HUMAN first, then a proud IRANIAN

This blog represents the way I see some of the most significant events impacting the world and its citizens. This blog also represents how I react to the events as a member of humanity with a voice, a determined voice that insists to be heard. The voice of an Iranian who loves his country but his priority is humanity; humanity without border. I will say what I want to say, when I want to say it, and how I want to say it, but I will never lie. I will also listen; I promise.

May 31, 2004

Prominent U.S. Jews, Israel blamed for start of Iraq war

This article is published in Israeli Newspaper; Haaretz:
WASHINGTON - As the argument in the United States over the necessity of the war in Iraq and the manner in which it was waged intensifies, and as the presidential election date draws nearer, those who have tried to accuse Israel or the U.S. Jews of pushing the administration into battle are once again sounding their voices. In the American Jewish community, they warn it could get worse.
The most blatant example in recent weeks was an article written by veteran Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings (Dem.-South Carolina), who charged in an article published in a Charleston newspaper at the beginning of the month that behind the decision to go to war was "President Bush's policy to secure Israel".
In his article, Hollings mentions the names of three prominent Jews, from the neoconservative stream in the administration, as those responsible for pushing for the decision to go to war in Iraq.
Hollings has been the most outspoken U.S. official against the alleged Israeli-Jewish connection to the war; but a week ago, the issue was also picked up by retired general Anthony Zinni, a well-known and esteemed figure from the center of the American political spectrum....
Click on the above link to read the rest.
Also read Haaretz's article: White man's burden
"The war in Iraq was conceived by 25 neoconservative intellectuals, most of them Jewish, who are pushing President Bush to change the course of history..."

|

May 30, 2004

Israel v. Israel: the new Vanunu shroud

Fresh from condemnation by Amnesty International for what the rights group explicitly called war crimes; taken aback by scorn from ally Turkey's prime minister, who equated Israeli house demolitions with Palestinian terrorism; the Jewish state this week faced a new challenge from one of the thorniest of its adversaries in the struggle to maintain its international image as a democracy: Isreal itself.
Read the article form Israeli Newspaper, Haaretz: Israel v. Israel: the new Vanunu shroud.

|

May 29, 2004

A letter worth repeating: Hands bloody for supporting Iraq war:

"It amazes me how many Americans still support war - specifically, the war in Iraq. I am through blaming the government for our country's murderous involvement all over the world. I am through taking shots at an evil president.
We as a nation are responsible for these wars. The blood is on our hands. It's time to take responsibility for our actions and end war. Let's bring peace to the Earth. We have a wonderful God-given opportunity to change the world for the better.
I still think the majority of us hates war and murder, so why not stand up against it? I think it's time to crowd the streets and stand up to fear."
Read the letter here.

|

May 28, 2004

Red Cross appeals for Haiti flood relief

Close to 1,000 people have been confirmed dead in the two countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic following flash floods brought on by torrential rains. Officials fear the death toll could rise to 2,000.
The Red Cross estimates that as many as 10,000 people urgently need food, drinking water and basic relief items.
Update:
Canadians wishing to make a financial donation may call 1-800-418-1111 or contact their local Canadian Red Cross office. The 24-hour toll free line accepts Visa and MasterCard. Cheques should be made payable to the Canadian Red Cross, earmarked "Dominican Republic/Haiti Floods" and mailed to Canadian Red Cross National Office, 170 Metcalfe Street, Suite 300, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2P2. For information on how Red Cross manages donations, please visit Canadian Red Cross Society's Website. Donations of goods are not accepted. For more ionformation, call Suzanne Charest, Canadian Red Cross Tel: (613) 740-1928
Also Americans who wish to donate through American Red Corss, can obtain the information here, and donate online here.

P.S. Please provide any information if you have as to how people can assist.

|

Good News for democracy?

It might be a bit too early, but as Guardian reports, it seems like a
Chilean court has striped Augusto Pinochet (the US-backed Chilian dictator) of immunity, paving way for trial. More details will be known soon...

|

May 27, 2004

Only a woman can truly feel how much it hurts

"...The Taguba report confirms that some women were indeed raped by American G.I.'s. There is one photo of an American soldier having sex with an Iraqi woman. And there is the by now infamous story of how American soldiers harnessed a 70-year-old woman and rode her around, calling her a donkey."

"...Amal Kadham Swadi, one of seven Iraqi female attorneys who are attempting to represent detained women, visited a detainee at a U.S. military base in Baghdad last November and later told The Guardian, "She was the only woman who would talk about her case. She was crying. She told us she had been raped. Several American soldiers had raped her. She had tried to fight them off, and they had hurt her arm. She showed us the stitches. She told us, 'We have daughters and husbands. For God's sake don't tell anyone about this...'"
Read more here.

Meanwhile I remember when Bush called for Saddam execution:
I mean, he is a torturer, a murderer, they had rape rooms. This is a disgusting tyrant who deserves justice, the ultimate justice.
Ironic, isn't it?

|

Amnesty International's Report 2004: War on global values -- attacks by armed groups and governments....

(London) Governments and armed groups have launched a war on global values, destroying the human rights of ordinary people, Amnesty International said today as it released its annual assessment of human rights worldwide.
Launching the Amnesty International Report 2004, the organization said that violence by armed groups and increasing violations by governments have combined to produce the most sustained attack on human rights and international humanitarian law in 50 years. This was leading to a world of growing mistrust, fear and division.
The report after condemning armed groups such as Al-Quida for crimes under international and domestic law, amounting at times to war crimes and crimes against humanity, continues with condemning the powerful governments and the US in particular:
"The global security agenda promoted by the US Administration is bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle. Violating rights at home, turning a blind eye to abuses abroad and using pre-emptive military force where and when it chooses has damaged justice and freedom, and made the world a more dangerous place."
The report details unlawful killings of civilians by Coalition troops and armed groups in Iraq. Reports of torture and ill-treatment underline the vulnerability of hundreds of prisoners, not only in Iraq but also at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, Afghanistan and elsewhere, incarcerated by the United States and its allies without charge, trial, or access to lawyers or protection of the Geneva Conventions.
"By failing to protect the rights of those who may be guilty, governments endanger the rights of those who are innocent, and put us all at risk."
Hidden from the eyes of the world, Report 2004 documents festering internal conflicts in places like Chechnya, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Nepal which have become a breeding ground of some of the worst atrocities. Violence in Israel and the Occupied Territories has deepened, while elsewhere many governments are openly pursuing repressive agendas. Read more.

|

May 26, 2004

43% of Israeli teenagers support refusenik stance

: Reported by Israeli Newspaper, Haaretz.

Yeah! Finally they are tired of it too. They don't want the occupation. They don't want your war Mr. Sharon.

|

Occupation has boosted al-Qaida

Sometime ago, I posted an article by Gwynne Dyer which was titled: Al-Qaida will do whatever it takes to assure Bush is re-elected. It was obvious from the beginning that the US cowboy policies, will result in death, destruction and ..... and more recruits for Al-Qaida. So, why not? Bush has been good for them. He has given the opportunities that they otherwise would not get.Why not extending that opportunity?

Quoting from a "leading" thinktank, Guardian reports confirms this reality at least as it relates to the occupation of Iraq.
The occupation of Iraq has provided a "potent global recruitment pretext" for al-Qaida and probably increased worldwide terrorism, a leading thinktank said yesterday.
Despite some losses, al-Qaida has more than 18,000 potential terrorists at large and its ranks are growing, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said, adding that al-Qaida now had a presence in more than 60 countries....

|

May 25, 2004

Nothing new in what Bush WAS TOLD to say

I had some time to waste so I watched the speech written by others and read by Bush about his, sorry, their strategies in the dealing with the growing problems in Iraq. Obviously, there was nothing new in the speech; same BS presented in different date; however, I read a coverage of the speech, mixed with humur in this site. Check it out.

|

May 24, 2004

Ex-Marine talking about Iraq

Sometime ago, I had this post which contained the interview with Ex-Marine Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey in which he talked about his time in Iraq and what he called as genocidal actions of US army in Iraq.

You can now listen to him talking about what he witnessed in Iraq. The interview was conducted by Democracy Now.

In this interview, Jimmy Massey blames the president of United States and says "All we did was cause chaos and have a genocidal mindset." He urges other Marines to come foreward, speak up and let people of America know what has been really happening in Iraq.

|

Powell's interview was cut off

New York Times: By COURTNEY C. RADSCH, May 17, 2004
WASHINGTON, May 16 — Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was abruptly cut off during an interview on Sunday on the NBC News program "Meet the Press" when one of his aides decided the interview had gone on long enough.

As Tim Russert, the program's host, began to ask his final question, the camera unexpectedly panned away from Mr. Powell, who was being interviewed in Jordan via a satellite link from Washington. In the confusion, Mr. Powell could be heard saying, "He's still asking me questions," to which a woman's voice answered, "No, he's not."
Read the rest by clicking on the above link.
Via The Yellow Doggerel Democrat

|

May 23, 2004

Yes Mr. Lapid, you've got that right


The Israeli justice minister has infuriated cabinet colleagues by saying the army offensive in Gaza reminded him of his family's woes in World War II.
Yosef Lapid said a TV picture of an elderly Palestinian woman in the rubble reminded him of his grandmother.... . In an interview with Israel Defence Forces radio, Mr Lapid revealed that the army was considering demolishing another 2,000 homes in Rafah to widen the so-called Philadelphi road on the border with Egypt. Referring to the TV picture, Mr Lapid said he was "talking about an old woman crouching on all fours, searching for her medicines in the ruins of her house and that she made me think of my grandmother".
"I said that if we carry on like this, we will be expelled from the United Nations and those responsible will stand trial at The Hague," Mr Lapid told Israel radio, describing his argument in cabinet.
Yes Mr. Lapid, you are right, but don't take it back. What Isreali government has done to Palestinians, hasn't been much more humane that what the Nazis did to millions including Jews in 30's and early 40's.

|

Rejection of International Criminal Court, peace of mind for murderers

British and American troops are to be granted immunity from prosecution in Iraq after the crucial 30 June handover, undermining claims that the new Iraqi government will have 'full sovereignty' over the state.
(who the hell made that claim?)
Despite widespread ill-feeling about the abuse of prisoners by American forces and allegations of mistreatment by British troops, coalition forces will be protected from any legal action.
They will only be subject to the domestic law of their home countries.
(And that means peace of mind for potential torturers/murderers who decided to become active turturers/murderers whose tortures/murders have been exposed, perhaps because they are too stupid that they took pictures of their tortures/murders, because they knew that they just MIGHT be court-martialed and receive a MAXIMUM of one year in jail, a very comfortable jail, that is).

The laws of a country that allow criminals to become the leaders of that country, have no values and no legitimacy for the free world. Even if those laws were fair, they would still not satisfy the true requirements of justice, as the concerned issues are not internal issues and should not be dealt with internally.

Additionally, all the efforts from the US officials to provide immunity for its forces and leaders who directly or indirectly commite crimes against the humanity, give them open hands to kill and/or torture the way and as much as they wish. As an example and in a related development, The Independent has
uncovered proof of US troops deliberately and indiscriminately shooting civilians (and it) examine(s) new evidence that suggests the lawlessness in the American military was never confined to the prison camps and torture rooms but extended to the streets and homes of Iraq.
Also, read Torture is as American as apple pie, An Exerpt:
...."Some people may recover their humanity if something extraordinary happens," Crelinsten explains. "It's much harder to leave than to enter the routine of torture. Special privileges, for instance, alcohol and rewards, reinforce what they are doing."

However, he said, some do repent. "A man who tortured prisoners in a Latin American country said that one day he noticed a victim who had a club foot. So did his best friend. Suddenly he felt that it could be him, and he couldn't go on."

But once inside the closed world of torture — whether in a formal training school or a military base — resistance is difficult, and for some, impossible.

In the case of Iraq, the U.S. had already taken steps to make sure its troops were exempt from international war crimes prosecutions, and to remove international protection from those captured in its "war on terror." Officials at every level have also denied any involvement in the Abu Ghraib scandal.

"No responsible official of the Department of Defence approved any program that could conceivably have been intended to result in such abuses," said defence spokesman Larry DiRita.

However, says Federico Allodi (a psychiatrist and co-founder of the Toronto-based Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture), who has treated torture victims since the American-backed assault on Latin America's left-wing rebels and governments in the 1970s, Washington has developed a thorough knowledge of the theory and practice of torture for decades, and has instructed both Americans and foreigners: "torture is as American as apple pie."

|

Bush, Sharon lurching from crisis to crisis

Events in Iraq and the Israeli-occupied territories show how George W. Bush and Ariel Sharon continue to create one nightmare after another. Whereas recent headlines have been....
...Sharon's rationale, as always, is that he is targeting terrorists. But, as always, women and children are dead or maimed. Hundreds of civilians are homeless. Yet, as usual, there's no end in sight to the supply of militants.
Read Bush, Sharon lurching from crisis to crisis

|

US isolated as Russia moves to back Kyoto

A potential victory for the environment; a potentail defeat for the anti-environment corporate America and its puppets in the "Dark House"
Excerpt:
President George Bush's bid to stop international action to combat global warming faces failure this weekend, as he is left more isolated than ever before both at home and abroad.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin - who will effectively decide whether the Kyoto Protocol stands or falls - announced on Friday that his country would "rapidly move towards ratification" in the wake of a complex deal with the European Union......

|

May 22, 2004

Castro to Bush

This is an edited excerpt from a recent speech by Cuban president Fidel Castro, who led hundreds of thousands in a march last Friday in Havana to protest the economic embargo by the U.S.

Mr. George W. Bush:

We have not gathered in a hostile gesture to the American people whose ethics, rooted in the time when the first pilgrims emigrated to this hemisphere, are well known to us. This is a denunciation of the brutal, ruthless and cruel measures against our country that your country has just adopted.

We know beforehand what you believe, or want to make others believe, about those who are marching here.

In your opinion, they are oppressed masses who yearn for liberty and who have been forced onto the streets by the Cuban government.

You completely ignore that no force in the world could drag a dignified, proud people, which has withstood 45 years of hostility, blockade and aggression from the most powerful nation on earth, onto the streets like a flock of animals. A statesman, or whoever claims to be one, should know that down through history really humane ideas of justice have been shown to be much more powerful than force; force leaves in its wake only dusty, contemptible ruins; humane ideas leave a luminous trail that no one will ever be able to extinguish. Every era has had its own ideas, both good and bad ones, and they have accumulated. But the worst, most sinister and uncertain ideas belong in this era in which we live in a barbarous, uncivilized, globalized world.

|

Vote For A Man, Not A Puppet

I came across this article by Charley Reese via Foad's Made In Iran. Here are some excerpts:
Americans should realize that if they vote for President Bush's re-election, they are really voting for the architects of war — Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and the rest of that cabal of neoconservative ideologues and their corporate backers.

I have sadly come to the conclusion that President Bush is merely a frontman, an empty suit, who is manipulated by the people in his administration. Bush has the most dangerously simplistic view of the world of any president in my memory.
Well, I don't care about the "Vote" thing, but hey, at least he's got some valid points about Bush.

|

Michael Berg on the death of his son, Nick

Here are some excerpts of what Michael Berg had to say about the death of his son, Nick:
...I am sure that the one who wielded the knife felt Nick's breath on his hand and knew that he had a real human being there. I am sure that the others looked into my son's eyes and got at least a glimmer of what the rest of the world sees. And I am sure that these murderers, for just a brief moment, did not like what they were doing.

George Bush never looked into my son's eyes. George Bush doesn't know my son, and he is the worse for it. George Bush, though a father himself, cannot feel my pain, or that of my family, or of the world that grieves for Nick, because he is a policymaker, and he doesn't have to bear the consequences of his acts. George Bush can see neither the heart of Nick nor that of the American people, let alone that of the Iraqi people his policies are killing daily.

Donald Rumsfeld said that he took responsibility for the sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners. How could he take that responsibility when there was no consequence? Nick took the consequences....

...Many have offered to pray for Nick and my family. I appreciate their thoughts, but I ask them to include in their prayers a prayer for peace. And I ask them to do more than pray. I ask them to demand peace now.
Read the rest here .

|

May 21, 2004

Suicide bombers in the making

Read about one of the most effective ways of suicide bomber "production":

For children, seeing their houses being demolished has a very severe impact.

According to our research, the worst kind of trauma children can receive is losing the father or losing the home, because both represent security for children and a feeling of stability in their own environment.

And this category of severe trauma has been played out over and over again, because Israel has not only demolished homes in Rafah but throughout the Palestinian areas.

The first reaction is usually a reaction of shock and bewilderment, which rapidly becomes a state of depression, deepening particularly in children around the age of 10.
Read it here.

|

May 20, 2004

Do they not increasingly sound like Nazis?

A prominent rabbi has supported the killings of Palestinian civilians by Israeli occupation troops in the Gaza Strip, saying killing non-Jewish civilians is compatible with religious laws.

Rabbi Dov Lior, Chairman of the Jewish Rabbinical Council, was quoted as saying "during warfare, killing non-Jewish civilians is permitted if it saves Jewish lives".

According to Lior's ruling, which was made public on Wednesday, Israeli occupation troops in Gaza are allowed to kill and harm "so-called innocent civilians" during warfare.

"The law of our Torah is to have mercy on our soldiers and to save them. This is the real moral behind Israel's Torah and we must not feel guilty due to foreign morals," the Ma'ariv Israeli newspaper quoted him as saying.

He added that Jewish lives were more important than non-Jewish lives.

Isn't this the rebirth of Nazism by some of the ex-victims of Nazism?

|

He says he killed innocent people for his government

Yes, the title of this post is taken from what a 12-year serviceman with US army has said about the time he spent in Iraq.

This is an interview in which he speaks about how he participated in daily atrocities against the Iraqi civilians. He speaks about what he and his fellow marines did to Iraqis.

I am not shocked by this, as to me, this was all expected from the US army but you might be.

For nearly 12 years, Staff Sgt. Jimmy Massey was a hard-core, some say gung-ho, Marine. For three years he trained fellow Marines in one of the most grueling indoctrination rituals in military life - Marine boot camp.
The Iraq war changed Massey. The brutality, the sheer carnage of the U.S. invasion, touched his conscience and transformed him forever. He was honorably discharged with full severance last Dec. 31 and is now back in his hometown, Waynsville, N.C.

Q: You fired into six or ten kids? Were they all taken out?
A: Oh, yeah. Well, I had a "mercy" on one guy. When we rolled up, he was hiding behind a concrete pillar. I saw him and raised my weapon up, and he put up his hands. He ran off. I told everybody, "Don't shoot." Half of his foot was trailing behind him. So he was running with half of his foot cut off.

Q: I would like to go back to the first incident, when the survivor asked why did you kill his brother. Was that the incident that pushed you over the edge, as you put it?
A: Oh, yeah. Later on I found out that was a typical day. I talked with my commanding officer after the incident. He came up to me and says: "Are you OK?" I said: "No, today is not a good day. We killed a bunch of civilians." He goes: "No, today was a good day." And when he said that, I said "Oh, my goodness, what the hell am I into?"
Read the entire interview.

Via Stageleft.

|

May 19, 2004

Please respond to their plea for help


Look at his terrified face, Shame on us, if we do not respond to his plea for help, however we can.
This is how their childhoods are spent. Do you expect them to grow love for Israel in their hearts?

|

Walk for Israel: walk for hate

A rightwing radio network in Toronto had a Breaking News today when it announced that at least 10 Palestinian civilians were killed when an Israeli helicopter targeted a crowd of 3000 protesters by a missile and a tank also fired onto the crowd. It also said at least 50 people were wounded from whom over 30 are in critical condition.

Also, BBC reported of Israel's firing on crowds in Gaza:
Israeli troops have opened fire during a protest by Palestinian demonstrators in the town of Rafah in southern Gaza. At least 10 people were killed and 60 injured, though some reports put the number of casualties higher.
Reuters news agency quoted the UN special human rights envoy in the Palestinian territories, John Dugard, as saying that the strikes were "war crimes" and amounted to collective punishment violating humanitarian and international human rights law.
Meanwhile the dishonest broker; George Bush the clawn whose own helicopters are reported today to have killed more than 40 civilians including many children, celebrating a wedding party in Iraq, called for restraint from both sides and said he had asked Israel for "clarification". I am sure he is already satisfied with the not-yet-issued "clarification".

Also, The Globe and Mail reported:
Palestinian witnesses saw a missile land in the middle of the crowd of 3,000 demonstrators, and Associated Press Television Network footage showed smoke and debris flying as a large explosion rocked the area. The footage then showed Palestinians carrying the wounded, including children, from the smoky scene.
Military sources said a helicopter and a tank fired one round each near the crowd after soldiers felt threatened.
Palestinian witnesses said that four missiles and four tank shells were fired, and that they also heard machine-gun fire from tanks.
Right after hearing this Breaking News at that Radio station, I heard an add which was inviting people to participate in a planed demonstration in the coming Sunday in Toronto. The motto of that demonstration:
"Walk for Israel, Walk against hate"
I then remembered the usual bul***it of "Israel does not target civilians". I also couldn't resist feeling that walking for Israel IS in fact "Walking for Hate". And also that the Zionists are the ultimate hypocrites of the modern time. Zionists are the cause of large portion of the hatred in our world. And as identified by the majority of the Europeans, the genocidal policies of the Israeli government, has made Israel the biggest threat to the security of the world and the biggest source of violence in our today world.

|

May 18, 2004

US tax system, a ticket to paradise for the rich

In last ten minutes of the Democracy Now's audio interview that was presented in the previous post, there is an interview in which you will learn that in the United States, top 29,000 people make equivalent amount of money to the bottom 96,000,000 people.

In the interview, David K. Johnson, author of the book "Perfectly Legal" tells you how both US main parties (Republicans and Democrats) are serving the rich and tells you how those rich people avoid paying taxes. You will also learn that 60% of US's large corporations do not pay a penny in taxes.

|

Defensless Palestinians need our help more than ever

While we were in our beds having good night sleeps, thousands of civilians, thousands of children, women and elderly were under continued harassments of the biggest abuser of human rights.

Israeli fascist army is roaring, killing, abusing thousands of defenseless people and the world is standing silent. Why, because Israelis were victims over 60 years ago, so it is ok for them to do whatever they want now? Considering the fact that we live in year 2004 and not 1930's, what they are doing to the Palestinians is not much more "humane" than what Nazis did to them 60+ years ago.

Please for the sake of humanity, help stop these ba***rds. What would you want the world do, if your family was under these everyday attacks. It is becoming so normal to hear everyday 10, 12, 7, 15 Palestinians dead. Israel is acting like a fascist state. It is acting like a wild dog that just wants to tear people apart.

According to Amnesty International, since year 2000, Israel has demolished more than 3000 Palestinian homes. Israel is free to do whatever the hell it wants. We keep hearing about suicide bombing, but damn, they won't tell us enough of what Israel does and the fact that it is a direct result of these policies that suicide bombers are created.

Please, please Take Action to stop the Israelis. Let's not hide behind excuses. Those harassed Palestinian children who live under constant state of terror and fear under the Israeli occupation, are expecting us to help them. They know that the wealthy Arab leaders who are busy in their harams, will not help them. History will not forgive us, if we remain silent. I don't expect those bas**rds who from the comfort of their homes, always justify the Israeli atrocities, help Palestinians. They have become the ear-bothering voices of fascism. But I do expect those who claim to be caring, to take actions. Please do. Call your representatives to voice your concerns and ask for tougher stance against the Israeli atrocities. As instructed by the Amnesty International in the above link, take action by writing a letter, a pre-worded letter or your own letter to the Isreali Prime Minister, even if you consider him a piece of sh*t, as I do. Make it a priority. Please do something.

Update I:
Amnesty International has condemned Israel's destruction of Palestinian homes as "War Crimes". Also, the latest is that two members of the Isreali Kenesset, has condemned these operations which is said to be the largest offensive in Gaza since the 1967 Middle East war, as "War Crimes".

Update II:
An 11-year-old boy and his 15-year-old sister have been shot dead in the southern Gaza Strip, raising to at least 16 the number of Palestinians killed in the latest Israeli operation.

Israel wouldn't dare to go this far if it wasn't for the backing of the US in the name of security:
"The US is strongly committed and I am strongly committed to the security of Israel as a vibrant Jewish state"
George Bush, US president
The latest reaction form George Bush to these atrocities is that he said, "Israel has the right to defend itself". He calls this Israel "defending" itself.

Please listen to at least a few minutes of the Democracy Now's interview with renowned Israeli writer and Gush Shalom peace activist Uri Avnery who himself used to be a member of Kenesset and also a former member of rightwing "Irgoon Underground" in 40's. He calls this a "War Crimes" and says that this is all because of 7500 Settlers in Gaza Strip who live amongst 1.25 million Palestinians, who hate them; they take their land from them, they take their water from them and.... . Uri Avnery also believes what John Kerry is saying is not much different than George Bush's. Uri Avnery blames George Bush for this disaster and believes that George Bush is constantly giving Ariel Sharon the feeling that he can do whatever he wants.

Also, in the same interview, one of Israel's leading journalists, Amira Hass, who has lived with the Palestinians in Rafah for years, describes her takes on the the current situation.

|

Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11; a big surprise?

"When you see the movie you will see things you have never seen before, you will learn things you have never known before."
This is how Michael Moore discribes his Fahrenheit 9/11 documentary. He has just revealed that the documentary which up until now was thought to only contain evidence of alleged links between the Bush and Bin Laden families, also contains shocking footage from Iraq:
"Half the movie is about Iraq - we were able to get film crews embedded with American troops without them knowing that it was Michael Moore. They are totally fucked".
Moore hopes that it will bring down the US government:
"..We thought, 'We cannot leave this to the Democrats this time to fuck it up and lose.'"
He wants, he said, to
"inspire people to get up and vote in November."
Let's see what Moore has to show to the world. Read Guardian's article here.

|

May 17, 2004

Thousands of Iraqis have been "Liberated" then killed by the coalition forces

In addition to 566 American and 59 British troops as well as 211 American and 8 British civilians who have been killed after the infamous "Mission Accomplished" crap over a year ago,
"...thousands of others ­ men, women, the elderly and the very young ­have been killed or maimed with far less fanfare. No one knows how many. They are Iraqi civilians, and the Americans and the British do not bother to keep count of the people they have "liberated" and then killed."
Read the rest here.

|

Bush was "right", he "found" a couple of grams of nerve gas agents in Iraq!!!

Will Bush gang try to exploit this "huge discovery"?

It is said that small amount of nerve gas has been found in a shell inside a bag discovered by a US convoy a few days ago. This is one of those called road-side bombs. It is interesting that the US forces were unable to spot any of the road-side bombing bags before it was expolded, but exactly the rare one that they found contained something that would give the US General the opportunity to remind people of "existence" of WMD in Iraq.

This is just indicative of how desperate the US officials are to show that the WMD's did exist in Iraq. Like this would prove anything. First of all, it is very easy to plant even more amount of nerve gas somewhere in Iraq, and then pretend that it was "found". It is not a difficult task for the US, it is just a matter of making it believable, something that I will not be surprised if it happens. Secondly, even if this is true, that still proves nothing, as obviously the concerns about WMD, was about the massive existence of those weapons, not a couple of grams. Let's not forget we are talking about a country which used to have one of the largest stocks of Chemical and Biological weapons. That was of course when they felt free to use it against Iranian soldiers when Saddam was a buddy to then US officials, including many of the current ones.

Having said that, I am sure there are joys in the "Dark House" today and depending on the reactions from people, they might try to exploit this to their benefit.

Of course one might legitimatly argue that "there are weapons of mass destruction all over Iraq and they were used this past year". It is quite true, Iraqi children continue to find them every day; It is called Depleted Uranium which has been vastly used by the American forces in Iraq.

|

May 16, 2004

For those who like Dariuosh; the singer

Enjoy this piece.

For those who do not know Persian, the motion pictures somehow are discriptive of what is said in the song, although with a touch of humur.

Thanks to Afshin for emailing this to me.

|

Interesting but not new

"The roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in a decision, approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld..."
Well, nothing is new here. Anybody with a right mind should know by now how brutal the members of this gang are. Read The NEW YORKER's article.

|

An observation

As soon as I get a newspaper in my hands, the first section that I look at is "Letters to the Editor". Although I regularly write to the editor of some papers, my letters almost never get published except the ones in which I am praising them for something right that they have done, or I am defending them against some particular accusations.

What has been disappointing yet interesting in the most of the pro-war, and pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian letters that I've read, is the name of the writers. The names that somehow prejudicially guarantee their publications. Most of those names, end or begin with , ..man, ..stein, ..berger, ..sky, Gold.., Silver.., Wise.. and... . Of course there have been some exceptions to this as well, where the writer with a similar name to the ones above has seriously criticized Israel and the Bush gang. However, in most of the letters from the first group, I could see the deep hatred towards the Palestinians. Also, what is interesting is that in most of those letters, the writer tries to express concerns about Canada by attempting to create fear against Arabs or Palestinians who live in Canada and dehuminizing them , and linking them to Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while they hypocritically sound as a third party persons, with just some opinions about the middle-east. I wonder what this really means.

I know this might sound like generalization, but this has been my real observation on the letters I've read. In fact, I have been somehow successful in categorically guessing the name of the writer just by reading the content of the letter.

|

May 15, 2004

206 more families devastated , 1000 more Palestinians homeless


She is a little girl; just like any other little girls. Where is she going to live now?
UPDATE:
In continuation of Israeli non-stop atrocities against the Palestinians, today Israeli supreme court gave a green light to the Israeli army for destruction of more Palestinian homes. I wonder how legal Israeli supreme Court's decision is when it comes to the lives of so many Palestinians. Beside, I wonder if those jerks in the Israeli Supreme Court know anything at all about law, as all this is against the international laws, although I never figured what the UN is doing to stop these atrocities, except calling it "a bad thing" and that "it has to stop".

|

May 14, 2004

Rape Rooms: A Chronology

"Saddam Hussein now sits in a prison cell, and Iraqi men and women are no longer carried to torture chambers and rape rooms …" —Bush, remarks on "Winston Churchill and the War on Terror, Feb 4, 2004

"Iraq is free of rape rooms and torture chambers."—President Bush, remarks to 2003 Republican National Committee Presidential Gala, Oct. 8, 2003

"One thing is for certain: There won't be any more mass graves and torture rooms and rape rooms." —Bush, press availability in Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 12, 2004

Read the rest here.

Via Foad's Made In Iran

|

May 13, 2004

Let's not forget Israeli atrocities

While we are busy with the crimes committed by the American army, we should not forget about the continuation of Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians. .Whatever the justification is, just see what Israeli army is doing to these people. It is not one day, two days, it is everyday life under the Israel occupation. Just imagine you are living there. Imagine how it feels to live in constant fear of "when the next missile is coming", or "when next set of tanks are coming". "We've told our kids to move deeper into Rafah," said a woman called Umm Khalid.....We're worried that there might be a big invasion. We're scared for our boys." With exchanges of fire still echoing across the camp, Rafah set about the grim, familiar ritual of burying its dead.
This is life under Israeli occupation:
"I've been shaking for three days," she said. "I have five children. Look in their eyes. They are suffering. We didn't ask the Israelis to come. They came themselves but they're telling the world that they were the ones who were attacked."

|

Israeli torture chambers

Looks like US Army's criminal brothers in Israel are having their own torture chambers. Read this Israeli Newspaper; Haaretz article:

"More than 300 Palestinian teens are routinely subjected to physical and psychological abuse in Israeli prisons now, two human rights groups charged Monday."

After reading it, see why Charley Reese thinks It is Absurd to say Israel is not a Racist State. (Thanks to Foad)

|

May 12, 2004

"Human rights violation" is "human rights violation", no matter who does it

Jane, a former reader of this blog, asked me to post this on my blog. It is apparently about "Slavery in Sudan's Darfur region" and it is asking its readers to "Take Action, Demand Slavery Investigation in Sudan's Darfur Region". Since I have no familiarity with the site and its host organization, I tried to find the similar story at Amnesty International's website, but so far I have not found any related story, however, this doesn't mean that the issue discussed in the suggested site is not real. It might well be a very serious situation in Sudan. Please take a look at it and take some action, whatever it is, in order to help avoid a potential catastrophe.

Meanwhile, I wonder if she would care enough for the same human rights that she is supposedly committed to, to post this and this Amnesty International's requests for action in her blog. These are about "the Future of Guantánamo detainees" and "Call for Independent Investigations into War Crimes of Torture in Iraq". I believe We are not supposed to be committed to the Human Rights only to the point that it does not question our own leaders, are we?

I am doing my part, and I hope she does hers.

|

Who pays the price?

Last night, I saw more complete clip from beheading of the young American in Iraq. Almost all night, I could not take the images off my mind. I was walking in between my little children's beds; watching them, touching them and trying to feel how I would feel if what happened to that American, no, to that human being, had happened to my children. I was trying to put myself in the shoes of that guy's father. ...But, I was not able to even imagine that.

While sitting down in front of the Iraqis one of whom was reading a prepared statement in Arabic, not understanding the statement, he didn't even seem to know what was coming in a few minutes. He was sitting quietly and perhaps thinking that they were taking the video shots to tell the Americans that they had him.

Part of the statement was reading:
"For the mothers and wives of American soldiers, we tell you that we offered the US administration to exchange this hostage with some of the detainees in Abu Ghraib and they refused," the statement said.
And in other point the statement said "So we tell you that the dignity of the Muslim men and women in Abu Ghraib and others is not redeemed except by blood and souls. You will not receive anything from us but coffins after coffins and slaughtered in this way,". Read it here. At one point the statement said that this was in revenge of what Americans did to Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib. It also said, "You and your soldiers will regret the day that you touched the ground of Iraq."

After the statement was read he was pushed down, and his head was cut off. You could feel the agony, you could feel the struggle, you could feel that the guy couldn't believe what was happening to him, and ...you could feel how brutal we; human beings, have become.

He was a civilian, not a soldier. According to his family members, he was a pro-war civilian who had gone to Iraq for business opportunities. Whatever he was, at best he was either greedy or desperate for the money, which is up to $1000/day (tax free) or may be he was just plain stupid to be in Iraq, the land he had no business being in. But greedy, desperate or stupid, none of them qualifies anyone to be killed and that should not result in such a horrific end.

Regarding this horrific event, "Dark House" spokesman Scott McClellan said, "This shows the true nature of the enemies of freedom,...We will pursue those responsible and bring them to justice.". My message to this idiot is; Fuck you! What freedom you fucking hypocrite? You don't even know what freedom is. You are even gradually taking the freedom away from your own people. Fuck you and your stupid president and his murderous gang. You and your president never understood what the result of occupation would be. You and your president never understood how one would feel to have his country occupied and his people tortured by foreigners in their own land. You and your president never understood....many things. You never understood, because you didn't need to understand, perhaps because you knew you would continue living your empty but comfortable lives, no matter what. This young guy is dead now, but no, your kids are safe and sound and busy drinking. You won't even go to the washroom without your bodyguards covering your asses. Yeah, it is easy to talk tough. You don't pay the price. Worse comes to worse, you will lose the elections and will not be re-elected. So what? You people are already ultra-rich. You will live like kings, in the "Dark House" or any other mansions of yours. You are no humans. What have you accomplished by this occupation? 13000 Iraqis are dead. Over 700 US soldiers are dead. A country is in ruin and chaos. Religious fundamentalism has grown with an unimaginable rate that otherwise would not have grown if it wasn't because of your policies. You have become the best marketing and recruiting agents for the fundamentalists.

But no, your masters, the big business are happy and that's all that counts to the bastards like you.

No more words for now!

UPDATE:
Slain American's father blames Bush
"My son died for the sins of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. This administration did this," Michael Berg said in an interview on Thursday.

|

May 11, 2004

How the world sees it!

It was hard to pick, they were almost all reasonable but here are just a few of comments at the BBC about not the abuse, but torture of Iraqis by the US army:

The very insistence on the use of the word "abuse" is hypocrisy enough. Had it happened anywhere else the western media would have liberally made use of the word "torture". Nauseating double-standards again! Levent, Turkey

Comparing Saddam with Bush is an error. Saddam never intended to occupy USA. On the other hand, in Iraq, US is the occupying power, and it holds the entire population like illegal combatants. What a hypocrisy! Vernon Hart, Salem, USA

A perfect example of the similarity between the US military and al-Qaeda - neither has any regard for human life Sherry, London, UK

The abuses of Iraqi prisoners confirm the reasons behind the refusal of the US to have its citizens punished for war crimes. The image and credibility of the US is tarnished for ever. It is only brutal and uncivilised regimes that can abuse defenceless prisoners. I wonder what the UN is for, and how it can convince us of its worthiness in light of its failure to condemn the Americans.Jacob Mwitwa, Stellenbosch, South Africa

This incident just shows the attitude and mindset of your soldiers Mr Bush. For you and your army we all are lesser human beings. You want to charge Saddam for cruelty and violation of human rights. See what you're doing in Iraq? It is no wonder that you are not in favour of having the International Criminal Court around.Umesh Kumar Sharma, Singapore

As an American I find these acts horrifying and an embarrassment to the United States. The Bush administration is responsible for covering this up and in a larger sense responsible for the mistake of starting this war in the first place. I would like the world community to understand that half of the US is strongly opposed to this administration and are working hard to remove him from office. After the unity we had after 9/11, all is gone and the US is so divided in every way. Understand that these actions represent a small fraction of us and a majority of Americans deplore this administration. William Kent, New York

What's troublesome is that US government knew about the abuses late last year. Yet they turned a blind eye as if nothing happened and thought that it will go away. Only when pictures came out in public did the President got involved. What a sorry example of "Democracy", they can't even practices what they preach. Empty words, promises and apologies are meaningless. Asif, Boston, USA

There is absolutely nothing this president can say to wash away the humiliation of first and foremost the Iraqis, but also any American who naively trusted in the Iraq war enterprise in the first place. Yet every American who protested against this war before it started knew precisely that things like this were going to take place. Donna Wright, Syracuse, NY

|

May 10, 2004

Tortures not isolated events

"The worst, amazingly, is yet to come. A new battery of photographs and videotapes, as yet unreleased, awaits over the horizon of our abused understanding. These photos and videos, also from the Abu Ghraib prison, are reported to show U.S. soldiers gang raping an Iraqi woman, U.S. soldiers beating an Iraqi man nearly to death, U.S. troops posing, smirks affixed, with decomposing Iraqi bodies, and Iraqi troops under U.S. command raping young boys.
George W. Bush would have us believe these horrors were restricted to a sadistic few, and would have us believe these horrors happened only in Abu Ghraib. Yet reports are surfacing now of similar treatment at another U.S. detention center in Iraq called Camp Bucca. According to these reports, Iraqi prisoners in Camp Bucca were beaten, humiliated, hogtied, and had scorpions placed on their naked bodies."


Read the rest here.
Thanks to an American friend for this article.

Meanwhile, I heard on the radio that the "Dark House" spokesman, was saying that in deciding whether or not other pics and photos of the abuse, oh no let's call it with it real name; torture, be public, the Administration is taking into acount many factors including "privacy" considerations. I wonder whose privacy they are considering! May be those tortured naked Iraqi men's' privacy, or that gang-raped woman's privacy! After all, they are naked and she is being raped. It is very considerate of this administration to respect peoples' "privacy".

Oh, by the way, did you know in case of conviction, the soldier who is supposed to be court-martialed will be jailed for a MAXIMUM of ONE YEAR? How severe a punishment, for war crimes.

|

Compliment from Kissinger!

"He's the most ruthless man I ever met," "And I mean that as a compliment."

This is how Rumsfeld is defined by Henry Kissinger. Well, the man who receives the title of "the most ruthless man" from the previously known "the most ruthless man", must have plenty of capabilities as a devoted life time criminal.

|

Support the "Americans against war"

In addition to those Americans that I've had the privilege of knowing for quite some time, increasing number of Americans who are tired of the continued flow of bullshit from the current US administration, are speaking out against it. Yes, in the land where the people are "mostly busy with baseball/footbal, beer and Hollywood", they might still be the minority, but they do need our support. We need to tell them how much we appreciate their efforts.

Here is part of how Houston, another American with dignity and integrity, reacts to the whole issue of the recently exposed crimes of the US army in Iraq:

....We have become a force of occupation, brutal occupation. We are not going to withdraw tomorrow, so let's set some ground rules today.
1. A list of names of all prisoners, men and women. That list is to include the dates they were arrested and the suspicion upon which they were arrested. Can't say "charge" very well, can we?

2. Establish a procedure for prisoners to find out the charges against them. If we want to teach the Iraqis about democracy, let's begin by teaching them about habeas corpus. I know Bush and Ashcroft want to get rid of that in this country, but they haven't yet, and we're not going to let them. Whether by design or not, American forces are acting like Nazis in Iraq. That has to stop.

3. The President, Vice President and Sec. Cheney must stop using words that dehumanize the opposition forces in Iraq. The words thugs, hoodlums, terrorists, etc., contribute directly to the abuse of detainees. It's not rocket science, y'know. If the President calls them thugs, is this not permission to treat them like thugs?

This is a black-eye on our military, and on our country. Before the pictures were released, I would have said it was up to the accusers to prove their case. Now, it's up to us to prove that those pictures are not representative of how we are treating the Iraqis.

We deserve better leadership than this.

|

May 09, 2004

Edina bullet maker can't meet Army demand

"Here's a new measure of the intensity of the fighting by the U.S. military:
Alliant Techsystems Inc., the Edina-based munitions maker that is the U.S. Army's sole supplier of bullets, said Thursday it can't keep up with demand from the Army, which is rising to its highest level since the Vietnam War."

"...Alliant said it expects to earn between $3.85 and $3.95 a share in fiscal 2005..."

Well, Of course! The more bullets used to kill, the more profit for the share holders of Alliant Techsystems and other similar "death industries". This is what comes out of war; more money and profit for some, death and destruction for others.

|

May 08, 2004

Why did you take pictures?

"These soilders should be punished if for no other reason than the fact that they took pictures of it. You don't take pictues. What were they thinking?
Maybe that is the whole problem with this whole thing. They just weren't thinking.
This was made known back in January and no one paid any attention until their were pictures."
(exact words).

Yes, this was a comment made in one of the rightwing blogs. There were many more, even worse comments, but this was the most interesting (!) one. To many, including this person, taking pictures seems to be the biggest mistake not the nature of the crime. And not the fact that the soldiers were told to "make it hell and soften up the prisoners for interrogation". And not that this whole thing is not an isolated incident and that this was wide spread and US officials knew about it all along and that this is the result of the dirty nature of this occupation that also includes the wide spread abuse and torture by British occupying forces as they were tought how to torture.

Having said all this, I am sure those "few" soldiers who are detained now for "taking pictures" are being told in their detention spots, "Look what you did! What were you thinking? Why were you so stupid? Why did you take pictures? Couldn't you do it without showing it off?"

Also read:
"The coalition has revealed it received reports of maltreatment of inmates at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison in January."
and
The (UK) government has confirmed it received a Red Cross report on alleged abuses by UK troops on Iraqi prisoners in February.
and
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it warned American officials of prisoner abuse in Iraq more than a year ago and that the mistreatment was “not individual acts.” “There was a pattern and a system,” Pierre Kraehenbuehl, the ICRC’s director of operations, said in Geneva. Some of the actions were “tantamount to torture,” he said.

|

May 07, 2004

I am an Iraqi

Just pinch yourself and feel the pain, then think of what it feels to be tortured and humiliated by the occupiers; in your own land.

In solidarity with my fellow human beings; the suffering Iraqis, I am an Iraqi today. Will you join me?

|

May 06, 2004

A show Vs reality

I don't usually watch TV shows, but apparently tonight the last and final episode of the show "Friends" was to be aired.

There was incredible amount of reaction to that by some people. I heard on radio where it was being reported about the reaction of many Americans to the show and how they felt about the show and its last episode tonight. Also, they were asking people how they wished the show to end.

Many of the interviewed people were so excited and were expressing their wishes for the last episode that you wouldn't believe. They were even giving in-depth "analysis" of why "this" should happen or why "that" should not happen., or who is right and who is wrong. One was saying, "I wish Richard gets back to Stacy" (I don't even know the names in the show: Richard here represents a male and Stacy is female and so on). One was saying that she hoped such and such would get married and go to Paris. Someone was hoping for such person to have his child back, or whatever (I don't even know if what I am saying here quite matches the story, but I didn't really care about the story, what was interesting to me was the reaction of the people.

Many sounded as their wishes were real. They sounded as how awful it would be if such a thing didn't happen and... and stupid analysis like that.

What they were not realizing was that it is just a show and it doesn't matter what they wish, whatever the director wants will happen and basically they are lending their brains and their intelligence to the director of the show to play with them and well, make a good money out of them too. .... And this is all happening while many people all over the world are dying, that many are being tortured right now just like the recent exposed torture of the Iraqis by their forces of "liberation", and that is not a show, it is real.

I was not sure if I was angry at those people or just felt sorry for them. But there was one thing I was sure about: something wasn't right with those excited people.

|

May 04, 2004

Human beings; members of the same body

Since I am an Iranian, some wonder why I care so much about Iraq and Palestine issues and the suffering of those people. Yes, I write less about Iran and our own problems, I admit, it should change, but perhaps one of the reasons is that the issues related to Iran are covered in many blogs, and Western media is also covering it, although not with good intension, but it is there anyway. Beside, what is the difference between an Iraqi child and an Iranian child? Without trying to defend our own criminal regime, there is a reality and that is the fact that at least Iranian children are not bombed, or are not waken up with the bang of bombings, at least they are not as horrified as Iraqi and Palestinain children are. This is constantly happening to Iraqis, to Palestinians. Why should place of birth, something that no one had any control in choosing it, be an advantage or a disadvantage to anyone? I love my country, and I love my people, but I also love all the people, except the criminals, and no I am not talking about petty criminals. I am talking about the masters of crimes from those who are in power in Tehran to those who are in power in Washington (and well, now in Baghdad too) and Tel Aviv.

On the other hand, I have always felt that nationalism, is not very far from fascism, and if one is not very careful about his or her nationalistic views, s/he can easily fall into fascism; the disease that many are suffering from, perhaps without even knowing it. Just look at the right-wing blogs. What you see is most of the time, fascism under the umbrella of nationalism and patriotism. They might say they believe in equality, but they don't. Their attitude shows it.

Having said that, there is another main reason for my more extensive coverage of Iraq and Palestine that can be said in the following poem by Persian (Iranian)poet "Saadi Shirazi" in 13th century.

"Human beings are all members of one body.
They are created from the same essence.
When one member is in pain,
The others cannot rest.
If you do not care about the pain of others,
You do not deserve the title of human"


Thanks to "Six Pack", a commenter at Eyeranian for reminding us of this beautiful poem.

|

May 03, 2004

Another episode of "civilization"at work

Watch these "heroes" and what they do. Then decide, why it shouldn't be surprising that Iraqis hate their "liberators" so much!

Thanks to Omar for bringing this forward.

|

May 02, 2004

Wasted week-end

I somewhat wasted almost all my week-end with some warmongers here. Look at the comments under "Terrorism".

|

Only few bad apples? May be, but bad apples on top. - Update

For some reasons, I could not watch This Video on my computer. It was broadcast by "Lateline ABC Australia" on April 29 and apparently shows how the Iraqi prisoners were treated by US forces.

Also, this is excerpts from writings of accused soldier who helped run Baghdad prison. It was given to Associated Press: "I questioned some of the things that I saw ... such things as leaving inmates in their cell with no clothes or in females' underpants, handcuffing them to the door of their cell. I questioned this and the answer I got was, 'This is how military intelligence (MI) wants it done.' MI didn't want any of the inmates talking to each other. This is what happened when they were caught talking.''

Also, in an article from The Guardian, that I came ascross Via Nema's Iranian truth, a former prisoner of Saddam regime describes his ordeal during his prisonment by the American forces:
An Exerpts of what is said: "Al-Shweiri said that while jailed by Saddam's regime, he was electrocuted, beaten and hung from the ceiling with his hands tied behind his back. "But that's better than the humiliation of being stripped naked," he said. "Shoot me here," he added, pointing between his eyes, "but don't do this to us.".... and "......When al-Shweiri left American detention, he said his hatred for Saddam was replaced with one for America and two months ago he joined the al-Mahdi Army of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr."

Meanwhile Nema says "The New Yorker, also has a good round-up of events":
"A fifty-three-page report, obtained by The New Yorker, written by Major General Antonio M. Taguba and not meant for public release, was completed in late February. Its conclusions about the institutional failures of the Army prison system were devastating.....".

No, the problem is not with a few bad apples, unless those bad apples are on top; the US Administration.

Update:
After UK army sources raised doubts about whether the images of UK troops abusing Iraqi prisoners were genuine, two serving members who gave the pictures to Daily Mirror have stood by their story and say: "The Army knows a lot more has happened." they also say "they represent only the tip of the iceberg." One said: "... I have seen literally hundreds of pictures." Also, in Monday's Mirror the soldiers, who wish to remain anonymous, claim " many pictures were destroyed in September when the troops' luggage was searched as they left Iraq. "

They also detail other alleged incidents of brutality towards local people, including a baton attack which left a prisoner with a compound fracture to his arm.

|

Lost e-mail addresses

Friends,

I have lost all the email addresses that I had. I would appreciate if you kindly send me an email, so I can have them again.

Thanks

|

Israeli Myths

I just came across this article about Israel and its "democracy".

An excerpt:
"The myth that Israel is a democracy: It is not a democracy in the western sense. It is an ethnic democracy. Twenty per cent of Israel’s citizens are Israeli Palestinians. They are entitled to vote, and they are required to pay taxes, but they do not have equal rights."

|

May 01, 2004

"Liberators", liberating

Just look at these bas..rds. Are they not just hateful?

At least their "hero" colleagues will learn not to photograph what they do, so no one would know of many of the similar occurrences by the "liberators". F..k that liberty that comes from these "liberators". (Perhaps that's why US is against creation of the International Criminal Court. They know what the f..k they are doing).

It is not surprising that this is all happening in Abu Ghoraib prison which was a notorious prison where Saddam regime used to torture Iraqis.

Note: "Daily Mirror" Photos which turned out to be Hoax have been removed from here. This however does not mean that the Anglo-American criminal aggression against the people of Iraq is any less illegitimate.

My blood is boiling because of this injustice. Who knows how many similar cases are happening in Iraq right now. Like bombing the innocent people is not enough.

Also, see how Kaveh and Nema have described the whole issue.

|
Top iran blogs award

HUMAN first, then a proud IRANIAN

Top iran blogs