AS THE WORLD SQUIRMS

‘The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.’

~George Orwell

News & Comment

Saturday: Violence Picks Up Again as 70 Iraqis Killed, 123 Injured

US Deaths in Iraq Hit 21-Month High

US Airstrikes Kill Family as Troops

Battle to Retake Iraqi Town

10.28.06

AFP

RAMADI, Iraq (AFP) Six members of one family were killed when US planes bombed their place, a nursery school they were using as a house in 17th of July Street in the centre of the city last night," said Dr. Kamal al-Hadithi of Ramadi Hospital.

Vice President Dick Cheney Admits

That U.S. Tortured Prisoners

10.25.06

By Jonathan S. Landay – McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed that U.S. interrogators subjected captured senior al-Qaida suspects to a controversial interrogation technique called "water-boarding," which creates a sensation of drowning. Cheney indicated that the Bush administration doesn't regard water-boarding as torture and allows the CIA to use it. "It's a no-brainer for me," Cheney said at one point in an interview.

President’s Inaction May Equal Pocket Veto

UPDATE: H.R. 6166: Military Commissions Act of 2006
Military Commission Act Not Lawfully Passed

President’s Inaction Equals ‘Pocket Veto’

10.24.06

by Pat Shannan

Talk show host Alex Jones’ brief interview last week with an unknown caller has sent constitutionists and legal researchers scurrying for the law books. “The Military Commission Act is not law!” the man barked. “The ‘pocket veto’ clause of the constitution has already nullified it.”

He then pointed out to the national radio audience exactly what the part about “pocket veto” in Article One, Section 7 of the U. S. Constitution means. Indeed, it appears that President Bush’s signing of the infamous “6166,” which in effect eliminates the 4th Amendment protection of citizens in their homes and a whole lot more, is moot. He was too late.

Now Jones and many others are wondering, who in an official capacity is going to point this out and enforce it?

High-flying lifestyle of the CIA's rendition men

10.26.06

By Richard Norton-Taylor – The Guardian, London

In January 2004 a crew of CIA agents checked into the five-star Marriott Son Antem golfing resort in Palma for a well-deserved rest. The agents had just flown from Rabat in Morocco to Afghanistan and back to Algeria - a gruelling 8,000-mile journey - and were looking forward to luxuriating in the hotel's spa where, as the brochure put it, they could "journey to deep inner peace".

But as the crew were basking in comfort at US taxpayers' expense there was little peace for their cargo. In the hold on that day was Benyam Mohammed, a former Guantánamo Bay detainee alleged to be one of the world's most dedicated jihadists. In Morocco, Mohammed would later allege, he had been doused in hot liquids, subjected to incessant loud noise and had his penis slashed with a scalpel.

'Saddam Hussein' verdict postponed until 2 days before US election

10.26.06

Mediamatters.org

Summary: While it cannot definitively be said that the reason the senior Iraqi court in charge of Saddam Hussein's trial postponed its verdict in the case until two days before the November elections so that it would influence the midterms, the postponement suggests several obvious questions, including, most importantly: Given the Bush administration's history of timing national security-related actions to the political calendar, has the date for the verdict's release been set to provide maximum political benefit for the administration and congressional Republicans?

Iraqi PM Blames US for Chaos

10.26.06

By Jay Price – The State, South Carolina McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki continued his open dispute with American officials Thursday, blaming the United States-led coalition for Iraq's chaos and faulting its military strategy.

Russia Opposes UN Iran Sanctions

10..26.06

The Irish Examiner

RUSSIAN foreign minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday said a draft UN Security Council resolution proposed by European nations to impose sanctions on Iran did not match existing agreements between major powers, news agencies reported.

Remember Kosovo?

10.27.06

The Wall Street Journal

To get some perspective on Iraq and Afghanistan, let's revisit the previous decade's big nation-building project. Eleven years after U.S.-led forces went into Bosnia and seven after Kosovo, the Balkans remain prone to violence and riven by sectarian tensions. The scale of the difficulties wasn't appreciated at the start. Yet the alternative to the uneasy peace there today was -- and remains -- misery and instability on Europe's southeastern flank.

Tough decisions now loom for the Balkans, testing nerves and American leadership. By year's end, Kosovo is to move toward "final status," which to everyone but Serbia and Russia means independence. This will take finesse, so as not to push Serbia into the wilderness or rattle the weak multi-ethnic constructs in Bosnia and Macedonia. The U.S. and Europeans are also sure to come into conflict with Russia over Kosovo.

AFGHANISTAN (Yugoslavia Redux?): State-Sponsored NATO Terrorists Bomb, Murder Up To 85 Civilians

10.27.06

By Justin Huggler – The Independent, London

Nato forces in Afghanistan have killed scores of civilians in a single operation, bombing them in their own homes as they celebrated the end of Ramadan.

A Jewish Hitler?
The rise of Avigdor Lieberman

10.27.06

By Justin Raimondo – Antiwar.com

With the entry of Avigdor Lieberman into the government as deputy minister for "strategic threats" – essentially in charge of preparing for war with Iran – Israel makes a qualitative step toward a regime that increasingly resembles, in all its essentials, a rogue state, and, I might add, potentially a very dangerous one.

Lieberman's views are notoriously racist, and his rhetoric is invariably violent. He called for the execution of Israeli Arab members of the Knesset who met with Hamas or didn't celebrate Israel's Independence Day. His party, Yisrael Beytenu ("Israel is our Home"), accuses Israeli Arabs of "dual loyalty" on account of their ethnicity, and advocates the complete separation of the Israeli and Arab populations in Palestine – in effect, forced transfer. Lieberman and his followers vehemently oppose the peace process, support the militant settlement movement, and are proud partisans of ethnic cleansing.

In 2002, Lieberman averred that he wouldn't flinch at ordering the IDF into the occupied territories on the West Bank for 48 hours, an operation designed to "Destroy the foundation of all the [Palestinian] authority's military infrastructure … not leave one stone on another. Destroy everything." Civilian targets included: that same year he also argued the Israeli air force should bomb all Palestinian commercial centers, including banks and even gas stations.

Lieberman's portfolio as minister in charge of strategic threats allowed the editors of Ha'aretz to quip "Lieberman is a strategic threat!" Here, after all, is a man who has threatened to bomb Tehran, the Aswan Dam, and Beirut. His entry into the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in coalition with Kadima and Labor, marks an ominous shift in the stance of the Jewish state. As Ha'aretz put it:

"The choice of the most unrestrained and irresponsible man around for this job constitutes a strategic threat in its own right. Lieberman's lack of restraint and his unbridled tongue, comparable only to those of Iran's president, are liable to bring disaster down upon the entire region."

· The general who called out the Devil - the politics of Hugo Chavez: The reaction of most mainstream US politicians to Hugo Chavez's recent rhetorical flourish during his speech at the United Nations where he called George Bush the devil certainly showed the world how much of a threat the Washington powermongers consider his Bolivarian revolution to be. From the liberal Nancy Pelosi of California to the far-right, Chavez's comparison provoked a virtual flood of angry criticism. Interestingly enough, the White House did not issue a denial, leaving it open to speculation as to whether or not Chavez's characterization of Mr. Bush was more accurate than previously acknowledged. At any rate, the point I'm trying to make here is that Hugo Chavez does not really seem to care what the politicians in Washington and their backers in the boardrooms of the US think about him. Furthermore, by adopting this attitude and expressing it at forums like the UN, Mr. Chavez has vocalized the sentiments of millions of people the world over.

· US Revives Terror Data-Mining: The U.S. intelligence czar is developing a computer system capable of mining huge amounts of information about everyday events for patterns that look like terrorist planning -- technology reminiscent of the discontinued Total Information Awareness (TIA) program. Civil liberties and privacy advocates have criticized the effort, called Tangram, which is being developed by contractors working for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte

· Swiss find evidence of CIA spy attempt: BERN, Switzerland (AP) -- Swiss authorities have found enough evidence to seek a full investigation into allegations the CIA was trying to obtain personal details of about 500 labor union members, most of them Arabs, officials said Friday. Espionage by foreign agents in Switzerland is illegal and often results in expulsion of the suspects.

· Don't mention the war: Israel seeks image makeover: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who has argued that the protracted conflict with the Palestinians is sapping Israel's international legitimacy, this week convened diplomats and PR executives to come up with ways of "rebranding" the country.

· Rush Limbaugh Smears Michael J. Fox, Mocks Parkinson's Patients

Ingrid Rice (Irice), British Columbia, Canada

· Housing slump sends chill through US: Economists blamed the slump in housing sales -- with prices falling the most in more than three decades last month -- for slowing growth. ”We are feeling the effects of the housing bubble bursting and, while the ill wind is not pleasant, it is not likely to be long-lasting," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pa. "Businesses and households did their part to keep the economy going."

· Economy slowest since 2003: Economic growth slowed to a crawl in the third quarter, advancing at a pace of just 1.6 percent, the worst in more than three years.

An extraordinarily prescient TV interview with General Norman Schwarzkopf and Robert Gates - Deputy National Security Advisor to Former President George Bush Sr.

Why Invading Iraq Was A Very Stupid Idea…

(Click on blinking dot above for video)

Ana von Rebeur, Argentina

“People should not be afraid of their government.

Governments should be afraid of their people.”