Small chance of a big upset in Bennelong
Andrew Wilkie, the former intelligence officer who resigned from the Office of National Assessments (ONA) last year, says he gives himself a small chance of creating a big upset on election day.
Mr Wilkie resigned from his position in March last year and is now contesting John Howard's seat of Bennelong as a Greens candidate.
He told a meeting that although he is known for his resignation over the Government's stance on the Iraq war, he is involved in bigger issues.
'I'm linked very much to the Iraq war, that was how I came to public attention when I resigned over the war about 18 months ago,' he said.
'But in some ways the Iraq war is now a symptom of much broader issues that I'm campaigning on, issues such as the Howard Government's dishonesty [and] the Howard Government's accountability.'
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Monday, September 27, 2004
WEIRD SCIENCE
Putting things in perspective
Why exactly does parapsychology have such a bad rep? I am not talking about the "study" of UFO's and Bigfoot sightings. I am talking about the statistical analysis of data collected in legitimate, controlled scientific experiments. Modern-day parapsychology experiments involve electromagnetic shielding, Random Event Generators based on quantum processes, computer-randomized image selection and many other rigorous protocols employed throughout the sciences.
They yield evidence that is extremely statistically significant (evidence that wouldn't be questioned if it appeared in a psychological or pharmacological context). They yield evidence of a phenomenon in nature that cannot be explained away by our current body of knowledge—a phenomenon for which there is not yet a paradigm.
Why exactly does parapsychology have such a bad rep? I am not talking about the "study" of UFO's and Bigfoot sightings. I am talking about the statistical analysis of data collected in legitimate, controlled scientific experiments. Modern-day parapsychology experiments involve electromagnetic shielding, Random Event Generators based on quantum processes, computer-randomized image selection and many other rigorous protocols employed throughout the sciences.
They yield evidence that is extremely statistically significant (evidence that wouldn't be questioned if it appeared in a psychological or pharmacological context). They yield evidence of a phenomenon in nature that cannot be explained away by our current body of knowledge—a phenomenon for which there is not yet a paradigm.
NEW WORLD ORDER
Time to recognize State terror
On the atrocity at Beslan, Blair is allowed to say, without irony or challenge, that 'this international terrorism will not prevail.' These are the same words spoken by Mussolini soon after he had bombed civilians in Abyssinia.
"Few of us", wrote the playwright Arthur Miller, "can easily surrender our belief that society must somehow make sense. The thought that the state has lost its mind and is punishing so many innocent people is intolerable. And so the evidence has to be internally denied."
The occupation of Iraq is presented as "a mess": a blundering, incompetent American military up against Islamic fanatics. In truth, the occupation is a systematic, murderous assault on a civilian population by a corrupt American officer class, given license by its superiors in Washington. Last May, the US Marines used battle tanks and helicopter gunships to attack the slums of Fallujah. They admitted killing 600 people, a figure far greater than the total number of civilians killed by the "insurgents" during the past year.
The generals were candid; this futile slaughter was an act of revenge for the killing of three American mercenaries. Sixty years earlier, the SS Das Reich division killed 600 French civilians at Oradour-sur-Glane as revenge for the kidnapping of a German officer by the resistance. Is there a difference?
On September 7, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 16 Israelis in the town of Beersheba. Every television news report allowed the Israeli government spokesman to use this tragedy to justify the building of an apartheid wall – when the wall is pivotal to the causes of Palestinian violence. Almost every news report marked the end of a five-month period of "relative peace and calm" and "a lull in the violence." During those five months of relative peace and calm, almost 400 Palestinians were killed, 71 of them in assassinations. During the lull in the violence, more than 73 Palestinian children were killed. A 13-year-old was murdered with a bullet through the heart, a 5-year-old was shot in her face as she walked arm in arm with her 2-year-old sister. The body of Mazen Majid, aged 14, was riddled with 18 Israeli bullets as he and his family fled their bulldozed home.
The truth about Chechnya is similarly suppressed. On February 4, 2000, Russian aircraft attacked the Chechen village of Katyr Yurt. They used "vacuum bombs," which release petrol vapor and suck people's lungs out, and are banned under the Geneva Convention. The Russians bombed a convoy of survivors under a white flag. They murdered 363 men, women and children. It was one of countless, little-known acts of terrorism in Chechnya perpetrated by the Russian state, whose leader, Vladimir Putin, has the "complete solidarity" of Tony Blair.
On the atrocity at Beslan, Blair is allowed to say, without irony or challenge, that 'this international terrorism will not prevail.' These are the same words spoken by Mussolini soon after he had bombed civilians in Abyssinia.
"Few of us", wrote the playwright Arthur Miller, "can easily surrender our belief that society must somehow make sense. The thought that the state has lost its mind and is punishing so many innocent people is intolerable. And so the evidence has to be internally denied."
The occupation of Iraq is presented as "a mess": a blundering, incompetent American military up against Islamic fanatics. In truth, the occupation is a systematic, murderous assault on a civilian population by a corrupt American officer class, given license by its superiors in Washington. Last May, the US Marines used battle tanks and helicopter gunships to attack the slums of Fallujah. They admitted killing 600 people, a figure far greater than the total number of civilians killed by the "insurgents" during the past year.
The generals were candid; this futile slaughter was an act of revenge for the killing of three American mercenaries. Sixty years earlier, the SS Das Reich division killed 600 French civilians at Oradour-sur-Glane as revenge for the kidnapping of a German officer by the resistance. Is there a difference?
On September 7, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 16 Israelis in the town of Beersheba. Every television news report allowed the Israeli government spokesman to use this tragedy to justify the building of an apartheid wall – when the wall is pivotal to the causes of Palestinian violence. Almost every news report marked the end of a five-month period of "relative peace and calm" and "a lull in the violence." During those five months of relative peace and calm, almost 400 Palestinians were killed, 71 of them in assassinations. During the lull in the violence, more than 73 Palestinian children were killed. A 13-year-old was murdered with a bullet through the heart, a 5-year-old was shot in her face as she walked arm in arm with her 2-year-old sister. The body of Mazen Majid, aged 14, was riddled with 18 Israeli bullets as he and his family fled their bulldozed home.
The truth about Chechnya is similarly suppressed. On February 4, 2000, Russian aircraft attacked the Chechen village of Katyr Yurt. They used "vacuum bombs," which release petrol vapor and suck people's lungs out, and are banned under the Geneva Convention. The Russians bombed a convoy of survivors under a white flag. They murdered 363 men, women and children. It was one of countless, little-known acts of terrorism in Chechnya perpetrated by the Russian state, whose leader, Vladimir Putin, has the "complete solidarity" of Tony Blair.
PROPAGANDA CENTRAL
Seventeen techniques for truth suppression
#3. Characterize the charges as 'rumors' or, better yet, 'wild rumors.' If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through 'rumors.' (If they tend to believe the 'rumors' it must be because they are simply 'paranoid' or 'hysterical')..
#3. Characterize the charges as 'rumors' or, better yet, 'wild rumors.' If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through 'rumors.' (If they tend to believe the 'rumors' it must be because they are simply 'paranoid' or 'hysterical')..
QUOTE
Pretender to the throne
"It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master." - Ayn Rand
FEAR AND LOATHING
Totalitarian America: where fear can lead to
One of the major, if not the major, driving forces behind American international behaviour is fear. The United States is afraid of the world, of anything foreign or different. It does not understand that which is different, does not even try to understand otherness.
The US is fast becoming a totalitarian, militaristic society, increasingly intolerant of different economic and political systems. Washington’s policy of pursuing the elusive goal of absolute national security is in fact making both America and the world more and more unstable and dangerous.
The American President George W Bush states: "We want total victory in Iraq; we will get total victory." "You are either with us or against us."
This approach makes any opponent a total opponent, foe and enemy. But it signifies also a self-inflicted predicament and dilemma.
Self-righteousness and bigotry form the psychological basis of the American attitude. Solutions are to be absolute, evil has to be eradicated totally. America has no trust in anybody, not in international agreements, norms, rules, arrangements, nor in international law.
The US attitude is:
* Listen, obey and follow and the future will be of peace, harmony, freedom, democracy, prosperity and happiness forever.
* If you don’t follow we have to force you, show you the way, put you on the right track and bring you the happiness you are unable to provide for yourselves.
The American way of thinking, its basic convictions and ideology are the greatest threat to the freedom, the diversity, the dignity and the self-esteem of people worldwide. This attitude has put the United States on an authoritarian path that may lead to a totalitarian, fascistic paradigm.
Guantanamo Bay highlights American despotism, ruthlessness, cruelty and profound contempt for anything that Western civilisation supposedly stands for. The most frightening thing about all this is that there is almost no opposition in the United States, no public outcry, no large popular groups venting their concerns.
One of the major, if not the major, driving forces behind American international behaviour is fear. The United States is afraid of the world, of anything foreign or different. It does not understand that which is different, does not even try to understand otherness.
The US is fast becoming a totalitarian, militaristic society, increasingly intolerant of different economic and political systems. Washington’s policy of pursuing the elusive goal of absolute national security is in fact making both America and the world more and more unstable and dangerous.
The American President George W Bush states: "We want total victory in Iraq; we will get total victory." "You are either with us or against us."
This approach makes any opponent a total opponent, foe and enemy. But it signifies also a self-inflicted predicament and dilemma.
Self-righteousness and bigotry form the psychological basis of the American attitude. Solutions are to be absolute, evil has to be eradicated totally. America has no trust in anybody, not in international agreements, norms, rules, arrangements, nor in international law.
The US attitude is:
* Listen, obey and follow and the future will be of peace, harmony, freedom, democracy, prosperity and happiness forever.
* If you don’t follow we have to force you, show you the way, put you on the right track and bring you the happiness you are unable to provide for yourselves.
The American way of thinking, its basic convictions and ideology are the greatest threat to the freedom, the diversity, the dignity and the self-esteem of people worldwide. This attitude has put the United States on an authoritarian path that may lead to a totalitarian, fascistic paradigm.
Guantanamo Bay highlights American despotism, ruthlessness, cruelty and profound contempt for anything that Western civilisation supposedly stands for. The most frightening thing about all this is that there is almost no opposition in the United States, no public outcry, no large popular groups venting their concerns.
ENDLESS WAR
The Pentagon's new map: our Government's hellish vision of endless war against hapless Third-Worlders
The entire "Core" has been targeted. To get Australians and New Zealanders on board, the Bali bombing was staged shortly after 9-11. To get even Old Europe on board, and save Aznar's servile government from the righteous wrath of the Spanish people, the Madrid bombs blew, but then politically backfired, badly. And presently, coordinated airplane downings and the horrors of Beslan are warping the minds and hearts of Russians towards war just as 9-11 warped our own, for a while anyway.
The entire "Core" has been targeted. To get Australians and New Zealanders on board, the Bali bombing was staged shortly after 9-11. To get even Old Europe on board, and save Aznar's servile government from the righteous wrath of the Spanish people, the Madrid bombs blew, but then politically backfired, badly. And presently, coordinated airplane downings and the horrors of Beslan are warping the minds and hearts of Russians towards war just as 9-11 warped our own, for a while anyway.
POLICE STATE
Little Guantanamo set up for Republican Convention
Wendy Stefanelli, a 35-year-old TV hair stylist, spent several hours locked in a hot bus--the weather was humid with temperature in the high 80s--with a man whose colostomy bag had burst. 'He was throwing up all over the back of the bus,' she said. 'The entire bus begged the officers present to please get medical attention to this man. They completely ignored us.'
Children, some who happened to be walking down the street when the cops arrested everyone present, were locked up for several days. Police refused to tell their frantic parents where they were. Adding to the misery was a resinous layer of gasoline and toxic cleansers coating the floor. "Everybody was laying in filth," said Cincotta. "Nobody was sleeping. A lot of people were screaming in agony."
"My experience wasn't nearly as bad as other folks'," says Jon Goldberg, 26, of Brooklyn. "There were people roughed up who were not resisting arrest. I saw one person with bruising on his head; he said a cop had kneeled on his head. A lot of people had their cameras destroyed. One had his photos deleted except for one, a new image of a police officer's boots and his hand protruding toward the lens--showing 'the finger.'"
Wendy Stefanelli, a 35-year-old TV hair stylist, spent several hours locked in a hot bus--the weather was humid with temperature in the high 80s--with a man whose colostomy bag had burst. 'He was throwing up all over the back of the bus,' she said. 'The entire bus begged the officers present to please get medical attention to this man. They completely ignored us.'
Children, some who happened to be walking down the street when the cops arrested everyone present, were locked up for several days. Police refused to tell their frantic parents where they were. Adding to the misery was a resinous layer of gasoline and toxic cleansers coating the floor. "Everybody was laying in filth," said Cincotta. "Nobody was sleeping. A lot of people were screaming in agony."
"My experience wasn't nearly as bad as other folks'," says Jon Goldberg, 26, of Brooklyn. "There were people roughed up who were not resisting arrest. I saw one person with bruising on his head; he said a cop had kneeled on his head. A lot of people had their cameras destroyed. One had his photos deleted except for one, a new image of a police officer's boots and his hand protruding toward the lens--showing 'the finger.'"
POLICE STATE
Convention detention
A graduate student at Columbia University, Alex Pincus, 28, and a friend rode their bikes over to the Second Avenue Deli on Friday evening to buy dinner. As they were waiting, they saw that the block had filled with bicyclists. These, they later learned, were some of the 5000 people who had taken part in the Critical Mass ride, pedaling through Manhattan streets shouting anti-Bush slogans.
When Pincus and his pal, Isa Wipfli, 29, went to retrieve their own bikes, they found that police had cordoned off the block at both ends. Pincus approached a nearby officer. 'I said, 'Hi. We're just here buying dinner. We're not involved. How do we get out of here?' ' Pincus said the cop led them down the street and then called two other police officers over, and shouted, 'These guys!'
Pincus and Wipfli were immediately seized. "We tried to show them the bags of food and the receipt. We said, 'Look, it's still warm.' They wouldn't listen."
What Pincus was more worried about was his chronically ailing shoulder as cops pulled his arms back and placed him in plastic flex-cuffs. "I tried to tell them I can't put it in that position, that it will dislocate. Instead, they pulled my shoulder out of its socket. The pain was tremendous."
A graduate student at Columbia University, Alex Pincus, 28, and a friend rode their bikes over to the Second Avenue Deli on Friday evening to buy dinner. As they were waiting, they saw that the block had filled with bicyclists. These, they later learned, were some of the 5000 people who had taken part in the Critical Mass ride, pedaling through Manhattan streets shouting anti-Bush slogans.
When Pincus and his pal, Isa Wipfli, 29, went to retrieve their own bikes, they found that police had cordoned off the block at both ends. Pincus approached a nearby officer. 'I said, 'Hi. We're just here buying dinner. We're not involved. How do we get out of here?' ' Pincus said the cop led them down the street and then called two other police officers over, and shouted, 'These guys!'
Pincus and Wipfli were immediately seized. "We tried to show them the bags of food and the receipt. We said, 'Look, it's still warm.' They wouldn't listen."
What Pincus was more worried about was his chronically ailing shoulder as cops pulled his arms back and placed him in plastic flex-cuffs. "I tried to tell them I can't put it in that position, that it will dislocate. Instead, they pulled my shoulder out of its socket. The pain was tremendous."
FASCISTS MARCH
Germany agonizes over neo-Nazis' resurgence
Neo-Nazi parties took seats in German legislatures this week for the first time in 36 years. The top-selling film in German movie theatres was a controversial new drama that portrays a sensitive, human Adolf Hitler. And protests from Jewish groups and German activists failed to stop the display of a collection allegedly assembled from the Nazi slave-labour fortunes.
It was a bizarre and disquieting week in Germany, full of dark echoes of the 1920s and featuring several bizarre spectacles. Whenever the newly elected fascists were asked questions on TV news shows, politicians from major parties got up, took off their microphones and stormed out of the studios. A 35-year-old woman cartwheeled across an art-gallery floor before kicking apart major works of modern art in a protest against owner Friedrich Christian Flick, grandson of a Nazi war criminal.
Neo-Nazi parties took seats in German legislatures this week for the first time in 36 years. The top-selling film in German movie theatres was a controversial new drama that portrays a sensitive, human Adolf Hitler. And protests from Jewish groups and German activists failed to stop the display of a collection allegedly assembled from the Nazi slave-labour fortunes.
It was a bizarre and disquieting week in Germany, full of dark echoes of the 1920s and featuring several bizarre spectacles. Whenever the newly elected fascists were asked questions on TV news shows, politicians from major parties got up, took off their microphones and stormed out of the studios. A 35-year-old woman cartwheeled across an art-gallery floor before kicking apart major works of modern art in a protest against owner Friedrich Christian Flick, grandson of a Nazi war criminal.
PROPAGANDA CENTRAL
How to avoid becoming an anti-American
Arabs don't really care much that we've starved, strangled, tortured, beaten, bombed, bulldozed, killed, and maimed them directly or indirectly for decades, because - unlike us - they don't place much value on human life. The real reason they hate us is because of their mindless, reckless hatred of everything that's good in the world (that's us), because we are free, democratic and virtuous.
Arabs don't really care much that we've starved, strangled, tortured, beaten, bombed, bulldozed, killed, and maimed them directly or indirectly for decades, because - unlike us - they don't place much value on human life. The real reason they hate us is because of their mindless, reckless hatred of everything that's good in the world (that's us), because we are free, democratic and virtuous.
DA BOMB
Twisting Dr. Nuke's arm
If a nuclear weapon destroys the U.S. Capitol in coming years, it will probably be based in part on Pakistani technology. The biggest challenge to civilization in recent years came not from Osama or Saddam Hussein but from Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb. Dr. Khan definitely sold nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya, and, officials believe, to several more nations as well.
But, amazingly, eight months after Dr. Khan publicly confessed, we still don't know who the rest of his customers were. Mr. Musharraf acknowledged as much in an interview.
If a nuclear weapon destroys the U.S. Capitol in coming years, it will probably be based in part on Pakistani technology. The biggest challenge to civilization in recent years came not from Osama or Saddam Hussein but from Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb. Dr. Khan definitely sold nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya, and, officials believe, to several more nations as well.
But, amazingly, eight months after Dr. Khan publicly confessed, we still don't know who the rest of his customers were. Mr. Musharraf acknowledged as much in an interview.
Friday, September 24, 2004
THOU SHALT NOT
Disgraced Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart threatens to kill gays
'I'm trying to find the correct name for it ... this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. ... I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died.'
The remarks were met with applause from his congregation.
'I'm trying to find the correct name for it ... this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. ... I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died.'
The remarks were met with applause from his congregation.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
OUR COSMOS
Mysterious signals from light years away
Astronomers involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) pointed the massive radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, at around 200 sections of the sky.
The same telescope had previously detected unexplained radio signals at least twice from each of these regions, and the astronomers were trying to reconfirm the findings. The team has now finished analysing the data, and all the signals seem to have disappeared. Except one, which has got stronger.
Astronomers deny ET signal report
The giant Arecibo telescope is used to scan the skies
Astronomers have moved swiftly to quell speculation they may have received a deep-space radio signal from ET.
"It's all hype and noise," said SETI chief scientist, Dr Dan Wertheimer. "We have nothing that is unusual. It's all out of proportion."
Dr. Paul Horowitz of Harvard has informed reporters that it is not being investigated further.
CLOAK AND DAGGER
US government accused of carrying out 9/11 and racketeering: but will it get to court?
INTERVIEWER: They had drills on 9/11, that’s why NORAD stood down. Cheney was in control of the whole thing. Stanley Hilton has now gotten documents about how Bush ordered the whole operation. And I’ll tell you right now, his life is in danger.
STANLEY HILTON: Individuals that work in NORAD as well as the Air Force have stated this, off the record, but the point is, yes, this was not just five drills but at least 35 drills over at least two months before September 11th. Everything was planned, the exact location
[The MP3 of this interview is available here.]
INTERVIEWER: They had drills on 9/11, that’s why NORAD stood down. Cheney was in control of the whole thing. Stanley Hilton has now gotten documents about how Bush ordered the whole operation. And I’ll tell you right now, his life is in danger.
STANLEY HILTON: Individuals that work in NORAD as well as the Air Force have stated this, off the record, but the point is, yes, this was not just five drills but at least 35 drills over at least two months before September 11th. Everything was planned, the exact location
[The MP3 of this interview is available here.]
FREE SPEECH COSTLY
Saudi professor sentenced for speaking out
A Saudi court sentenced a university professor to five years in prison Sunday on charges of sowing dissent after he compared U.S. killings of Iraqi civilians to Osama bin Laden's terror attacks.
Saeed bin Mubarak al-Zaeer, a 57-year-old university professor, was sentenced by the court in the capital Riyadh. The sentencing took place without the presence of a lawyer representing al-Zaeer.
Al-Zaeer was detained by security forces in April after he appeared on the Al-Jazeera television station and made the comparison.
A Saudi court sentenced a university professor to five years in prison Sunday on charges of sowing dissent after he compared U.S. killings of Iraqi civilians to Osama bin Laden's terror attacks.
Saeed bin Mubarak al-Zaeer, a 57-year-old university professor, was sentenced by the court in the capital Riyadh. The sentencing took place without the presence of a lawyer representing al-Zaeer.
Al-Zaeer was detained by security forces in April after he appeared on the Al-Jazeera television station and made the comparison.
POLICE STATE
FBI has anti-terror 'October Plan'
An internal e-mail advisory to supervisory agents this week from the FBI's "'04 Threat Task Force" said the purpose of the counter-offensive is "to foster the impression that law enforcement is focused on individuals who may be a threat."
Specifically, the plan calls for "aggressive - even obvious - surveillance" techniques to be used on a short list of people suspected of being terrorist sympathizers, but who have not committed a crime. Other "persons of interest," including their family members, may also be brought in for questioning, one source said.
One element of the FBI plan calls for addressing what it fears could be a wave of protests from Arab-Americans and civil libertarians once the so-called "October Plan" kicks off.
An internal e-mail advisory to supervisory agents this week from the FBI's "'04 Threat Task Force" said the purpose of the counter-offensive is "to foster the impression that law enforcement is focused on individuals who may be a threat."
Specifically, the plan calls for "aggressive - even obvious - surveillance" techniques to be used on a short list of people suspected of being terrorist sympathizers, but who have not committed a crime. Other "persons of interest," including their family members, may also be brought in for questioning, one source said.
One element of the FBI plan calls for addressing what it fears could be a wave of protests from Arab-Americans and civil libertarians once the so-called "October Plan" kicks off.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
PLANE SIGHT
9-11 Mysteries all over the place
American Free Press visited Somerset County to look into some of the questions surrounding United Airlines Flight 93, which allegedly turned over and crashed in a refilled strip mine between Lambertsville and Shanksville, Pa., taking 44 lives with it.
Many local residents believe the plane was shot down, which they say would explain why parts of the plane and its contents were found strewn over a large area.
One question, “is what happened to the physical wreckage of the plane?”
“There was no plane,” Ernie Stull, mayor of Shanksville, told German television in March 2003.
American Free Press visited Somerset County to look into some of the questions surrounding United Airlines Flight 93, which allegedly turned over and crashed in a refilled strip mine between Lambertsville and Shanksville, Pa., taking 44 lives with it.
Many local residents believe the plane was shot down, which they say would explain why parts of the plane and its contents were found strewn over a large area.
One question, “is what happened to the physical wreckage of the plane?”
“There was no plane,” Ernie Stull, mayor of Shanksville, told German television in March 2003.
LAW IS AN ASS
Widow fights back-door attempt to dismiss 911 suit against GW Bush and co
The Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) lawsuit filed by New Hampshire widow Ellen Mariani (wife of 9-11 victim Neil Mariani) against President Bush and other high-ranking officials could be jeopardized by her step-daughter Lauren Peters' recent actions after meeting with an attorney from a Florida-based law firm with multiple close ties to the Bush administration. Miami's Greenberg-Traurig firm was hired by George W. Bush to represent his legal interests in the Bush-Gore 2000 election recount.
Since her meeting in the Greenberg-Traurig offices, Peters has been attempting to assume administrative and financial control of Neil Mariani's estate, accusing Mariani of incompetence in her capacity as estate administratrix because she refused to accept a settlement from the 9-11 Victims' Compensation fund.
The Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) lawsuit filed by New Hampshire widow Ellen Mariani (wife of 9-11 victim Neil Mariani) against President Bush and other high-ranking officials could be jeopardized by her step-daughter Lauren Peters' recent actions after meeting with an attorney from a Florida-based law firm with multiple close ties to the Bush administration. Miami's Greenberg-Traurig firm was hired by George W. Bush to represent his legal interests in the Bush-Gore 2000 election recount.
Since her meeting in the Greenberg-Traurig offices, Peters has been attempting to assume administrative and financial control of Neil Mariani's estate, accusing Mariani of incompetence in her capacity as estate administratrix because she refused to accept a settlement from the 9-11 Victims' Compensation fund.
EARTH CHANGES
Natural disasters 'on the rise'
More and more people are being caught up in a growing number of natural disasters, a UN agency said on Friday.
The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction said the increase in numbers vulnerable to natural shocks was due partly to global warming.
It said 254 million people were affected by natural hazards last year - nearly three times as many as in 1990.
The assessment comes as the Caribbean and the US are being hit by a series of devastating hurricanes.
More and more people are being caught up in a growing number of natural disasters, a UN agency said on Friday.
The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction said the increase in numbers vulnerable to natural shocks was due partly to global warming.
It said 254 million people were affected by natural hazards last year - nearly three times as many as in 1990.
The assessment comes as the Caribbean and the US are being hit by a series of devastating hurricanes.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
No gold stars, just handcuffs
Sue Niederer, 55, of Hopewell, N.J., got handcuffed, arrested and charged with a crime for daring to challenge the Bush policy in Iraq, where her son, Army First Lt. Seth Dvorin, 24, died in February while attempting to disarm a bomb.
She came to a Laura Bush rally last week at a firehouse in Hamilton, N.J., wearing a T-shirt that blazed with her agony and anger: 'President Bush You Killed My Son'.
Mrs. Niederer tried to shout while the first lady was delivering her standard ode to her husband's efforts to fight terrorism. She wanted to know why the Bush twins weren't serving in Iraq 'if it's such a justified war,' as she put it afterward.
The mother of the dead soldier was boxed in by Bush supporters yelling 'Four more years!' and wielding 'Bush/Cheney' signs. Though she eventually left voluntarily, she was charged with trespassing while talking to reporters.
The moment was emblematic of how far the Bushies will go to squelch any voice that presents a view of Iraq that's different from the sunny party line, which they continue to dish out despite a torrent of alarming evidence to the contrary.
Sue Niederer, 55, of Hopewell, N.J., got handcuffed, arrested and charged with a crime for daring to challenge the Bush policy in Iraq, where her son, Army First Lt. Seth Dvorin, 24, died in February while attempting to disarm a bomb.
She came to a Laura Bush rally last week at a firehouse in Hamilton, N.J., wearing a T-shirt that blazed with her agony and anger: 'President Bush You Killed My Son'.
Mrs. Niederer tried to shout while the first lady was delivering her standard ode to her husband's efforts to fight terrorism. She wanted to know why the Bush twins weren't serving in Iraq 'if it's such a justified war,' as she put it afterward.
The mother of the dead soldier was boxed in by Bush supporters yelling 'Four more years!' and wielding 'Bush/Cheney' signs. Though she eventually left voluntarily, she was charged with trespassing while talking to reporters.
The moment was emblematic of how far the Bushies will go to squelch any voice that presents a view of Iraq that's different from the sunny party line, which they continue to dish out despite a torrent of alarming evidence to the contrary.
FEEL A DRAFT?
US runs low on soldiers
'If Bush gets in I think a draft is a distinct possibility,' says Eric Ellis, a Vietnam veteran. He isn't alone.
Officially, the draft is a non-starter. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has ruled it out. The Selective Service Agency, the federal body that would run a draft, doesn't 'foresee anything on the horizon'. Neither Bush nor his presidential rival, Senator John Kerry, have mentioned it.
But this could change quickly. Should Washington give the go-ahead, America's 1980 draft boards, staffed by 11,000 volunteers, are 'ready to do business'.
Currently, there are two private members' bills in Congress, one in the House and one in the Senate, to re-enact the draft.
"Once the presidential election is done I think there will be strong pressure on Congress to look at the draft," says Professor Don Zillman, a expert on the subject at the University of Maine in Portland.
"I think at this stage it would be unpopular. But if we have another terrorist attack closer to home, all bets are off."
'If Bush gets in I think a draft is a distinct possibility,' says Eric Ellis, a Vietnam veteran. He isn't alone.
Officially, the draft is a non-starter. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has ruled it out. The Selective Service Agency, the federal body that would run a draft, doesn't 'foresee anything on the horizon'. Neither Bush nor his presidential rival, Senator John Kerry, have mentioned it.
But this could change quickly. Should Washington give the go-ahead, America's 1980 draft boards, staffed by 11,000 volunteers, are 'ready to do business'.
Currently, there are two private members' bills in Congress, one in the House and one in the Senate, to re-enact the draft.
"Once the presidential election is done I think there will be strong pressure on Congress to look at the draft," says Professor Don Zillman, a expert on the subject at the University of Maine in Portland.
"I think at this stage it would be unpopular. But if we have another terrorist attack closer to home, all bets are off."
Sunday, September 19, 2004
MACHINES TAKE OVER
Smelly robot eats flies to generate its own power
British scientists are developing a robot that will generate its own power by eating flies.
The idea is to produce electricity by catching flies and digesting them in special fuel cells that will break down sugar in the insects' skeletons and release electrons that will drive an electric current.
'Called EcoBot II, the robot is part of a drive to make 'release and forget' robots that can be sent into dangerous or inhospitable areas to carry our remote industrial or military monitoring of, say, temperature or toxic gas concentrations,' New Scientist magazine reported.
British scientists are developing a robot that will generate its own power by eating flies.
The idea is to produce electricity by catching flies and digesting them in special fuel cells that will break down sugar in the insects' skeletons and release electrons that will drive an electric current.
'Called EcoBot II, the robot is part of a drive to make 'release and forget' robots that can be sent into dangerous or inhospitable areas to carry our remote industrial or military monitoring of, say, temperature or toxic gas concentrations,' New Scientist magazine reported.
UNCONVENTIONAL REPUBLIC
The new Homeland Security State
On the third night the Republican Convention was in town, I attended a modest demonstration against the imperial broadcast media.
The 'march,' which you might want to imagine as a serpentine creature heading south on New York's Sixth Avenue, had actually been chopped into a series of one-block long segments by the New York Police Department. Each small segment was penned on its sides by moveable wooden barricades and on either end by the wheel-to-wheel bikes of a seemingly endless supply of mounted policemen backed up by all manner of police vehicles. Though the photographing of protestors is an old practice, it once had a somewhat surreptitious quality to it. Not here (or anywhere else in the city that week) -- police in uniform were openly videoing the crowd. To 'march,' that is, actually meant to step from pen to pen, hemmed in everywhere, your protest at the mercy of the timing, tactics, and desires of the police. It was one of many sobering moments that week.
No Patriot Act victims? Tell that to Ms Starr: The RNC's 'Little Guantanamo'
My 21-year old daughter disappeared from NYC last Tuesday afternoon when walking with friends through a park where no protest was being held -- and was held prisoner -- without being charged -- by the NYPD for three days.
The first day and night she spent in an unsafe and inhumane facility at Pier 57 ("Little Guantanamo") provided by the Republican Party. Yes, it was managed by the Republican National Committe. It was leased by the RNC to hold political dissenters who disagreed with the Bush administration. The second two days, my daughter was in a city jail in Manhattan, where her treatment improved.
The notorious Pier 57 (owned by the HudsonRiver Trust--a city/state consortium) was dubbed "Little Guantanamo" by reporters who also got caught up in police sweeps and who said it looked like the Guantanamo Bay prison built by the USA to hold the Al Qaeda terrorist political prisoners in Cuba.
[Maui news article.]
On the third night the Republican Convention was in town, I attended a modest demonstration against the imperial broadcast media.
The 'march,' which you might want to imagine as a serpentine creature heading south on New York's Sixth Avenue, had actually been chopped into a series of one-block long segments by the New York Police Department. Each small segment was penned on its sides by moveable wooden barricades and on either end by the wheel-to-wheel bikes of a seemingly endless supply of mounted policemen backed up by all manner of police vehicles. Though the photographing of protestors is an old practice, it once had a somewhat surreptitious quality to it. Not here (or anywhere else in the city that week) -- police in uniform were openly videoing the crowd. To 'march,' that is, actually meant to step from pen to pen, hemmed in everywhere, your protest at the mercy of the timing, tactics, and desires of the police. It was one of many sobering moments that week.
No Patriot Act victims? Tell that to Ms Starr: The RNC's 'Little Guantanamo'
My 21-year old daughter disappeared from NYC last Tuesday afternoon when walking with friends through a park where no protest was being held -- and was held prisoner -- without being charged -- by the NYPD for three days.
The first day and night she spent in an unsafe and inhumane facility at Pier 57 ("Little Guantanamo") provided by the Republican Party. Yes, it was managed by the Republican National Committe. It was leased by the RNC to hold political dissenters who disagreed with the Bush administration. The second two days, my daughter was in a city jail in Manhattan, where her treatment improved.
The notorious Pier 57 (owned by the HudsonRiver Trust--a city/state consortium) was dubbed "Little Guantanamo" by reporters who also got caught up in police sweeps and who said it looked like the Guantanamo Bay prison built by the USA to hold the Al Qaeda terrorist political prisoners in Cuba.
[Maui news article.]
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
BUSH BASHING
Don't mess with the Bushes
Bestselling author Kitty Kelley's withering portrait of the Bush dynasty, The Family, is landing in bookstores on Tuesday - more than 720,000 copies of it. And the White House is already on high alert.
While Bush's Camp David coke party is getting most of the headlines, Kelley's book is filled with many other tawdry stories about the Bush dynasty.
Here is a family that looks 'like The Donna Reed Show, and then you see it's The Sopranos', Kelley tells Salon.
[S:] What do you think W will do if he loses in November? Will he happily go back to baseball?
[KK:] No. You know something that I have found out from this family after four years - he doesn't plan to lose. They know how to win - no matter what.
[S:] What does that mean?
[KK:] That means these people can put the Sopranos to shame.
[S:] Does that mean vote stealing?
[KK:] That's a bit overt. But nothing will stand in the way of these people winning. Nothing.
As one of W's Yalie frat brothers tells Kelley, it's not the substance abuse in Bush's past that's disturbing, it's the "lack of substance ... Georgie, as we called him, had absolutely no intellectual curiosity about anything. He wasn't interested in ideas or in books or causes. He didn't travel; he didn't read the newspapers; he didn't watch the news; he didn't even go to the movies. How anyone got out of Yale without developing some interest in the world besides booze and sports stuns me."
Bestselling author Kitty Kelley's withering portrait of the Bush dynasty, The Family, is landing in bookstores on Tuesday - more than 720,000 copies of it. And the White House is already on high alert.
While Bush's Camp David coke party is getting most of the headlines, Kelley's book is filled with many other tawdry stories about the Bush dynasty.
Here is a family that looks 'like The Donna Reed Show, and then you see it's The Sopranos', Kelley tells Salon.
[S:] What do you think W will do if he loses in November? Will he happily go back to baseball?
[KK:] No. You know something that I have found out from this family after four years - he doesn't plan to lose. They know how to win - no matter what.
[S:] What does that mean?
[KK:] That means these people can put the Sopranos to shame.
[S:] Does that mean vote stealing?
[KK:] That's a bit overt. But nothing will stand in the way of these people winning. Nothing.
As one of W's Yalie frat brothers tells Kelley, it's not the substance abuse in Bush's past that's disturbing, it's the "lack of substance ... Georgie, as we called him, had absolutely no intellectual curiosity about anything. He wasn't interested in ideas or in books or causes. He didn't travel; he didn't read the newspapers; he didn't watch the news; he didn't even go to the movies. How anyone got out of Yale without developing some interest in the world besides booze and sports stuns me."
TRUTH A CASUALTY
Dozens killed in massive Baghdad blast
Instead of three hours after the ambush, when the people on the scene were mainly curious locals and journalist, the US says the helicopter strike was at 0730, 40 minutes after the Bradley was attacked at 0650.
In the first explanation of events offered by the US military early on Sunday evening, the helicopter was said to have blown up the wrecked Bradley "to prevent looting and harm to the Iraqi people".
ENDLESS CRUSADE
Why West is losing
The definitive book on terrorism has appeared that should be mandatory reading for every thinking person. It's called Imperial Hubris: Why The West is Losing the War on Terror.
The cover simply identifies the author as "Anonymous," but he's already been widely identified in the American media as Michael Scheuer, a senior terrorism analyst for the CIA.
None of bin Laden's reasons for waging war on the U.S., writes Scheuer, "have anything to do with our freedom, liberty, and democracy (as President George Bush claims), but everything to do with US policies and actions in the Muslim world," notably unlimited support for Israel's repression of the Palestinians and the destruction of Iraq.
The definitive book on terrorism has appeared that should be mandatory reading for every thinking person. It's called Imperial Hubris: Why The West is Losing the War on Terror.
The cover simply identifies the author as "Anonymous," but he's already been widely identified in the American media as Michael Scheuer, a senior terrorism analyst for the CIA.
None of bin Laden's reasons for waging war on the U.S., writes Scheuer, "have anything to do with our freedom, liberty, and democracy (as President George Bush claims), but everything to do with US policies and actions in the Muslim world," notably unlimited support for Israel's repression of the Palestinians and the destruction of Iraq.
CLOAK AND DAGGER
911 in Plane Site: video and photographic evidence of the largest cover-up in modern day history
What "911 In Plane Site" accomplishes that no other video expose' on September 11th has to date, is it exposes the viewer to a barrage of news clips from a majority of the mainstream news outlets. The official story of that day was told on live TV by reporters, policemen, firefighters, and other on-the-scene eyewitnesses, however, that footage was shown only once on live television broadcasts in the first hours of the attacks and then… it was never repeated. The stories changed, information was enigmatically omitted, and what can only be described as officially prescribed propaganda took the place of indisputable reality.
What "911 In Plane Site" accomplishes that no other video expose' on September 11th has to date, is it exposes the viewer to a barrage of news clips from a majority of the mainstream news outlets. The official story of that day was told on live TV by reporters, policemen, firefighters, and other on-the-scene eyewitnesses, however, that footage was shown only once on live television broadcasts in the first hours of the attacks and then… it was never repeated. The stories changed, information was enigmatically omitted, and what can only be described as officially prescribed propaganda took the place of indisputable reality.
Friday, September 10, 2004
CINEMA IN CAMERA
In a secret Paris cavern, the real underground cinema
Police in Paris have discovered a fully equipped cinema-cum-restaurant in a large and previously uncharted cavern underneath the capital's chic 16th arrondissement.
Officers admit they are at a loss to know who built or used one of Paris's most intriguing recent discoveries.
'We have no idea whatsoever,' a police spokesman said.
'There were two swastikas painted on the ceiling, but also celtic crosses and several stars of David, so we don't think it's extremists. Some sect or secret society, maybe. There are any number of possibilities.'"
Police in Paris have discovered a fully equipped cinema-cum-restaurant in a large and previously uncharted cavern underneath the capital's chic 16th arrondissement.
Officers admit they are at a loss to know who built or used one of Paris's most intriguing recent discoveries.
'We have no idea whatsoever,' a police spokesman said.
'There were two swastikas painted on the ceiling, but also celtic crosses and several stars of David, so we don't think it's extremists. Some sect or secret society, maybe. There are any number of possibilities.'"
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
CLOAK AND DAGGER
Leading Russian journalist 'poisoned'
Alarm bells are ringing in Russian media circles after the alleged poisoning of Anna Politkovskaya, one of the most outspoken critics of Vladimir Putin's policy on Chechnya, and the apparent sacking of the editor of Izvestia today.
Politkovskaya, who writes for the current affairs magazine Novaya Gazeta, was on her way to the siege in Beslan from Moscow when she collapsed mysteriously.
According to the Moscow Times today, "Politkovskaya was flying from Vnukovo Airport to Rostov-on-Don and fainted on the plane.
Immediately after landing, she was taken to a local hospital, where doctors found she had been poisoned, Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitry Muratov told the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists."
Alarm bells are ringing in Russian media circles after the alleged poisoning of Anna Politkovskaya, one of the most outspoken critics of Vladimir Putin's policy on Chechnya, and the apparent sacking of the editor of Izvestia today.
Politkovskaya, who writes for the current affairs magazine Novaya Gazeta, was on her way to the siege in Beslan from Moscow when she collapsed mysteriously.
According to the Moscow Times today, "Politkovskaya was flying from Vnukovo Airport to Rostov-on-Don and fainted on the plane.
Immediately after landing, she was taken to a local hospital, where doctors found she had been poisoned, Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitry Muratov told the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists."
DEMOCRACY DEATH
California to sue Diebold over false claims
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said on Tuesday he would sue electronic voting machine maker Diebold Inc. on charges it defrauded the state with false claims about its products.
Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has said Diebold deceived California with aggressive marketing that led to the installation of touch-screen voting systems that were not tested or approved nationally or in California.
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said on Tuesday he would sue electronic voting machine maker Diebold Inc. on charges it defrauded the state with false claims about its products.
Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has said Diebold deceived California with aggressive marketing that led to the installation of touch-screen voting systems that were not tested or approved nationally or in California.
DOCTOR IN THE BIG HOUSE
Online lessons for doctors on how to deal with prisoner abuse
Experts are concerned that doctors become inured to a culture of abuse at a prison and subsequently help to sustain it.
"They get into an atrocity-producing culture," said Sverre Varvin, a researcher at the University of Oslo and Norwegian expert on ethics and human rights in jails.
Now a course has been developed by the Norwegian Medical Association (NMA) -- following studies in Turkish jails -- to help doctors address dual loyalty to the country holding the inmates captive and to their ethical code.
[An article in the British medical journal The Lancet recently accused US army doctors at Abu Ghraib jail outside Baghdad of failing to report deaths caused by beatings and helping to design abusive interrogation methods.]
Experts are concerned that doctors become inured to a culture of abuse at a prison and subsequently help to sustain it.
"They get into an atrocity-producing culture," said Sverre Varvin, a researcher at the University of Oslo and Norwegian expert on ethics and human rights in jails.
Now a course has been developed by the Norwegian Medical Association (NMA) -- following studies in Turkish jails -- to help doctors address dual loyalty to the country holding the inmates captive and to their ethical code.
[An article in the British medical journal The Lancet recently accused US army doctors at Abu Ghraib jail outside Baghdad of failing to report deaths caused by beatings and helping to design abusive interrogation methods.]
Monday, September 06, 2004
PROPAGANDA CENTRAL
The beginning of history
Fahrenheit 9/11 proposes that the White House and Pentagon were taken over in the first year of the millennium by a gang of thugs so that US power should henceforth serve the global interests of the corporations: a stark scenario which is closer to the truth than most nuanced editorials.
To denigrate the film as propaganda is either naive or perverse, forgetting (deliberately?) what the last century taught us. Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast. Propaganda invariably serves the long-term interests of some elite.
This single maverick movie is often reflectively slow and is not afraid of silence. It appeals to people to think for themselves and make connections. And it identifies with, and pleads for, those who are normally unlistened to. Making a strong case is not the same thing as saturating with propaganda. Fox TV does the latter; Michael Moore the former.
Fahrenheit 9/11 proposes that the White House and Pentagon were taken over in the first year of the millennium by a gang of thugs so that US power should henceforth serve the global interests of the corporations: a stark scenario which is closer to the truth than most nuanced editorials.
To denigrate the film as propaganda is either naive or perverse, forgetting (deliberately?) what the last century taught us. Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast. Propaganda invariably serves the long-term interests of some elite.
This single maverick movie is often reflectively slow and is not afraid of silence. It appeals to people to think for themselves and make connections. And it identifies with, and pleads for, those who are normally unlistened to. Making a strong case is not the same thing as saturating with propaganda. Fox TV does the latter; Michael Moore the former.
Friday, September 03, 2004
EARTH CHANGES
Major temperature rise recorded in Arctic this year: German scientists
German scientists probing global warming said Friday they had detected a major temperature rise this year in the Arctic Ocean and linked this to a progressive shrinking of the region's sea ice.
Temperatures recorded this year in the upper 500 metres (1,625 feet) of sea in the Fram Strait -- the gap between Greenland and the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen -- were up to 0.6 C (1.08 F) higher than in 2003, they said in a press release received here."
German scientists probing global warming said Friday they had detected a major temperature rise this year in the Arctic Ocean and linked this to a progressive shrinking of the region's sea ice.
Temperatures recorded this year in the upper 500 metres (1,625 feet) of sea in the Fram Strait -- the gap between Greenland and the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen -- were up to 0.6 C (1.08 F) higher than in 2003, they said in a press release received here."
DOUBLESPEAK
Changing tack, Bush says terror war winnable
President Bush said the war on terror could be won by America and explained away an earlier comment that it could not be by blaming his lack of articulation.
As he prepared to address the Republican Party convention in New York on Thursday, Bush found himself forced to adjust his message in a central issue for his re-election campaign.
FLASHBACK: Bush says war on terror can't be won
President Bush said that he did not think America could win the war on terror but could make terrorism less acceptable around the world, a departure from his previous optimistic statements that the United States would eventually prevail.
President Bush said the war on terror could be won by America and explained away an earlier comment that it could not be by blaming his lack of articulation.
As he prepared to address the Republican Party convention in New York on Thursday, Bush found himself forced to adjust his message in a central issue for his re-election campaign.
FLASHBACK: Bush says war on terror can't be won
President Bush said that he did not think America could win the war on terror but could make terrorism less acceptable around the world, a departure from his previous optimistic statements that the United States would eventually prevail.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
CLOAK AND DAGGER
New spy scandal comes as major blow to Israel, AIPAC
Washington was rocked late last week by allegations that a Pentagon policy analyst on Iran, Laurence A. Franklin, had passed classified information to Israel through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the leading pro-Israel lobby group in the US. He is also said to have had extensive meetings with Naor Gilon, head of the political department at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, and a specialist on Iran's nuclear weapons program.
While both AIPAC and the Israeli government have issued categorical denials of any espionage activities, most observers say that law enforcement officials would not leak the accusations if they did not have the evidence to prove their charges. Franklin is said to have provided the Israelis with a secret presidential directive on Iran related to its ongoing nuclear program.
The New York Times reported on Aug. 30 that, "news reports about the inquiry compromised important investigative steps, like the effort to follow the trail back to the Israelis".
Washington was rocked late last week by allegations that a Pentagon policy analyst on Iran, Laurence A. Franklin, had passed classified information to Israel through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the leading pro-Israel lobby group in the US. He is also said to have had extensive meetings with Naor Gilon, head of the political department at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, and a specialist on Iran's nuclear weapons program.
While both AIPAC and the Israeli government have issued categorical denials of any espionage activities, most observers say that law enforcement officials would not leak the accusations if they did not have the evidence to prove their charges. Franklin is said to have provided the Israelis with a secret presidential directive on Iran related to its ongoing nuclear program.
The New York Times reported on Aug. 30 that, "news reports about the inquiry compromised important investigative steps, like the effort to follow the trail back to the Israelis".
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