Website / newspaper / journal / web based media updates: Mar 14th - Mar 21st

by redjade Mon Mar 15, 2004 01:52

The great escape
Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2004/03/11/unger_1/index_np.html

Immediately after 9/11, dozens of Saudi royals and members of the bin
Laden family fled the U.S. in a secret airlift authorized by the Bush
White House. One passenger was an alleged al-Qaida go-between, who may
have known about the terror attacks in advance.

[....]

At the time of the 9/11 attacks, members of the Saudi royal family were
scattered all over the United States. Some had gone to Lexington, Ky.,
for the annual September yearling auctions. The sale of the finest
racehorses in the world had been suspended after the terrorist attacks
on Sept. 11, but resumed the very next day. Saudi prince Ahmed bin
Salman bought two horses for $1.2 million on Sept. 12.

Shortly after the attack, one of the bin Ladens, an unnamed brother of
Osama's, frantically called the Saudi embassy in Washington seeking
protection. He was given a room at the Watergate Hotel and told not to
open the door. King Fahd, the aging and infirm Saudi monarch, sent a
message to his emissaries in Washington. "Take measures to protect the
innocents," he said.

Meanwhile, a Saudi prince sent a directive to the Tampa Police
Department in Florida that young Saudis who were close to the royal
family and went to school in the area were in potential danger.

[....]

Then one of the pilots arrived. "Here's your plane," he told Grossi.
"Whenever you're ready to go."

What happened next was first reported by Kathy Steele, Brenna Kelly and
Elizabeth Lee Brown in the Tampa Tribune in October 2001. Not a single
other American paper seemed to think the subject was newsworthy.

Grossi and Perez say they waited until three young Saudi men, all
apparently in their early 20s, arrived. Then the pilot took Grossi,
Perez and the Saudis to a well-appointed 10-passenger Learjet. They
departed for Lexington at about 4:30.

"They got the approval somewhere," said Perez. "It must have come from
the highest levels of government."

"Flight restrictions had not been lifted yet," Grossi said. "I was told
it would take White House approval. I thought [the flight] was not going
to happen."

Grossi said he did not get the names of the Saudi students he was
escorting. "It happened so fast," Grossi says. "I just knew they were
Saudis. They were well connected. One of them told me his father or his
uncle was good friends with George Bush senior."

by redjade Mon Mar 15, 2004 15:50

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin today issued an order to immediately end the practice of marking the hardhats of Israeli-Arab laborers at the Knesset's new wing with a red X. The marked hardhats, first reported by Maariv, drew harsh criticism from Arab MKs, who said that if they weren't removed, they would demand that they be switched to black patches with yellow stars (that Jews had to wear during the Holocaust).

"Even though Israel is dealing with various security issues vis-á-vis how to defend itself, it must not use any signs that are liable to be interpreted as distinguishing between people on the basis of race, nationality or religion," Rivlin said.


story is here

by redjade Mon Mar 15, 2004 16:37

The European Union congratulates Mr. Raúl Rivero, the Cuban journalist and poet, on his recent award of the annual Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The European Union echoes the words of UNESCO Director-General, Koichiro Matsuura, at the announcement of the award, that "The Prize is a tribute to Raúl Rivero's brave and longstanding commitment to independent reporting, the hallmark of professional journalism".

Mr. Raúl Rivero is among 75 Cuban dissidents and independent journalists imprisoned last April following summary trials. The European Union invites the Cuban Government to reflect on the significance of the granting of this Prize to Mr. Rivero and again calls on the Cuban authorities to release without delay all the imprisoned dissidents, some of whom are reported to be suffering from serious ill-health.

http://www.eu2004.ie/templates/news.asp?sNavlocator=66&language_id=1&list_id=418

- - - - -

http://www.raulrivero.com/

Google Translation
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.raulrivero.com

Reporters Without Borders Petition for his Release
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=7691

International Press Institute
http://www.freemedia.at/IPIReport2.00/40Riveiro.htm

by redjade Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:36

A year has passed since Rachel Corrie, a 23 year-old American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, was killed by an Israel army bulldozer while nonviolently trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian house in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

During this time, the Israeli government has strenuously sought to obscure the circumstances of Rachel's death and prevent an independent investigation. It has even refused to release its June 2003 military police investigation final report to the United States, only allowing an American embassy official to read and take notes from selected parts.

Yet what is even worse is that in response to mounting international criticism of Israel's 37-year military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's current defenders have concocted a new security threat to justify Israeli policies: international activists who engage in nonviolent activism on behalf of Palestinian human rights.

read more...
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2506.shtml

also:
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

by redjade Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:38

TONY JONES: John Pilger, do you still maintain that the world depends on what you call "the Iraqi resistance" to inflict a military defeat on the coalition forces?

JOHN PILGER: Well, certainly, historically, we've always depended on resistances to get rid of occupiers, to get rid of invaders.

And what we have in Iraq now is I suppose the equivalent of a kind of Vichy Government being set up.

And a resistance is always atrocious, it's always bloody.

It always involves terrorism.

You can imagine if Australia was occupied by the Japanese during the Second World War the kind of resistance there would have been, and so on.

We've seen that all over the world.

Now, I think the situation in Iraq is so dire that unless the United States is defeated there that we're likely to see an attack on Iran, we're likely to see an attack on North Korea and all the way down the road it could be even an attack on China within a decade, so I think what happens in Iraq now is incredibly important.

TONY JONES: You mean defeated militarily?

JOHN PILGER: Yes.

by redjade Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:53

"For the second straight year POG [Pittsburgh Organizing Group] managed to get itself as a contingent in the local St Patrick’s Day parade. With 5-gallon plastic drums, water jugs, and other improvised instruments we brought the sweet sounds of resistance to the streets. While drumming we received an overwhelmingly positive mix of cheers and encouragement. At intervals we would cease drumming and break into chants, at which point the reaction from the crowd began to vary. At this point some peoples smiles turned to booing and various expletives or peace signs, cheering, and screams of ya!

Pictures can be seen at:
http://www.indypgh.org/news/2004/03/12802.php
http://www.indypgh.org/news/2004/03/12812.php

more info at
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=04/03/15/0206328

by redjade Tue Mar 16, 2004 15:22

Windoze Media Player Video: 2.1megs
PC: right click, download to hard drive, then double click on icon
Mac: control click, download to hard drive, then double click on icon

http://tinyurl.com/yvkmw

- - - - - - - - -


Part of transcript:
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/face_031404.pdf

SCHIEFFER: Well, let me just ask you this. If they did not have these weapons of mass destruction, though, granted all of that is true, why then did they pose an immediate threat to us, to this country?

Sec. RUMSFELD: Well, you're the--you and a few other critics are the only people I've heard use the phrase `immediate threat.' I didn't. The president didn't. And it's become kind of folklore that that's--that's what's happened. The president went...

SCHIEFFER: You're saying that nobody in the administration said that.

Sec. RUMSFELD: I--I can't speak for nobody--everybody in the administration and say nobody said that.

SCHIEFFER: Vice president didn't say that? The...

Sec. RUMSFELD: Not--if--if you have any citations, I'd like to see 'em.

Mr. FRIEDMAN: We have one here. It says `some have argued that the nu'--this is you speaking--`that the nuclear threat from Iraq is not imminent, that Saddam is at least five to seven years away from having nuclear weapons. I would not be so certain.' Sec. RUMSFELD: And--and...

Mr. FRIEDMAN: It was close to imminent.

Sec. RUMSFELD: Well, I've--I've tried to be precise, and I've tried to be accurate. I'm s-suppose I've...

Mr. FRIEDMAN: `No terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world and the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.'

Sec. RUMSFELD: Mm-hmm. It--my view of--of the situation was that he--he had--we--we believe, the best intelligence that we had and other countries had and that--that we believed and we still do not know--we will know. David Kay said we're about 85 percent there. I don't know if that's the right percentage. But the Iraqi Survey Group--we've got 1,200 people out there looking. It's a country the size of California. He could have hidden his--enough chemical or biol--enough biological weapons in the hole that--that we found Saddam Hussein in to kill tens of thousands of people. So--so it's not as though we have certainty today.

by redjade Tue Mar 16, 2004 19:22

/ meta name=" keywords" content="
Coalition,Saddam,Hussein,War,Iraq,Oil,army,health,Gulf
War,military,humanitarian,operations,Medical,assistance,mass,dest
ruction,Military,medical,news,Bremer,forces,RPGs,national,guard,d
efense,DoD,security,war,contracts,contracting,civilian,KBR,Bechte
l,Halliburton,electricity,baghdad,Iraqi,Iraqis,Sunni,Shiite,kurds
,,defense,bombing,missile,weapon,weapons,WMD" /


KBR, Bechtel, Halliburton??

hmmm, google that, Osama!

by eeekk Tue Mar 16, 2004 23:38

'We say to you: the Squadron of the Smoke of Death will reach you soon in a place where you will see thousands of dead, God willing [eepnote: literally, if God wants], and this is a warning.'

by redjade Wed Mar 17, 2004 01:38

'Chicago Trib' Reporter Stayed the Course to Get Deserter Story

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ep/20040316/en_bpiep/chicagotribreporterstayedthecoursetogetdeserterstory

At the end of two months of reporting that culminated with the
March 15 front-page story about Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, Martinez
interviewed officers and GIs on the day the soldier's unit -- C
Company of the Florida National Guard's 1st Battalion of the
124th Regiment -- returned home to Ft. Stewart, Ga.

"These year-long deployments, my gosh, they have taken a real
toll on these guys, a real emotional and physical toll," Martinez
said by phone from Spain, where he has been covering the Madrid
train bombing and the national election.

The Tribune (Click for QuikCap) story broke the news about Mejia,
who served as a squad leader during fighting in Ramadi, Iraq. A
native of Nicaragua, Mejia went into hiding after being granted
leave last October to return temporarily to the United States to
renew his permanent resident card. The day the Tribune story ran,
he emerged publicly at the gate of Hanscom Air Force Base in
Massachusetts, where he told a press conference organized by
anti-war activists that he would seek conscientious objector
status.

"I am saying no to war; I have chosen peace," Mejia said,
according to an Associated Press account by Martin Finucane. "I
went to Iraq and was an instrument of violence and now I have
decided to become an instrument of peace."

by redjade Wed Mar 17, 2004 10:53

CIA In Syria? 

What's happening in Syria has all the hallmarks of a classic, 1950s-era, Cold War-style CIA coup d'etat scheme.

    First, on March 7 a gaggle of demonstrators—no more than 20 to 30, according to The New York Times on March 8—was squelched by Syrian police, who arrested not only the demonstrators but swooped up a "junior diplomat from the American Embassy," says the Times. "The United States government protested the detention of the American diplomat to the Syrian government, a spokesman for the embassy told The Associated Press." Now the question is: what was a "junior diplomat" from the United States doing there in the first place. Could he have been from the CIA? (Syria is wondering the same thing.)

    Second, the Bush administration is going to announce sanctions against Syria this week, thanks to a law passed by Congress demanding them. On March 12, The Washington Post reported:

by ec Wed Mar 17, 2004 17:55

Read this document, the minutes of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Local Government of December 18th, where the suppliers of the eVoting system were challenged by IT professionals who have major technical issues with the system. http://evoting.cs.may.ie/Documents/jcelg181203.rtf

by redjade Thu Mar 18, 2004 04:56

Every year the list is the same, but every year it still comes as a shock. Of the ten richest people on earth, five have the same surname. It's not Gates, or Murdoch, or Rockefeller, but Walton.1 They are the heirs and trustees of the supermarket chain Wal-Mart. Between them they are worth $100bn.

Considering how the press fawns on the ultra-rich, we hear remarkably little about them. Perhaps this is because their position is rather embarrassing. The company which enriches them trades on the idea that it is the friend of the common man and woman, distributing rather than concentrating wealth.

Over the past 20 years, two world-shaking social transformations have taken place. The first, the effective collapse of the proletariat as a political force, has been well-documented. The second, the disappearance of the petit bourgeoisie as an economic force, rather less so. The near-elimination of the small businesses supplying and running the retail trade is in some ways as consequential as the withering of organised labour in heavy industry and the coalmines. The global monopolisation of the sector has destroyed the livelihoods of tens of millions of small proprietors and their employees. But, because this workforce was dispersed, the effects are rather harder to see.

by redjade Thu Mar 18, 2004 05:13

from....
http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance8.html

download from the source....
http://www.dior.whs.mil/mmid/M05/hst0309.pdf

Here's the list.....

Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Antigua
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burma
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Chad
Chile
China
Columbia
Congo
Costa Rica
Cote D’lvoire
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Liberia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Mali
Malta
Mexico
Mongolia
Morocco
Mozambique
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia and Montenegro
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovenia
Spain
South Africa
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

by redjade Thu Mar 18, 2004 05:25

In a statement sent to the Arabic language daily al-Hayat, the
Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, which claimed responsibility for the
Madrid bombings that killed 201 people
[....]

The statement said it supported President Bush (news - web sites)
in his reelection campaign, and would prefer him to win in
November rather than the Democratic candidate John Kerry (news -
web sites), as it was not possible to find a leader "more foolish
than you (Bush), who deals with matters by force rather than with
wisdom."

In comments addressed to Bush, the group said:
"Kerry will kill our nation while it sleeps because he and the
Democrats have the cunning to embellish blasphemy and present it
to the Arab and Muslim nation as civilization."

"Because of this we desire you (Bush) to be elected."

by redjade Thu Mar 18, 2004 06:23

President Bush urged wavering members of the U.S. led-coalition Tuesday to keep their troops in Iraq, but his plea did not win over at least two nations that are considering joining Spain in plans to withdraw their forces this summer.

As the White House downplayed suggestions that its coalition was beginning to fray, Bush lobbied the Dutch prime minister on the issue but won no commitment that 1,300 troops from the Netherlands would remain in Iraq beyond June. At the same time, Honduran officials said Tuesday that they would pull their 370 troops out of Iraq during the summer, and diplomats speculated that El Salvador and Guatemala might follow suit.

Spain's newly elected Socialist leaders promised this week to withdraw the country's 1,300 troops from Iraq by June 30 unless they were serving under a new United Nations mandate. Incoming Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has called the Iraq war "an error" based on "lies," and his condemnations of U.S. and British war efforts have helped stimulate antiwar public sentiments in other countries.

A new poll showed that two-thirds of Italians favor the withdrawal of their country's 3,000 troops — although Italy's leaders promised to stand pat — and opposition Dutch political parties called for military withdrawals.

by pat c Thu Mar 18, 2004 16:26

US 'anti-war' soldier awaits fate

Camilo Mejia wants to be seen as a conscientious objector. US military officials in Florida are considering whether to prosecute a soldier who refuses to serve in Iraq. Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia, of the Florida National Guard, has asked to be considered a conscientious objector.

by pat c Thu Mar 18, 2004 16:46

Man Thought He Was Running Over Bin Laden

MONTPELLIER, France - A French artist allegedly traumatized by last week's Spain bombings was convicted of trying to run over a pedestrian he mistook for Osama bin Laden and ordered to pay the man $615.

by pat c Thu Mar 18, 2004 16:54

TAKOMA PARK, Md. - A woman accused of acting as a paid Iraqi intelligence agent says she is being unfairly punished for getting involved in U.S. foreign policy and trying to stop a war in Iraq (news - web sites).

Susan Lindauer told The Associated Press on Wednesday her intention was to persuade Iraq to allow weapons inspections before the war and to get it to cooperate with the war on terror.

by pat c Thu Mar 18, 2004 16:58

LOS ANGELES - A college student with apparent connections to a radical environmentalist group was ordered held without bail Wednesday to face federal charges he firebombed 125 sport utility vehicles.

Billy Cottrell, a 23-year-old graduate physics student from Pasadena, was indicted for allegedly damaging or destroying vehicles at car dealerships and homes in the Los Angeles area last August, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office.


Cottrell has been held without bail since his arrest on March 9.

by iosaf - black ribbons white ribbons Fri Mar 19, 2004 12:24

March 18 2004 on clashes between Albanian and Serbs.

France {[(and her allies)]} condemn with the utmost "fermeté" the events of March 17 2004 in Kosovo.

Nos premières pensées vont aux familles des victimes. Quelles qu'en soient les causes, le recours à de tels actes de violence est intolérable.

Our first thoughts go to the families of the victims. Whatever the cause,{ [whomever the responsible]} - this violence is
intolérable.

French the language of diplomacy is really great, Beckett thought so, Borge thought so why even Burke thought so a while as well.
It works differently to English.

Bertie had better say something as well no?
"Mr President".

by iosaf - black ribbons white ribbons orange ribbons Fri Mar 19, 2004 12:32

interview for the French daily "le Monde" given by Minister of the Exterior Dominique De Villepin on Iraq.
Nice expression "exterior" no?
somehow seems better than "foreign affairs".
Exterior suggest to the english tongue being different from "interior", whereas "foreign affairs" seems to suggest promises of love then lots of sweaty panting, followed by at least one broken heart.

by iosaf - Sibelius. be still my soul. Fri Mar 19, 2004 14:01 Finlandia. üüü. moi moi. (did my Irish readers know that "moi" means "me" in French & "hello" in Finnish?no? thought not

concerning the scandal in Finland known as
IRAQGATE.
:-
A Helsinki court has acquitted Finland's first woman prime minister of charges related to the leaking of secret
documents on Iraq, a scandal that forced her to step down a year ago.

The court cleared Anneli Jaatteenmaki of a charge of inciting or assisting the breach of official secrets, a scandal dubbed "Iraq-gate" by
Finnish media that shocked a nation known abroad for its lack of corruption and straight-laced politics.

read it all at the link.

by iosaf - we know who our enemies are and who are friends are. Fri Mar 19, 2004 14:08

for the "korean" irish reader contigent.
Korea (south) which has long worried about it's neighbour, was for a short time bullied and cajoled into supporting "the international War on Terror" in Iraq, has now had a think, and decided not to commit the third largest military contigent to the location suggested by Washington in Iraq, because the "war on Terror" might not actually best be fought there, and perhaps they really ought be listened to about their neighbour by other people.
And they feel a little bit worried about their sons.
very understandable.

:-) Now is the time to discuss North Korea.
¿don't you think?

by :-) - today you must read a lot of media. Fri Mar 19, 2004 14:26

Maybe we should think about Sudan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3549325.stm

Lots of people in humanitarian crises.

In AFRICA. You will find Africa on any map just south of Europe.

now you will read the above comments and go through the links won't you? good.
sloppy big hugs.
thank you for the space.
moltes gracies per l'espai.

other news updates:-
a bunch of muppets have symbolically occupied the roundabout on Barcelona's diagonal, a road which used be called "generalissimo Franco avenue", this is of course their anniversary, they did exactly the same thing last year.
They are calling for world attention to the problems of arm proliferation. They aren't exactly saying "we are a threat to your $/€ investment in that sector" just more like "we are your future" and "we learn every time and do it better next".
I did "of course" leave all their networked links in support of an Irish IAWM member initiative some weeks ago, but it was edited as being "off point" by a zealous editor.

here you go again:-
http://www.boicotpreventiu.org/

by M.K. Fri Mar 19, 2004 15:53 robin_lefay at yahoo dot co dot uk

Demonstration against the Israeli embassy in Oslo last Saturday.
About 400 people attended the demonstration against the wall of shame that Israel is putting up in Palestine. The link below leads to a photo-montage of the Blitz street-theater performance in front of the embassy, in close cooperation with our local policeforce... http://www.indymedia.no/newswire/display/16390/index.php

by pat c Fri Mar 19, 2004 17:59

Galloway accepts libel damages

MP George Galloway has accepted damages and a public apology over an American newspaper article that alleged he accepted money from Saddam Hussein.
Mr Galloway, expelled by Labour for his stance on the Iraq war, said he had been "completely vindicated".

by redjade Sat Mar 20, 2004 11:20

The debate took place at Ohio State University in 1988, and the exchange is as every bit relevant and important today as it was then. The sound is screwy for a good portion of Part 2 but is still intelligible.

http://ftp.radio4all.net/pub/radio/01162004_chomskyperle_1.mp3

http://ftp.radio4all.net/pub/radio/01162004_chomskyperle_2.mp3

by redjade Sat Mar 20, 2004 11:34

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An Army reservist who unsuccessfully fought city officials for an expected promotion after he returned from service in Afghanistan has committed suicide, police said.

Lt. Brandon Ratliff was upset that he could not afford to pay for an attorney to fight the city to get the job, according to an e-mail sent from Ratliff's account to The Columbus Dispatch on Thursday.

The newspaper said Ratliff was found dead in his home with a bullet wound to the head about three hours after the e-mail was sent. Police spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio said Ratliff's death was ruled a suicide.

Ratliff said he was promised a promotion and a raise in September 2002 before he left to serve in a medical unit in Afghanistan. When he returned, the higher-level job had been filled and he was forced to resume his old job, which pays $4,000 less per year.

"I didn't think that I'd have to fight over there and come back and fight these guys," he said last week.

By law, employers must take back reservists returning from military service, with few exceptions.

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-reservist-job,0,6143680,print.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

by Guardian Sat Mar 20, 2004 11:46

a Link to an article reflecting on the fall from Grace suffered by two global brands this last year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,3604,1173997,00.html

In addition as any fan of the shamrock knows, each land each people have "brands" many have fallen from Grace.

How can you do business if no-one trusts your mark?

by redjade Sat Mar 20, 2004 11:46

Bush Campaign Paying Firm That Specializes In Paramilitaries

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/3/19/22135/3823

the Bush campaign may be the first presidential campaign to employ a company that specializes in paramilitary protection.
[....]
What possible legitimate use do you have for a firm that specializes in high-tech surveillance, personal investigations, and paramilitary protection?

- - - - -

Vance Security:
http://www.vancesecurity.com/

Vance Asset Protection Team:
http://www.vancesecurity.com/services/services_assetprot.cfm
Professional and responsive asset protection services has made our Asset Protection Team (APT) the undisputed leader in the field of labor unrest and major event security since 1985. APT provides security personnel who are trained to protect people and property during potentially disruptive situations, such as strikes, union organizing drives, and plant closings.

Watch the creepy fascist video...
http://www.vancesecurity.com/videos/VideoTest_top.cfm?file=03a.mov

by redjade Sat Mar 20, 2004 12:09

(CBS) Former White House terrorism advisor Richard Clarke tells Correspondent Lesley Stahl that on Sept. 11, 2001, and the day after - when it was clear al Qaeda had carried out the terrorist attacks - the Bush administration was considering bombing Iraq in retaliation.

Clarke's exclusive interview will be broadcast on 60 Minutes, Sunday, March 21 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Clarke was surprised that the attention of administration officials was turning toward Iraq when he expected the focus to be on al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

"They were talking about Iraq on 9/11. They were talking about it on 9/12," says Clarke.

The top counter-terrorism advisor, Clarke was briefing the highest government officials, including President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

"Rumsfeld was saying we needed to bomb Iraq....We all said, 'but no, no. Al Qaeda is in Afghanistan," recounts Clarke, "and Rumsfeld said, 'There aren't any good targets in Afghanistan and there are lots of good targets in Iraq.' I said, 'Well, there are lots of good targets in lots of places, but Iraq had nothing to do with [the September 11 attacks].'"

by redjade Sat Mar 20, 2004 12:27

Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia, a squad leader in the 53rd infantry brigade of the American army fighting in Iraq's Sunni triangle, has been in hiding and "living like a criminal" in the United States ever since he went absent without leave from a brief furlough five months ago. He was afraid even to see his three-year-old daughter in New York.

This week he surrendered to military authorities in Boston, where he claimed conscientious objector status in opposition to "a war for oil, based on lies". He was accompanied by a GI buddy, Oliver Perez. "I fought next to him," Perez said. "He is not a coward."

Mejia's lawyers claim that an estimated 600 soldiers have deserted to avoid service in Iraq or have gone awol after being granted home leave. It is impossible to tell the true numbers. The Pentagon doesn't like talking about deserters or suicides because such statistics can be seen as a reliable index of soldiers' morale.

by redjade Sat Mar 20, 2004 14:31

Army: Evidence would have put national security at risk

All charges against Army Muslim chaplain James Yee -- who was initially accused of espionage at the terrorist detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- have been dropped, the U.S. Army said Friday.

Yee had faced charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified information at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

But after extensive review, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, decided to stop pursuing the matter.

"Citing national security concerns that would arise from the release of the evidence, Miller decided to drop these charges," the Army said in a statement. "Miller made his decision after consultation with government lawyers and intelligence officials."

by kasa of the mountain Sat Mar 20, 2004 17:53

The 52 most dangerous "American" officials.
Outside the US, we do not have a complete vision of the Bush administration. Only a few of it's personalities are known to the stranger.
Despite this, they form a cohrenent team and conduct a "neo-conservative revolution" in complete schism with the history and values of their country.

= Els 52 dignataris americans més perillosos
Fora dels Estats Units, no tenim una visió completa de l’administració Bush. Només algunes de les seves personalitats són conegudes a l’estranger. No obstant això, formen un equip coherent que condueix una “revolució neoconservadora” en completa ruptura amb la història i els valors del seu país.

by numbers Sun Mar 21, 2004 15:15

it is all you may rationalise.

article from previous Guardian by Mr Blumenthal asessing the Bush war on Modernity.
Bush is attributed with many wars, none of them prosecuted as of yet.
the war on Terror.
the war on Oil.
the war on the Poor and infirm of his country.
the war on prisoners in his country.
the war on the memory of his father which he carries within.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1161399,00.html

and a bonus link to the history of the crusade which technically only a pope may call.
In the great sweep of civilisation's history the róle played by Pontifus Maximus and Caliph may not be easily dismissed.

by iosaf Sun Mar 21, 2004 15:46

Has he proved his worth?
ask each other-
has he proved his constitutional value?
ask yourself-
has he the right to make any Dublin Statement this year?
ask yourself-
no matter how well he has done in many overseas areas, he has chosen not to use the prestige of the European Institutions before the recent realisations.

Ask yourselves, no matter which of your core beliefs have been threatened, no matter which you have seen undermined on a collective and social basis, no matter what distrust you may have of those who now without exact word may come together and walk,
ask:-
Has Ahern proved his constitutional value?


Great jobs, Great men doth not make.
isn't it great Bertie?
%-)

by redjade Sun Mar 21, 2004 17:59

He said: "Kerry is sometimes described as 'Bush-lite', which is not inaccurate. But despite the limited differences both domestically and internationally, there are differences. In a system of immense power, small differences can translate into large outcomes."

He reserved his especial venom for the Bush administration's plans for the health sector: "The people around Bush are deeply committed to dismantling the achievements of popular struggle through the past century no matter what the cost to the general population."