On the road again

For most of this week, possibly all week, I will be away with minimum access to Internet. Although I will update my blog as aften as I can, I might not be able to do any. Well, stories are out there; you just have to look for them if you like, otherwise the media will not bring them to your attention.

Meanwhile, feel free to suggest any topic (or news) for discussion with others on this thread.

Some stories behind the scenes of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Breaking The Silence :
A hard hitting special report into the "war on terror"
By John Pilger
See how friendly the White House was with Taliban, yes, while they were in power in Afghanistan. See how a couragous American woman doesn't let Bush use the death of her brother on 9/11 to justify killing of other civilians.

And Iraq: Powell (Feb 2001) and Rice (July 2001) admit that Iraq was not a threat. No WMD, No 45 minutes.... . Watch parts of some interviews. One interview stopped when questions were about civilian deaths.

...And on US policies in general. Watch it. It gets more interesting as it goes. You will get some ideas who really are those ruling the US.

Civilian casualties Vs. militant/military casualties

Here is the data provided by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem regarding the number of Israeli and Palestinians who have been killed during the 3 years of Palestinian uprising:

Israeli deaths:
794 total
(99 minors)=(12.5% of the total - Faramin)
(246 security forces)=(31% of the total - Faramin)
Palestinian deaths:
2,201 total
(398 minors)=(18% of the total - Faramin)
(207 "targeted killings")=(9.5% of the total - Faramin)
Suicide attackers:
129 Palestinians
Israel's prisoners:
5,278 Palestinians
(528 "administrative detainees")

According to this, only under 10% of the Palestinian casualties are resulted from Isreal's targeted killings, and the rest (over 90% including 18% minors) are civilians. Meanwhile, 31% of killed Israelis have been security forces and about 69%(including over 12% minors) are civilians.
Although no killing of the civilians, especially children, is justifiable, this data indicates that Israelis have been less successful in killing the Palestinian militants compared to Palestinians killing of Israeli security forces. I have to add, although it is the actual number of the killed that shows the dept of the tragedy, even proportionately (in addition to actual numbers), Israeli actions have been more devastating to the civilians.
This data does not even include "Deaths of Palestinians following Delay in Obtaining Medical Treatment because of Restrictions on Movement during the al-Aqsa Intifada" which adds up to 38.

An appeal for help - Please write as instructed by the Amnesty International - Please be firm but not harsh

25 September 2003
Fear of imminent execution
IRAN Afsaneh Nouroozi (f), aged 32

Amnesty International has recently learned that Afsaneh Nouroozi is at imminent risk of execution after the death sentence against her was upheld by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Sayed >Ali Khamenei, is the only authority able to grant clemency at this stage.

Afsaneh Nouroozi was reportedly arrested in 1997 after killing the Head of Police Intelligence in Kish, Southern Iran. She allegedly acted in self-defence in order to protect herself from being raped. At her trial, her defence lawyer cited Article 61 of the Islamic Criminal Law which states: “If whilst defending one’s life, honour, chastity, property or freedom against any immediate or imminent aggression, one makes an action which is an offence, provided that all of the following conditions are met, one will not be prosecuted and punished: a – The defence is proportionate to danger or aggression; b – the action is not excessive; c – calling the governmental forces is not possible immediately, or calling them is not effective in repelling the aggression or danger.” Afsaneh Nouroozi was nevertheless sentenced to death for the crime.

The death sentence against Afsaneh Nouroozi was reportedly upheld by the Supreme Court in August 2003. In an open letter to an Iranian newspaper, three young women stated that “If [Afsaneh Nouroozi] was to be executed today, we would not be executing one woman but the symbol of our families of which women are the integral part”.

Afsaneh Nouroozi is being held in Bandar Abbas prison in southern Iran, which is notorious for its poor conditions. In August 2003, her husband, Mostafa Jihangiri, complained to Article 90, a parliamentary commission where citizens’ complaints and grievances are examined, about the conditions in which she is detained.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International has recorded 83 executions so far this year in Iran, although the true figure may be much higher.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a state party. Article 6 of the ICCPR states: AIn countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes@.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, Farsi, Arabic or your own language:
- recognizing the rights and responsibilities of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences;
- urging that the death sentence imposed on Afsaneh Nouroozi be commuted immediately;
- seeking trial details of the case of Afsaneh Nouroozi, including details of any appeals against her convictions;
- urging the authorities to ensure that the victim’s family is made aware of its right, under Islamic law, to pardon the condemned;
- reminding the Iranian authorities of their commitment to the ICCPR (in particular Article 6) to which they are a state party;
- reminding the Iranian authorities of their commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular Article 3: AEveryone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.@

APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei,
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue,
Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Telegram: His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
E-mail: webmaster@wilayah.org (on the subject line write: For the attention of the office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei, Qom)
Salutation: Your Excellency

President
His Excellency Hojjatoleslam val Moslemin Sayed Mohammad Khatami
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Telegram: His Excellency Hojjatoleslam val Moslemin Sayed Mohammad Khatami, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
E-mail: khatami@president.ir (please resend your message if it does not get through the first time)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Telegram: Head of the Judiciary, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 879 6671 (unreliable; please mark "care of Director of International Affairs, Judiciary")
Email: Irjpr@iranjudiciary.com (Public Relations Office of Judiciary; please mark for the attention of HE Ayatollah Shahrudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
His Excellency Kamal Kharrazi
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 390 1999 (unreliable; please mark "care of the Human Rights Department, Foreign Ministry)
Salutation: Your Excellency

and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.

Equaltiy in coverage? NO.

"Three years into the Aqsa Intifada Israelis suffer, Palestinians too"
This is what you see highlighted on the side of an article in Toronto Star called 3,432 graves mock notion of peace (NOTE: over 2/3 of the killed are Palestinian but the Star gives the priority in mentioning Israelis first: "..Israelis suffer, Palestinians too"). This is of course accompanied by a picture showing the pain of an Israeli woman after loosing her loved one perhaps after a suicide bombing. Pictures similar to this are frequently published in the Star; perhaps one of the most balanced papers in north America (imagine how terrible the rast are), but you know, you don't see many pictures of Palestinians suffering, you don't see the pictures showing Palestinians' pain of loosing their loved ones. Even if the content of the story is fair, still the impact of the picture is much more that the story itself, because many people don't even read the whole story and the sole picture gives them plenty of stories.

If a paper such as the Star, with millions of readers, is so much biased in what it publishes, how do you expect me to attribute the same and equal coverage of pain imposed to Palestinian and Israelis?

Again, I will not be so simple to think I have to pay the same attention to both in order to be fair. No, I shouldn't. let me show you what I mean, by an example:
If I have some limited amount of money (my money) in my pocket that I want to spend on buying food for two kids whom I am looking after for one day (and only one day), if one of them is always fed properly and the other one usually suffers from malnutrition and doesn't get much chance for good food, I will definitely spend more money on the second child, while I will still feed the first one. Is it because I dislike the first child? No, but I realize the first child will not suffer if the quality of his food is a bit less (for a day) but the second child does not get much chance like this. Here if I apply equality to both, I am just satisfying myself by feeling: "I am fair". But no, then I am in fact very unfair.

By this (perhaps not very realistic example), I am just trying to illustrate why my "limited energy and resources" should NOT be equally divided to cover both sides. It might be hard to understand this mentality, but hey, it is me and I do it this way. Please don't give me lecture, but any meaningful input why if I might be wrong on this, is appreciated.

This was posted at Rezwan's The 3rd world view. It was so self-explanatory about the double standards applied to treating Palestinian and Israeli casualties, that I thought I should display it here as well.

More interestingly, this is taken from an Israeli peace activist organization called Gush Shalom lead by Uri Avnery, a former Israeli minister.
One difference is that little Lina's Father; Hassan, in the my yesterday post, didn't even have the luxury of taking her daughter to hospital because of the continuation of Israeli incursion.

add this to your site

Some of Censored Media Stories of 2002-2003

This site, reveals many stories which were ignored (Censored) by the mainstream media. How accurate they are, you be the judge, but there are some interesting stories you want wish to look into.
Some interesting examples are like Rumsfeld's Plan to Provoke Terrorists and U.S. Dollar vs. the Euro: Another Reason for the Invasion of Iraq or Bush Administration Behind Failed Military Coup in Venezuela and not to be forgotten: Treaty Busting By the United States

Whatever is presented, is with its related source/s

US and Fox hypocrisy - "Fair and Balanced"

Australian ABC's Media Watch: Human Beings As Feces On FOX NEWS
Watch this .

...And FOX's Trade Mark? "Fair and balanced".

Is this a Congressman? What an idiot!

Congressman Barrett Introduces Legislation to Expel Iranian Visitors and Students from the U.S.
The legislation, entitled the Stop Terrorists Entry Program (STEP) Act of 2003 (HR 3075), would forbid all Iranian Americans from filing immigrant family petitions and prohibit all Iranians from visiting, studying or working in America as non-immigrants. Congressman Barrett believes that the STEP Act would help local law enforcement by removing people from the United States whom he thinks are dangerous. Read more .

Imagine the visiting parents of An Iranian-American at their 70s, having machine guns and shooting in the streets of N. Y. or L.A. . What a movie Hollywood can make out of this.
Are you sure Mr. Congressman, you were voted in? Who voted you? OH, then again, I just remembered George Bush is the President.

Too big a loaf to swallow at once

US-Installed Iraq's Governing Council backed off from a controversial pledge by its finance minister to allow 100 percent foreign ownership in most economic sectors here, saying the matter needed more study (call it study of reactions).
The package previously announced in Dubai caused an immediate storm in Iraq, where businessmen and analysts expressed fears that outsiders could swallow up the national economy.
"The measures which have been announced will lead to foreign domination over economic decision-making and largely sign away the independence" of Iraq, said Ridha al-Qoreishi, a financial and monetary expert and academic.
Read more .

Cartoon

Courtesy Al-Jazeera
Only American flag above Iraqi flag is missing

1.7 million more Americans in Poverty in 2002

The worsening economic conditions fell heaviest on Midwesterners and nonwhites. More here .

The president is too busy conquering lands, so he doesn't have time for poor Americans.

Blair loyalists urge him to distance himself from Bush his right wing Co

The former Cabinet ministers Alan Milburn and Stephen Byers today warn Tony Blair he has become dangerously close to President George Bush .... .More here .

Bomb Destroys The Media's Illusions

Uncle Sam's unlimited selfishness and double standard:
The world was told, that staff of an American television network were the intended victims and that there had been "one" Somali dead. No one knew the Somlie's name. But they did know the name of David Moodie, the NBC soundman who received a piece of broken glass in his arm. Read more .

Killed by the fright; Would you call it "collateral damage" if she was your child?

Is this just another insignificant collateral damage?

Courtesy Islam Online

Can you even imagine yourself in that situation?
Look into her eyes and see if you can tell her:"Sorry kid, oh, my heart goes with you but you are just a "collateral damage".

"It was 3 am, we were all asleep and the house was quiet. Suddenly, I was awakened by the sounds of Israeli Apachi helicopters firing intensively and I knew our neighborhood was the target of a new raid," Lina's father, Hassan, recalled the horrible moments.

"Minutes later, the sound of firing grew louder and became deafening. Suddenly, I saw Lina jumping out of her bed and running towards me with the deepest look of horror I have ever seen engraved of her little face. She threw herself in my open arms and started screaming hysterically.

"I felt her tiny body shaking and all my attempts to calm her down bore no fruit with the continuous firing outside. Gradually, her body temperature started falling, she stopped screaming and her face became as pale as that of a corpse," he added, through his wet face.

It was obvious Hassan himself was on the verge of collapse as he recalled the terrible experience of a father holding his dying child while completely helpless to save his dearest. One may wonder what else could be crueler to a father, any father.

After some words of comfort, Hassan could pull himself together to continue.

"I tried to rush out of the house to take her to the hospital but that was impossible with the sounds of tank shells and continuous explosions outside. Three hours later, the occupation forces withdrew. I rushed to the hospital, carrying Lina who was then as quiet as dead.

"I reached al-Aqsa hospital where the medical staff did their utmost to save her but to no avail. My little angel was killed by the fright her little heart could not handle," he concluded.

Pilots say they are ashamed of bomb and missile missions in the West Bank and Gaza

Citing strikes aimed at Palestinian civilian population centres, the petitioners (the pilots - Faramin) said they would "refuse to continue to hurt innocent civilians. These acts are illegal and immoral and are a direct result of the ongoing occupation that corrupts all of Israeli society."

The assassination strike cited as "the biggest stain" was the July, 2002, operation in which an Israeli fighter jet dropped a 1,000-kilo bomb over Gaza City, killing Hamas leader Salah Shehade and 14 others, including nine Palestinian children. Read more .

Well, at least they have realized what they have done was inhumane, it is time for the die-hard Israeli supporter Americans to stop applauding the killing of innocent people.

Long lasting decisions made again, by non-elected, US-installed government

After un-democratic idea of making long lasting economic decisions on behalf of the Iraqis regarding its oil and non-oil government-owned industries, now Secretary of State, Collin Powell "orders" its puppet Iraqi council to come up with a constitution for Iraq in six months.

The constitution would spell out whether Iraq should be governed by a presidential or parliamentary system. Well, again that non-elected puppet council is going to decide for Iraqis what they must want for the future of their country. Although the idea might sound good and mistakenly considered as a beginning to tyransfer of power to Iraqis, it is still a decision on an issue that is supposed to be with Iraq forever; we are talking Iraq's constitution. How could people such as Ahmad Chalabi who is not elected by people and at best is not even familiar with Iraqi culture should be one of those decision makers. It reminds me of Khomeinie's Velayat-e-faghih (total authority for the cleric) which practically expected people to have no say in the major decision makings, but with one differenced: Iran's new constitution after the revolution was written by some (although not truly representative) elected people and was put on vote by people. Although it was not much more than a show, it makes me wander if the current administration and Mr. Powell are less respectful of peoples' rights to choose their destiny and to democracy and its meaning than Khomeinie was.

Americans are waking up; join them

If you don't have the heart to see the reality, you may not wish to watch . Trouble on the Homefront for Bush and Co .

"Our morale is not high or even low our morale is nonexistent": Writes a soldier to his wife.

....Nevertheless there are some wives of serving members of the military who are willing to speak publicly. Pam Nolan's husband is a soldier currently deployed in Iraq. At the last election, Pam was a vocal supporter of George W. Bush, even joining the National Republican Women's Association. That's all changed now.

PAM NOLAN (The wife of one of the soldiers): Now I completely distrust President Bush and I was one of - my kids can tell you, I was a firm, firm supporter, strong supporter of President Bush - he was like a hero to me.
PAM NOLAN:I was like "Yeah, George Bush, yeah."
Back in January, Pam was also a supporter of plans to invade Iraq.
Pam now thinks the US should hand authority over to the United Nations, she says her views are shared by many other spouses at Fort Bragg.

NANCY LESSIN, MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAK OUT: Today, we want to talk about the three words of false bravado uttered by President Bush from a safe and secure location surrounded by armed guards that taunted those shooting at our loved ones. Those three words galvanised Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace and other veterans organisations to initiate the campaign we are launching today. George Bush said "bring 'em on", we say "Bring them home now."

FERNANDO SUAREZ DE SOLAR: I lost my son in this illegal war. My grandson lost his father in this Bush war. And I ask you, Mr President, how many kids do you need for over this illegal war? And I ask the American people how many kids you need for your gasoline in your car? How many kids do you need for finish this terrific situation? I lose my son, but there's a lot of sons in Iraq right now. And I want and my wife want everyone come back, come back home right now! Thank you.

STAN GOFF: Oh, you know, we were beside ourselves. I have to accommodate that I believe the Iraqis have every right to resist an occupation of their own country and at the same time, I have to hope that my son gets back OK. You know, that's a tough thing to sort of hold on to both those beliefs at the same time, you know. Like, if a foreign power came in and invaded us here, we would fight them

There are more, much more: Real Americans in pain, unlike those entertaining from all this.

Nigerian stoning verdict overturned

KATSINA, Nigeria (AP) - A single mother facing death by stoning for adultery was acquitted today by an Islamic appeals court in northern Nigeria in a case that sparked international outrage.
It also cited procedural errors, including that only one judge was present at her initial conviction, instead of the three required under Islamic law.
The case had drawn sharp criticism from international rights groups. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's government and world leaders had called for Lawal to be spared. Last week, Brazil even offered her asylum.
Read more .

Bush Plan on Iraq Hits Snag in Congress

09/24/03: WASHINGTON (AP) -- A top Democrat accused the Bush administration Wednesday of undertaking a massive effort to rebuild Iraq without the blessing of the American people as the White House's $87 billion plan to resurrect that country hit more turbulence in Congress.

In one exchange, the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, repeatedly asked Rumsfeld when the administration had received a public mandate for the Iraqi reconstruction effort. Byrd noted that officials have said a rebuilt, more democratic Iraq could help stabilize the Middle East.

"The American people never been told that we're going into that country to build a new nation, to build a new government, to democratize the country and to democratize the Middle East," Byrd said. "They were told we're going in there because of weapons of mass destruction."
Read more .

Knesset: 3,000 women a year caught in modern slavery

A special Knesset committee finds that "3,000 women are sold each year in Israel's sex industry, in transactions with an annual volume of $1 billion." Read here .

Back-room deal possible

After extensive investigation and search, US hasn't been able to find any WMD in Iraq. Beside, perhaps many people wouldn't believe it anyway if they came up with "something" as a proof of Iraq's WMD.

Now, the situation has changed: Former Iraqi Defence Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed has been granted immunity from prosecution following his surrender to US forces. And "White House officials say they have high hopes he will provide significant information on Iraq's alleged weapons programmes." More here .

Without claiming that it will be the case for sure, this can provide a good opportunity for the US to make the "discovery" of WMD believable, after it is planted somewhere and then "discovered". Then it can be said that this discovery was after the cooperation from Sultan Hashim Ahmed.

Stop embarrassing Bush/Blair and Co.

"No banned weapons found in Iraq: CIA
Since U.S. President George Bush declared the end of major combat on May 1, Kay has led the U.S. effort to locate the biological, chemical and nuclear weapons that were the stated justification for the war." Read more .

And now, they are talking about Iran and are using the fear factor to implement their agendas, Not learning from recent events and lies, some still go to bed with that fear.

No Homecoming Trumpets for the fallen?

"Americans have been taught that their nation is civilized and humane. But, too often, U.S. actions have been uncivilized and inhumane."~~Howard Zinn, historian and author

"Notice anything missing in the news media since all this war business started? Where is all the media attention for the more than 300 fallen military servicemen who have been killed in Iraq and shipped back home? I ask again -- has anyone heard the trumpets blaring or seen cameras clicking in patriotic fever as the body bags arrive and unload from military cargo planes? While I'm on the subject -- has anyone seen any televised funerals or heard any interviews with relatives of the deceased who are not happy campers? Hardly anything? Hmmmm, go figure." Read more .

Iraq: Two sides of the same coin

"War changes us immensely. Not just as a world community but individually as well."
"I have placed young men, ones with dreams and families, in body bags. I have cared for the wounded, coalition and enemy soldiers as well as civilians, many being children younger than my own. "
"I have witnessed the struggle of the people of Baghdad and my own soldiers while we waited for the promised help from my coalition leaders. "
"I came into this war hoping to rid the world of an evil man, Saddam Hussein. Once accomplished, I now find myself confined and surrounded by the post-war chaos and anger of a people without direction and begging for leadership. I see their pain and realise that at this time I am part of their pain."
Said US Army frontline physician, Major Matthew Jennings.

Meanwhile his warrior colleague Major Scott Patton the head of operations for the 4/27th Field Artillery battalion (Artillary? As I understand it means sitting back and shooting artillaries from a distance) thinks the US and coalition forces are doing a good job:
"There's no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the United States and the coalition did the right thing."
"I talk to Iraqis on the street and you see hands cut off and the horrible things that Saddam Hussein's regime did to these people, you hear about the horrible rapes that his son Uday carried out. "
"It's amazing what these young men and women are doing... It just makes you very proud just to be a part of that team." More here .

This is what you've done Mr. President

I have always said that the idiotic policies of the United States and its unwise leaders, have not only been criminal, but also have fanned the fire of fundamentalism and peoples' return to religion on its traditional way. I have said that Bush not only have not defeated fundamentalism, but has helped it gain grounds. And I have always said, this has made things more difficult for the secular people in Middle East to attract listening ears of the people. This is one example how Egyptian society is walking away from secularism.
"The magnified call to prayer, the building of mosques are all symptoms of a relentless rise of Islamist politics" And "The few voices of secular and liberal opposition are to remain drowned out by the loudspeakers"

Musharraf the dictataor? Be quiet, he is a friend

"Shortly after Gen. Pervez Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup, Canada's then foreign minister, Lloyd Axworthy, came here to sternly lecture the army chief on the sanctity of democracy.

But when Axworthy's successor came through town this month, the finger-wagging was replaced by warm handshakes. This time, Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham's priority was President Musharraf's support for the war on terror, because Canada has about 1,950 peacekeepers on the line in neighbouring Afghanistan.

But in Pakistan, Musharraf's own people aren't quite as enamoured by his performance. Hailed overseas as a bulwark against Islamic extremism, Musharraf is heckled at home for abusing the constitution and flouting the rule of law. What a difference 9/11 makes for Musharraf. Once dismissed as a dictator, the four-star general is now welcomed as a buttoned-down president in world capitals." More here .

It's OK Mr. Mosharraf, your boss in the White House is doing the same thing, but good for Pakistanies who are at least able to see you are abusing your power. However, as long as you are with the "Cowboy Texan", no problem what you do.

Palestinian-Israeli cooperation in Antarctic

A group of Palestinians and Israelis aim to prove that the two communities can work together - by staging a joint expedition to Antarctica.

The project - called "Breaking The Ice" - will take the eight-member team from Patagonia in southern Chile to the top of an unnamed peak.

27 Israeli pilots say will refuse to participate in "illegal and immoral attacks against innocent civilians", as they called it - UPDATE

Courtesy BBC
"We, veteran pilots and active pilots alike, who have served and who continue to serve the state of Israel for many weeks every year, are opposed to carrying out illegal and immoral attack orders, of the type carried out by Israel in the territories," the group wrote to Air Force Chief, Major General Dan Halutz.
"We are refusing to continue to attack innocent civilians": They wrote.
It is also reported that the pilots were also refusing to fly ground troops into the Palestinian territories to carry out attacks. Read more here or here .

For Update read here .

No Mr. secretary, you were sort of right first; but even more Judeo than Christian, at least by what rules

Reuters
Tuesday, September 23, 2003; 2:14 AM

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell called the United States a Judeo-Christian country on Monday but quickly amended that to "a country of many faiths."

The first amendment to the U.S. constitution prohibits the establishment of any state religion -- a provision usually interpreted as requiring strict separation of church and state, though Christian activists dispute that.

Powell made the remark in an interview with the Charlie Rose Show on public television while talking about Washington's vision of what kind of government Iraq should have.

He said he expected it to be "an Islamic country by faith, just as we are a Judeo-Christian..."

"Well, it's hard to tell any more, but we are a country of many faiths now," he added quickly.

The remark was likely to antagonize millions of American Muslims, most of whom want to be included in the mainstream.

Some American Muslims have coined the term Judeo-Christian-Islamic to reflect their ideal of what the United States should be.

© 2003 Reuters

Bush isolated as speech to UN falls flat

George Bush was increasingly isolated on the global stage yesterday as he defied intense criticism from a litany of world leaders at the United Nations over the war on Iraq. More here .
Also:
Annan slaps Bush in the face at the UN
Excerpts of what Annan said:

"Until now it has been understood that when states go beyond (self-defense), and decide to use force to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, they need the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations."

"Now, some say this understanding is no longer tenable, since an 'armed attack' with weapons of mass destruction could be launched at any time, without warning, or by a clandestine group. Rather than wait for that to happen, they argue, states have the right and obligation to use force pre-emptively, even on the territory of other states, and even while weapons systems that might be used to attack them are still being developed.

"According to this argument, states are not obliged to wait until there is agreement in the Security Council. Instead, they reserve the right to act unilaterally, or in ad hoc coalitions.

"This logic represents a fundamental challenge to the principles on which, however imperfectly, world peace and stability have rested for the last fifty-eight years ... if it were to be adopted, it could set precedents that resulted in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force, with or without justification.

Israeli Troops Kill Gaza Youth After Bush UN Speech

Enjoy you defenders of "great civilization and freedom". You and your president just killed one more .

Al-Qaeda: the winner of the Iraq war

"OSAMA bin Laden and al-Qaeda have been winners from the Iraq war": Says the former Australian defence minister. Read more .

New definitions used by the White House gang

I came across This via www.eyeranian.net.

Eric Margolis believes:"It's very difficult keeping up with Mideast news due to the Orwellian language coming from Washington." So, he has come up with a handy list of key terms in Iraqspeak, translated into simple English.

This might also be very useful to those who keep coming up with the crap that a non-elecetd entity has the right to make major economical decisions on behalf of a nation and those who still try to sell this crap to people like "Brooklyn Bridge".

Here are some of the terms:

Dictator - A ruler you don't like, or who does not cooperate.
Statesman - A cooperative dictator.
Stability - when things go the way Uncle Sam likes, ie the status quo.
Instability - when things don't go the way Uncle Sam wants, when trouble-makers try to change the status quo.
Iraq Reconstruction - a process whereby big firms that contribute to the president's re-election campaign obtain contracts, without any bidding, to rebuild the damage caused by US bombing.
Freeing Iraq's oil assets - Washington's seizure and sale of Iraqi oil, which in no way can be compared to Cuba's seizure and sale of US-owned property, a dastardly crime.
Anti-terrorism - State terrorism.
Weapons of Mass Destruction - Nasty weapons, existing or non-existing, that the other side has. When your side has them, they become invisible.
Torture - a foul act committed by your enemies. When your side does it, it's called intensive interrogation in Guantanamo.
Fox News - The Ministry of Truth. .
Al-Jazeera News - All the bad news we don't want to hear. See Fox News.
And
New Iraqi government - An august body that leaps to its feet and salaams when a US soldier enters the room, and has total authority over garbage collection, sewers, and camel catching.

Fewer exchange of comments

I agree with a regular visitor of this blog that a blog can be treated as "letters to the editor" where the reaction of the readers to what they read is presented. The major difference is that in "letters to the editor" the editor chooses what to publish and what not to but in a blog (except in some blogs), every opinion gets a chance to be worded. The other differnce is that the editor usually does not respond to the comments made while in a blog this more often occures.

Considering the family/personal and professional responsibilities, responding to all comments (something that I have been trying to do until now) can easily drain my energy so, I have decided to reduce (only reduce) the amount of my involvement in responding to comments, however, this does not mean that I will stop writing about things that I believe are the major issues effecting the lives of many people around the world. I will keep writing or providing material related to the criminal and 18th and 19th century action of occupation of Iraq, the criminal occupation of Palestinian lands by the terrorist state of Israel. I will keep writing about my belief that most of the current US leaders are war criminals and should be put on trial for the devastation they have caused to the world and for their role in practically flourishing fundamentalism, I will continue writing about those who act like Germans before 1939. And finally, I will write about whatever I feel like. And yes, I live in Canada and not the US.

Sometimes one might practically receive more friendship and understanding from strangers than from the family, for that I would like to sincerely thank Maxx and Laura for their support of not necessarily my view but my right to express my view, and for not just sitting on the sideline.

Until my next post.

..and "our" hearts go ONLY for American soldiers, such corrupt hearts "we" have

Al-Sajr, Iraq — In an incident likely to deepen resentment of the U.S. occupation in an already volatile region, American forces backed by helicopters firing rockets attacked a village west of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing three and wounding three others. U.S. forces acknowledged that a raid occurred but said they could confirm only one dead.

The troops were from the 82nd Airborne Division - the same command that mistakenly killed eight Iraqi policemen and a Jordanian guard on Sept. 12 in the nearby city of Fallujah. In April, soldiers from the 82nd Airborne shot dead 18 and injured 78 on two successive days, also in Fallujah. In both cases, the U.S. military said the soldiers were fired on first. A senior U.S. army officer is leading an investigation into the Sept. 12 shooting.

Read 3 villagers killed in American assault near Baghdad from "The Globe and Mail" .

The window of hope to try war criminals has been closed; for now

The Belgian court of appeal has thrown out a war crimes lawsuit brought under a controversial law against retired US general Tommy Franks, who commanded the US-led invasion on Iraq.

The case was brought under the "universal competence" law which originally allowed Belgian courts to rule on crimes against humanity regardless of the nationality of the perpetrator or where the crimes took place.

Faced with pressure from Washington, the Belgian government agreed this year to scrap the law, and in August parliament approved a new, watered-down version.
"The court ruled that it must apply the new law," lawyer Jan Fernon said in Brussels on Tuesday. Fernon, who represented plaintiffs in the case, said he had not ruled out taking the case to Belgium's supreme court, the Cour de Cassation.

Read here .

Iraq oil assets 'up for sale'

Preparation for another looting of the Iraqi wealth
Ali Allawi, the trade minister in the US-selected administration in Iraq, has said that foreign ownership of assets in the country's oil industry has not been ruled out.

The question remains, do these non-elected people have the right to make such major decisions on behalf of the Iraqis?

Read here .

American Hatred of Free Press displayed by American-puppet Iraqi Council

"US" bans Al-jazeera and Al-Arabiya from Iraq
The US-appointed Governing Council in Iraq has decided to ban two leading Arabic news channels from the country for allegedly inciting violence, according to reports. Read here.

Wesley Clark: US plans to attack seven Muslim states

Wesley Clark claims he met a senior military officer in Washington in November 2001 who told him the Bush administration was planning to attack Iraq first before taking action against Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan. Read here .

A few intersting links:

-"...show that the Bush administration has threatened Europe with trade sanctions if it goes ahead with the tests, which are designed to protect workers and the public from highly toxic chemicals. Read this:Bush steps up fight against European safety testing

-White House officials have undermined their own government scientists' research into climate change to play down the impact of global warming, an investigation by The Observer can reveal. Read Bush covers up climate research

-"...Right on cue, faithful to Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering's advice to attack all dissenting views as treason, Fox accused Amanpour of being a "spokeswoman for al-Qaida." Read Bush's tame U.S. media may yet have teeth

-Nine Israelis face deportation from Canada
CSIS suspects they may be Mossad agents
Read here .

Un-elected administration is making a major and long lasting economical decesion for Iraq

It's official: Iraq is being sold out.
The American-backed administration in Iraq has announced sweeping economic reforms, including the sale of all state industries except for oil.
Whether it is good or bad, is not the case. This administration is not elected by the Iraqi people. Does it have the right to make such significant move that can have long lasting effects on future of Iraq? How could those who constantly brag about American agenda to bring "democracy" to the world, can justify this seriously undemocratic move?

Are Cheney and his friends so much in rush to swallow the country? How dare they? Then you wander, why Iraqis are hostile?

Read Iraq adopts sweeping economic reforms .

No, I am not evenhanded in choosing what I should report

Some people might accuse me of being biased in research of the particular conflicts. They might tell me that I should employ and maintain balance in what I choose to report, and I should be evenhanded in selecting the stories to report.

Do I have anything to say in my defense? Perhaps not. But do I need any defense? Am I breaching the ethics of journalism?

Well, if this is the ethics of journalism, yes I am breaching it, then I admit "I am guilty". But I believe this doesn't have anything to do with ethics. and If I am acting according to this misconception, then I am nothing but a fool.

I am not reporting for the sake of journalism and to satisfy my readers, as I am not a journalist. I am reporting for the sake of my belief that human life is under attack from both side, from the side that does everything in order to gain more and for unlimited greed, as well as from the side that does everything to satisfy its religious beliefs and imposes it to others. Which one can I have more respect for, perhaps neither one. But as a result of all this, who really suffers? Obviously real people, and they are the ones who are forced into this conflict in order to protect their own basic rights that include, their family, their land, their country and their resources.

In a world, where propaganda machines are constantly in high gear to reflect the stories as the powerful people wish them reflected, in a world where, for example, Palestinians who commit suicide bombing are called Islamic terrorist, but those Jews who attempt to blow up Palestinian children in their school are just called "bombers" and not "Jewish terrorists", In a world where all you hear is about the tragedy and crime of 9/11, but no word of countless other tragedies and crimes, In a world where those who are fighting the occupiers of their land are called "left overs of Saddam regime" while the foreign-appointed people are called "Iraq's Governing Council", in a world with such a twisted manipulations, In a world where even good people sound doubted as who is really helping Iraq to get back on its feet, and in a world with many other unjust occurrences, am I supposed to reduce this already insignificant tool; this little blog of mine, to a piece of garbage that sees everything upside down and thinks evenhandedness in choosing the events to report is ethical? No, I won't and it isn't ethical. To the contrary, this is completely unethical. This would only be ethical if there was the same evenhandedness in general media in the world and particularly North America where most of my limited visitors are from. As a whole, North American media is saturated by the lies and justification of the crimes of the powerful. And this constant breach of the ethics is always left unchallenged.

I don't write to please any body as I don't write to upset any body. I write what I believe is fair but not necessarily balanced. I have been told many times that I can upset friends so much by my straight to the point comments that they can start disliking me. That might be true though, I lack the capability to be a diplomat and play with words when I write as I believe that sometimes playing with words is just waste of peoples' time. Meanwhile, pleasing or upsetting others is the last thing in my mind. When I write, I picture those children without fathers and/or mothers, those parents without their children, those people under daily humiliation by having their land occupied, those.... . This is what gives me the strength to write even if it is insignificant writing as it is, even if friends do not help me much in doing this.

There is however one thing I will always maintain: Whether I like it or not, I will never lie in what I report.

Widowmakers and Iraqi hearts and minds

..."We are in the northern city of Mosul with the Widowmakers - more formally the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Battalion-502nd Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division...."

"It is just that at the sharp end, there are contradictions in being both friend and occupying power. "

"....So, as the convoy of four Humvees pulls out, first they pass the sign which General Petraeus has ordered in all barracks: "What have you done to win Iraqi hearts and minds today?"

Then at the gate, the Widowmakers' traditional slogan: "Strike, Kill."...:

Read more.

The failed leader talks of other leader's failure

Links to some stories/sites

- The Real Cost Of US Support For Israel - $3 Trillion.

- IS ISRAEL BLACKMAILING AMERICA? Even Fox has to admit.

- Meacher on TV: Both Wars were planned in advance before 9/11.

- TRAGEDY IN NEW YORK: FRENCH FRIED FRIEDMAN

- Reserve pilots to refuse liquidations.

US against the world; the ultimate bully

The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly in favour of resolution calling on Israel to lift its threat to exile Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

The vote - 133 in favour, four against and 15 abstentions - follows Tuesday's Security Council debate after which the United States vetoed a similar draft. The resolution got huge support due to last-minute changes introduced by the European Union to condemn Palestinian suicide bombings as well as Israeli extrajudicial killings, says the BBC's UN correspondent Greg Barrow.

But even these concession were not enough to enlist the support of the US, which opposed the text, BBC correspondent says.

Why should US have the power to veto the will of 133 countries of the world? Any of those 5 so-called permanent UN members (even those who act outside UN and international law) have the power to eliminate a resolution even if it is acceptable to the rest of the world (even if 100% of the rest of the world). Why? Why should a bunch of idiots and perhaps criminals decide for the world?

The World should step towards elimination of this unjust privilege.

Depleted Uranium and its effects on health - Documentary

As I promised, this is in response to those who confidently believe Depleted Uranium does not have serious health effects. I wander if they would agree to expose themselves to depleted uranium so we can agree with them on that. The following documentary was made when Canadian Peacekeepers were getting ready to go Afghanistan... .

Diana Swain takes a look back at Canadian peacekeepers that were sent to clean up after the Gulf War, and some of the lasting health effects they are suffering. We learn of men who have rare brain tumors, consistent with exposure to depleted uranium. We see footage for the first time of an explosion and fire, which exposed hundreds of Canadian peacekeepers to danger.

When you are here, scroll down a bit to see it. You can also watch the story on "Real Media".

Israel Praises Bush's Anti-Arafat Broadside, Raids Jenin

Sure, why not?
"The Israeli army continued its massive incursion into this northern West Bank town for the second consecutive day Friday, September 19, as Yasser Arafat was under renewed pressure after U.S. President George W. Bush delighted Israel by saying he had "failed as a leader".
More here .

We are facing death in Iraq for no reason

A serving US soldier calls for the end of an occupation based on lies
For the past six months, I have been participating in what I believe to be the great modern lie: Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Read We are facing death in Iraq for no reason .

Robert Fisk on General Clark and Iraqi civilian casualties

You might want to plug your ears because you might not like what he says, in fact you might not like him for saying it, but he says it anyway.
Listen here .

U.S. a leader in deaths by child abuse

The United States, Mexico and Portugal lead the world's 27 richest nations in deaths stemming from child abuse, according to a report by the United Nations Children's Fund. Read more here .

And U.S. richest getting richer .

Not related? They are. It just requires some intelligence to be able to see it.

"Liberators" are "liberating"

Courtesy BBC

In their own land, on their own soil, captured by foreign occupiers.

S..t is hitting the fan with the US media, So, I wasn't dreaming

On last Wednesday's edition of Topic A With Tina Brown, hosted on CNBC by the former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, Amanpour admitted that CNN and other news organizations were on the run during the war.

"I think the press was muzzled, and I think the press self-muzzled," she replied. "I'm sorry to say, but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News. And it did, in fact, put a climate of fear and self-censorship, in my view, in terms of the kind of broadcast work we did."

May be she is lieing or, may be she is connected to Al-Qaeda or may be she is returning to her Iranian roots, Oo.. be careful Christiane!

Read The press self-muzzled' its coverage of Iraq war .

And Trust in media keeps on slipping. Where have you been? It's about time.

Don't care about Iraqi lives? At least do so about your kids

No one should enjoy seeing these pictures. Don't let them die for Bush/Cheney's ambitions. Their children are not among them. Are they?
Transfer things to the UN in a short time table, so UN can transfer them to Iraqis after fair elections.

Courtesy BBC
At least three American soldiers have been killed in an attack on a convoy in the town of Khaldiyah, west of Baghdad, according to witnesses.

Also in another report:
"Initially, as U.S. troops were taking fire from unknown positions, soldiers were firing with no obvious targets, in an apparent effort to protect themselves until reinforcements arrived, a witness said.
Al-Arabiya television reported eight Americans were killed and one wounded. There was no confirmation of any casualties, and initial casualty reports have proven incorrect in the past.
An AP driver said a three-year-old Iraqi boy had been shot in the chest.
The AP reporter was fired on by one of the tanks with three rounds from its 50-calibre machine-gun. " read more here .

Oh, Is that right? Thank you Mr. President for your "honesty"!

"We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with Sept. 11," Bush said.
But he said he had no doubt that the deposed Iraqi president had ties to Al Qaeda, the terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden.

Read here .

"Bush has let the perception that Saddam was somehow involved in the attacks fester for many months, most recently in his televised address to the nation on Sept. 7.
The result has been that seven in 10 Americans think Saddam was behind the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackings that killed approximately 3,000 people, a Washington Post poll released earlier this month found." It is sad. 7 out of 10 Americans still believe that, what do you make of that? Do people think?

Of course, it is not easy to quickly admit deceiving the Americans (and just the Americans as the rest of the world didn't believe his BS's). Saddam linked to September 11 attack, Weapons of mass destruction and.... . BTW, what happened to the WMD? Were these not two main excuses to attack Iraq?

Yes, Bush says he had no doubt..., as he had no evidence. Keep your doubt or "no doubt" for yourself Mr. President. You can't display your Cowboyism based on just your "no doubt". Damn you Mr. President, do you know how many people have been killed because of you and Mr. "Contracts R Us": Dick Cheney and your other rich friends?

Also read Blix adds to US and UK worries .

US paranoia

Here is a story from the Ottawa Citizen newspaper. Apparently the name "Mohammed Ali" appears on a list of names produced by the U.S. Treasury Department that are linked to terrorism.

How this will affect the Great One, the boxer, is yet to be determined, but one Somali Canadian has had his $116 frozen by Western Union on instructions from the US Officials. BTW, perhaps 10 million Somali and Arab males are also have to be checked out for connection to terrorism, because at least that many have the name "Mohammed Ali".
What Western Union has done is so stupid (of course, based on stupid instructions)that it is more like a joke than real. A joke not very funny to the Somali vicitm of it.

Isn't it just simply true?

Courtesy Al-Jazeera
Israel has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has never officially admitted to having nuclear weapons. However, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a US-based think-tank, estimates Israel has from 100 to 200 nuclear bombs.

Read more on "IAEA told to get tough with Israel" .

And let's not forget the US. While all the talks are to prevent other countries (call it unfriendly countries) from developing nuclear weapons, Senate Backs Study of New Nuclear Arms .
"The debate followed a similar fight in May, when Democrats unsuccessfully sought to prevent the Senate from lifting a 10-year-old ban on research and development of weapons of five-kilotons or less, about one-third of the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima."

Two previous posts

There have been so many comments exchanged regarding the last post that might divert the attention of the this blog's visitors from two other previous posts:
(Afghan Massacre - Convoy of Death) and (Saddam didn't do it alone; The US/Iraqi Alliance).

Although I appreciate your participation in the discussions in last post, I strongly recommend visiting these two posts as they are based on documentaries provided/shown by CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).

US backing Israel, AGAIN - Update; More info

Then you wander why there is so much resentment towards the US, here is just one reason:

The United States has vetoed a draft resolution at the UN Security Council denouncing Israel's decision to "remove" the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

This just adds to 30 Years Of US UN Vetoes. It sure is a dirty track record. Once again, US has abused its unjust veto power. From overall 77 times that the US has used its veto power, 36 times the vetoes were to block resolutions criticizing Israel.

But, what is new? As usual, Israel has the backing of the States, that is why it doesn't hesitate committing crimes it keeps committing. This veto can be a license to kill or expel Arafat. The US bears the responsibility if Israel takes advantage of this criminal US-Israeli cooperation and the world will not forget it either.

Update; More Info:
Last December, the Americans vetoed a resolution condemning Israel for the killing of UN workers in the occupied territories, saying it was one-sided and did not contribute to peace. This time too, the American ambassador to the UN, John Negroponte, said the draft was lop-sided. He complained that it did not contain explicit condemnation of Palestinian militant groups carrying out suicide attacks, like Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. The draft resolution drawn up by the Palestinians and Syrians did call for a halt to all acts of terrorism, provocation, incitement and destruction. And it expressed concern at a recent escalation in suicide bombings as well as in extra-judicial executions.

And who is The American ambassador to the UN .

Afghan Massacre - Convoy of Death

Thousands of Afghan prisoners were killed while travelling in sealed containers on their way from Konduz to a prison at Sheberghan. The bodies of the dead and some who survived were then buried in a mass grave at nearby Dasht Leile. US special forces were closely involved and in charge at the time. Were they involved in a war crime? The Pentagon denies the events. The eyewitnesses tell what happened.

Watch brief excerpts from a 50 minute CBC documentary "Afghan Massacre, Convoy of Death" here and read more here.

To the American friends, if they like: Please do not blindly accpet what your government does. Take time and watch/read from the links provided. These are what have been done in your name. You have the responsibility to stop these crimes and prevent them from happening again.

Saddam didn't do it alone; The US/Iraqi Alliance

Chemical warfare:
"...the Reagan administration was aware that Iraq was using chemical weapons in its war against Iran..."

The Sale of Technology to Iraq
"...Although official U.S. policy prohibited military sales to Iraq, the Commerce and State departments pushed to sell the Iraqis 'dual-use' items which could have both civilian and military purposes like trucks, computers or helicopters.
Richard Murphy, a top State Department official (Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East Bureau) remembers that the pressure to sell was enormous. "

"Certainly there was pressure to sell and there was the argument, if the contract doesn’t go to an American you can be darn sure it’s gonna go to a German, British, French manufacturer and trucks were one example. Civilian helicopters were a dicier decision. Could they be turned into the equivalent of an attack helicopter?"

....."Then Iraq requested 1.5 million vials of atropine - the antidote for nerve gas - to protect Iraqi soldiers from chemical weapons. The State Department supported the sale even through nobody had nerve gas except the Iraqi army.
Dr. Bryen raised the red flag and Iraq was not allowed to purchase the drugs. But according to documents recently released by the Iraqis themselves, several U.S. companies provided chemical and biological components to Iraq during the 1980s which were used to develop weapons...."

Washington's Reaction to the Attack on Halabja
"...Billions in loans and agricultural credits would be cut off. America would no longer purchase Iraqi oil which accounted for one quarter of Iraq's production. And all U.S. exports to Iraq would be suspended.
Although the bill passed through the Senate in only one day the powerful farm and business lobbies warned that the legislation would only punish the Americans trading with Iraq.
When the Bill reached the House of Representatives, the provisions to remove agricultural credits and end bank loans were removed. Eventually the Act was caught up in Congressional bureacracy and died before it was passed. "

Turning a Blind Eye Towards Saddam
"Although the U.S. government officially denounced the gassing of the Kurds, it was business like never before with Iraq. After 1988 business with Iraq actually increased. By 1989, Iraq was given American agricultural guarantees worth $1 billion. Iraq was the largest importer of U.S. rice and the 2nd largest participant in the agricultural credit program."

For complete report from CBC's "The fifth Estate" click here .

Now, Isn't it very true that the US policies are driven by the big business?
And.. are the US officials morally qualified to even criticize "Chemical Ali" who is in the US custody for his role in gassing the Kurdish civilians?

Talent in ruining things - And more

In less than 3 years, Bush & Co. have turned a $230 billion surplus into a deficit of $525 billion U.S. Read here .

Ruining things so fast does require talent, no I am serious; it is not an easy job. This is in addition to the ruining of US's credibility in international stages. Having said that, I am sure they have not ruined one thing and that is "tax cut for the rich".

We always have the best and the worst, they both should get recognized. Iranians always credited the regime of Iran for being able to ruin the country so fast. We always wandered how it was possible. But now, there is another winner. Congratulations Mr. Bush for the title.

Update:
"By the time you’re finished adjusting for reality, the projected budget deficit is about $7.4 trillion, not the advertised $1.4 trillion "
Looks like things are worse than I thought: The Brainteaser of Deficit Math

Straw 'begged Blair' not to join Iraq war

TONY Blair found himself embroiled in a fresh Iraq crisis last night after it was claimed Foreign Secretary Jack Straw made a desperate last-minute plea for him to call off the war.

Chilian Towers

Courtesy Le Monde
Thanks Rezwan

Arafat's life might be in immediate danger

He will watch for his chance, wait for a moment when the Americans look elsewhere - and then he will pounce." That was the immediate response by Uri Avnery, former member of the Israeli Parliament and est Member and veteran activist of Gush Shalom (The Israeli Peace Bloc). "The cabinet ministers of the Government of Israel have tonight adopted an ominous, criminal decision, whose implementation would entail rivers of shed blood - far beyond all the horrors we have already seen in the past three years.

Read more here .

CNN did this? Ok. What is the plan?

6 out of 10 Americans believe the US administration doesn't know what the hell it is doing.
Read here.
Good start for the mis-informed public. Isn't it?

Iraqi Operation Freedom - photo removed

There was a photo posted here which is now removed, not because it was certainly fake, but because there was POSSIBILITY that it was, but based on a quote provided by one our regulars in the comment section: "one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed....", I have decided it would be more appropriate to remove the photo.

The comments related to the issue will remain in place (at least for now) for those who interested.

Hopes of 10 years ago today, faded by a Jewish terrorist

Monday, 13 September 1993 was a fine day. The White House lawn looked at its best and President Bill Clinton at his most relaxed as he stepped back to allow the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to shake hands.

Read more on How Oslo's hopes were crushed .

Canada and the US; the huge differences; at least in foreign policies

Unlike Bush, who showed disdain for the United Nations and international law after 9/11, Canadians remain advocates of both. Now even Bush is being forced to accept that he needs the U.N.'s moral authority, resources and expertise to win his war.

Where Bush cynically exploited 9/11 to depose Saddam Hussein in Iraq by falsely linking him to Al Qaeda, Canadian policy-makers refused to go along, despite intense pressure. That set a precedent: We will not be dragged into every U.S. conflict just because Washington slaps a "terror war" label on it.

In the U.S., lawmakers rammed through the draconian Patriot Act without much debate, and many regret that haste. Canadians held a fierce debate about our own (still deeply flawed) Public Safety Act and Anti-Terrorism Act, forcing Ottawa to accept sunset clauses and to abandon some odious provisions that gave ministers undue power.

In short, Canada has opted for a measured, moderate, multilateral approach to fighting terror, one which avoids ideological baggage and which strikes a better balance between security and civil rights.

The 9/11 killers got our attention. But they have not caused us to freak out, abandon civil liberties and rush into battles that needn't be fought.

Defend ourselves we will. But in our own way, true to our own values.

Yes, Canadian policies are very different than the US's. Should I call them more civilized or... may be just civilized?

Read the rest of this interesting article from Toronto Star.

Also, America struggles with a 9/11 world is another interesting article from Toronto Star.

US friendly fire killings

US has killed friends again; with friendly fire.

We remember 4 Canadian soldiers who were killed by US bombing in Afghanistan when there was no real combat going on and it was just a military exercise. We remember US friendly killings of the British forces during the Iraq war. We remember patriot missiles mistaking a British plane with a missle (perhaps one of very few succesful attempt to down the target by Patriot missiles, although wrong target). We remember many more of friendly killings by the sophisticated but not-very-smart smart bombs. We remember... and the list goes on.

I am just wandering, if their guns and military equipment are so devastating to the friends, how devastiting are they to the so-called enemy. well, perhaps this excplains why the number of civilians killed in Iraq is rapidly growing. Is this the capability of the most powerful army in the world?

Just an advise to the US soldiers: That thing in your hand is not a toy; it really can kill, and you are not a movie star in Hollywood, although you never know may be one day you will be a movie star or at least rich, remember Jesica Lynch?

To some, September 11 is not always September 11

September 11 came and passed. We continued hearing about the truly inhumane action against 3000 people. Everywhere the talk was about it; Moments of silence here and there, half raised flags. We heard and heard and heard. Yes, it was significant enough an event that no matter how much it is talked about, it is not enough. I heard on CBC radio the shivery voice of a father who was talking about his fire fighter son who was killed in New York two years ago. He was talking about his son with such a sorrow in his voice that could easily move the listener. "He was a wanderful young man": he said about his son. and after a few moments of silence, his voice was even more shivery: " I....I....I am not going to see him....again" he continued. and then you could easily picture his wet and teary face with shivery cheeks and lips. It was sad, truly sad. This can also be said about those children who lost thier fathers or mothers that day and about many more people who are still truly devastated from thier loss.

But,
why are we not human enough to feel that other fathers and mothers, other children, other wives feel no less devastated than this father? Why do we let the media bring tears on our eyes only for those they want us to cry for? Why do we subject ourselves and our emotions to whatever the media wants to do with them.

How many times in last 30 years have we heard about more than 3000, that is right 3000 victims, of the US-backed Chilian Coup d'etat in 1973? That's right, September 11, 1973. How many times have we droped some tears for those victims many of whom died (not a quick death but) by some slow deaths under turture of General Pinochet's forces. How many times have we heard about the role Dr. Kissinger played in that crime against the humanity?

Daily repeated September 11's around the world

Just a wish:

I hope there will soon be an end to the events similar to the September 11 attack, wars and Invasion of other countries, killing of innocent civilians either by F16 jets or by suicide bombing and starvation for some but obisity for some others. Human deserves better than this, much better.

This is just a wish, but hey, if there is no hope, there will be no meaningful life either. So let me have my fantacy for now; it won't hurt.

I will be on the road for most of the day tomorrow. Please feel free to comment on anything you wish.

Damn you inhuman media

Headline: Israel retaliates suicide bombings by killing Hamas leader (in the details - 3 others killed and 7 wounded - no mention of others being civilians).
Headline: A suicide bombing kills 4 and wounds 9 Israelis including a 6 year old boy and 3 women (No mention of the fact that one of the killed is the suicide bomber himself, however lots of pictures of the injured provided)
Headline: In retaliation (a word commonly used when Israelis kill Palestinians) to suicide bombing, Isreali planes attack and attempt to kill Hamas leader (and in the deatails: three including his 29 year old son killed - just to say he wasn't a child, and later on in the details: 15 others injured in the attack - and no report on who they were and no saddenning pictures of the injured)
Possible upcoming headline: a suicide bomber kills 3 Israelis and injures 12, including a 85 year old woman.

This is a typical way of reporting the human tragedies that are occuring on a daily basis in Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The worst is that this is the best you can get from North American media. This type of biased reporting only adds to the already high existing hatred while innocent people (Palestinians and Israelis) are killed everyday.

Dean Grilled For Seeking "Evenhanded" U.S. Mideast Role

Former Vermont governor and Democrat Presidential hopeful Howard Dean was grilled by rivals for the White House nomination over statements that Washington should do away with its bias towards Israel and advocate an "evenhanded" policy in the Middle East. One of the rivals, of course, a Jewish Senator; Joseph I. Lieberman. This is a clear indication of Israeli influence on the US politics.

Dean was attacked for saying the United States should not "take sides" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) accused him of advocating a "major break" from the United States' long-standing policy of explicitly siding with Israel in the Middle East. Perhaps Lieberman is right. This will be a "major break" from US's unfair and biased policies in Israeli-Palestinian confllict.

"For more than 50 years, the United States has backed Israel as its closest ally in the region, providing the Jewish state with billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid. Dean does not advocate breaking the U.S.-Israeli alliance, but believes the only way to bring peace to the Middle East is for the president to broker a deal without playing favorites": Said a top Dean advisor.

It is unbelievable how a simple fair statement (at least in wording) can be used as a platform to attack a US presidential candidate.

Ramsy Clark on George Bush's crimes

the Decision to Impeach George Bush is American peoples' business, but what he has done to the world and humanity is everybody's business.

Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General has drafted articles of impeachment setting forth high crimes and misdemeanors by President Bush and other civil officers of his administration. Click
here .

Also read Ramsey Clark's Responds to Bush's recent Television Address here . It begins with "President Bush told the American public and the world to expect more of the same from his administration. More crimes against peace and humanity, more deaths and destruction, more debts and poverty"

He also says: "...What he calls "one of the swiftest and most humane military campaigns in history" has taken more than 30,000 Iraqi lives, destroyed "tens of billions" in facilities essential to life, electricity, water supply, sewage disposal..."

Second anniversary of September 11 attack on the lives of 3000 people is approaching. It sure will be a sad day to remember what happened two years ago, but while we have our grief for those victims, do we bother to think of Iraqi victims as well? what about 30,000 Iraqis who have parrished because of the criminal war of aggression against the people of Iraq? Are those lives less valuable than the lives of the September 11 victims? ... and how many more have to die until Bush and Co. celebrate the "victory"?

Is it OK for others but not Arafat?

Although Toronto Star is one of the best papers availbale in Canada, it too, sometimes acts strange and idiotically.

The front page of Today's star has an article titled Arafat chooses own man for PM . Isn't it a norm that a president usually chooses his VP or PM? If yes, why is it so strange that Arafat has done the same thing? Or, is Arafat supposed to choose his PM so to meet Sharon's approval?

Now, it's Venezuella's turn; US meddling in Venezualla

What does the US want from the people of the world? Did Cheney smell oil again?

US is now potting its nose in Venezuella; world No. 5 oil exporter. With the ups and downs of venezuella's politics, US envoy met with Venezuella's electoral officials. He did not meet with the official representatives; the democratically elected officials of Venezuella. He bypassed them and met with Electoral Council just before the possible referandom that might determine the future of Venezuella.

"This is a sovereign nation, ambassador, and you must respect this country and your government must respect this country,.... what prerogative does Ambassador Shapiro have to visit them, and what's worse, to visit them before the national authorities, before representatives of the National Assembly?", said Venezuellan president Hugo Chavez during his regular Sunday television program. Read more here .

What is the US empire after? Toppling of another democratically elected government that it doesn't like? or, was Venezuella also linked to September 11 attack? or, Is the US simply going to repeat its habit of ruining other nations' sovereignties?

Forest fires in BC - Update

For the forth straight week, vast forest ereas of British Comulmbia is still buring. Although, The fire fighters have done an excellent job trying to defeat this huge fire, the mother nature has not been very kind and as soon as there was some noticeable success againt the fire, dry wind started to blow and made the situation even worse. Based on the latest news, currently, about 250 sq km of the forests are burning, and a change in wind direction can easily threaten hundreds of homes.

For the sake of those people whose homes are endangered, for the sake of the environment which is loosing some of its most beautiful belongings, for the sake of great country of Canada; my second home, tomorrow, I am going to ask my employer to let me go for a week (paid or not-paid) to help Canadian fire fighters in their battle. I will offer my help and my readiness to go, if I can be a help rather than a burden that is. I leave it to the authorities to decide whether they would require my service.

See this and this .

Update: After my phone calls were directed from one department to another, I was finally able to speak to the logestics officials in Kamloops, BC to offer my volunteer help. I was politely rejected and was told only those with extensive training in fighting forst fires are considedrd for help. I was also told that many Ontario fire fighters are currenly in BC helping. However, I was told that I would be notified if my help is required.

Well, I hope the situation gets better so there is no need for extra help.

Bush talks again, Oh no, reads again, of course from the prepared speech notes

Today, Semi-President Bush read what was supposed to be "addressing American people":
We will do whatever is necessary, we will spend what is necessary, to achieve this essential victory in the war on terror, to promote freedom, and to make our nation more secure," Bush said.

-Essential victory? I won't discuss it since there are different interpretations.
-Promoting freedom? I won't discuss it since there are different interpretations.
-Making Americans more secure? Stop George. Anybody with working brain can easily laugh at this big lie that is becoming a tradition with this administration. Not only American public are not more secure today, American soldiers with top of the line guns are not secure either. If Americans were somehow disliked in the middle east before this semi-president was given the title of the president, Americans are disliked in all over the world today. Europe is a good example.

This however, does not make me happy because I am sure American public is an ordinary public with its own challenges and difficulties, insecure employments and many problem that are shared by many people in the world. I am sure many Americans don't know what this administration is doing to the world under their name that is resulting in creation of such dislike and distrust towards Americans. It is time; American public drew a line between its position and the aggressive position of their government. It is time; they showed the world that billionaires who are running their government (either directly or indirectly) are not true representatives of the American people. It is time American people told the world people; we are with you and we will stop this governing gang from its aggressions against the world security.

U.S. Troops Want Rumsfeld to Send Them Home

If they had the chance, U.S. soldiers at a base in Iraq would have had one question for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld -- When are we going home?
Reuters reports.

Who can blame them? They just don't want to die for Rumsfeld's ambitions.

He's got some pausable points

Michael Meacher, who served as a minister for six years until three months ago, today goes further than any other mainstream British politician in blaming the Iraq war on a US desire for domination of the Gulf and the world.

Yes, he even questions what was really behind September 11 events. He has some points that are worth thinking about. Considering Project for New American Century and his article titled This war on terrorism is bogus , looks like Meacher has some points, at least enough to make people think about it.

Also, Toronto Star columnist Michele Landsberg has some questions of her own in her aticle Barbs aside, 9/11 questions aren't going away .

Saddam Hussein link to 9/11 lingers in many (American) minds

Waaaay behind (or ahead) of rest of the world.
I don't know, looks like there is something wrong with either American mind or non-American mind. 69% (thank god, not all) of the Americans still believe Saddam was linked to September 11 attack. Congratulations CNN, FOX and.. for excellent job you have done in deceiving (or informing) American public. How is this possible?

Then again, when I remember my post titled : "Well ...." I might know why.

I want to spit on Rumsfeld's face

It is interesting. Couple of hours ago, I started to express my anger from Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq by writing my feeling about him. I started writing that I wished Rumsfeld was near me, so I could spit on his face for being such a lier and such a criminal. I wrote a few lines, then I thought; may be it wasn't very appropriate to write such a thing, although it was my hunest feeling about the man.

After I visited Burning Baghdad: The Iraqi girl's blog and tried to put myself in her position to try to feel how it feelt to have a dirty occupying leader walking freely on my soil, I decided:" that's it, I will write it". It might not change anything, but at least this is how I am sympatyzing with Iraqi people who are beeing insulted one more time by Rumsfeld's trip to their land.

A bit of what she writes:
...."To make matters worse, Rumsfeld is in Iraq. It’s awful to see him strutting all over the place. I hate the hard, smug look that seems plastered on his face… some people just have cruel features. The reaction to seeing him on tv differs from the reaction to seeing Bremer or one of the puppets. The latter are greeted with jeers and scorn. Seeing Rumsfeld is something else- there’s resentment and disgust. It feels like he’s here to add insult to injury… you know, just in case anyone forgets we’re an occupied country.

And now he’s going to go back to America and give a speech about how he doesn’t know what anyone is talking about when they say ‘chaos’ (*he* was safe in the middle of all his bodyguards)… how electricity and water are functioning (after all, his air-conditioner was working *fine*)… how the people are gloriously happy and traffic is frequently at a stand-still because the Iraqis are dancing in the streets… how the ‘armed forces’ are cheerful and *grateful* to be on this heroic, historical mission… how kids wave at him, troops cheer him, dogs wag their tails in welcome and doves hover above his head…"....

So here it is: Spit on your dirty and ugly-natured face Mr. Rumsfeld

Burning Baghdad

I came across this blog that is maintained by an Iraqi girl.

It might provide another prospective of the situation in Iraq.

Help the environment, and reduce your utility bill

Low-cost ways to be more efficient
I thought this easily implemented tips might help reduce the cost of utility bills down while it would help the environment as well.

US/British-pushed UN sanctions against the people of Iraq (and not Saddam); a crime against the humanity

Before and After the Sanctions
History may have never recorded a harsher and more inhuman regime of sanctions than those imposed on Iraq in the name of the UN. It obliterated people's lives and crippled their economy.

Courtesy of Aljazeera, Special Report .

The blind prophet

Before the war, President Bush told us Iraq was a throbbing hub of terror. It wasn't, of course.
But it is now .

Interesting times: War criminals hire war criminals to hunt down war criminals

U.S. Recruiting Hussein's Spies .
This reminds me of the comments mentioning "plastic Shreders" used by Saddam security agents against his opponents.

34 million Americans including 17% of American children live in poverty

According to a US Census Bureau survey, 17% of American children live in poverty.
The survey does not cover people in dormitories, prisons or other group quarters.

American soldiers unwilling

This letter published in Today's Toronto Star is from an American who lives in Canada. Is he "Canadianized" as a result of living in Canada and being exposed to less lies or Americans are increasingly realizing how heavy a price they are paying for their leaders lack of mental health.

This also, confirms that many American who joined the army are from low income families who could not otherwise afford going to the college. Again, obviously the children of the US leaders don't have to worry about "insignificant" issues such as financial problems; Fanancial problems? what problems?

Smart move (out of frustration) from not-very-smart administration

Although insincere, but US officials have decided to step towards the direction in suggesting increased UN role in Iraq affairs.

"President Bush agreed today to begin negotiations in the United Nations Security Council to authorize a multinational force for Iraq but insisted that the troops be placed under American command, according to senior administration officials."

This is one step towards the right direction, however, if UN is to assume this responsibility, its forces should not be placed under American command. The United States is not doing this, as a recognition and respect to the international community lead by the UN, it is doing this as a result of its frustration with outcoming of the mistakes it has made regarding occupation of Iraq. Unfortunately, US administration have demonstrated again, that they don't learn from the history. Lessons learned from a nightmare called Vietnam, should have prevented the current US administration to act so un-intelligently to occupy Iraq. however, this is a reality now, and I am glad that this latest move can be the beginning of process to leave things in Iraqi hands. This is however, very difficult (but possible) to achieve, after the mess created by the US/UK invasion of Iraq.

More can also be read here under "Why Bush now wants the UN".

Also, This is not so irrelevant.

Pictures from Tehran (and other Iranian cities)

Tehran 24 has many pictures from Tehran and other Iranian cities. Although to view many picture you have to subscribe, many other pictures do not require subscription.

When linked to this site, you can simply click on one of 5 pictures at the bottom to see related pics or, click on "Latest Photes" on upper right, then when in there, pick the pictures you want enlarged or go to "Next". Although many cities are absent, you can also pick form the list of << Other Cities >>.

When I feel home-sick, this is one way for a virtual travel home. Enjoy

Another example why US is not for libaration of surpressed nations

The Ocalan verdict: US realpolitik in league with the Turkish hangman
This is the story of Abdullah Ocalan; the leader of Turkey's surpressed Kurdish population who are not even allowed to name kurdish names on their children, to learn how to read and write their own language. Kurds in Turkey are not even called kurds, Turkey calls them "mountain Turks". And yes, the US and Israel hepled Turkey abduct Ocalan. Nothing is bigger a lie than the US claiming to be the libarator of the surpressed. All against freedom, all against democracy, and yet shamelessly calling itself "the liberator".

Riding on the wave of crime and stupidity

Iraq: Halliburton Reaping Huge Profits

Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Cheney, has won contracts worth more than $1.7 billion under Operation Iraqi Freedom and stands to make hundreds of millions more dollars under a no-bid contract awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to newly available documents.

Good for you Mr. Cheney, I would do the same if I was in your position, and if I was capable of being a criminal like you that is. Each drop of Iraqi (and American) blood has a $ sign for you.

The real "Labour Day"

May 1st, International Workers' Day, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world, and is recognized in every country except the United States and Canada. This despite the fact that the holiday began in the 1880s in the United States, with the fight for an eight-hour work day.

By covering up the history of May Day, the state, business, mainstream unions and the media have covered up an entire legacy of dissent in the US. It is not surprising that the state, business leaders, mainstream union officials, and the media would want to hide the true history of May Day, portraying it as a holiday celebrated only in Moscow's Red Square. In its attempt to erase the history and significance of May Day...

Read more here .

Returning home: a pleasant but dying dream

An old Toronto man tells of his life in Palestine and his impossible dream of returning to Jerusalem It's too late for Sami Hada
Loss of a native land .