Web / Press / Offsite Media Updates: August 15th -August 22nd

by redjade Mon Aug 16, 2004 17:39

Juan Cole has a very informative op-ed in the Washington Post on Iraqi Shiites ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64131-2004Aug13.html ). Seems to me Juan Cole is the perfect example of how an academic can build their reputation by blogging.

Update: you might also be interested in the cemetery where much of the fighting between Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army and US and Iraq forces are taking place. Kevin Drum reports that it's probably the largest rc3.org in the world. There are 260,000 people buried at Arlington (which seems beyond huge to me) -- it's estimated that 5 million are buried at Wadi al-Salam. (You can get an idea of its size from this satellite photo. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/najaf08.htm )

from:
http://rc3.org/cgi-bin/less.pl?arg=6455

by redjade Mon Aug 16, 2004 17:46

U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a renewed assault Sunday on Shiite Muslim militiamen in the southern holy city of Najaf in a risky campaign that was marred from the onset by an outcry from Iraqi politicians and the desertion of dozens of Iraqi troops who refused to fight their countrymen.

[....]

More than 100 delegates walked out of a national conference that was hailed as Iraq's first experiment with democracy after decades of dictatorship. Enraged over the fresh violence in Najaf, the delegates left the meeting hall declaring that, "as long as there are airstrikes and shelling, we can't have a conference."

The day's events illustrated the dilemma that plagues Allawi and his American supporters.

It will be difficult, if not impossible, for Allawi to establish his leadership, hold Iraq together and prod the country toward democracy without crushing his militant opponents, not only in the Shiite south but also in the old Saddam Hussein strongholds north and west of the capital. But to do that, Allawi must rely on unpopular U.S. troops, whose offensives only lend support to the charge that Allawi is an American puppet.

Sunday's showdown in Najaf was troubled even before the fighting resumed. Several officials from the Iraqi defense ministry told Knight Ridder that more than 100 Iraqi national guardsmen and a battalion of Iraqi soldiers chose to quit rather than attack fellow Iraqis in a city that includes some of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.

by redjade Mon Aug 16, 2004 17:49

Q: In what ways do you disagree with current U.S. policy and in what ways would you like to see more from the U.S.?

A: Frankly, the relationship with the United States is very friendly, very positive. We appreciate what the United States has done to Iraq, starting from liberation, post-liberation. Now, the United States is helping in the reconstruction of Iraq. As you know, the United States is the major donor to Iraq in the donors’ conference in Madrid. What we want to see is the implementation of the program that we want to do and the reconstruction and expediting the channeling of funds into Iraq as soon as possible. There are indeed, as in any Arab country, there are areas of agreement and there are areas of disagreement, but the most important thing is that we have a very healthy dialogue with the United States. This dialogue will continue. We are very appreciative of the role the American ambassador Negroponte is doing here. He’s a very positive person and engaging in a positive way with the Iraqi government and we hope the relationship will continue to be healthy and positive.

by redjade Mon Aug 16, 2004 17:53

NY Times:

....words from an audience member in Niceville, Fla., on Tuesday:

"I'm 60 years old and I've voted Republican from the very first time I could vote. And I also want to say this is the very first time that I have felt that God was in the White House.''

"Thank you,'' Mr. Bush replied, to applause.

by redjade Mon Aug 16, 2004 17:59

Suppress the Vote?
by Bob Herbert
NY Times

State police officers have gone into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando and interrogated them as part of an odd "investigation" that has frightened many voters, intimidated elderly volunteers and thrown a chill over efforts to get out the black vote in November.

The officers, from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which reports to Gov. Jeb Bush, say they are investigating allegations of voter fraud that came up during the Orlando mayoral election in March.

[....]

...asked if all the people interrogated were black.

"Well, mainly it was a black neighborhood we were looking at - yes,'' he said.

He also said, "Most of them were elderly."

When I asked why, he said, "That's just the people we selected out of a random sample to interview."

by redjade Mon Aug 16, 2004 18:10

Short documentary video telling the story of an impoverished Roma (also known as Gypsy) village that was bulldozed to make room for the two week Olympiad in Greece. The Roma have faced a long history of discrimination and persecution throughout Europe, including mass murder in Nazi death camps.

"Uprooted recounts the experiences of a group of Roma or "Gypsy" families whose homes are demolished in order to make room for a parking lot for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Their struggle to find housing, to extract the subsidies that they were promised from the local municipality, and to rebuild their lives represents a humble battle against racism and poverty."

found at
http://demandmedia.net/?op=displaystory;sid=2004/8/16/0294/35424

Video: 98.4 MB
http://www.panoramatos.com/video/RWF_edit_LARGE.mov

by Michael Hennigan - Finfacts Mon Aug 16, 2004 18:32 finfacts at finfacts dot ie 087 2474328

Plus

Bonjour paresse (Hello Laziness): The Art and the Importance of Doing the Least Possible in the Workplace

In the remake of the classic 1962 film-The Manchurian Candidate, a Halliburton style corporation called Manchurian Global has replaced Chinese Communists as the antagonists. Manchurian Global is seeking to have a programmable President in the White House!! Manchurian Global is among other things a defence contractor and it profits most from a world in constant chaos.

Bonjour paresse has become a publishing sensation in France.

France is a country where early retirement programmes have left only a third of the country's 55-64 year olds still working - 'a world record', author Corinne Maier told the Financial Times. It is a world where companies parrot 'our people are our most important asset,' yet throw them out like used Kleenex. It is a world where impossible demands are made of the young ambitious employee who believes the words proactive and benchmarking actually mean something and who hopes his talents will be recognised and that he will be loved and cherished. 'It is de rigueur to claim you work because your job interests you and even if in reality everyone is only there to pay the bills at the end of the month, it is a complete taboo to say so,' she says. 'One day I said in the middle of a meeting that I could only be bothered to turn up in order to put food on the table: there was 15 seconds of absolute silence during which everyone looked agonised.'

Read Maeir's Ten Commandments in full!

by redjade Tue Aug 17, 2004 11:54

''Likewise, CNN appears to have been the victim of a second-hand psy-ops campaign, insofar as it is referring to the guerrillas as "anti-Iraqi forces." The idea of characterizing them not as anti-American or anti-regime but "anti-Iraq" was, according to journalist Nir Rosen, come up with by a PR company contracting in Iraq. Nir says that they were told that no Iraqis would fall for it. So apparently it has now been retailed to major American news programs, on the theory that the American public is congenitally stupid.

The American public has no idea how bad it is in Iraq because it gets lots of contradictory reports and has no way of wading through or evaluating them....''

http://www.juancole.com/2004_08_01_juancole_archive.html#109263824714082175

Does this propaganda work?

try searching News.Google.com for "anti-Iraqi forces"

http://news.google.com/news?q=%22anti-Iraqi%20forces%22

Propaganda works when you have a media that kisses ass.

by eeeekkkkk Tue Aug 17, 2004 15:29

"So here we are, hardly a year and a quarter beyond that "mission accomplished" moment and the Bush administration finds itself in the middle of Najaf, a most unathletic Indiana Jones facing the Temple of Doom. Since the moment just after 9/11 when our President briefly uttered the fatal word "crusade" (and then had to swiftly retract it), it seems as if we've never been heading anywhere else. Our troops, Humvees, tanks, Predator drones, Apache helicopters, and F-16s are all right there, just overhead or at moments only a few hundred yards from one of Islam's holiest spots. Who cares about motives, you couldn't have created a better recipe for a "clash of civilizations" if you wanted to. "

by iosaf Tue Aug 17, 2004 15:36

on holidays together!!!
again!!!
the yearly gripe from the french about the holiday destinations of the Blairs (... and Cliff Richard???)
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3214,36-375626,0.html
If you're really into this, you can search the media update page and find details about burlosconi's sardinian house which I left a fwe months ago, describing it's "James Bond style defence system and secret tunnels".

by io Tue Aug 17, 2004 16:59

a war-psychologist Marc Sageman, (51 years), outlines his view of Al Qaeda as being a "social movement" but yet still lacking a "heirarchy".
This is interesting because it forms part of a new wave of chatter on the nature of Al Qaeda. The current issue of TIME magazine also speculates that attempts are being made in Iraq to form a "unitary command structure" for the myriad groups of "resistance fighters", "islamic fundamentalists" and "have-a-go terrorists".

This is interesting because it marks a change in approach to "AlQ". Several years ago it was presented and analysed as a "fluid organisation". As such the tactic was to identify and freeze funding. During that period Osama as the primary source of funding was indentified in the Western mind as the "presumed leader". When the West failed to catch/kill Osama, it had to present other leader candidates. Thus "zwaurquark" the jordanian who had been recipient of a 20,000$ grant from Osama began to be presented as the leader of "iraqi Al Q". The current "alteration to mindset" will see "Zwuarquark" continue to be presented as leader and if possible accredited with control (unlikely as it seems) of other completely unrelated factions in the Iraqi theatre. And what makes this _really interesting_ is both Syrian and Isreali spooks seem to agree this is the way to go.
So really interesting means- "really odd".

by saf Tue Aug 17, 2004 17:03

The Holy See has today offered to mediate between Al Sadr and his supporters in Najaf and the Iraqi interim government and naturally the US.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_952343,00050004.htm
Al Sadr asks Pope to intervene:-
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=a85URp22parU&refer=europe

by AL - Three Monkeys Online Wed Aug 18, 2004 15:48 info at threemonkeysonline dot com

Some stories that may be of interest, from the August edition of Three Monkeys Online, a free current affairs/arts magazine.

Crisis in Caracas, but for whom? Hugo Chavez and the recall referendum. An interview with Richard Gott, author of "In the Shadow of the Liberator - Hugo Chavez and the Transformation of Venezuela", which provides some background information and analysis on the recent recall referendum in Venezuela.
http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_articleCrisis_in_Caracas_Hugo_Chavez_recall_referendum.htm

Supersize me. Fast food's power without responsibility. With a spate of books, and now the Sundance Film Festival documentary winner "Supersize me", one could be forgiven for thinking that the Fast Food Industry is under considerable pressure. William MacDougall thinks not.
http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_articleSupersize_me_Fast_Food_without_responsibility.htm

The Game of War. Guy DeBord and the Society of the Spectacle. Guy De Bord was the leading French philosopher of the Situationist International. 10 years after his death, by suicide, his work The Society of the Spectacle seems ever more relevant, and has worked its way into the vocabulary of groups as diverse as anti-globalization protesters to Islamic separatists. Shane Barry spoke to biographer Dr. Andrew Hussey about this enduring relevance. http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_articleGuy_de_Bord_society_of_the_spectacle.htm

Trust the Stork. Reflections on the law to regulate Assisted Reproduction in Italy. The development of assisted reproduction techniques has brought hope to many infertile couples, but it is a problematic area in terms of legislation. Recent legislation in Italy has caused much controversy. http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_articleItalian%20Regulation%20on%20Assisted%20Reproduction.htm

These and other stories on Politics, Music, Film, and Travel are available free at www.threemonkeysonline.com

by pat c Wed Aug 18, 2004 17:02

SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil's culture minister and singing superstar Gilberto Gil is not calling for the death of President Bush (news - web sites), whatever concert-goers might have thought.

Gil, 62, took time off from his government role this weekend to play shows in Sao Paulo, treating fans to many of his own classics as well as songs by Bob Marley and John Lennon.

During "Soy Loco Por Ti America" (I'm Crazy About You, America) -- a song from the 1960s about Latin American dreams of liberation -- the visual display behind the band flashed up an image of the U.S. leader with a noose around his neck and the slogan "Morra, Bush, Morra" (Die, Bush, Die).

It also featured portraits of Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara and Mexican rebel Pancho Villa.

Some Brazilians applauded -- many in this country do not approve of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq (news - web sites) -- but some Americans in the audience were seething.

It turns out that Gil was unaware of the image. Jodele Larcher, the video jockey who handled the visuals, chose the image without consulting the singer, Gil's press agent Marcus Vinicius told Reuters on Tuesday.

"The VJ puts the image that he wants and he thought it was appropriate for this song," Vinicius said.

"It was without Gil's permission and Gil asked him to take it off" for later shows in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, he added.

by team player Wed Aug 18, 2004 18:45

awaiting the opprtunity to plug this site which has grown from a popular wall stencil.

by Eoin Dubsky Wed Aug 18, 2004 18:58

Pebam Chittaranjan turned a new chapter in the history of the Manipuri people’s struggle for right to life when he lit himself as a human torch denouncing the black laws on August 15 at Bishnupur. He succumbed to burn injuries at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital at Imphal on August 16.

See also:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ world/south_asia/2652801.stm

by John Meehan Wed Aug 18, 2004 23:55

Several articles on the confrontation between the Chavez Government and the USA backed right wing opposition are at the link below. Why has the Colombian government bought several tanks from Washington? Are these military machines now deployed on the border with Venezuela? Read on :

http://www.marxsite.com/Venezuela%20revolution.htm

by Some anonymous poster - unkown Thu Aug 19, 2004 01:38

Transcript of telephone Interview With Amy Goodman carried in Counterpunch
“So I am ready to speak because I used all my fight and want in seventeen and a half years in prison was the demand for freedom of speech. I believe the human being have the right to freedom of speech. I don't have any secrets. All what I'm speaking about is my view. My political view as a human has a right to express his view in any subject.”

http://www.counterpunch.org/goodman08182004.html

by iosaf - (still standing strong for Diego Maradona btw) Thu Aug 19, 2004 03:38

and most of the Swiss glaciers will have meltd by 2050. This is the stark and honestly really bad news from the European Enviroment Agency based in Copenhagen this week.

Agriculture is threatened.
The Elderly as well.
China will do very well coz they've virtually cornered the european market on little household fans and ventilators.


"Europe is warming faster than the global average. The temperature in Europe has risen by an average of 0.95 °C in the last hundred years and is projected to climb by a further 2.0-6.3 °C this century as emissions of greenhouse gases continue building up. "
read it all at the link or practise your french and read the sensational version in today's Libération-
http://libe.com/page.php?Article=231618

by Peter Thu Aug 19, 2004 11:53

To liberals who believe that incremental change can bring about a more humane and responsive government, Olivera says: "If you have a blind government and a dead government that doesn't listen to the people, victory can come much faster, History has placed us in a decisive moment for the social movements, and we have no choice but to keep on working for the power of the people."

by redjade Thu Aug 19, 2004 13:20

A U.S. Army general violated Pentagon rules by failing to properly clear speeches in which he described the war on terror as a Christian battle against Satan and should be punished, according to an inspector general's report obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

The Department of Defense's watchdog agency said Lt. Gen. William Boykin, a top-ranking intelligence officer, used official data in some of the 23 religious-oriented speeches he gave after January 2002 which should have been cleared.

Boykin touched off a firestorm last October after giving speeches while in uniform in which he referred to the war on terror as a battle with Satan and said America had been targeted "because we're a Christian nation." He said later he was not anti-Islam or any other religion.

by redjade Thu Aug 19, 2004 13:41

One word caused the most stir.

A five-letter word that George W. Bush uttered 3,000 miles away, one week ago today, at a gathering of minority journalists.

A word that has since raised eyebrows across Indian country, and one that, almost immediately after leaving the president's lips, had Democrats licking theirs:

Given.

Speaking at the Unity: Journalists of Color convention in Washington, D.C., last Friday, President Bush, responding to a question about what tribal sovereignty meant in the 21st century, said: "Tribal sovereignty means just that; it's sovereign. You're a -- you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity."

To many Native Americans -- and Democrats, alike -- the president's answer spoke volumes about what they see as his ignorance of Indian issues. And to many, the operative word in Bush's response was the verb "given."

As the continent's first societies, American Indian tribes hold their status as sovereign nations with an almost sacred reverence; an inherent standing as self-governing, independent bodies dating back millennia, something that's always existed.

Sovereignty is "the nearest and dearest, No. 1 issue in Indian Country," said Jacqueline Johnson, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Congress of American Indians. "It's not something that was given to us. As tribes, we see sovereignty as something we've always had."

by Peter Thu Aug 19, 2004 13:52

PORTSMOUTH - Just as Democrats in New Hampshire and other states are charging Republican groups with illegally helping Ralph Nader get on state presidential ballots, a political think tank is now charging Democrats with doing the opposite.
The Committee for a Unified Independent Party earlier this month filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging a publicly-financed campaign by the Democratic National Committee to challenge Nader’s access to ballots in several battleground states.

The complaint lists the DNC, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and vice presidential candidate John Edwards as respondents.

The think tank alleges that, during the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Democrats recruited lawyers and plotted strategies for challenging Nader signatures at state boards of elections and limiting the ability of voters to sign petitions for the independent presidential candidate.

"It is unprecedented for a national political party to have a core strategy of their campaign be to deny the ballot access of another candidate," said Sarah Lyons, a spokeswoman for the Committee for a Unified Independent Party.

(continues)

by rdas Thu Aug 19, 2004 21:17

"You realize that what you are doing is risky," said a US Army major, whose last name was Robertson. "That shrine might not be around much longer."

by iron Thu Aug 19, 2004 23:34

Step Seven: Proceed to Step Three. Where we are now. Allawi's government suddenly jacks up conditions for a deal back closer to its original terms: Sadr must get out of the shrine, turn in the Mahdi Army's weapons, issue a statement dissolving the militia, etc. If not, his defense minister threatens, get ready for an all-out attack. Galloping guitar assault, a la Iron Maiden's "Run To The Hills."

Any guesses as to what happens next?

by pat c Fri Aug 20, 2004 14:16

BANGKOK (AFP) Aug 19, 2004
Thai activists demanded increased government protection Thursday after a forest conservationist became the kingdom's 17th campaigner to bemurdered since 2001. Village headman and forestry poacher opponent Supol Sirichans death on August 11 prompted two dozen villagers from his native Lampang province in the north to travel to Bangkok to protest.

The villagers demanded Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's administration find and arrest the masterminds of Supol's murder on August 11, combat runaway corruption and protect activists who cooperated with officials.

They outlined their demands in a letter handed to the Thai Senate's committee on human development and security.

Supol, 58, had been a vociferous opponent of powerful figures involved in illegal forestry clearance that has plagued Thailand's up-country regions for years.

Full story at:

by pat c Fri Aug 20, 2004 16:21

Abu Hamza offered spicy pork chops in prison

Abu Hamza, the radical Muslim cleric who is fighting his extradition to the US on terrorism charges, has complained of being offered spicy pork chops at Belmarsh prison.

Mr Hamza's lawyer said that the chops appeared on a menu offered to Muslim prisoners as halal (clean). Muslims are forbidden by their religion from eating pork.

Mudassar Arani said that she had raised the issue with the governor, and did not rule out appealing on human rights grounds.

Ms Arani was appearing for Mr Hamza today in a routine hearing at Bow Street Magistrates Court.

The firebrand cleric, who used to preach at Finsbury Park Mosque in North London, faces 11 charges in the US relating to a kidnapping in Yemen, a terror training camp in America, and sending British volunteers to fight in Afghanistan.

American officials have accused Mr Hamza of playing an important role in al-Qaeda and telephoning one of Osama bin Laden's most senior lieutenants.

by Peter Fri Aug 20, 2004 16:55

Most of the US's recent wars were launched by Democratic presidents. Why expect better of Kerry? The debate between US liberals and conservatives is a fake; Bush may be the lesser evil. From John Pilger in Washington

by transubstantiation. Fri Aug 20, 2004 16:56

An 8-year-old girl who suffers from a rare digestive disorder and cannot eat wheat has had her first Holy Communion declared invalid because the wafer contained no wheat, violating Roman Catholic doctrine.

Now, Haley Waldman's mother is pushing the Diocese of Trenton and the Vatican to make an exception, saying the girl's condition should not exclude her from the sacrament, which commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion. The mother believes a rice Communion wafer would suffice.

read it all at the link-
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/08/19/communion.denied.ap/index.html

(... a spokesperson for the relatives who asked to not be named remained insistent that her communion money must be returned)

by pat c Fri Aug 20, 2004 17:18

Dutch priest allergic to communion wafers

A Dutch priest has left the church because he is allergic to the wafers used in Holy Communion.

Father Stefan van Dierendonck, 30, from Nijmegen, felt sick every time he took communion, reports De Morgen.

Tests revealed he was allergic to gluten - but the Catholic Church does not allow gluten-free wafers to be used for communion.

When Father Stefan was still studying for priesthood, he says he felt sick each time he took communion.

When he was fist ordained a priest and celebrated three masses a day, it made him so ill he had to spend the rest of the day in bed.

"It only got better when I went in a retreat in another abbey. The diarrhoea stopped and I had no more complaints. Than I realised I was allergic to gluten," he said.

In 1998, he got special permission to use low gluten wafers but it didn't help.

He decided to leave the church after the Vatican advised him to see a psychiatrist: "That did it, I didn't want to choose between faith and health," he said.

by :-) - ¿and who thought we weren't religious eh Pat? Fri Aug 20, 2004 17:26

Unleavened Communion Wafers
1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup soy flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon white Crisco
1/2 tablespoon butter-flavored Crisco
1 1/2 tablespoons gluten-free honey
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix dry ingredients well. Cut in Crisco and honey. Add water in small amounts and mix well. Spread dough in a 1/4 inch thick layer in a 9-inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool.

Cut into pieces measuring 1 to 1 1/4 x 1/2 inch.

We Believe that God Manifests as a Biscuit. But never as a Cookie. +++ Amen.

by Atheist Fri Aug 20, 2004 17:30

Brilliant! I Love a bit of Blasphemy! That's even funnier than Abu Hamza getting offered pork chops. Now lets piss off some jews, hindus and buddhists and we'll have the full set!

by redjade Fri Aug 20, 2004 17:34

The satirical US magazine Spy, during its heyday at the end of the 1980s, ran a regular feature calculating the space the New York Times would devote to a tragedy. The greater the number of dead US citizens and the closer they were to Times Square, the calculation predicted, the more column inches the Times would devote to it.

Every month or so, Spy would compare its prediction with the actual coverage, and voila! the algorithm was proved correct - so a murder on Fifth Avenue was worth hundreds of African famine victims.

by redjade Fri Aug 20, 2004 17:37

When he saw the horrific abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, Joe Darby knew he had to blow the whistle. But coming forward would change his life—as well as his family's—forever, and for the worse. Because back in his own community and in the small towns of America, handing over those photos didn't make Joe Darby a hero. It made him a traitor.

by redjade Fri Aug 20, 2004 17:41

In a dramatic departure from the Bush administration, Republican Rep. Doug Bereuter says he now believes the U.S. military assault on Iraq was unjustified.

"I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action," Bereuter wrote in a letter to constituents in the final days of his congressional career.

That's especially true in view of the fact that the attack was initiated "without a broad and engaged international coalition," the 1st District congressman said.

"Knowing now what I know about the reliance on the tenuous or insufficiently corroborated intelligence used to conclude that Saddam maintained a substantial WMD (weapons of mass destruction) arsenal, I believe that launching the pre-emptive military action was not justified."

As a result of the war, he said, "our country's reputation around the world has never been lower and our alliances are weakened."

Bereuter is a senior member of the House International Relations Committee and vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

by redjade Fri Aug 20, 2004 18:48

NEW YORK - Forget the megaphones. Police will have a much more high-tech — and louder — option to make themselves heard over the din of Manhattan traffic and noisy protesters outside the Republican National Convention.

It's called the Long Range Acoustic Device, developed for the military and capable of blasting warnings, orders or anything else at an ear-splitting 150 decibels.

Authorities on Thursday unveiled a mini-arsenal of devices and counterterrorism equipment they're getting ready for the convention, which opens a week from Monday.

[....]

Still, Bill Dobbs of United for Peace and Justice, which has planned a massive anti-war demonstration on the eve of the convention, called the sound system "a potential Big Brother nightmare."

Police "are trying to use technology and machinery to control every aspect of life on the street, rather than relax a little and let a part of democratic society unfold," he said.

by cine rebelde Fri Aug 20, 2004 23:05

a big noise films - multilingual dvd
"a radical cry from the fronlines of the war on people"
- Naomi Klein, author, No Logo

"Inspirational. Essential. Documents the history of the future before it is born."
- Peter Wintonick, International Editor, POV (Point-of-View Magazine) Canada

"explodes with the breadth and intensity of a global movement that was almost unimaginable ten years ago."
- R.J. Maccani, Left Turn Magazine
The Fourth World War

From the front-lines of conflicts in Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Israel/Palestine, Korea, North America and Europe.

Millions of homeless people in South Africa fight for their right to a decent home and against the privatisation of water.
In Chiapas, indigenous people drive away the Mexican army from their land that is being sold out to the global market.
After the economic collapse in Argentina in December 2001, we see a population's uprising and its attempt to organise beyond state and market structures.
After a drastic liberalisation of the labour market in South Korea in 1997, millions of workers take to the streets in one of the largest strikes of recent history.
Massive civil disobedience against economic summits in Quebec and Genoa lead to civil-warlike conditions in the centres of power of rich countries.
It is the story of men and women around the world who refuse to surrender to terror and refuse to have their dreams of a world in justice occupied by armies, fear or despair.
A film that brings together the inspiring images and the poetry of worldwide social struggles against neoliberalism.

It shows a system that is increasingly dependent on violence and so called "war on terror" in order to sustain its world order.

Narrated by activist and poet Suheir Hammad and Singer Michael Franti of Spearhead.

produced by: http://www.bignoisefilms.com
distribution in Europe: http://www.cinerebelde.org

multilingual DVD - 74 min.
Audio: English
with subtitles in Spanish, German, French

watch the trailer, order the film and more infos: http://www.cinerebelde.org

*** get active ***

The film is a really good tool for your local or global political activities.
We encourage you to organise non-commercial public screenings. Anything else only with our previous agreement.
If you'd like to screen the film or help us announcing it, please get in touch in touch with us.
You can download materials, photos, a poster ... from our website or order materials directly from us.


*** Cine Rebelde ***

Cine Rebelde is an independent media collective.
We distribute films related to social movements and struggles around the world.
We organise public screenings and other events.
We translate films from other media collectives.
We produce our own films too.
Our work is non-profit oriented.

contact: cinerebelde@cinerebelde.org
website: http://www.cinerebelde.org

poster4ww

by redjade Sat Aug 21, 2004 11:39

Iran's defense minister, Vice Adm. Ali Shamkhani, has warned that Iran may resort to pre-emptive strikes to prevent an attack on its nuclear facilities.

Admiral Shamkhani made his comments in an interview on Al Jazeera television on Wednesday in response to a question about the possibility of an American or Israeli attack against Iran's nuclear projects.

"We will not sit to wait for what others will do to us," he said. "Some military commanders in Iran are convinced that preventive operations which the Americans talk about are not their monopoly. Any nation, if it feels threatened, can resort to that."

There has been speculation here that Israel may attack Iran's nuclear sites, as it struck against Iraq's nuclear facilities at Osirak in 1981.

A commander of Iran's hard-line Revolutionary Guards warned this week that Iran would strike Israel's reactor at Dimona if Israel attacked Iran's nuclear sites.

"If Israel fires one missile at Bushehr atomic power plant, it should permanently forget about the Dimona nuclear center, where it produces and keeps its nuclear weapons," said the commander, Gen. Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr.

by redjade Sat Aug 21, 2004 12:24

Like a single-purpose social network chain, an emergent polity is only one expression of a person’s interests. An emergent polity has the virtue of carrying substantial incentives for establishing and maintaining communication and collaboration between people. Bridging individuals, hubs or connectors in network theory terms, can be predicted to identify and initiate links around areas of potential overlapping concern between polities. If a polity is successfully addressing an issue that members of another polity recognize as a pressing need, the incentives for establishing a connection are self-evident. If, for example, I am a member of an emergent polity that provides supplemental retirement income derived from revenues generated by a group investment in local streets for which local businesses pay (e.g., for premium parking spaces near their storefront or for signage on the street) and I meet someone who is a member of a polity that has invested in long-term healthcare facilities, perhaps I can forge an alliance between the two to swap benefits while increasing funds for local road repairs. This is the essence of politics and the foundation of markets.

The interconnectedness of regions due to inexpensive travel, too, creates new opportunities for catalyzing emergent polities through existing social networks by meeting periodically to discuss social issues. Mark Buchanan points out in his book Nexus that the personal space of the typical individual today is ten thousand times larger than it was in 1800, when people traveled about 50 meters a day.15 These face-to-face encounters, when connectors are gathered, are where the political tradition of the past clearly informs an emergent society.

from the 'potential chapter':
http://www.extremedemocracy.com/archives/2004/08/potential_chapt.html

The book in development:
http://www.extremedemocracy.com/

by redjade Sat Aug 21, 2004 12:52

The Sept. 11 commission found that an American plan in early 1999 to launch a missile attack against a hunting camp in Afghanistan, which Mr. bin Laden appeared to be using, was postponed because three [United Arab] Emirates officials were also at the camp at the time. Policymakers "were concerned about the danger that a strike would kill an Emirati prince or other senior officials who might be with bin Laden or close by," and Mr. bin Laden moved on after the strike was put off, the report said.

by iosaf Sat Aug 21, 2004 16:26

A "perfect copy" of the BBC news site announced the death of the Swedish King on Friday at 23h23 GMT.
The Swedish have termed the hoax in bad taste, thought curiously it's not the first time that false reports have been circulated about the demise of Carl XVI Gustav.
Also reported on the hoax page were a variety of false Olympic wins.
Authorities have so far only admitted to tracing the hoaxter to a hotmail address.
(Which means they haven't a clue)

by - Sat Aug 21, 2004 16:32

ETA annually launches a bombing campaign of tourist sites in the Spanish State.
The first three bombs this year were left in the last 30 days in the northern province of Austurias.
The last two exploded this morning in Sanxenxo and Baiona small sea side towns in the province //country) of Galicia at 13h00 local time.
Two spaniards and two portuguese have been injured in the blasts described as being of "low power". These are the first victims of an ETA attack since last year.

Galicia is economically depressed since the Prestige disaster and accordingly more reliant on Tourism than at any stage in it's history.

by redjade Sat Aug 21, 2004 16:39

Three U.S. senators have called on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to account for 8.8 billion dollars entrusted to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq earlier this year but now gone missing.

[....]

This is not the first time that U.S. financial conduct in Iraq has come under fire, specifically over funds slated for reconstruction after the U.S.-led attack in March 2003, which then went unaccounted for.

In June, British charity Christian Aid said at least 20 billion dollars in oil revenues and other Iraqi funds intended to rebuild the country have disappeared from banks administered by the CPA.

by - - (generally means iosaf is on a roll) Sat Aug 21, 2004 16:49

Known as "god's fingerprint", the Higgs Boson is the smallest sub particle so far theorised. Scientists have been looking for traces of the HB for over a decade. Work has been so far been confined to three sub atomic particle accelerators. (Our closest one is at CERN, a facility which stretches under the French and Swiss Alps, indeed a new particle Haldron accelerator is due to be fired at CERN in 2007, and very interestingly CERN claims the internet was born there).

The new consortium met yesterday in Beijing [ "12 experts from countries including Britain, Japan, America and Germany announced they have agreed on a blueprint for the new experiment - a gigantic atom smashing machine called the international linear collider. Now they must convince their respective governments to meet the anticipated £3bn price tag"].

read more at the link-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/news/story/0,12976,1287776,00.html
read more at CERN-
http://public.web.cern.ch/public/

by - Sat Aug 21, 2004 16:58

allowing for safe return of closeto a million refugees to Darfur. Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Osman Ismail, has commented that this accord ought signal to the international community the sincerity of the Sudanese regime in putting an end to this crises by allowing those refugees _still in Sudan_ to return to their homes.
An estimated 500,000 refugees have left the Sudanese state. Included in the proposed UN military deployment will be soldiers of neighbouring states and France.

by inbred jed (JCAS) (Hardcore Inner Circle) Sat Aug 21, 2004 18:35

'JOHNNY CASH SPOKE FOR THE POOR AND UNDER-REPRESENTED
THE REPUBLICANS SPEAK FOR THE RICH

JOHNNY CASH ADVOCATED FOR PRISON REFORM
THE REPUBLICANS LOCK US UP

JOHNNY CASH SANG FOR OUR MINERS, FARMERS, AND WORKERS
REPUBLICAN ECONOMICS CRUSH THE WORKING CLASS

THE RNC HAS NO RIGHT TO TARNISH THE MEMORY OF JOHNNY CASH
WE WILL RISE UP TO DEFEND THE HONOR OF AN AMERICAN HERO'

by eeekkkkk Sat Aug 21, 2004 21:28

I am a soldier in the US Army. I want out of this nightmare, this emasculation of my humanity, my needs, my desires, the right to voice my opinion. Ironically, I obtained a copy of Embedded from my base library. I also just sent a letter to the FBI, via their webpage for submitting tips about possible terrorists, and informed them of my disgust about their interregation of people who intend to protest at the RNC in NYC. Please forgive any mispellings, I am typing this much quickly than normal; you guessed it, I am using a highly monitored computer. Fuck it, I don't care anymore.

Sincerly,

Dwayne.

by redjade Sun Aug 22, 2004 13:47

NY Daily News:
200 locked away & under the radar

There is a little gulag in New York City. And it is nothing to be proud of.

Its name is the Wackenhut Detention Center, and more than 200 human beings - men and women - languish ignored within its walls. Yet most New Yorkers have never heard about it.

The situation of the people inside the privately run immigration maximum-security jail is so hopeless that on Monday, 175 of the imprisoned men resorted to a desperate measure: They went on a hunger strike.

"Nobody is eating," said Makham Singh in a telephone interview. An immigrant from India in his 30s, Singh has a wife and two children who are American citizens. He has been in Wackenhut for six months.

"They bring us food and we send it back," added Singh.

by pat c Sun Aug 22, 2004 15:45

A union has called on Aberdeen City Council to ban a National Front march to mark St Andrew's Day. The local authority is to discuss the event, planned for 28 November, at a licensing committee meeting on Monday.

The public service union, Unison, has written to councillors urging them not to agree to the march, which it branded "fascist".

But the organiser of the National Front in Scotland insisted the march was neither fascist nor racist. The National Front accused the union of "sticking their noses in where it is not wanted".

Michael MacNeil, Unison regional officer, said: "Our thousands of members living and working in Aberdeen will be abhorred at the thought of the National Front being allowed to parade down Union Street.

'Hate and division'

"They are a racist and fascist organisation whose core philosophy, if you can call it that, is to restrict the rights of anyone they regard as non-white. They should not be allowed to march and promote their message of hate and division." Mr MacNeil added that while the council might feel it had to allow the march under the European Convention of Human Rights, the European law also allowed for restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly where the rights and freedoms of others was under threat.

David MacDonald, National Front Scotland organiser, said: "It is nothing to do with the race issue at all, it is for St Andrew's Day."

St Andrew's Day itself falls on 30 November.

A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council said: "We have asked the organisers of the proposed march to appear before the committee to answer any questions."

by pat c Mon Aug 23, 2004 15:54

Asteroid shaves past Earth's atmosphere

The closest observed asteroid yet to skim past the Earth without hitting the atmosphere, was reported by astronomers on Sunday.

The previously unknown object, spanning five to 10 metres across, has been named 2004 FU162. It streaked across the sky just 6500 kilometres - roughly the radius of the Earth - above the ground on 31 March, although details have only now emerged.

The MIT Lincoln Laboratory's asteroid-hunting LINEAR telescope in Socorro, New Mexico,US, observed the new object four times over a 44-minute period, several hours before its closest approach in March.

Lincoln astronomers, who have discovered over 40,000 asteroids and comets since 1980, quickly recognised the object came exceptionally close, and posted their findings for confirmation on a web page run by the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

However, by the time it was posted the object had moved into the daytime sky, so follow-up observations were impossible and the listing was quickly removed. A search for prior observations yielded no results.

more at: