: Obama Embraces CIA Torture
From Antifascist Calling - Thursday, February 12, 2009 CIA TORTURE: Makes Waterboarding Seem Like Child's Play! As predictably as night follows day, the Obama regime defended the CIA's practice of "extraordinary rendition" (kidnapping) of suspected "terrorists" to third countries where they are subject to "enhanced interrogation" (torture) by allied security services. Binyam Mohamed and four other victims have charged that they were brutalized after being "disappeared" by CIA operatives and secretly flown to Egypt, Morocco, Afghanistan and eastern European CIA "black sites." On Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas N. Letter argued before a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that the "change" administration would press ahead with the Bush regime's odious invocation of the state secrets privilege to suppress a lawsuit brought by torture victims against Boeing subsidiary, San Jose, California-based Jeppesen DataPlan. Stafford Smith tells Obama he should be aware of the "bizarre reality" of the situation. "You, as commander in chief, are being denied access to material that would help prove that crimes have been committed by US personnel. This decision is being made by the very people who you command." (Richard Norton-Taylor and Ian Cobain, "Binyam Mohamed torture evidence 'hidden from Obama'," The Guardian, February 11, 2009) (Note: This article has TONS of references from all over about this! You should definitely read the full article. Click Read More below. There is a copy of this article here in case that page doesn't work for some reason.) RELATED: Its OK for the U.S. to Kidnap & Torture Canadians Thought to be Terrorists? circa the Bush Regime Read More [ permalink ] |
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More Soldiers lost to Suicide than to Al Qaeda in January: Iraq Veterans Storm the Hill
From IAVA.org - Tuesday, February 10, 2009 By Paul Rieckhoff Last month, suicide took the lives of more American soldiers than Al Qaeda and the Iraqi insurgency combined. According to preliminary numbers, as many as 24 soldiers killed themselves in January. That's almost five times as many suicides as the same month last year. News of this shocking spike in suicides comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following this issue. 2008 marked the highest rate of military suicide in decades, and suicide rates have been rising every year since the start of the Iraq war. RELATED: Army Suicide Rate Reaches 27-Year Record High; IAVA Releases Groundbreaking Report on Troops' Mental Health IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR IVAW's Afghanistan Resolution and National Mobilization March 21st From Iraq to Afghanistan to Palestine, Occupation is a Crime Jobs & Education - Not Wars & Occupation! Read More [ permalink ] |
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Syping on activists: Who is the criminal now?
From narconews.com - Tuesday, February 10, 2009 By Brenda Norrell After the Denver police spy files were revealed in 2002, my friends, the spied upon, said, "It isn't just happening in Denver. It is happening all over the United States." In Denver, the secret police spy files became public through attorney discovery in a local court case. The spy files did not become public because of the integrity of the Denver Police Intelligence Division. Those secret police spy files included cases that went back 30 years. Of course all of the American Indian activists names were there, the usual suspects working for peace and justice. But there were surprises in the list of 3,200 individuals and 208 organizations. (Note, this is a great article! Make sure you read the rest! It also includes many links at the bottom to more information on Gov't spying.) Read More [ permalink ] |
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Guantanamo on the Brink: Death Looms for Inmates Amid Hunger Strikes and Beatings
From Independent UK - Monday, February 9, 2009 By Mark Townsend and Paul Harris On Obama's watch . . . Dozens of hunger strikes, beatings, instances of forced feeding and other atrocities have reportedly reduced Guantanamo to near chaos. ". . .Mohamed, 31, is dying in his Guantanamo cell and . . . conditions inside the Cuban prison camp have deteriorated badly since Barack Obama took office. Fifty of its 260 detainees are on hunger strike and, say witnesses, are being strapped to chairs and force-fed, with those who resist being beaten. At least 20 are described as being so unhealthy they are on a 'critical list', according to [military lawyer Lt. Col. Yvonne] Bradley." ---- Obama's bailed out the wall street CEO's. How about bailing out the tortured, starving and sick prisoners at Gitmo? Salud ------ "Freedom is not a gift received from a State or a leader but a possession to be won every day by the effort of each and the union of all." --Albert Camus, "Bread and Freedom" (1953), IN Resistance, Rebellion, and Death (1960) "ANARCHISM: The philosophy of a new social order based on liberty unrestricted by man-made law; the theory that all forms of government rest on violence, and are therefore wrong and harmful, as well as unnecessary." --Emma Goldman, "Anarchism: What It Really Stands For" (1910), IN Red Emma Speaks: An Emma Goldman Reader (1996 ed.) Read More [ permalink ] |
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The Icelandic Volcano Erupts
From infoshop.org - Sunday, February 8, 2009 By Rebecca Solnit In December, reports surfaced that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pushed his Wall Street bailout package by suggesting that, without it, civil unrest in the United States might grow so dangerous that martial law would have to be declared. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), warned of the same risk of riots, wherever the global economy was hurting. What really worried them wasn't, I suspect, the possibility of a lot of people thronging the streets with demands for social and political change, but that some of those demands might actually be achieved. Take the example of Iceland, the first -- but surely not the last -- country to go bankrupt in the current global crash. Read More [ permalink ] |
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Lesbian woman fights over hospital visitation rights in Miami court
From Miami Herald - Friday, February 6, 2009 By LAURA FIGUEROA A Lesbian woman not allowed to visit her dying partner at Jackson Memorial Hospital in 2007 hopes a federal judge will allow her claims of emotional distress and negligence to go to trial. As her partner of 17 years slipped into a coma, Janice Langbehn pleaded with staff to let her into the woman's hospital room. Despite legal proof of guardianship and "power of attorney," Langbehn and the couple's three adopted children were not recognized as family and denied access until eight hours later -- just as the last rites were performed. Read More [ permalink ] |
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Kellogg's Wimps Out Over Phelps's Bong Hit: What Century Are They Living in?
From AlterNet - Friday, February 6, 2009 By Bruce Mirken While hypocrisy is hardly rare in American life, Kellogg's decision not to renew his endorsement contract is really egregious. Cereal giant Kellogg's has announced that it won't renew Olympic swim champion Michael Phelps' endorsement contract because he's been photographed apparently smoking marijuana. While hypocrisy is hardly rare in American life, this is a particularly egregious example. And it's already causing thousands of Americans to swear off Rice Krispies and other Kellogg's products. Kellogg's hotline (800-962-1413) says: "If you would like to share comments regarding our relationship with Michael Phelps, please press 1... If you are calling about the recent peanut butter recall, please press 2." Kellogg's made a bad call about American's maturity on marijuana policy. Now, with a boycott, they know it. Will they retract? Editors note: Geeze... Next time I get the munchies, I'll stay clear of Rice Krispies® Bars! Personally I think that they should put that picture of Michael Phelps' bong hit on the front of every box of Kellogg's Cereal!! It really is time to re-evaluate legalizing marijuana! In Washington State in the USA, there is pending legislation to do just that (more or less)... ...which seeks to reclassify the possession of forty grams or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a class 2 civil infraction in Washington State? To read more about this bill and its sponsors, etc., please go to: Marijuana Reclassification in WA State Why is the United States government so backwards in its thinking??? In 2005, the United States made over ONE BILLION dollars from drugs being kept illegal! However, they spent $69 BILLION dollars on the Drug War® !!! "Anyone concerned about the failure of our $69 billion-a-year War on Drugs® should watch this 12-minute program. You will meet front line, ranking police officers who give us a devastating report on why it cannot work. It is a must-see for any journalist or public official dealing with this issue." -- Walter Cronkite War on Drugs® is a registered trademark of the prison industrial complex. (OK, not really, but they are making out like bandits in their for profit prisons housing people convicted of drug related crimes, which also happens to be the biggest majority of all prison inmates. As you can see, it will hurt the profit margin of the prison industrial complex if drugs are legalized. Less people in jail, less profit.) RELATED: Here are two great movies to watch! Movie Trailer: Damage Done, The Drug War Odyssey AMERICAN DRUG WAR ( TV Schedule ) Tags: marijuana Read More [ permalink ] |
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Marijuana Reclassification in Washington State
From Washington State Legislature - Friday, February 6, 2009 PLEASE READ & CIRCULATE WIDELY. THANKS! Dear Friends, Are you familiar with HB 1177 which seeks to reclassify the possession of forty grams or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a class 2 civil infraction in Washington State? To read more about this bill and its sponsors, etc., please go to: Marijuana Reclassification in WA State - HB 1177 - 2009-10 -- Reclassifying possession of forty grams or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a class 2 civil infraction. Also, the ACLU has provided an excellent form letter/email (see below) which we can copy and then send to our State House Representatives to encourage their support of and eventual passage of HB 1177 during this current Legislative Session. To send messages to your House members, please go to: Find Your Washington State Legislator ...for their email addresses. Phone calls to their offices will also be helpful. Be sure to urge their full support of HB 1177. Rep. Brendan Williams (for those of you in the 22nd Legislative District) is one of the co-sponsors of this bill. Constituents should contact him and thank him for his support. Washingtonians in other areas should, similarly, thank their House members if they are also HB 1177 co-sponsors. Once this bill passes the House, it will then be sent to the State Senate for passage. At that time, constituents will need to contact their State Senators and request their support. If others here know the names and contact information of any local or statewide groups or organizations that are mobilizing grassroots (no pun intended! <g>) support of this bill, could you please provide this information? Thanks for your help! Read More [ permalink ] |
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ISRAEL WAR CRIMES - Watching them for hours, Israeli troops offer no aid as 18 year old civilian bleeds to death
From Your-Rights.com - Sunday, January 25, 2009 ISRAEL WAR CRIMES - Providing medical aid is required by International humanitarian law. The Israeli troops offered no aid and willingly let an 18 year old civilian male bleed to death over a period of TWENTY HOURS!!! GAZA - Israeli troops killed (murdered) two civilians, one of whom was only 18 years old. The father, who was also injured, was with his sons when they died. With his 18 year old son bleeding to death from a normally non-fatal leg injury, the father begged Israeli troops for hours to come to their aid. The father was ordered by Israeli troops not to move or they would be fired upon again. The Israeli troops, who were allegedly under orders not to give medical or other aid, were stationed in a nearby house where it was also alleged that they were using civilians as human shields. Democracy Now! did two interviews, on consecutive days, with a brother of the two civilians who were killed by the Israeli military. The brother is living in the United States and recently graduated from college there. Here are the two articles from Democracy Now! Make sure to watch the videos of these stories. Palestinian US College Grad Loses 2 Brothers in Israeli Shooting; Father Watched Son Bleed to Death After Israeli Troops Bar Ambulances Part II: Palestinian US College Grad Loses 2 Brothers in Israeli Shooting; Father Watched Son Bleed to Death After Israeli Troops Blocked Ambulances Related: Israel promises troops legal backing over Gaza war (crimes) This article was published today by Reuters. It describes how Israel plans to avoid letting it's military personnel be prosecuted for war crimes and also how Israel has dodged prosecution in the past. Photos of white phosphorus attack on UN school Here are pictures of the Jan. 17 Israeli attack on the UN school in Beit Lahiya. It's a good thing Israel banned the foreign press, or else there would be more of these photos around. Slide show with commentary by UNRWA's Gaza director John Ging This school was providing shelter for 1,900 people escaping the Israeli attacks. The school was hit with standard artillery. A tank shell struck a second floor classroom where 35 refugees were sleeping. Two children were killed (but hey, that's only two more children than have been killed in Israel by rockets since 2006). Fourteen others were injured. The two dead were brothers. Their sister lost a leg, and their mother lost a hand and sustained a serious head injury. Another artillery shell wounded 14 people, including 6 children. Read More [ permalink ] |
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Israel eyes gas bonanza from large offshore find
From Reuters - Sunday, January 18, 2009 By Steven Scheer It does appear that Israel invaded Gaza because of Gaza's Natural Gas reserves... they planned the Gaza invasion in June 2008! I posted some info about this earlier... Speaking from his tomb, 'Bin Laden' tape urges Gaza jihad This is what I posted: War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza's Offshore Gas Fields -- It is now becoming clear that there is a $4 billion contract with British Petroleum for the off-shore gas deposit rights along Gaza's Mediterranean shore at stake in this war. Quote from an article: "In November 2008, the Israeli Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Infrastructures instructed Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) to enter into negotiations with British Gas, on the purchase of natural gas from the BG's offshore concession in Gaza." ("Ministries order IEC to begin Gaza gas talks", Globes, November 13, 2008) Read More [ permalink ] |
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Fresh evidence of Israeli phosphorus use in Gaza emerges
From Guardian News - Sunday, January 18, 2009 By Richard Norton-Taylor Complete with VIDEO interviews! Fresh evidence of the firing of white phosphorus weapons by Israeli forces in Gaza has emerged from witnesses heard by the Guardian and first hand accounts by human rights groups of their use against civilians. Editors note: How can the rest of the world let Israel get away with this atrocity? Everyone must demand of Obama and the entire pro-Israel Congress, that "We The People", whom they serve, will not tolerate letting these WAR CRIMES go unpunished! To those of you who feel that you alone, cannot accomplish anything... Somehow, all by yourself, with your vote, you managed to get Obama elected. So, then, can you also, by yourself, along with thousands of others, all by themselves, get Obama and the pro-Israel Congress to bend to your will. It would, however, be more helpful, to do this in groups. Your one voice can make a difference, but only if you let it be heard! Read More [ permalink ] |
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Speaking from his tomb, 'Bin Laden' tape urges Gaza jihad
Thursday, January 15, 2009 By Your-Rights.com The BBC movie documentary "The Power of Nightmares" (Netflix) says that al-Qaeda is "a complete and total fabrication, never having existed at any time." The links at the bottom of this article give a great deal of information which says Osama bin Laden has been DEAD since December, 2001 !!! Ok, since we know that Osama bin Laden is dead and we know that al-Qaeda is a complete and total fabrication, never having existed at any time, then who is really behind al-Qaeda and these fake Osama bin Laden messages? Every single bin Laden video released since Osama bin Laden's death, has in fact been proven to be fabricated. Every one, every time! Here is the article from Aljazeera. My opinion... My educated guess would be that it is a combination of Mossad and the CIA. The current trouble makers want to make more trouble, so they encourage more conflict! This is most certainly an attempt by either the United States (most likely) or Israel to encourage Arabic people to engage in war! Most likely it is the CIA since this seems to be their area of expertise. (That is 4 links, not one.) They have the technology now that can duplicate the characteristics of anyones voice after only listening to someones voice for about 10 minutes. This probably sounds pretty futuristic if you have never heard of it before. I remember seeing on television not too long ago a piece about where a U.S. Government agency had used this technology to mimic the voice of some other government official... and i believe the government official was given a copy of the recording. I know that is a very vague description, but I just cannot remember any more details about it right now. I will try to find a link to this technology somewhere. This is probably how they are making these bin Laden audio recordings. This seems very similar to how the United States worked out a "deal" with Iraq so they can occupy that country longer in order to bypass the United Nations mandate requiring the U.S. to leave Iraq. The War Profiteers can't make their billions in profit without conflict or wars. It doesn't matter who is fighting these wars, so long as the war profiteers can supply the weapons. RELATED: Al-Qaeda, the Eternal Covert Operation -- It is a well-established and deliberately unaddressed historical fact that the CIA created "radical Islam" and Islamic "terrorism" during the Cold War. It is also a documented fact that the US, its allies, and their intelligence agencies (CIA, Pakistan's ISI, Britain's MI-6, etc.) have -- from the 1970s to the present day -- continued to use and guide terrorist groups, including "Al-Qaeda," as intelligence and propaganda assets. "Islamic terrorism" is a manufactured weapon of Western geostrategy, serving Anglo-American interests. Even MORE PROOF that bin Laden is dead and al-Qaeda doesn't exist! Israeli PM Ehud Olmert Claims to be Able to Order Bush Around -- I wonder if he ordered Bush to make him an Osama bin Ladin recording? War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza's Offshore Gas Fields -- It is now becoming clear that there is a $4 billion contract with British Petroleum for the off-shore gas deposit rights along Gaza's Mediterranean shore at stake in this war. Quote from an article: "In November 2008, the Israeli Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Infrastructures instructed Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) to enter into negotiations with British Gas, on the purchase of natural gas from the BG's offshore concession in Gaza." ("Ministries order IEC to begin Gaza gas talks", Globes, November 13, 2008) I found the following articles since I last wrote about Osama bin Laden being dead since December 2001. You can translate these into English or most any other language at Google translations: Death Since December 2001, bin Laden continues to speak ( translate: French ) -- This article gives a very rational explanation about the fabrication of al-Qaeda. French Researcher: Bin Laden died late 2001 ( translate: Arabic ) Read More [ permalink ] |
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Israeli PM Ehud Olmert Claims to be Able to Order Bush Around
From Informed Comment - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 So outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was speaking in Ashkelon on Monday, and he said the most amazing thing. The USG Open Source Center translated the relevant passage from his speech, in which he claimed he had the ability to control US foreign policy and summarily over-rule the Secretary of State: '"Olmert Says Israel Determined To Go On, Recalls Phone Talk on UNSC Vote With Bush (Note: This is but a small excerpt from a long article. Click READ MORE to read the full article.) Read More [ permalink ] |
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GAZA MASSACRE: 600 Children Wounded, At Least 175 Children MURDERED
From Al Mezan Center for Human Rights - Monday, January 12, 2009 The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has continued its military campaign against the Gaza Strip for the 16th day. The IOF also continue to act in violation of the rules of international law relevant to conflict and belligerent occupation, motivated by the failure of the international community to stand for the principles and rules itself had set. In particular, there is much evidence indicating the perpetration of grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War. Many of IOF's conducts are evidently coincidental. With advanced technology for surveillance and sophisticated weapons used, the IOF bears the responsibility to distinguish between civilian and non-civilian targets. Facts on the ground show the opposite, guided missiles and bombs have been fired deliberately at civilian targets; including homes, civilian shelters and ambulances. Click READ MORE, below, for lots more stats! Gaza Massacre: Pictures of Israels Crimes Against Humanity! (WARNING: Some Photos are GRAPHIC!) Gazza's Massacre - Gallery 4 Gaza Massacre - Photo Gallery3 Gaza Massacre 2 - Gallery Gaza Massacre 2009 Gaza's new year 2009 picture gallery Israeli Massacre 1/1/2009 Gaza Palestine Read More [ permalink ] |
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Israel continues to coerce Gaza patients into collaboration
From Electronic Intifada - Monday, January 12, 2009 By Al Mezan The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue to blackmail Palestinian patients who need to travel for treatment in Israeli hospitals or Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank. They seek to travel outside Gaza due to the deteriorating conditions of the Palestinian health system there, which is unable to deal with their critical medical conditions. Such practices of the IOF continue on a semi-regular basis amidst the ongoing, tight siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and the continued silence of the international community. Read More [ permalink ] |
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100,000 People - Massive Protests in London, Barcelona
From Informed Comment - Sunday, January 11, 2009 By Juan Cole Some video blogging for a snowy Sunday (where I am). Israel renewed its strikes and shelling against targets in densely-populated Gaza on Sunday morning. Some 850 Gazans and 13 Israelis have been killed in the fighting. Click READ MORE to WATCH THE VIDEOS!!! Read More [ permalink ] |
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Israel accused of using white phosphorus in Gaza
Sunday, January 11, 2009 By Your-Rights.com This angers me to no end!!!!!!!!!! Israel accused of using white phosphorus in Gaza Israel 'using white phosphorus' Rights group decries use of white phosphorous bombs MORE NEWS INFO! MORE INFO: Wikipedia on white phosphorus Wikipedia on MK-77 Read More [ permalink ] |
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Report from Rafah: Doctors Stopped At Borders
From Voices for Creative Nonviolence - Sunday, January 11, 2009 By Bill Quigley Dr. Nicolas Doussis-Rassias and many other volunteer doctors have been waiting in Rafah, Egypt for days. Nicolas and the other physicians came to Rafah to go through the border into Gaza to help the 3000 people wounded by Israeli bombs and heavy weapons. Rafah is a heavily armed Egyptian border crossing into Gaza, a four hour drive away from Cairo. Sonic booms of high flying jets cut through the stark blue sky. Military drones hover over the border as the air smells of burning. Read More [ permalink ] |
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