Pick a stylesheet that suites you: left, sleft, mright, sright, mno menus, sno menus, m
War & politics: Sept 11th, bin Laden, Middle East news, from my own perspective.

19 July 2004   

 

Regime change in Iran now in Bush's sights

"Bush has promised that if re-elected in November he will make regime change in Iran his new target."


1885 Also posted to: Home page . At: 11:36:18 AM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: Regime change in Iran now in Bush's sights

 

 

BBC: Elton attacks 'censorship' in US

"There's an atmosphere of fear in America right now that is deadly. Everyone is too career-conscious."


1884 Also posted to: Home page . At: 11:34:44 AM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: BBC: Elton attacks 'censorship' in US

 

16 July 2004   

 

The dogs of war

From a pdf on the Washington Post's site: "I saw the translator Abu Hamid, fucking a kid. His age would have been about 15 to 18 years. The kid was hurting very bad, and they covered all the doors with sheets. Then when I heard the screaming, I climbed to the door because on top it wasn't covered. And I saw Abu Hamid who was wearing a military uniform, putting his dick in the little kid's ass. I couldn't see the face of the kid because his face wasn't in front of the door. And the female soldier was taking pictures." [Via the metaFilter thread from yesterday: ]

This was reported on Minnesota Public Radio on March 21st. The introduction here. Apparently, this private contractor from the Titan Corporation has gotten away with it, he's not been prosecuted, he maybe exempt. Paul Bremer has let him go.

The UK's Independent newspaper has some (very small) coverage of the Seymor Hersh speech.

It seems from the MeFi thread that the CIA pulled out of Abu Ghraib as it was too bad. Then, when they left it turned worse.

Washington Post May 12th: SEN. BILL NELSON (D) Fla. said one poor-quality video appeared to show Iraqi prisoners about to be sodomized, although "it's not clear that the actual act of sodomy was being perpetrated on the videos that I've just seen."

From a NBC transcript on MSN some of the comments made by those who did see the unreleased video:
"RUMSFELD: There are other photos that depict incidents of physical violence towards prisoners, acts that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel, and inhuman.
JIM MIKLASZEWSKI, NBC PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. military officials tell NBC News, the unreleased images, show American soldiers severely beating one Iraqi prisoner to near death; apparently, raping an Iraqi female prisoner; acting inappropriately with a dead body; and Iraqi guards apparently videotaped by U.S. soldiers raping young boys.
SEN. LINDSAY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We're talking about rape and murder here, we`re not just talking about giving people a humiliating experience, we're talking about rape and murder and some very serious charges.
MIKLASZEWSKI: Senator Carl Levin raised questions about one photo which appeared to show the abuse of prisoners may not be random, but part of routine operations.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: That the conduct we were witnessing and watching was not aberrant conduct of a few individuals, but part of an organized and conscious process to extract information.
 


1883 Also posted to: Home page . At: 10:44:56 PM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: The dogs of war

 

15 July 2004   

 

The world's a safer place?

"Iraqi women beg to be killed as American soldiers sodomize their children (link is an .rm file, the bit about mothers and children starts about 1:31:00), according to journalist Seymour Hersh who reports seeing unreleased footage from Abu Ghraib."

An excerpt: "Some of the worst things that happened you don't know about, okay? Videos, um, there are women there. Some of you may have read that they were passing letters out, communications out to their men. This is at Abu Ghraib ... The women were passing messages out saying 'Please come and kill me, because of what's happened' and basically what happened is that those women who were arrested with young boys, children in cases that have been recorded. The boys were sodomized with the cameras rolling. And the worst above all of that is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking that your government has. They are in total terror. It's going to come out."

He said that after he broke Abu Ghraib people are coming out of the woodwork to tell him this stuff. He said he had seen all the Abu Ghraib pictures. He said, "You haven't begun to see evil..." then trailed off. He said, "horrible things done to children of women prisoners, as the cameras run."

He talked about how hard it is to get the truth out in Republican Washington: "If you agree with the neocons you're a genius. If you disagree you're a traitor." Bush, he said, was closing ranks, purging anyone who wasn't 100% with him.

The outrages have cost us the support of moderate Arabs, says Hersh. "They see us as a sexually perverse society."

seymourHershasis

Well, I've just watched it. He talks about Bush's and Wolfowitz's strangle hold on the US and though the tone was very frightening, I see many similarities with Blair's leadership of the UK. Certainly the US is becoming more fascist — the media aren't interested in the deeper stories, the military are cowed and so is the justice system.

 


1882 Also posted to: Home page . At: 11:09:21 PM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: The world's a safer place?

 

 

Butler report: 'oh well, nevermind'

Guardian: Iraq intelligence flawed and misused - but Blair comes smiling through.

Hans Blick on the BBC 24 summed it up for me, "Blair put exclaimation marks where there were question marks." He has to resign for me to vote Labour again. He tricked me. He tricked Parliament. He tricked his Cabinet.
WHITEWASHDROWN

 

 Source: Guardian Unlimited; 15/07/2004; 10:02:51.
1879 Also posted to: Home page . At: 10:15:36 AM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: Butler report: 'oh well, nevermind'

 

12 July 2004   

 

Funny song about Bush and the other one

thisLandasis If there's one thing you want to do today to cheer yourself up...
 


1871 Also posted to: Home page . At: 11:36:59 AM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: Funny song about Bush and the other one

 

 

MI6 distances itself from 45-minute weapons claim

Brian Jones, a former defence intelligence official, told the programme, A Failure of Intelligence, he was "confused" and "couldn't relate to" Mr Blair's evidence to Hutton, notably the reference to a "tremendous amount" of information about Iraq's WMD programme.

I saw 'Failure of Intelligence'—the BBC's Panorama programme last night. Though I wasn't confused anymore. I know that Blair has been 'lying' or exaggerating the truth. There was very, very little information.

I have come to despise Blair. I am sickened by his hunger for power, his need to have a strong and lasting reputation. For this he will and has manipulated us over the issue of WMD in Iraq, spun and twisted his way through the Hutton inquiry with his mates the soon to be crowned head of spies at MI6 John Scarlet and master of press manipulation Alistair Campell so that he came out smelling of roses.

As a life long good socialist I'm saddened that I will not be voting for my party with him at the head, more, I will be campaigning against Labour, just so Blair will be removed from power.
 


1870 Also posted to: Home page . At: 11:20:27 AM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: Stand down Tony   Don't trust Blair  

 

11 July 2004   

 

Bush, the statesman

"His smile faded, and he raised his left arm in our direction. And then, George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States of America, extended his middle finger. Read that last sentence again. I got flipped off by George W. Bush.

Didn't Cheney the VP do a similar thing to Congress? Get the t-shirt here.

If he stays on for another term, what does that say about the US?


1865 Also posted to: Home page . At: 9:02:43 PM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: Bush, the statesman

 

09 July 2004   

 

Bin Laden Is Said to Be Organizing for a U.S. Attack

Osama bin Laden and his chief lieutenants are directing a Qaeda effort to launch an attack in the U.S. sometime this year.

Pretty general stuff. What worries me, is that the attack, when it comes, and it will, will be a mega, probably biological. It wouldn't need to be very successful in itself, but the fear of some awful disease could tear the country apart. (Or, would the US as a nation pull together?)

 Source: The New York Times > Home Page; 09/07/2004; 09:45:02.
1860 Also posted to: Home page . At: 10:58:44 AM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: Bin Laden Is Said to Be Organizing for a U.S. Attack

 

08 July 2004   

 

More Steve Bell cartoons

bell512
Well, it made me chortle...
 


1857 Also posted to: Home page . At: 10:57:15 AM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: More Steve Bell cartoons

 

05 July 2004   

 

Rock Paper Saddam

Saddam: TIGER HAND! RAWR!!!!! RAWRR! rar. Hahaaa, hi. Tiger Hand. Come on! You Know! ... You don't know Tiger Hand? Tiger Hand beats paper. Like totally beats paper. Always

Saddam: Ask Aziz, he knows

Aziz: Tiger Hand always beats paper

Saddam: I'm sayin' bro!

18asis
 


1838 Also posted to: Home page . At: 3:23:10 PM  . .
Permalink  Top  Search Google  Technorati
Other title(s) for this story: Rock Paper Saddam