In Rome a summit on food where farmers are unwelcome is under way

Farmers bringing message to the Food Crisis Summit in Rome
expelled
"Stop corporate control over food!"
Rome, Italy, 3 June 2008
videos on http://wsftv.net
Farmer and civil society leaders carrying out a peaceful action today in
Rome, Italy at the FAO Summit on the Food Crisis were forcefully removed from
the premises. At around 1:30pm farmers and representatives of civil society
organisations staged an action at the press room to deliver a message that
millions of additional people are joining the ranks of the hungry as the
corporations that control the global food system are making record profits.
The issues of corporate control and speculation, which are leading causes of
recent spikes in food prices, are not being discussed by the government
delegations and the international agencies meeting in Rome to debate solutions
to the crisis.
"We are outraged that such fundamental aspects of the food
crisis were nowhere on the agenda for the Summit," says Paul Nicholson, member
of the International Coordinating Committee of Via Campesina and one of the
farmer leaders who was expelled from the Summit.
The 10 people involved in
the action carried posters contrasting the record profits of agribusiness
corporations during the lastest reporting financial quarter of 2008 with the
estimated 100 million people in the world who now, alongside 800 million or so
others, are hungry because they cannot afford to eat. Profits for Monsanto, the
world's largest seed company, were up 108 per cent, while Cargill and Archer
Daniel Midlands, the world's largest food traders, registered profit increases
of 86 and 42 per cent respectively. Profits for Mosaic, one of the world's
largest fertiliser companies, rose 1,134 per cent.
The action was necessary
to bring to the world's attention that the main causes of the world food crisis
are not being dealt with and that the world's food producers-- the farmers,
fisherfolk, agricultural workers and indigenous people-- have been shut out of
the discussion. In previous high-level FAO events, civil society was given more
space to express its views and to have a dialogue with the delegates. For this
Summit, civil society was blocked from meaningful participation in the
preparation and in the event itself.
"We are concerned that this Summit will
only reinforce corporate control of the food system and lead to a further
destruction of the way of life of indigenous peoples and their survival,"
says Saul Vicente Vasquez of the International Indian Treaty Council and
one of the supporters of the action. "It is time for indigenous people and other
food producers to take charge of food policy."
Those involved in the action
have been meeting with other civil society organisations at the Terra Preta*
civil society forum, parallel to the FAO Summit.
A video of the action and
the suppression of the action will soon be available on http://wsftv.net. During
the action, the security guards seized a banner reading: "Stop corporate control
over food!".
----
For further information about the action, please
contact:
Isabelle Delforge: +39 349 161 0296
Henk Hobbelink: +34 639
329047
*Information about Terra Preta and a statement from the forum can be
found at www.foodsovereignty.org

Bush administration arrogance reaches new heights

Democracy Now!

US Shuns Rivals at Food Conference

Meanwhile, the Bush administration has announced it won’t hold any talks with representatives from Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Iran at the summit. US Agricultural Secretary Ed Schafer said the countries are welcome at the meeting but would not be recognized.

U.S. Agricultural Secretary Ed Schafer: “First of all, if their presence here overshadows the work of this esteemed body, I guess that will be up to the people in this room, including you. So, you know, that will make the difference here, what the news is. So we ask that you keep the focus on the work that’s being done by the body. Nobody from the US delegation will be meeting with the countries you mentioned, and we’re glad they’re here. We appreciate the opportunity for dialogue, but it is our position that we will not meet with them.”

Meanwhile, other 'western' leaders expressed outrage at the presence of Robert Mugabe and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Incidentally, Mugabe's presence at UN summits is an exception to the EC ban on him:

European Commission

CHRIS PATTEN:

From time to time there are meetings in Europe or elsewhere which you can’t stop somebody going to. There’s a general agreement, for example, that if there’s a discussion on human rights or democracy or if there’s an important UN conference then in these sort of circumstances you let people go. But Mr Mugabe is at present, I think, in Cuba and is proposing to fly back through Madrid, and he won’t be able to stop off and go and stay at his favourite four or five-star hotel while he’s there. These aren’t the most major things that the European Union could do, but they are things which I think will make a bit of a difference, will make people understand the extent of the world’s disapproval for what has become a particularly nasty regime.

Paradoxically, the US probably won't have a problem talking to President Lula of Brazil, a left-wing ally of Chavez in Latin America. The reason, of course, is the agreement of the US and Brazil on biofuel which is a far more important potential cause of world-wide hunger than Mugabe, however much of a thug he is with his own people. First world leaders' apparent outrage regarding the presence of localised dictators (or indeed a democratically-elected leader such as Chavez) at the FAO summit reflects their obscene hypocrisy. First world military powers and their clients murder many times more innocent people around the world than these so called evil leaders put together. It is true of invasions and bombardments but also of agricultural and trade practices.

Via Campesina at the FAO summit in Rome

Via Campesina

FAO opening: Via Campesina farmers to the heads of states: Time to change food policies!
Tuesday, 03 June 2008
Press Release

(Rome, 3 June 2008) Now that the FAO expects that hunger will affect an extra 100 million people by the end of the year, heads of states and leaders from around the world are gathering in Rome for the FAO "High-Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy".
The international peasant's movement Via Campesina welcomes this sudden high level interest in food and agriculture production, but reminds governments and international institutions that the current climate and food crises are not the result of any sudden natural disaster. They are the fruit of decades of policies of trade « liberalisation » and of the vertical integration of production, processing and distribution by corporate agriculture.
Therefore, governments today have to take full responsibility for the current crisis and take resolute actions to solve it.
Even though they produce food, most family farmers suffer from the current high food prices alongside urban workers. Many of them do not own the land they farm, they produce for export or to pay off they debt, so essentially they work as agricultural labourers.

For decades, countries have been forced to open their markets and import food. They have lost their capacity to feed themselves which has made them excessively dependent on the world market's prices. This has contributed to the recent hunger riots in various parts of the world.

Under the principle of « free trade », food is now considered a commodity like any other, subject to profiteering and financial speculation. The current price hikes are mainly due to speculation by major traders and investors because food production is now competing with agrofuels, which worsen the crisis, as does climate change.

Moreover, governments have dismantled the agrarian policies that sustained food production and instead have supported transnational companies producing seeds, pesticides, fertilisers and food to strengthen their control over the food chain. The development of industrial agriculture has destroyed the environment, overexploited soils and greatly contributed to global warming (generating from 17.4 to 32% of green house gases). Meanwhile, family farmers have been pushed from their land and driven into poverty. Based on that experience, farmers and small food producers are now rejecting the promises of the so called « New Green Revolution » and « miracle » seeds such as GMOs.

Small family farmers and food producers in the Via Campesina deplore the fact that the participation of civil society at the FAO high level conference is being denied. They are telling heads of states today that it is high time for governments to focus on small scale sustainable food production and local markets. This will allow soils to regenerate, conserve fuel and reduce global warming. It will also give jobs to millions of farmers, fisher-folks, pastoralists and all those who are feeding the people of the world.

- Notes to the media

Via Campesina farmers from the following countries are currently available in Rome for interviews: Mexico, Spain, Indonesia, Togo, Mali, USA, Brazil, France, South Korea, Paraguay, Nicaragua and Argentina.
Speakers at the Press Conference in Rome on 3 June, 2008
- Guy Kastler, Confédération Paysanne, Via Campesina
- Boly Faliri CNOP Mali, Réseau des organisations paysannes et de producteurs de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (ROPPA)
- Yoon Geum Soon, Korean Women Peasant Association, Via Campesina
Farmers and their allies are staging a symbolic ceremony at the Roman temple of Ceres, the goddess of grains and cultivation. For more information on the myth of Ceres, please see the document in annex.

More information on www.viacampesina.org


Media contacts:

Manu Russo: ++ 39-3490068499
Isabelle Delforge: ++39-3491610296

As FAO and alternative summits held in Rome world leaders attempt to deflect attention from causes of hunger

Democracy Now!

Activists, Farmers Hold Parallel Food Summit in Rome

In Italy, a coalition of activists and small farmers have launched a parallel summit to a meeting of world leaders on the global food crisis. The five-day alternative is called “Rethinking the Food System.” Paul Nicholson of Via Campesina said the food crisis cannot be addressed without evaluating neoliberal policies.

Paul Nicholson: “We are stating that this model of free trade has caused hunger and has caused poverty in the rural world and now also in the cities. The food crisis, the spiraling crisis of food, is a consequence of leaving all food in the hands of the transnationalists.”

The forum will continue over the next five days.

AFP

Smith told reporters it was not right for Mugabe to be at the summit.

"Frankly, I regard that as obscene," he said. "This is the person who has presided over the starvation of his people. This is the person who has used food aid in a politically motivated way.

AFP

Rahmanian, who is on the forum's steering committee, told AFP earlier: "It's obscene that the food crisis is being used to push stronger on policies" promoting large-scale agriculture, biofuels and the use of genetically modified organisms and pesticides.
(...)
Meanwhile Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in Rome for the FAO summit, on Sunday rejected claims that biofuels made from sugar cane are contributing to the global food crisis.

Some relevant links:

Cenesta (Iran)
Via Campesina
Navadanya
Jean Ziegler (on biofuel)

Resisting in Palestine

Incitement

Oftentimes we get weary of the same news over and over again, for example the second story below. Indeed, one could say the media gets weary much quicker than the general population...There is of course something quite obscene in comparing victims (dead and wounded) of violence, particularly innocent vicitms. What does it matter what blood ran in their veins, what god(s) they worshipped, what 'nation' they professed to belong to, and what land they claimed as theirs? It should not matter. It does, however, matter to our 'official' commentators and leaders. I leave it up to you to make your own mind up on this question.

Dear friends,

I'm at a loss for words! How much more before it's too late, or is it already!

In the first story, you will not find the words "mob" or "lynching," these are reserved only when Palestinians are the perpetrators.

Regarding the second story, note that these checkpoints are under 100% Israeli surveillance. I ask why aren't the surveillance camera tapes being shown to the public? May the killers never sleep a full night again as they see Fahmi in their nightmares!

Occupation morally corrupts the occupier,

Sam

-----------

Ha'aretz

'I kicked the Arab, I stepped on his head'

By Uri Blau

Dozens of teenage boys from Jerusalem received the same ICQ message: "We're putting an end to all the Arabs who hang out in 'Pisga' [Pisgat Ze'ev] and the mall, whistle at the girls, curse, threaten little kids. Anyone who is Jewish and wants to put an end to all that should be at Burger Ranch at 10 P.M., and we'll finally show them they can't hang in our area anymore. Anyone who is willing to do that and has Jewish blood should add his name

to this message."

FULL STORY AT: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988477.html

SECURITY CAMERA OF INCIDENT AT: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988061.html

-----------

mahsanmilim

Murder at Huwara [Checkpoint]

This time we came to the checkpoint especially in order to gather testimony about the murder of 15.5-year old Fahmi Abd alJawaad alDarduk, who was shot by the soldiers at this checkpoint on Monday, May 19th 2008.

After he was shot, the army claimed that pipe bombs had been detected in his belt. That wires had been seen hanging from under his clothing. That three pipe bombs had been observed. Later it was said there were five. One of the perpetrators of this crime was cited for excellence.

A Palestinian ambulance arriving from Nablus twenty minutes later at the most was not permitted access to the bleeding boy until 11:30 PM. For two and a half hours he lay on the concrete floor of the checkpoint and no one was allowed to approach him but the Occupation forces. During this time all Palestinians in the area were violently pushed away and the blood washed away with water jets.

FULL STORY AT: http://www.mahsanmilim.com/fahmi_aldardukE.htm

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No attack on Iran says Bush mouthpiece

NYT

The Jerusalem Post based its article on a report on Israel Army Radio, which cited a senior official in Israel. The official was quoted as saying that only the hesitancy of Mr. Bush’s secretaries of state and defense, Condoleezza Rice and Mr. Gates, stood in the way of an attack.

“An article in today’s Jerusalem Post about the President’s position on Iran that quotes unnamed sources — quoting unnamed sources — is not worth the paper it’s written on,” the White House press secretary, Dana M. Perino, said in a statement.

Watch this space.

Dr Norman Finkelstein deported from Israel in a move reminiscent of paranoid dictatorships of the past

Update:

Israel News

In thinking of this case, I am reminded of a very similar one here in the U.S. in which the Department of Homeland Security revoked a visa for Tariq Ramadan, the European Muslim scholar who intended to teach a course at Notre Dame. DHS made a similarly vague statement that Ramadan was denied entry on security grounds. His U.S. government interrogators similarly noted that he had donated money to groups affiliated with Hamas (before that group was listed as a terror organization). Daniel Pipes had argued publicly that Ramadan supported Islamic terror and the former had forwarded his claims to DHS. It is likely that Pipes' false claims about Ramadan's sympathy for terrorism played a similar role in his exclusion from the U.S.

Jerusalem Post

Officials said that the decision to deport Finkelstein was connected to his anti-Zionist opinions and fierce public criticism of Israel around the world.

Haaretz

The Shin Bet said Finkelstein "is not permitted to enter Israel because of suspicions involving hostile elements in Lebanon," and because he "did not give a full accounting to interrogators with regard to these suspicions."

Note from Jez:
Why, you might ask, should we care about one US academic (who happens to be Jewish)? After all, there are people suffering on the ground, people being stopped at checkpoints, road blocks, on a daily basis. Well, in my opinion, we should care for the very reason he was probably arrested and deported: his high profile and to deny him his freedom of speech.
I urge you to act, in the name of free speech and democracy. Whether or not you agree with the sources quoted in the mail below is another matter.
Furthermore, even if it is indeed Shabbath, it is important to act immediately or ASAP.

ACT NOW: Flood the Israeli Ministry of Interior with faxes, emails, calls. DEMAND THAT DR. FINKELSTEIN BE PERMITTED TO ENTER ISRAEL IN ORDER TO REACH THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY!

Minister of Interior Mr. Meir SHEETRIT

Israeli Ministry of the Interior

2 Kaplan St., Qiryat Ben-Gurion

P.O. Box 6158, 91061 Jerusalem

Tel. +972-2-670-1411 / +972-2-629-4722

Fax: +972-2-670-1628

or

Mr. Meir SHEETRIT's numbers at the Knesset

Telephone 1: +972-2-640-8410

Telephone 2: +972-2- 640-8409

Fax: +972-2- 640-8920

Email: mshitrit@knesset.gov.il

It is now Friday night and the Ministry will be closed through Saturday for the Jewish Sabbath. Thus, if you are in the US please call your congressman and senator NOW and advise them a Jewish American U.S. citizen is being denied access to Israel!!

Also, CALL the STATE DEPT's Hotline for American Travelers: 202-647-5225 and let them know this is happening and is in violation of international law.

If you are an Israeli, please start working the phones...this denial of entry is all being done in your name!!

The only 'democracy' in the Middle East strikes again,

Sam

-----------------------

Democracy Now

Israel Arrests Outspoken Academic Norman Finkelstein

And the American academic Norman Finkelstein has been arrested and ordered deported from Israel. Finkelstein arrived in Tel Aviv earlier today on his way to the Occupied Territories. He was immediately detained and told he is banned from Israel for ten years. He's expected to be deported tomorrow. Finkelstein is known one of the most prominent academic critics of Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/5/23/headlines

--------------------------------------------------

US political author Norman Finkelstein denied entry to Israel

05.23.2008 | Monsters & Critics

Jerusalem - The US political author and critic of Israel Norman Finkelstein was denied entry to the Jewish state on Friday, his lawyer said.

Finkelstein landed at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv in the early morning and was told by a representative of the ministry of interior that he would not be allowed into the country on 'security' grounds, attorney Michael Sfard told dpa.

'This usually means a 10-year ban on entry,' Sfard added.

Finkelstein, who is Jewish and the son of Holocaust survivors, has written critical books on Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories and on what he called 'exploitation' of the Jewish tragedy during World War II.

Finkelstein has received with the fierce disapproval of some authors and academics, while others have praised his controversial works.

http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=1700

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Some good news amidst fighting

Haaretz

The last time the cannabis farmers of Lebanon had such a bumper crop
was during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, when the security situation in the
country brought anti-drug law enforcement to a halt. With fighting flaring up
again in Lebanon, the farmers can expect another marijuana windfall, especially
if the army is deployed in force throughout the country's cities to quell the
recent bloodshed.

Two different cases of news manipulation

Dowethics.com (hoax)
Dow.com (the real deal)

Democracy Now!
(December 2004)

Yes Men Hoax on BBC Reminds World of Dow Chemical’s Refusal to Take Responsibility for Bhopal Disaster

AMY GOODMAN: And the feelings of giving false hope to people in Bhopal who perhaps read these reports in the Indian newspapers?

ANDY BICHLBAUM: Right, that is the most difficult thing about this. And, in fact, we didn’t expect it to run as long as it would. We really thought that the BBC would catch on pretty much immediately or Dow would react even more likely immediately. They didn’t react for at least an hour, so there was a much longer time when people thought it was real.

AMY GOODMAN: That would mean that Dow would have had to jump in and say, no, we are not sorry.

ANDY BICHLBAUM: Right, and they did eventually, but they took at least an hour to do that, and we thought that they would immediately contact the BBC, even perhaps as it was running. I kept hearing voices in the background and thinking I was about to get cut off during the interview. But two hours later it was still a story. So that was sad. Also, but at the same time we are talking about two hours of false hopes versus 20 years of unrealized ones. And suffering for those who are still alive and weren’t killed. And all hopes are false until they are realized. So, you know, any protest sort of brings false hopes, any protest against something as maniacal as Dow. Like Dow is not likely to do anything about this, and so anytime you hope that it is, it’s false in a way.

Democracy Now!
(May 2008)

NYT Scrutinized for Report on Hezbollah Training Iraqis in Iran

The New York Times is coming under criticism for publishing an article based solely on unnamed sources suggesting that the Lebanese group Hezbollah is training Iraqi militants inside Iran. The article by Michael Gordon was published on Monday, one day after Iraqi government spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraq has no hard evidence of Iranian support of insurgents in Iraq. John Stauber of PR Watch said Gordon’s article is “reminiscent of the horrendous errors of judgment and bad journalism committed by Michael Gordon, Judith Miller and others at the New York Times who turned the paper into a conduit for phony stories that sold the war in Iraq.” Retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner said he feels the article in Monday’s Times is “part of a strategic communications plan.”

John Bolton: Striking Iran Is “Really the Most Prudent Thing to Do”

Hours after the Times article was published, former UN Ambassador John Bolton appeared on Fox News and called for US strikes against Iran. He was interviewed by Jaime Colby of Fox News.

John Bolton: “I think this is a case where the use of military force against a training camp to show the Iranians we’re simply not going to tolerate this is really the most prudent thing to do. And then the ball would be in Iran’s court to draw the appropriate lesson to stop harming our troops.”

Jaime Colby: “Ambassador John Bolton, a good message to end on. Thank you very much.”

Iran Suspends US Talks to Protest US Offensive

Do US officials know what they're doing?

Seymour Hersh on Al Jazeera - part1
envoyé par Ali_La_Pointe

Winter Soldier 2008

Democracy Now!
KPFA
The War Comes Home
Stop Military Rape

Burma, China, Tibet, Democracy

Watch this report Interesting: China is worried about the success of it's olympics and so it may have leaned on Burma to promise 'democracy'...Not worried enough to exercise restraint or promise 'democracy' at home, let alone in Tibet, it seems.

Everest Closed

Obama lobby-free?

Tikkun Olam

All of us are concerned about the impact of closed border crossings on Palestinian families. However, we have to understand why Israel is forced to do this… Israel has the right to respond while seeking to minimize any impact on civilians.

No change under President Obama, then?

Winter Soldier 2008

The war comes home
Democracy Now!

Joke of the day

Democracy now!

Israel Boycotts Al Jazeera

Meanwhile, the Israeli government has announced a boycott of the Arabic television network Al Jazeera. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Magali Whabe said Al Jazeera has displayed biased coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Magali Whabe: “We have sent a letter to the Authorities in Qatar and also to Al Jazeera regarding this matter. We do not want to deal with a channel that is not realistic and does not give a real picture to its viewers. If there is no change in the way they deal with us there, will be a reaction for us and we can take action.”

Al Jazeera says it’s being shunned for accurate reporting. Palestine bureau chief Walid al-Umari said, “I dare any Israeli official to bring up what they call incitement or lies reported by Al Jazeera. What we reported were real facts on the ground.”

Calling on Israel to boycott CNN, Fox News, BBC, Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, Al Jazeera, AFP, Reuters...

The misuse of water and a few home-(and away-) myths

Somewhere between Tel-Aviv and Eilat, October 2007


Amira Hass

"It's not enough to talk about the amount of rainfall. You have to talk about how it is stored, too. In Israel, there is excellent water beneath our feet, thanks to three elements that contribute to the rapid filling of the mountain aquifer: rain that is concentrated in the winter season when there is little evaporation; karstic topography; and a thin layer of soil. Karst is soluble bedrock that enables the rain to percolate quickly to a subterranean level and not settle in small depressions, but in cracks and fissures and caves, beyond the range of tree and plant roots. In the summer, when you see bare, rocky slopes in the West Bank and the Galilee, it's easy to get the impression that the region is arid. But it's actually an indication of just the opposite, and is hiding the fact that, out of view, there is really a lot of water."

And for your pleasure, a couple of extra photos to complete this water-related post:


Satellite picture of Almeria Province, Spain, 1974

Satellite picture of Almeria Province, Spain, 2004

Obama critcises Bush: If the US needs to crush a nation, it must be given more troops.

Mickey Z
Real Clear Politics
Washington Post

Barack Obama sez: “Our men and women in uniform are performing heroically around the world in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable. But the war in Afghanistan and the ill-advised invasion of Iraq have clearly demonstrated the consequences of underestimating the number of troops required to fight two wars and defend our homeland. That’s why I strongly support the expansion of our ground forces by adding 65,000 soldiers to the Army and 27,000 Marines.”

AND

“No President should ever hesitate to use force—unilaterally if necessary—to protect ourselves and our vital interests when we are attacked or imminently threatened. But when we use force in situations other than self-defense, we should make every effort to garner the clear support and participation of others—the kind of burden-sharing and support President George H.W. Bush mustered before he launched Operation Desert Storm.”
(April 2007, for both quotes)

Chief Rabbi holds forth

To Chief Rabbi Metzger, I would say don't do what you yourself say you are not legally entitled to do: don't talk politics!
To the EU, the US and Britain, I would say don't pay attention to the racist, sexist and fundamentalist Chief Rabbi Metzger.

Muslims 'don't need a third place Metzger also called for Muslims to have the freedom to return to pray in mosques on condition that they do so peaceably: "We will welcome every Palestinian man who wants to pray in his mosque. Every Friday they can come, but with one condition, without violence. We have the same feeling about prayers, we want to give you respect but let us live and believe our land is the Holy Land and Jerusalem belongs to us. You have another place, Mecca and Medina, you don't need a third place."

Passports to progress (Daniel Barenboim)

Full Text

At the same time, the citizens of Israel have just as much cause to be alert to the needs and rights of the Palestinian people (both within and outside Israel) as they have to their own. After all, in the sense that we share one land and one destiny, we should all have dual citizenship.

It seems amazing to me, naive foreigner perhaps, that an Israeli should choose to accept Palestininan citizenship. It's exciting to me. It's wonderful. That said, I think I have to agree with Sam Bahour in his intro to Barenboim's text: how can Israel ever be democratic as a 'jewish' state? How can a 'jewish' state 'integrate' a palestinian (ie. non-jewish) minority? How can any state which is defined along religious lines ever be democratic? I sincerely Barenboim hope is not giving in to the easy retoric of 'jewish' as a nationality and not as a religion. That will only be true when anyone can, even theoretically, become jewish, regardless of who their mother is, and without having to go through conversion, just as anyone can, in theory, become american, british or french. Never, basically.

Semantics

VOA

A senior U.S. diplomat says "ethnic cleansing" is underway in Kenya's Rift Valley in the aftermath of last month's disputed presidential election, but she says the violence does not rise to the level of genocide.

What exactly is the difference between 'ethnic cleansing' and 'genocide'? And, if there is a difference, what is the purpose of a 'senior U.S. diplomat' pointing out the difference in this particular case? Will it determine the appropriate response from the U.S.?
One is entitled to demand, that the origins of the violence be properly addressed, as well as the responsibilities of the democratically elected (?) government of Kenya, those of the political opposition and of the international community. But what am I complaining about?! As we can see above, serious talks are taking place while, to quote a phrase, the people suffer.

Suharto dies: we should cry?

DemocracyNow!
DemocracyNow! 12/11/1997
Allan Nairn


It turns out the uplifting feeling I experienced when the anti-(Irak)war, fluent-chinese-speaking, environmentally-friendly Kevin Rudd was elected in Australia may have been quite naive.

What a pity President Carter wasn't as aware, in the late Seventies, of the 'situation' in East Timor as he is today of the 'situation' the Palestinians are in. Does that mean, I wonder, that a president today ought to have more information than three decades ago? In that case, there is hope. Or does it mean, that a president has less information than the rest of us? In that case, we're f***ed.

Image of the day

Recognition

Now and again (quite regularly) we hear about how Hamas and other Palestinian nationalist forces must recognise Israel before they can be recognised or before a Palestinian state can come into existence. Now, there is no Palestinian state. Israel exists. Israel's existence is hardly in danger given the power of it's military and that of it's major ally, the USA. Hamas recognition or lack thereof does not affect Israel's existence in any way. The existence of a Palestinian state, on the other hand, depends entirely on Israeli and US goodwill.
When it comes to recognition of a state, what of Israel's recognition of the Republic Of China? Of course, wether or not Israel recognises Taiwan is not really relevant, since the two countries have economic relations anyway. How about Tibet, then? Do the Tibetans not have a right to a homeland? Judging by China's fury whenever the Dalai Lama is met by world political leaders, it's safe to say recognition of Tibet by world governments would not count for nothing.

Follow-up on the Hormuz 'incident'

FAIR

After Iran released its own video recording of the event--which showed a more routine exchange between the U.S. and Iranian vessels--the Pentagon distanced itself from the claim that the Iranian boats had issued a verbal threat. Three days after its original report citing unnamed officials who implied the threat had been issued from the boats, the L.A. Times (1/11/08) "clarified" that a key part of the official version of events was inaccurate: "Clarifying earlier accounts, officials said Thursday that they did not know whether a radio call in which a voice threatened to 'explode' the U.S. ships came from the small boats or whether it came from another source." Retreating from the account that definitely attributed the transmission to the speedboats, the officials now said only that "the radio threat was received at the same time as the encounter with the Iranian boats."

Congressman Kucinich finally in the debate

Dennis Kucinich was disinvited by MSNBC from the Democratic presidential debate yesterday. A judge ruled, that the debate could not go ahead without him, but the ruling was overturned by an appeal.
Democracy Now! invited Kucinich today, to answer the questions posed in the Las Vegas debate.

A Gruyère state for Palestinians?

Democracy Now

Bush called for an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. But he did not back down from his endorsement of Israel’s intent to retain large Jewish-only settlement blocs that Palestinians say will make peace impossible. Bush called on Israel to dismantle unauthorized settlement outposts scattered across the West Bank. But he did not criticize Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s declaration that Israel’s pledge to freeze settlement expansion only applies to those settlements that Israel doesn’t intend on keeping. Israel agreed to freeze settlement activity under the U.S.-backed road map but has continued to build in East Jerusalem and its large West Bank settlements. For the first time President Bush called for a compensation fund for Palestinian refugees who lost their homes in 1948. He did not offer details. The value of lost Palestinian land is estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars. President Bush’s visit to the West Bank came after a day of talks in Israel. The Independent of London reports Bush’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert “had the flavor of a love-in on a grand scale which transcended mere diplomacy.” In Gaza, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri dismissed Bush’s visit.

Bush Peace Hallucinations Continue

Blogus,bloga,blogum

Both Bush and Olmert did send one united message to the world. The
two-state solution was still the aim of the negotiations. Reading between the
lines, we can infer that the specter of a single state, from the Mediterranean
to the Jordan River, is the most frightening vision of all. The terrifying
notion of Palestinians (Muslims and Christians) and Israelis (Jews, Muslims, and
Christians) living side by side with equal national and civil rights, has never
been so apparent since the struggle in South Africa to end racist white
supremacy under Apartheid. To ensure that a one-state solution does not
materialize in historic Palestine, the U.S. and Israel talk about a two-state
solution, but meantime, the U.S. bankrolls Israel as it continues to create
facts on the ground that make any viable Palestinian state
impossible.

Skirmish and Presidential tour

According to the Pentagon there has been a skirmish between Iranian and US forces in the Strait of Hormuz.
Apparently behind the harassment of US warships by Iranian Revolutionary Guards lies Iran's imperial ambitions. While, according to US leadership, the Iranian provocation is dangerous, the leadership in Teheran has downplayed the confrontation, calling it a case of routine identification. While this confrontation was taking place, President George W Bush was preparing for a tour of the Middle East starting in Israel. Following the reappraisal of the so-called Iranian nuclear threat by the National Intelligence Estimate, it is belived, that Bush will be seeking to shore up support ahead of a possible invasion of Iran.

Thoughts for Kenya

Watching and hearing about the recent violence in Kenya, I felt at first, and as usual, frustrated and helpless. Oh sure, the 'western' powers have voiced their concern with regards to electoral irregularities and of course the violence which ensued. As we must all have realised by now, if the 'democratic West' says there were irregularities, then the reality must be much worse than the picture painted in our official media. But what exactly is the 'democratic West' intending to do about it? We've seen their reaction to the massacre of the burmese people. We've seen how much russian democracy matters to them. We've seen how the people of Darfur are still waiting for the 'West' to deliver them from their tyrants and bring 'democracy' to their country. So, what exactly should we expect our leaders to do for the Kenyans? However, I feel the need to react to the image of an ethnic war painted by the media. I have no doubt, that the kenyan media are also responsible. That Kenya is an artificial country created by colonialism is clear. That it is a country with various ethnic groups, of which the main two are the Kikuyu and the Luo, is also a reality. That said, politically it is one country, as is the United States of America. In the US, there are many ethnic groups, and these groups are also special interest groups, some more powerful than others: Latinos, Blacks, Jews, Cubans, WASPS...The leadership, however, is, for better or for worse, the american leadership. It goes without saying, that that leadership is dominated by white males and predominantly protestants. However, when George W Bush was elected in dubious circumstances, it wasn't a case of the white anglo-saxon protestant community oppressing other communities. If oppression of certain communities exists, and it certainly does, it is not done so by the dominant community but by the power in place. If whites in the US are generally treated better by the power, that does not mean, that whites are all out to downtread members of other groups. In fact, I would say, that on different levels, it is all the american people (and citizens of the world!) who are oppressed by the power. Through poverty, repressive laws, propaganda lies and more, the leadership keeps the population under control. It seems, to me, admittedly an outsider (just as much to the US as to Kenya), that in Kenya it is also the power in place which is oppressing the people of Kenya. If it is true, and it is, that the kenyan leadership is dominated by Kikuyus, that should not be understood to mean, that Kikuyus all have their boots on the heads or chests of Luos, Masais, Samburus or others (for yes, if we were to believe our media, only the Kikuyus and Luos count in this dispute). The question of independence for ethnic groups in countries such as Kenya or in the case of the Kurds of Irak is of course a complicated one. It is far from being a black&white one. Should countries break up or should unity be maintained? I believe the very least is to give real autonomy to ethnic groups, where they are effectively living apart from other groups and where their culture and way of life is endangered by more dominant groups. However, if the people of a given country, despite their ethnic affiliations, claim to be nationals of the country, then they should treat the leadership as a national leadership, and it's oppressive power to be directed at all citizens. If Kibaki and his accolytes are holding on to power through electoral fraud, they are not doing so on behalf of Kikuyus, just as Bush's interests are not that whites should dominate american life.
These are my thoughts of the moment, and nothing more. As usual open to discussion.

Now that the dust has settled: Benazir Bhutto

Robert Fisk

So let's run through this logic in the way that Inspector Ian Blair might have done in his policeman's notebook before he became the top cop in London.

Question: Who forced Benazir Bhutto to stay in London and tried to prevent her return to Pakistan? Answer: General Musharraf.

Question: Who ordered the arrest of thousands of Benazir's supporters this month? Answer: General Musharraf.

Question: Who placed Benazir under temporary house arrest this month? Answer: General Musharraf.

Question: Who declared martial law this month? Answer General Musharraf.

Question: who killed Benazir Bhutto?

Er. Yes. Well quite.

You see the problem? Yesterday, our television warriors informed us the PPP members shouting that Musharraf was a "murderer" were complaining he had not provided sufficient security for Benazir. Wrong. They were shouting this because they believe he killed her.

You want some breaking news?!

DemocracyNow!

BBC

But an old friend of Ms Bhutto, Salman Tassir, told the BBC World Service he did not think criticism should be directed at the government.
"There have been suicide attacks on Gen Musharraf also," he told Newshour.
"I mean it is extremism and the fanatics who are to blame."

Ha'aretz

What makes the security failure all the more startling is the fact that it comes just weeks after the first assassination attempt following Bhutto's return to Pakistan from a lengthy political exile.

This being 'breaking news', this is just my on-the-spot knee-jerk reaction. I have to wonder, if the extremists opposed to democracy are to blame, and, that their enemies are just as much Musharraf as Bhutto or Sharif, why is the ex-General, or 'our man in Islamabad', still among us?

On a sadder note, I wonder aloud : will this be a moment of history as was the Kennedy brothers' assasinations, or just a footnote? Sure, she was but another 'democratic leader', whom the West would no doubt have found a creative way to cuddle up to. However, like my ten-year-old future mother in 1963, today I feel like crying. Not only for Benazir but for the scores of 'innocents' who died along with her.

The fantasy of endless consumption

Link

In an earlier day and age, the middle class' craving for consumption was satisfied by foreign trips, and by dowry. No more. No more do you have to wait for a rich uncle to return from London or Dubai with flashy goggles, a Walkman, and a bottle of Johnny Walker. No more is extortion through marriage the only way to acquire a Bajaj scooter of dubious fuel-efficiency. Not that these avenues, benign as well as benighted, are no longer in use. Just that these are no longer the only ones available. Your bank calls you on Diwali-eve to give you a pre-approved loan of half a million rupees. What for, you ask. The call centre employee at the other end is incredulous: "You mean don't want to buy anything?"

Debt servicing becomes a critical part of the monthly budget. Some cope, some don't. Those who do, trapeze from one high-paying job to the next higher-paying job. Consumption has to be kept up. The only way to do so is to ensure that you don't hang around in the same company too long. This is of course the very opposite of what our fathers and uncles believed in. In those Five Year Plan days, you joined a company and grew with it. Today, though, if you want to keep up with servicing your debt, fidelity to job is anathema.

Good news : Cops don't google!

Guardian

She turned to the internet after becoming suspicious about the story, which has gripped the world's attention, and she admitted her scepticism had paid dividends.

She told the Mirror that the Darwins should be nominated for a "World's Dumbest award".

A sort of non-lethal Darwin Award, maybe. I know, very easy!

Try it yourself!

Surprise surprise

US intelligence tells us Iran stopped it's nuclear weapons programme four years ago.

What's new?

No peers for Darfur

BBC

Jean-Marie Guehenno told the United Nations Security Council that excessive demands from Khartoum "would make it impossible for the mission to operate".

BBC

Two British Muslim members of the House of Lords have arrived in Sudan to push for the release of a British teacher imprisoned for insulting religion.