And Every Other Religion

Moses high on psychedelic drugs.

Uribe’s Hubris

“The Israel of Latin America”

Well that is what Chavez quipped as he referred to Colombia’s assault on a FARC group in Ecuador, adding-

“Colombia is a terrorist state that is subject to the great terrorist, the government of the United States and their apparatus,” 

No words minced there, the attack turns out to be a lot bigger operation than a quick ground attack-

Investigations on the part of the Ecuadorian authorities show there was no combat on the side of the FARC unit which was attacked. With the exception of three of them keeping guard, the 18 killed were asleep in their undergarments; none of the guerrillas had the opportunity of fighting or surrendering. The arms in the camp were piled up. They did not have the chance even to reach for their rifles and grenades; they were massacred while asleep.

After the bombing from these aircraft, several ‘Supertuscan’ helicopters of the Colombian air force came in and from these the attack on the FARC camp in Ecuadorian territory continued. The helicopters landed special commandos who finished off the injured guerrillas. As the bullet wounds in the bodies of the majority of the guerrillas show, many of them were piled up in a part of the camp and killed from behind. Even the photographs taken by the Colombian government of Raul Reyes’ body show he had a shot on the left side of his face.

Information coming from Ecuadorian military intelligence indicates that the country’s air space was not only violated on the dawn of March 1 but also that on the dawn of March 2 there was another incursion of the helicopters with night vision equipment to pick up members of the armed forces and Colombian police still in Ecuadorian territory. The position of the trees brought down by the bombardment, the multiple bullet holes on them, as also the position of the bodies, demonstrate that while the FARC was guarding the camp on the northern side facing the Colombian frontier, the air incursion happened from the south, which indicates that the Colombian air force intruded without permission or notification, contravening all international norms about Ecuadorian air space.

Washington is of course backing Uribe to the hilt, he is their kind of guy-

After years of increased violations of civilian human rights, the ongoing suppression of trade-unionism, assassinations of left-of-centre activists and politicians, and a political reality that has witnessed 75 governors, mayors and Congressional politicians alleged or found guilty of having direct links to the paramilitaries- including Vice-President Francisco Santos Calderón and his cousin Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos and President Uribe’s brother Santiago and their cousin Senator Mario Uribe-now the Colombian state has deemed it necessary to illegally encroach upon those nations that deviate from their ideological model of political and economic centralization. 

FARC while no angels, have been designated as terrorists for political and strategic reasons-

Characterizing the FARC-EP as a foreign terrorist organization dramatically alters the dynamics of the peace process in favour of a killer state. Stipulating that the FARC-EP is terrorist results in the inability for legal peace negotiations to take place between the FARC-EP and any government that subscribes to the categorization. According to James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer, promoting the FARC-EP-and its supporters-as terrorists “puts them on the list of targets to be assaulted by the US military machine” and “thus subject to total war.” 

And the timing of this attack might be about Uribe’s domestic agenda-

The actions of March 1 took place days before a major international demonstration scheduled for March 6. Promoted by The National Movement of Victims of State-Sponsored Crimes (MOVICE), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and countless social justice-based organizations, March 6 has been set as an international day of protest against those tortured, murdered and disappeared by the Colombian state, their allies within the paramilitary United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) and the newly-reformed Black Eagles. Recently, President Uribe’s top political adviser, José Obdulio Gaviria, proclaimed that the protest and protesters should be criminalized.

It came at an opportune time, because there’s been criticism of Uribe Velez for not really carrying out serious measures to release the hostages that the FARC have been holding for some time now. Just last week, four hostages were released by the FARC to the Venezuelan government because of the intervention of Hugo Chavez and the Venezuelan government. And those people, when they got to Venezuela, those people who were in captivity for five, six years, immediately started criticizing and calling into question Uribe Velez’s positions 

The military assistance that the United States has directed has been presented as a counter-narcotics aid package of over $5 billion over the last eight years in Plan Colombia. But there’s no doubt that it has been really geared towards attacking the guerrillas. It’s been a counterinsurgency assistance package that continues to maintain the same levels that it did even in 1999 and 2000, when Plan Colombia first started. 

Which is sort of, could be good news (domestic repression, Uribe’s ego, imperialism and state terror aside) as it doesn’t relate to a deeper motive of regional war to benefit America and its allies, but the criminal disregard of Ecuador’s sovereignty and Uribe’s alliance with Washington have created a risk of conflict. The antagonism towards non US aligned states and leftists informs all the corporate reporting of this, one view is despite shiny new Russia weapons the Venezuelan military are no match for the ‘battle-hardened Colombian troops‘ and their US allies. Or should that be Colombians are no match for internal and external war- two borders and an insurgency. And then there appeared another ‘laptop of death’ claimed to be Paul Reyes and captured by the Colombians and suddenly a chorus of nuclear terrorism is being hawked around the place- Colombia says some documents suggest the rebels have bought and sold uranium– As Rafeal puts it Imperial Pet Stalks the Land. Certainly the Uribe regime prefers killing their opposition rather than negotiation-

Careful analysts of the Colombian situation continue to debate whether the Colombian state is pre-fascist or actually fascist. It is certainly neither humane nor actually democratic. 

However the closed borders impede the large volume of trade between Colombia and Venezuela- $6 billion per year in trade, with Venezuela importing cars, beef and medicine from its neighbor. Colombia imports chemicals, iron and plastic from Venezuela.- And Colombia’s stock’s are falling. But Uribe enjoys great popularity playing this as Bush does, as a war on terror-

The case is being presented as a justified incursion into Ecuadorian territory in pursuit of terrorist groups that haven’t been persecuted by the Ecuadorian government. This is basically the position of the government. And as I say, both the media and opposition parties have also fully supported the decision of the government to present the case in this way.

So Uribe might be happy this has helped defuse the coming demonstrations against his abuses but the reaction might be more than he bargained for and is the Empire’s already overstretched military ready to back up its proxy? So rather than Colombia being Latin America’s Israel, Uribe is Latin America’s Bush, but it would be better if Colombians didn’t have to learn that via a bloody quagmire.

Like A Shark Condi Rice Can Scent Blood From Thousands Of Miles Away

 Rice on humanitarian mission to Israel.

OR 

Vanity Fair has obtained confidential documents, since corroborated by sources in the U.S. and Palestine, which lay bare a covert initiative, approved by Bush and implemented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams, to provoke a Palestinian civil war. The plan was for forces led by Dahlan, and armed with new weapons supplied at America’s behest, to give Fatah the muscle it needed to remove the democratically elected Hamas-led government from power. (The State Department declined to comment.) 

Some sources call the scheme “Iran-contra 2.0,” recalling that Abrams was convicted (and later pardoned) for withholding information from Congress during the original Iran-contra scandal under President Reagan. There are echoes of other past misadventures as well: the C.I.A.’s 1953 ouster of an elected prime minister in Iran, which set the stage for the 1979 Islamic revolution there; the aborted 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, which gave Fidel Castro an excuse to solidify his hold on Cuba; and the contemporary tragedy in Iraq.(ht2 Lenin) 

So one of the warmongering scum is going under cover of Disneyland news ‘humanitarian’ label to further manipulate events. As many people say and in fact just yesterdy Kris Kristofferson said it!

But Kristofferson gets in a parting shot about Iran-Contra and the war in Iraq. “Iran-Contra! We should have jailed all those guys for ever back then, and we wouldn’t be where we are right now – because it’s the same guys now, the same 20 guys!” 

Which really now demonstrates the importance of impeachment, which clearly is not going to happen, you just have to look at the endless team sports coverage of the presidential candidates and all the space it is taking up, impeachment is forgotten. The same people will continue to cause death and misery and ludicrous falsehoods ascribing humanitarian motives to these blood stained imperial criminals will endlessly pour forth from the idiot mouths of  their partner elites in the media. When these technocrats meet they do deals to enrich each other and impoverish us and they plot violence, in fact a good rule of thumb would be whenever one visits your region immediately leave (if you can) or arm yourself, hoard food and start digging a bomb shelter. Or as Disneyland news would put it (and of course assume you are wealthy or otherwise who needs a poor audience?)- Welcome the healing angels of peace, why not take up field sports with a beautiful antique shotgun, have a nice big family meal and finally do that gardening you always thought about! Now over to Candy for the weather, any word on that ‘thunder’ we heard about in Gaza?

Drones, The Cost Effective Killer

This report backs up what Naomi Klein wrote, that the Israeli weapons industry benefits from using attacks on Palestine as a testing ground for new technology. Which becomes another incentive against peace.

Palestinians say they know when an Israeli drone is in the air: Cell phones stop working, TV reception falters and they can hear a distant buzzing. They also know what’s likely to come next — a devastating explosion on the ground.

“Our experience is that the drone missile is successful in hitting its targets, and it’s deadly,” said Dr. Mahmoud Assali, a Palestinian physician who works in the emergency room of a northern Gaza Strip hospital that has often treated Palestinian gunmen hit by Israeli drones.

“The drone has a zone of around 15 meters (50 feet) where it decimates everything. It targets people and leaves them in pieces,” Assali said.

Israel is at the forefront of the drone technology that is increasingly being used in hotspots around the world. The unmanned craft provide a deadly and cost-effective alternative for armies to target enemies

A militant from the southern Gaza Strip who belongs to the Islamic Jihad group said drones were mostly used to target individuals, and not structures. He said they often hovered at much higher altitudes than manned aircraft and their missiles were frequently more destructive, leaving deep gashes where they landed.

The militant said the drones usually targeted slow-moving targets, like people walking, or cars slowing down to avoid potholes in a road.

“It looks like it makes small circles in the sky, but before it’s about to fire a missile, it slows down,” the militant said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared being identified by Israel. “It’s not like any other plane. You don’t see the missile leaving, it’s very quiet.”

Israel has long been considered the world leader in drone technology and proudly exhibits its products at international air shows. But it maintains its drones are for surveillance purposes, and refuses to confirm using them in airstrikes.

Doron Suslik, a top official at the Israel Aerospace Industries, which manufactures drones, said the company has customers from all over the world, including Switzerland, France and India, with annual sales of $500 million to $600 million.

He refused to divulge the drone’s military capabilities, citing his clients’ desire for confidentiality. Government and army officials also refused to comment on the drone’s firing capabilities.

The use of drones is shrouded in secrecy, and Israeli defense officials refuse to comment publicly on whether they are being used in airstrikes in Gaza. However, Israeli officers in private conversations have confirmed use of the weapons.

We Have Met The Enemy, And It Is Us

Then it was as if an invisible yet intensely heated finger were drawn through the heather between me and the Martians, and all along a curving line beyond the sand pits the dark ground smoked and crackled. Something fell with a crash far away to the left where the road from Woking station opens out on the common. Forthwith the hissing and humming ceased, and the black, domelike object sank slowly out of sight into the pit.
War of the Worlds- HG Wells

So the Pentagon are testing their new heat ray and who better to turn to than 60 Minutes to fall down in awe and help them promote their new toy in an infomercial, sorry, hard hitting piece of journalism. Now an enterprising and questioning reporter might say given the huge death toll of a premeditated war of aggression, the removal of privacy, ‘free speech’ zones and the ending of habeas corpus should we be quite so pleased our friendly military/industrial/congressional thingamabob are perfecting new technology to force compliance upon people through the medium of searing burning pain? Or y’know you could just go- Oh Wow, a heat ray like in Buck Rogers, awesome dude!

CBS 60 Minutes: David Martin Reports On A Non-Lethal Weapon Straight Out Of Buck Rogers

*sigh* The infomercial works so well for the Pentagon because it also pushes the meme US forces deeply regret killing civilians and just wish they had a non lethal way to enforce their will, sorry, help lovely people rejoice in the Beneficence of Uncle Sam. In the fake demo where troops dressed as demonstrators to be zapped with the ray gun the narration suggested they were mimicking the kind of situation to be found in Iraq. Yet the visual presented something a little bit more home grown, not many keffiyeh’s on show, the protesters looked an awful lot like anti-war demonstrators. Yes that’s partly down to the vast wit and utterly hilarious nature of Army humour, but this was a big pre-arranged video shoot for national consumption, so what message was it really putting across?

It also sought to promulgate rules of engagement most appropriate for 4GW where civilians and combatants become an amorphous mass to the brave honourable uniformed hero of the Imperial overlords: (Roughly) If someone is coming towards you and you zap them with the heat ray and they do not run away, then one can assume malicious life threatening intent and unleash lethal force on them.

The impulse to run the other way is so strong that anyone who keeps coming has to be considered a threat. “It could be used to read someone’s mind, in effect, because you immediately know what someone’s intention is. If they continue to come at you, then you’re fairly sure they’re not a tourist. They’re probably a terrorist or an adversary who wants to do you harm,” Payton [Sue Payton, an assistant secretary of the Air Force and the Pentagon official in charge of buying the ray gun] explains.

Ready for a crowd being unable to disperse quickly because of the practicalities of masses of people demonstrating? Being panicked trying to run, trampling and often being unable to get out of the way of the heat ray, so you get much longer exposure and then… well you did not run away, nevermind you were trapped by the crowd, suddenly whole swathes of people become liable to lethal force… under the mode of thinking the Pentagon sought to disseminate here.

And as with Tasers, the obligatory demonstration on the journalist. Displaying how someone supposedly representing our concerns within the mediated piece is willing to allow it’s use, who can then give an account we should deem trustworthy because we are invited to identify with the presenter. And if you leave your brain at the door that almost works…except controlled conditions before cameras do not replicate the the situation where it would be used, to be honest the moment someone does one of these -well I tried it and it didn’t kill me!- you know you are dealing with showbiz and not serious enquiry.

And even as the Pentagon’s mouthpiece sought to complain they can’t deploy it because of fears after Abu Grhaib this could be construed as a torture weapon (no, really?) the Marines distaste for non-lethal technology was clear-

“A major came up to me and said that the Marine Corps wasn’t overly thrilled with the whole non-lethal concept. And his idea was, is that the Marine Corps’ idea of force escalation went from M-16 to F-16. How many people we could kill and how fast we could do it.”

Which is why they are a fearsome force of destruction, but hearts & minds, freedom & democracy? Not so much. So back to the question of what it is for? And like those non-lethal Tasers that keep killing people, do we, should we trust those wielding it? An authoritarian personality would shout ‘Yes!’ but a news show?(ht2 Naj)