War On Democracy: That’s Right, Do What He Says, He’s Your Friend

President George W. Bush on Sunday toned down his rhetoric on democratic change, as he sought to persuade the Gulf states to reduce their ties with Iran.

Delivering the set-piece speech of his Middle East trip to an invited audience in a $3bn Abu Dhabi hotel, Mr Bush hailed the United Arab Emirates for having “shown the world a model of a Muslim state”.

Ah yes the UAE, and who better to judge a theocratic state than George W. Bush! Who’s with me? Anyone?

Ooh look you can use Hamed Saber’s Firefox add-on to get round internet censorship there, then you could report on the kind of nation Bush finds so appealing-

• freedom of expression in all its forms – has still to be achieved in the UAE in spite of its media explosion. The hrinfo report begins with the most obvious example of censorship: the state-ordered shut-down of two Pakistani TV channels, Geo and Ary One, at the request of Pakistan’s military dictator, General Musharraf.
  
• Authorities have blocked the formation of independent human rights organizations and exerted censorial pressure on a wide range of social activists…
• The UAE has not signed most international human rights and labor rights treaties. Migrant workers, comprising nearly 90 percent of the workforce in the private sector, are particularly vulnerable to serious human rights violations.
• Since 2000, the government has barred 12 prominent UAE commentators and academics from disseminating their views. In 2006 the government increased its persecution and prosecution of human rights defenders. In June 2006 the Federal High Court issued an arrest warrant for Muhammad al-Mansoori, president of the independent Jurists Association
• Abuses against migrant workers include nonpayment of wages, extended working hours without overtime compensation, unsafe working environments resulting in deaths and injuries, squalid living conditions in labor camps, and withholding of passports and travel documents.
• In March the government announced that it would legalize trade unions by the end of 2006, but as of November 2006 it had taken no steps to do so. Instead, in September the government introduced a law banning any migrant worker who participates in a strike from employment in the country for at least one year.
• According to the US State Department, human trafficking to the UAE is an endemic problem.
• The US, Japan, and the European Union are among the UAE’s main trading partners. In April 2004 the UAE signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the US, and the two countries in November 2004 began negotiations toward a Free Trade Agreement. The UAE is also negotiating free trade agreements with the European Union and Australia.

Hey, how does the CIA’s own world factbook compare eveeeel Iran with the UAE? Let’s have a look shall we?

• Suffrage: (y’know voting) UAE- erm…none, on 18-20 December 2006; the new electoral college – a body of 6,689 Emiratis (including 1,189 women) appointed by the rulers of the seven emirates – were the only eligible voters and candidates.
• Iran- universal once over 18. Which seems sort of democratic-ish, hmmm?
• Judicial branch: UAE- Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president).Hmm, no universal vote and a judiciary packed by the President, no wonder George is keen.
• Iran: The Supreme Court and the four-member High Council of the Judiciary have a single head and overlapping responsibilities; together they supervise the enforcement of all laws and establish judicial and legal policies; lower courts include a special clerical court, a revolutionary court, and a special administrative court.

Now what about that being a danger to the world and backing armed groups in other countries..

Mr. Bush focused not only on what the United States suspects are Iran’s nuclear ambitions but also its suspected support for Islamic groups and militants in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Oh my God!!! Evil Persian troublemakers in 4 other countries! And you can rely on Mr. Bush to tell the truth about these things, golly yes. Well that’s done it, clearly Iran has to be stoppe…sorry what was that? Over a thousand…a thousand what? Oh military bases, in what? 140 countries. Oh my god it’s worse than I thou…Sorry what? America, the USA has over a thousand miltary bases (or large armed groups directly supported by the US you could say) in 140 countries. Not Iran then? Oh…, erm, oh dear, that would seem to make Mr.Bush a bit of a cheeky motherfucker for giving such a speech, like a bully looking to get applause for knocking another country over. Hmmm.

Hey but don’t worry I’m sure the press will pick up on this, I can see it already, huge banner headlines

• President and Military Chief of poverty stricken America continues aggression in plot for world domination!
• Scared countries cower before drug crazed emperor’s warmongering speech!
• Boozed up monkey boy spews some more shit only retards, bigots and ruling elites would buy!

So, having failed to appeal to opposition to Ahmadinejad (hey get rid of this guy and say hello to America, y’know remember the Shah and everything! You’d get free ‘Baywatch’ reruns!). And their own establishment throwing cold water on their plans, the war pimps (including their sidekicks in Israel) are selling an attack as a protective measure to the other countries in the region, or more like a mob protection racket- It would be awful sad if your country burnt down fella, why not help me out with this little Iran deal and I’ll make sure nuthin’ bad happens. Huh?

Droning On: Targets Of Opportunity

So the flying robots of death, and erm, that is an accurate description, were busy all over-

RawStory -In the wake of last week’s assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistan bureau chief of Asia Times is laying responsibility for the killing on a new and more radical splinter group of al-Qaeda.

According to journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, the United States retaliated against the head of that faction immediately following the attack on Bhutto:

“This nest of takfiris and their intrigues was on the radar of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the day after Bhutto’s killing Sheikh Essa was targeted by CIA Predator drones in his home in North Waziristan. According to Asia Times Online contacts, he survived, but was seriously wounded. Sheikh Essa had only recently recovered from a stroke which had left him bedridden.”

There have been no other press reports of such an attack and no US claims of responsibility. However, the US never does acknowledge participating in events of this sort. For example, in October 2006, a religious school on the Afghan-Pakistan border was destroyed in an airstrike, killing 80 suspected militants and leading to angry protests. Mulitiple reports indicated the school had been hit by a US Predator drone, but a Pakistani army spokesman denied any direct US involvement. 

So basically a neat excuse to whack a name on their list and a rather sinister glimpse into a region patrolled by drones. The Asia Times article is very – Blame Al Qaeda!! (interestingly as I viewed the page it was plastered with US Army recruitment ads) so they see this as a great score, with Pakistan the prize in T.W.A.T. between the Empire and AQ -who are an all powerful supervillain type menace, ahem. Except, who’s got the flying robots of death?

As for the drones, they’re not autonomous or cyborgs yet so we can’t call them, say…Daleks or Terminators. But give the CIA time, it’s only January 1st.

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated

A detail from a PPP party security adviser shows a very determined technique-

However, AP quoted a PPP security adviser as saying she was shot in the neck and chest as she got into her vehicle, before the gunman blew himself up.

Updated from later post: Reading around about Benazir Bhutto’s assassination you find a morass of theories and projection of propaganda and you also come across a lot of articles and reports that reference her killing (forgetting the other victims) before plunging into what they really want to talk about-what it means for America and the west-. Way to show some empathy scumbags, never mind the dead people whose country we have been fucking over with our great game intrigues, let’s talk about what it means for us. They’ll be time for that, but can we respond to this as fellow humans first and acknowledge some responsibility, there just seems a strain of that ‘the Iraqis have to stand on their own feet’ colonial exasperation at the mess that we in fact helped make.

Buried Alive, The Migrant Gulag

What happened today? Was a body discovered, was an actor released from jail, did terror porn aid the announcement of anti-terror measures only necessary because of the war crimes we commit?

But hidden, scheduled so as to be overrun by the big terror announcements, ironically in testimony to our determination to deny the humanity of people in our own country, news of their abuse was ignored. Both the government and the media shared the spade work of putting this story into a shallow grave in the dead of night. The Border and Immigration Agency’s Complaints Audit Committee report seemed to turn up at 11pm on the BBC website, at that time the headline was “Fury over treatment of migrants” (you cannot hide from Google cache- the irony) now the opening has been rewritten emphasising how the system will be changed (and removing some witness quotes of the brutality) and the headline is “Migrant complaint policy shake-up“. It made it into some newspapers but being released late at night so it would quickly be overtaken and obscured by the terror porn is not a coincidence. So why should you pay attention to this report? Because this is not a record of failures it is the exposure of a system publicly claimed to do one thing but is in fact about brutalising people that no one cares about, it is about the migrant gulag-

Because only 8% of complainants were interviewed 89% of investigations were “neither balanced nor thorough”. Consequently 83% of replies were “indefensible”.

Over 20% of paperwork was simply disappeared, hello Mr. Shredder, it’s called destroying evidence.

95% of cases were investigated by the same companies that the complaints were against.

This is no failure, this is no breakdown, this is a system being exposed for doing what it really does while government and private corporations claim mistakes, maybe even bad apples, maybe incompetence. NO. This is a criminal system (7 privately run ‘detention’ centres holding 1,878 people) being brought into the light, it is doing what it is meant to do, all the excuses are made because what it is doing is wrong, criminal and inhumane. No, not ‘glaring errors’ this is intentional, malice aforethought. What this shows is the government’s real instructions to the contractors were this- get rid of these people, keep it cheap, do not get us or yourselves in trouble, get the job done, keep it quiet. The contractors created a system where no person could ever get fair or even reasonable treatment from it, this was Kafka, Orwell. A closed system of incarceration and forced repatriation insulated from British law by walls, barbed wire and internal complaints procedures designed to destroy complaints. What might the nature of these crimes be-

…bundled onto a plane at Heathrow and refused permission to see his lawyer, with the security guards knowing he already had permission to stay in the UK. He struggled and was beaten up in the back of a van… “I was crying, shouting, crying, shouting, then one of his colleagues was very, very aggressive to me… Told me that these black monkeys don’t want to go back to their country.”

serious assaults in privately run immigration centres are not being passed to police because firms believe they will lose lucrative government contracts. “All in all, the immigration service managers have failed in almost every aspect of the laid-down complaints investigation procedures and in some respects, have deliberately ignored these requirements.”

“In the past year, only 29% of cases alleging misconduct by named officials and contract staff were handled in time.” 

The report also revealed that of the number of arrest team cases in the past year, none was handled on time, with 89% taking more than the eight-week target and one taking a year.

All the press on immigrants and the government has been in the context of attacks on government handling with the implicit assumptions ‘illegal’ immigrant are bad. This report of the scandalous gulag would be a useful stick to beat the government, but it does damage the ethos of privatisation so not a big favourite subject of corporate media. But the real reason it has been buried alive, it screams out how we do not care about these people, it reveals the nasty hidden cruelty of our dog eat dog culture, it doesn’t just attack the establishment it tells a truth about us- fuck ’em let them be assaulted and treated as subhuman, life’s damn hard as it is, can’t we just buy shiny crap, watch X-idol factor brother jungle (some nice sadism in those, yes we like that). Don’t make us face ourselves, don’t make us wake up.-

So no big mainstream media fuss about this. No arrests, no trials, no corporate manslaughter (perchance), I don’t even think a single one of the contracts have been canceled (after all violent fascist bigots need jobs too…). No better to channel our sentiment (what little is left of our atrophied empathy) into matters we can’t effect, tragedies of the small and personally identifiable. But nothing that might provoke questions of structure, culture, economics, realpolitik, class, race. How we are set up to fight each other lest we recognise the real enemy in the room, that cruelty that hides behind many masks but its end result is always the same, broken, raped and dead bodies.

Not that we would know, in this case the complaints procedure makes sure of that and the report being ignored makes sure we don’t have to worry about it either. No better we cower in fear from the Terrorists!!!!! And support everything we are told to support to make us ‘safe’. While of course the things that would actually make us safe but would inconvenience the established elites must remain forever taboo. Things like respect, compassion, equality and inalienable rights, y’know those silly little things.

Peak Oil Was So Last Year

Literally-

according to a study by the Energy Watch Group (EWG) in Berlin, Germany. It reported this week that world oil production peaked in 2006 – far earlier than expected.

Energy Watch Group is a Germany-based group of independent scientists and energy experts who this month released a report that includes nearly 100 pages of exhaustive technical analysis of every oil producing field in the world and every known and proven reserve.

the EWG study relies more on actual oil production data which, it says, are more reliable than estimates of reserves still in the ground. The group says official industry estimates put global reserves at about 1.255 gigabarrels – equivalent to 42 years’ supply at current consumption rates. But it thinks the figure is only about two thirds of that.

British energy economist David Fleming: “Anticipated supply shortages could lead easily to disturbing scenes of mass unrest as witnessed in Burma this month. For government, industry and the wider public, just muddling through is not an option any more as this situation could spin out of control and turn into a complete meltdown of society.”

Mr Schindler comes to a similar conclusion. “The world is at the beginning of a structural change of its economic system. This change will be triggered by declining fossil fuel supplies and will influence almost all aspects of our daily life.”

Jeremy Leggett, one of Britain’s leading environmentalists and the author of Half Gone, a book about “peak oil” – defined as the moment when maximum production is reached, said that both the UK government and the energy industry were in “institutionalised denial” and that action should have been taken sooner.

“When I was an adviser to government, I proposed that we set up a taskforce to look at how fast the UK could mobilise alternative energy technologies in extremis, come the peak,” he said. “Other industry advisers supported that. But the government prefers to sleep on without even doing a contingency study. For those of us who know that premature peak oil is a clear and present danger, it is impossible to understand such complacency.”

The smart money is moving into Thunderdome fight training schools, presided over by robot Dick Cheney in a chain-mail cocktail dress, mmmm.

Syria Schmyria, Nuclear Schmuclear

The only, only, sources for the inference that the Israeli strike on Syria was on a nuclear -SCARY- facility look to be war pimping hacks (Murdoch!) playing Darth Cheney’s tune, a tune with a second verse that begins with Iran-

Even the Bush White House, generally willing to use any hint of malfeasance to condemn Damascus and Tehran, has been reluctant to confirm the story. It doesn’t need to. Official silence-narrated by a compliant press taking uncorroborated dictation-is cementing a public impression. That’s the way disinformation works. Done right, no one stops to ask where it came from-or who benefits. 

Allegations that a Syrian envoy admitted during a United Nations meeting Oct. 17 that an Israeli air strike hit a nuclear facility in September are inaccurate and have raised the ire of some in the US intelligence community, who see the Vice President’s hand as allegedly being behind the disinformation.

A United Nations press release discussing the General Assembly’s Disarmament Committee meeting mistranslated comments ascribed to an unnamed Syrian diplomat as saying that Israel had on various occasions “taken action against nuclear facilities, including the 6 July attack in Syria.”

The UN has since gone through the tape recordings of the meeting and found that there was no mention of the word “nuclear” at all. According to the UN, the error was one of translation, involving several interpreters translating the same meeting.

Recent news articles, however, continue to make allegations and suggest that a nuclear weapons facility was hit — something that the Syrian government has denied, the Israeli government has not officially confirmed and US intelligence does not show.

US intelligence “found no radiation signatures after the bombing, so there was no uranium or plutonium present,” said one official, wishing to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the subject.

John Howard Uses Paskistani Dead

Huge terrible bombing,

More than 100 people have been killed after two bombs exploded among crowds in Karachi celebrating the return of the former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto. Ms Bhutto, who was travelling through crowded streets from the city’s airport to a rally marking her homecoming after eight years in exile, was not hurt. The truck carrying her had its windows shattered and a door blown off.

Various condemnation’s but look what John Howard said-

It’s too early to be certain but it looks very much like the work of al-Qaeda. Benazir Bhutto, to her credit, as well as General Musharraf, have both said they will continue to support the Americans in the war on terror. It is a reminder of the evil of al-Qaeda. It is a reminder of how important it is not to concede a victory to them in Iraq or in Afghanistan.

Can’t tell he’s in an election campaign can you? Wanker.

Iran Will Defend Itself, Well Duh!

If Israel attacks Iran, Iran will retaliate. Some headlines report this as Iran threatens to attack Israel!!! Shock Horror!!! Only once you read on is it contextualised as a statement about retaliation for an attack by Israel. Now of course Tweedledee & Tweedledum, the Israeli govt. and the Whitehouse have responded-

“Unfortunately we hear all too often belicose, extreme and hateful statements out of the Iranian leadership,” Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev told AFP.

“I can’t tell you why someone in Iran would say something like that about Israel. It’s totally unprovoked and unnecessary,” she added. She had earlier called the Iranian comments “unhelpful.”

Hmmm, ‘belicose, extreme and hateful’

Regev added: “A nuclear-armed Iran is a danger to the very survival of Israel, to stability in the region and to global security.”

The specter of an Israeli strike was raised in recent days in a statement by the former head of the Israeli military, Moshe Ya’alon.

Speaking at a seminar at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC entitled, “Stopping the Iranian Nuclear Program: Is There an Israeli Option?” Ya’alon opined that Israel had the military capability to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat.

Unprovoked?

the Bush administration is even considering the use of a tactical nuclear weapon against deep Iranian bunkers

A British newspaper reported Sunday that Israel has drafted plans to strike as many as three targets in Iran with low-yield nuclear weapons, aiming to halt Tehran’s uranium enrichment program. The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied the report.

Citing multiple unidentified Israeli military sources, The Sunday Times said the proposals involved using so-called “bunker-buster” nuclear weapons to attack nuclear facilities at three sites south of the Iranian capital.

Look fellas you are all spewing macho rhetoric so let’s not pretend you have residence on the moral high ground although, ok I know when you try that bullshit the enabling corporate media plays along so that’s why you do it. But really, how do keep a straight face?

Update: And this-

Former UN Ambassador John Bolton has declared the Bush administration would support an Israeli attack on Iran. In an interview with an Israeli newspaper, Bolton said: “We’re talking about a clear message to Iran — Israel has the right to self-defense — and that includes offensive operations against WMD facilities that pose a threat to Israel. The United States would justify such attacks.” 

IAEA Report On Iran’s Nuclear Program

Thanks to Naj, here is her post with her emphasis because as she makes clear the corporate US media is distorting the report to produce the impression Iran is not complying with the IAEA. As September is Iran War Pimp month fighting spin with the truth is going to be crucial (more at MOA), here is the report:-

Understandings of The Islamic Republic of Iran and the IAEA on the Modalities of Resolution of the Outstanding Issues Tehran – 21 August 2007

Pursuant to the negotiations between H.E. Dr. Larijani, I. R. of Iran’s Secretary of Supreme National Security Council and H.E. Dr. ElBaradei, Director General of the IAEA, in Vienna; following the initiative and good will of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the agreement made, a high ranking delegation consisting of the directors of technical, legal and political departments of the IAEA, paid a visit to Tehran from 11 to 12 July 2007 during which “Understandings of The Islamic Republic of Iran and the IAEA on the Modalities of Resolution of the Outstanding Issues, Tehran 12 July 2007” were prepared.

A second meeting took place in Vienna on 24 July 2007 followed by a further meeting in Iran from 20 to 21 August 2007. The Agency’s delegation had the opportunity to have meetings with H.E. Dr. Larijani during both visits to Tehran. Following these three consecutive meetings, both Parties reached the following understandings:
I. Latest Developments:
Based on the modalities agreed upon on 12 July 2007, the following decisions were made:
1. Present Issues:
A. Enrichment Programme
The Agency and Iran agreed to cooperate in preparing the safeguards approach for the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant in accordance with Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. The draft text of the safeguards approach paper, and the facility attachment of IRN- were provided to Iran on 23 July 2007. The safeguards approach and the facility attachment were discussed during technical meetings in Iran between the Agency and the AEOI from 6 to 8 August 2007. Further discussions will be held with the aim of finalizing the facility attachment by the end of September 2007.

B. Heavy Water Research Reactor in Arak
Iran agreed with the Agency’s request to visit the heavy water research reactor (IR40) site in Arak. A successful visit took place on 30 July 2007.

C. Designation of new inspectors
On 12 July 2007, Iran accepted the designation of five additional inspectors.

D. Issue of multiple entry visas
On 12 July 2007, Iran agreed to issue one year multiple entry visas for 14 inspectors and staff of the Agency.

2. Past Outstanding Issues:

A. Plutonium Experiments
In order to conclude and close the file of the issue of plutonium (Pu), the Agency provided Iran with the remaining questions on 23 July 2007. During a meeting in Iran between representatives of the Agency and Iran, Iran provided clarifications to the Agency that helped to explain the remaining questions. In addition, on 7 August 2007, Iran sent a letter to the Agency providing additional clarifications to some of the questions. On 20 August 2007 the Agency stated that earlier statements made by Iran are consistent with the Agency’s findings, and thus this matter is resolved. This will be communicated officially by the Agency to Iran through a letter.

B. Issue of P1-P2:
Based on agreed modalities of 12 July 2007, Iran and the Agency agreed the following procedural steps to resolve the P1-P2 issue. The proposed timeline assumes that the Agency announces the closure of the Pu-experiments outstanding issue by 31 August 2007, and its subsequent reporting in the Director General’s report to the September 2007 Board of Governors.
The Agency will provide all remaining questions on this issue by 31 August 2007. Iran and the Agency will have discussions in Iran on 24-25 September 2007 to clarify the questions provided. This will be followed up by a further meeting in mid-October 2007 to further clarify the written answers provided. The Agency’s target date for the closure of this issue is November 2007.

C. Source of Contamination
Based on the agreed modalities on 12 July 2007 and given the Agency’s findings which tend, on balance, to support Iran’s statement about the foreign origin of the observed HEU contamination, the only remaining outstanding issue on contamination is the contamination found at a Technical University in Tehran. Iran and the Agency agreed on the following procedural steps to address this issue, starting once the P1-P2 issue is concluded and the file is closed. The Agency will again provide Iran with the remaining questions regarding the contamination found at a Technical University in Tehran by 15 September 2007. After 2 weeks of the closure of the P1-P2 issue Iran and the Agency will have discussions in Iran on this issue.

D. U Metal Document
Upon the request of the Agency, Iran agreed to cooperate with the Agency in facilitating the comparison of the relevant sections of the document. Iran is presently reviewing the proposals already made during the first meeting on 12 July 2007. After taking this step by Iran, the Agency undertakes to close this issue.

II. Modalities of Resolution of other Outstanding Issues
A. Po210
Based on agreed modalities of 12 July 2007, Iran agreed to deal with this issue, once all the above mentioned issues are concluded and their files are closed. Iran and the Agency agreed upon the following procedural steps: regarding this issue, the Agency will provide Iran in writing with all its remaining questions by 15 September 2007. After 2 weeks from conclusion and closure of the issues of the source of contamination and U-metal, reflected in the Director General’s report to the Board of Governors, Iran and the Agency will have discussions in Iran where Iran will provide explanations on the Po210.
B. Ghachine Mine
Based on agreed modalities of 12 July 2007, Iran agreed to deal with this issue, once the issue of Po210 is concluded and its file is closed. Iran and the Agency agreed upon the following procedural steps: regarding this issue, the Agency will provide Iran in writing with all its remaining questions by 15 September 2007. After 2 weeks from conclusion and closure of the issue of Po210, reflected in the Director General’s report to the Board of Governors, Iran and the Agency will have discussions in Iran where Iran will provide explanations to the Agency about Ghachine Mine.

III. Alleged Studies
Iran reiterated that it considers the following alleged studies as politically motivated and baseless allegations. The Agency will however provide Iran with access to the documentation it has in its possession regarding: the Green Salt Project, the high explosive testing and the missile re-entry vehicle. As a sign of good will and cooperation with the Agency, upon receiving all related documents, Iran will review and inform the Agency of its assessment.

IV. General Understandings

1. These modalities cover all remaining issues and the Agency confirmed that there are no other remaining issues and ambiguities regarding Iran’s past nuclear program and activities.
   
2. The Agency agreed to provide Iran with all remaining questions according to the above work plan. This means that after receiving the questions, no other questions are left. Iran will provide the Agency with the required clarifications and information.
   
3. The Agency’s delegation is of the view that the agreement on the above issues shall further promote the efficiency of the implementation of safeguards in Iran and its ability to conclude the exclusive peaceful nature of the Iran’s nuclear activities.
   
4. The Agency has been able to verify the non-diversion of the declared nuclear materials at the enrichment facilities in Iran and has therefore concluded that it remains in peaceful use.
5. The Agency and Iran agreed that after the implementation of the above work plan agreed modalities for resolving the outstanding issues, the implementation of safeguards in Iran will be conducted in a routine manner.

America Waging War In Somalia

America is waging a war in Somalia, it is using Ethiopian troops so the craptastic media report about the Ethiopian-Somali conflict, but it is another front of the Empire’s wars. Now some quick history-

2003 Eritrea joins the coalition of the willing, America invades Iraq.

2007 America invades Somalia using Ethiopian forces as a proxy, the global media rarely mention US involvement and characterise the war as just between Ethiopia and Somalia.

2007 Eritrea threatened to be added to America’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

And now the coup de grace, ladies & gentlemen just savour the nerve of the empire and savour the hacks who accept it-

Eritrea is the archrival of Ethiopia, and diplomats say the two have been waging a proxy war in Somalia since last year.

American exceptionalism is just so wonderful isn’t it? And such wonderfully co-operative journalists, gosh it makes this post from earlier today look almost psychic.

War Pimps, Manufacturing Consent & Kucinich

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), one of the most anti-war members of the House, accused the Bush Administration’s labeling of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization a prelude for war there. “The belligerent Bush Administration is using this pending designation to convince the American public into accepting that a war with Iran is inevitable,” Kucinich said. “This designation will set the stage for more chaos in the region because it undercuts all of our diplomatic efforts.”

This is an ominous move and of course the excellent Dennis Kucincih nails it as such, but already he is being made invisible by mainstream media to manufacture the limits of acceptable debate to suit elite consensus. Last Sunday the New York Times published a story declaring the potential Democratic presidential candidates all expected leaving Iraq to take many years or as an honest person might put it, occupation to continue. On it’s face that is depressingly true, the dem front runners are nothing if

US Missile Base Document Dump Not Dying

Just before the recess NuLab dumped a shitload of written answers and announcements and ran away before anyone had to chance to blink, one of the most important was the submitting to US missile basing plans. The Independent isn’t going to let it lie & there are calls for a debate which Brown/e denied in the dump and run-

Smuggled in among the 46 ministerial announcements in the days before the end of the last Parliamentary term was one that on any normal day would have dominated the news agenda. The Defence Secretary, Des Browne, announced that he had given his approval for the RAF Menwith Hill monitoring station in North Yorkshire to be used as part of the United States missile defence system.

This is something with profound implications for British security. Our involvement in the US missile defence shield goes way beyond normal transatlantic military co-operation. It would undermine the nuclear deterrent between Russia and the West, which is the reason Moscow is getting so exercised about the plan. Nor, it should be noted, is there any serious suggestion that Britain itself would be protected by the shield in the event of a nuclear strike from the east.

The fact that such a controversial policy was rushed through in a written statement reflects poorly on Gordon Brown. Upon taking power, the Prime Minister announced that he wanted to restore Parliament to its role as prime scrutiniser of the executive. But then he pushes this measure through in the full knowledge that there was insufficient time for MPs to debate the policy. It looks suspiciously like the old practice of burying inconvenient news.

A cross-party group of MPs are now calling for a full debate in Parliament on the matter. It is essential that they get it. Otherwise, Mr Brown’s promises to be a champion of Parliament risk being undermined only a month after he made them.

BNP Bomber Sentenced By A Friendly Court & Police

A FORMER BNP candidate who stockpiled chemicals and food because he feared the country was heading to civil war has been jailed for two-and-a-half years. But Robert Cottage, of Talbot Street, Colne, could be out of prison within six months due to the time he has spent on remand, police said.

But, boys and girls get what the judge says-

She added there was a low risk of him committing further offences.
“I am satisfied it was Cottage’s views on how he put it ‘the evils of uncontrolled immigration’ would lead to civil war which would be imminent and inevitable… I accept the intention was to hold these chemicals until the outbreak of civil unrest. That was a criminal and potentially dangerous act.”

And the Police-

“He has already spent a long time on remand, and that coupled with the early release scheme means he is likely to be out within six months. After that, he will be monitored closely by parole officers. He is a man of previous good character and his life has dramatically changed because of this investigation.”

“His marriage has broken up and he has lost his job so when he comes out of prison he has got to rebuild his life. His experience will perhaps have a sobering effect on the more radical elements of his views. We feel the sentence justifies the way in which the matter has been handled by the police and the prosecution authorities. He was a very eccentric man with very eccentric views that most people would not agree with, although it’s probably fair to say they were honestly-held views.”

Blairwatch also compare how this sentence compares to those given to Muslims with brown skin (can you guess who gets the heavier sentences, by 10 or 20 years at times), now maybe it’s just me but doesn’t the judge accepting his word seem a little odd and the coppers spiel is virtually a love letter. His far right racist views that lead to him arming himself were ‘honestly-held’ is that code language for -Ok by me, what d’you say white people, we have to stem the tide of immigrant filth somehow-  ‘eccentric views’, ‘of previous good character’, he was a BNP candidate,  a white supremacist political party with a history of violence. What The Fuck? Well it’s a clear signal on which side the law rests in Burnley, white & right wing, and the treatment of the case by the media and the sentence handed out to Muslims for lesser offences shows the rule is good for the UK too- White & Right is Okay. The tribe looks after its own. And Brown (oh the irony) wants to extend detention without charge to 56 days which is 8 weeks, almost 2 months, with no charge at all, just interrogation for a solid 8 weeks. While the security services go through your entire life, and if they don’t get a full confession or charge, they might get some embarrassing personal info or a criminal confession they will keep on file to ‘persuade’ you to be an informer. Don’t think that isn’t part of the reasoning for the 8 week proposal, to create intelligence assets in communities where they have none. And they need them to control people with relatives in countries we bomb or will soon be bombing under orders from Uncle Sam, they’re worried they might get a bit peeved, or better yet get them nicely set up on more terror charges to destroy their case for opposition to the Empire’s wars. If you’re against the ‘War on Terror’ ergo you must be a terrorist. Which is what is said politically already- opposition helps the enemy, demoralises the troops, shows we are weak and will be overrun by ‘islamofascists’. Govts. are never stronger than in a long war, when they can paint their leadership as of life or death importance and dissent as treason. But this isn’t WWII, we are the aggressors here and our enemy is self created (well by the Empire, but we are the monkey to that organ grinder), after decades of meddling to secure assets and influence. You can’t solve a problem without first accurately identifying it, but there is no political will to admit the problem (after all show me a humble and contrite elite and I’ll show you my moon surfing unicorn pony), because our tribe is always right and ‘they’ are the bad guys.

Stop Thinking & Let The Greed Virus Prosper

Nicolas Sarkozy seeks to shift emphasis away from intellectualism and towards “working hard” with the hopes of getting rich. Says Finance Minister Christine Lagarde: “Enough thinking, already. Roll up your sleeves.”Mr. Sarkozy and his team hope to persuade the French that it is in their interest to abandon what some commentators call a nationwide “laziness” and to work longer and harder, and maybe even get rich. France’s legally mandated 35-hour work week gives workers a lot of leisure time but not necessarily the means to enjoy it. Taxes on high-wage earners are so burdensome that hordes have fled abroad. (Mr. Sarkozy cites the case of one of his stepdaughters, who works in an investment-banking firm in London.)

In her National Assembly speech, Ms. Lagarde said that there should be no shame in personal wealth and that the country needed tax breaks to lure the rich back

The satirical weekly Le Canard Enchainé, meanwhile, mocked Ms. Lagarde for praising the sheer joy of work and quoting Confucius’s oft-cited line, “Choose a work that you love and you won’t have to work another day.” Such “subtleties have escaped the cleaning lady or the supermarket checkout clerk,” a commentary in the newspaper said Wednesday.

“We are seeing an important cultural change,” said Eric Chaney, chief economist for Europe for Morgan Stanley. “Working families in France want to be richer. Wealth is no longer a taboo…

The fundamentalists of the Church of the Free Market are pleased indeed. The NY Times seems to suggest France has no opulence, that there are no wealthy BMW or Mercedes driving elites with huge country houses to compliment their valuable city homes. Or at least that’s what they want their audience to think, such low opinion of their readers, well they did lie them into war, respect must be hard to come by all round. And I don’t think that the fact Sicko shows France as an example of universal healthcare is unrelated to this representation of a country beset with oppressive taxes and low achievement obsessing over intellectualism while high earners flee the voraciously punitive taxes. Such is the Empire’s culture wars, its clash of civilisations, it wants the whole earth under it’s idea of utterly cruel free market fascism. The Priest economists claiming faith as fact (free markets work brethren!) and poverty as the punishment for sinners of low enterprise. A 35 hour working week? What with all that spare time one might have a real family life or time to enrich mind and body away from ones toil. What kind of fool would want that? Heresy!

The Memory Hole

Today we learn there was a news blackout on reporting that Dhiren Barot was seriously assaulted in jail-

Dhiren Barot, 35, from Kingsbury in north-west London, had been serving life at HMP Frankland near Durham. He spent five days in Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary after the assault. A news blackout was imposed for the duration of his hospital stay, during which armed police were present. Barot was returned to prison on Saturday.

How lovely and cooperative our press were and of course they give a quick shorthand of the dastardly evils he was sent to jail for-

At his trial at Woolwich Crown Court Barot was described as a determined terrorist who prepared meticulous plans for al-Qaeda figures on a series of synchronised attacks in the UK. These included exploding gas tankers hidden in limousines, flooding the tube network and a radioactive “dirty bomb”. He was jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum sentence of 40 years

Except…cast your mind back to when this ultra-dangerous (not so dangerous that he could be caught alone and badly attacked, AQ as prison gangs go can’t protect its own, but you should remain utterly terrified of them apparently)-

“The Crown could not dispute claims from the defence that no funding had been received for the projects, nor any vehicles or bomb-making materials acquired.” No money, no vehicles, no bombs – just some retarded nutcase scrawling absent-minded empty threats in a notebook. Should he be investigated by the police? No doubt about it. Should his “confession” of scribbling demented ramblings in a paper pad be splashed all over the top of the BBC website and head up the evening news as a major foiled bomb plot? No. That’s outright fearmongering and artificially inflating a nothing story to feed into the public’s fear of its own shadow.

Given that many of the readers of Spy Blog (or of Tom Clancy novels) have at least as much knowledge of potential targets and techniques as Dhiren Barot appears to have had, we are worried about this “thought crime” conviction with no actual evidence of means and capability to put into action any of the “movie plots”, which he appears to have been researching. Just because he pleaded guilty, presumably for the purposes of self martyrdom, this is only evidence of evil intent, not of an actual, realistic, threat. 

Americium, as Kelly’s evidence also states, is found in smoke detectors. Barot’s plan was to somehow either harvest the minute quantities of it from smoke alarms, or if that proved too difficult, to somehow acquire 10,000 of them, then either set them alight, or place all 10,000 of them on top of an “explosive device”, all without anyone noticing this tottering tower of beeping annoyances. He worked out that it would cost around £50,000 to obtain the smoke alarms, and another £20,000 to store them, all money which he didn’t have. 

But that was down the memory hole, now all that is put in the minds of the punters is terrifyingly dangerous terrorist getting pasted in prison. Somewhere between the lines ‘just deserts’ hovers and by not revisiting the ludicrous aspects of the case fear of the terrorist menace (they could be under YOUR bed!) is maintained. Ho-hum.