Bird flu pandemic could kill 150m, UN warns

"A global flu pandemic could kill as many as 150 million people if the world fails to prepare for an expected mutation of the bird flu virus, enabling it to spread from human to human, the United Nations said.

"If the virus spreads among humans, the quality of the world response will determine whether it ends up killing five million or as many as 150 million, Dr David Nabarro of the Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO) told a news conference.

"The last flu pandemic, which broke out in 1918 at the end of World War One, killed more than 40 million people and drove home the vulnerability of a world where borders had less and less meaning, he said.

"Dr Nabarro said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked him to head up a worldwide drive to contain the current bird flu pandemic and prepare for its possible jump to humans.

"It seems very likely the H5N1 bird flu virus will soon change into a variant able to be transmitted among humans and it would be a big mistake to ignore that danger, he warned.

"'I am almost certain there will be another pandemic soon,' Dr Nabarro said.

"Some governments and international organisations have already started joining forces to begin preparations.

"US President George W Bush unveiled a plan at the United Nations this month under which global resources and expertise would be pooled to fight bird flu, and Washington is hosting an October 7-8 planning meeting.

"Canada is hosting an October 25-26 meeting of high-level officials in Ottawa, and the WHO has called for a November 7-8 meeting in Geneva to coordinate needed funding.

"So far, the H5N1 virus has mainly infected humans who were in close contact with infected birds and has killed 66 people in four Asian nations since late 2003.

"Asia and the Middle East are particular concerns as the bird flu is now concentrated in Asia and could be carried to the Middle East by migratory flocks, Dr Nabarro said.

"An outbreak in an impoverished and conflict-ridden part of Africa such as Sudan, where health services are scarce and millions have been driven from their homes, could lead to "a nightmare scenario," he said.

"Until now, the effort to contain the spread of the virus among birds and prepare for a possible shift to humans has been led by the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation and the WHO.

"Dr Nabarro said he would head a new UN system-wide office in New York that would begin mobilising governments, international agencies, health workers and the pharmaceutical industry."
ABC

WHO press release
New flu pandemic could kill up to 150-M people--UN expert
Global flu pandemic could kill 150 million: UN
FLU PANDEMIC COULD KILL 150M
Flu Czar Warns of Coming Flu Pandemic
Scotsman - all 244 related »
Involve GPs in Frontline Response To Possible Flu Pandemic

Google: Track new stories about flu pandemic – create an email alert or track RSS

Tagged: health, avian, flu, pandemic, epidemic

Sinister events in a cynical war

By John Pilger

Here are questions that are not being asked about the latest twist of a cynical war. Were explosives and a remote-control detonator found in the car of the two SAS special forces men "rescued" from prison in Basra on 19 September? If true, what were they planning to do with them? Why did the British military authorities in Iraq put out an unbelievable version of the circumstances that led up to armoured vehicles smashing down the wall of a prison?

According to the head of Basra's Governing Council, which has co-operated with the British, five civilians were killed by British soldiers. A judge says nine. How much is an Iraqi life worth? Is there to be no honest accounting in Britain for this sinister event, or do we simply accept Defence Secretary John Reid's customary arrogance? "Iraqi law is very clear,? he said. ?British personnel are immune from Iraqi legal process." He omitted to say that this fake immunity was invented by Iraq?s occupiers.

Watching "embedded" journalists in Iraq and London, attempting to protect the British line was like watching a satire of the whole atrocity in Iraq. First, there was feigned shock that the Iraqi regime's "writ" did not run outside its American fortifications in Baghdad and the "British trained" police in Basra might be "infiltrated". An outraged Jeremy Paxman wanted to know how two of our boys -- in fact, highly suspicious foreigners dressed as Arabs and carrying a small armoury -- could possibly be arrested by police in a "democratic" society. "Aren't they supposed to be on our side?" he demanded.

Although reported initially by the Times and the Mail, all mention of the explosives allegedly found in the SAS men's unmarked Cressida vanished from the news. Instead, the story was the danger the men faced if they were handed over to the militia run by the "radical" cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. "Radical" is a gratuitous embedded term; al-Sadr has actually co-operated with the British. What did he have to say about the "rescue"? Quite a lot, none of which was reported in this country. His spokesman, Sheikh Hassan al-Zarqani, said the SAS men, disguised as al-Sadr's followers, were planning an attack on Basra ahead of an important religious festival. "When the police tried to stop them," he said, "[they] opened fire on the police and passers-by. After a car chase, they were arrested. What our police found in the car was very disturbing - weapons, explosives and a remote control detonator. These are the weapons of terrorists."

The episode illuminates the most enduring lie of the Anglo-American adventure. This says the "coalition" is not to blame for the bloodbath in Iraq - which it is, overwhelmingly - and that foreign terrorists orchestrated by al-Qaeda are the real culprits. The conductor of the orchestra, goes this line, is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian. The demonry of Al-Zarqawi is central to the Pentagon's "Strategic Information Program" set up to shape news coverage of the occupation. It has been the Americans' single unqualified success. Turn on any news in the US and Britain, and the embedded reporter standing inside an American (or British) fortress will repeat unsubstantiated claims about al-Zarqawi.

Two impressions are the result: that Iraqis' right to resist an illegal invasion -- a right enshrined in international law -- has been usurped and de-legitimised by callous foreign terrorists, and that a civil war is under way between the Shi'ites and the Sunni. A member of the Iraqi National Assembly, Fatah al-Sheikh said this week, "There is a huge campaign for the agents of the foreign occupiers to enter and plant hatred between the sons of the Iraqi people and spread rumours in order to scare the one from the other... The occupiers are trying to start religious incitement and if it does not happen, then they will start an internal Shi'ite incitement."

The Anglo-American goal of "federalism" for Iraq is part of an imperial strategy of provoking divisions in a country where traditionally the communities have overlapped, even inter-married. The Osama-like promotion of al-Zarqawi is integral to this. Like the Scarlet Pimpernel, he is everywhere but nowhere. When the Americans crushed the city of Fallujah last year, the justification for their atrocious behaviour was "getting those guys loyal to al-Zarqawi". But the city's civil and religious authorities denied he was ever there or had anything to do with the resistance.

"He is simply an invention." said the Imam of Baghdad's al-Kazimeya mosque. "Al-Zarqawi was killed in the beginning of the war in the Kurdish north. His family even held a ceremony after his death." Whether or not this is true, al-Zaqawi's "foreign invasion" serves as Bush's and Blair's last veil for their "war on terror" and botched attempt to control the world's second biggest source of oil.

On 23 September, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, an establishment body, published a report that accused the US of "feeding the myth" of foreign fighters in Iraqi who account for less than 10 per cent of a resistance estimated at 30,000. Of the eight comprehensive studies into the number of Iraqi civilians killed by the "coalition", four put the figure at more than 100,000. Until the British army is withdrawn from where it has no right to be, and those responsible for this monumental act of terrorism are indicted by the International Criminal Court, Britain is shamed.

John Pilger is an internationally renowned investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is currently a visiting professor at Cornell University, New York. His film, Stealing a Nation, about the expulsion of the people of Diego Garcia, has won the Royal Television Society's award for the best documentary on British television in 2004-5. His latest book is Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and its Triumphs (Jonathan Cape, 2004). Visit New Statesman

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Yellow Pages has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Yellow Pages endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

Tagged: uk, united+kingdom, blair, iraq, war, military, peace, disinformation, propaganda

The 11 subjects forbidden to Chinese bloggers

"Following details Sunday of a new crackdown on Chinese bloggers, the Chinese Government’s State Council Information Bureau and Ministry of Industry and Information has issued a list that contains 11 subjects forbidden to Chinese bloggers.

"Bloggers are banned from putting out news that:
- violates the basic principles of the Chinese constitution:
- endangers national security, leaks national secrets, seeks to overthrow the government, endangers the unification of the country;
- destroys the country’s reputation and benefits;
- arouses national feelings of hatred, racism, and endangers racial unification;
- violates national policies on religion, promotes the propaganda of sects and superstition;
- diffuses rumours, endangers public order and creates social uncertainty;
- diffuses information that is pornographic, violent, terrorist or linked to gambling;
- libels or harms people’s reputation, violates people’s legal rights;
- includes illegal information bounded by law and administrative rules.
and the final two dictates that:
- It is forbidden to encourage illegal gatherings, strikes, etc to create public disorder;
- It is forbidden to organise activities under illegal social associations or organisations.

"Blogs that break these new rules will be shut down and those running them will have to pay a fine that could reach 30,000 yuans (aprox $3,500 USD)."

(via RSF Media release recieved via email) and found at Blog Herald

Tagged: china, blog, blogs, blogging, bloggers, freedom, liberty, human+rights, civil+rights, censorship

Uniformed terror stalks southern Thailand

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

Tanyong Limo, Narathiwat, Sep 27 (IPS) - "From the tea shop that she runs with her husband, Maye Leh surveys the silence that has descended on the surrounding small houses with cracked walls, shut windows and closed doors on a late Sunday morning.

"The only sounds are those of clucking chickens, the twitter of caged birds and the odd breeze that wafts through this village, whose ethnic Malay-Muslim inhabitants have fled after heavily armed troops poured in searching for people responsible for the lynching of two marines last week.

"Maye, 50, is not sure when the normal rhythm of life in this village, set amidst the rubber plantations and lush tropical vegetation of southern Narathiwat province, will be restored.

"The marines were beaten and stabbed to death, after being held hostage in a single-room building with stained walls, close to a half-built mosque and the village graveyard, last Wednesday.

"News of the brutality and accounts of hundreds of Muslim women, barricading the entrance to Tanyong Limo during the 18-hour hostage drama, brought to an end the years of obscurity this community lived in.

"Instead, this village of some 2,000 people, became the latest entry in a growing list of blood-soaked localities caught in the spiralling ethnic unrest that has claimed over 1,000 deaths, since January last year, in this region near the Malaysian border.

"Yet, the anger directed at this community of poor rubber tappers by the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, could only help cement a belief that the government cares little for the welfare of people in these remote marches.

"The marines were killed in retaliation for the deaths of two villagers and injuries to four others caused by indiscriminate firing from a passing vehicle directed at Maye's run-down tea shop.

"'I have no idea why they were shot,' says Maye, adjusting the white shawl covering her head. 'I told the men not to linger but go home because of what has been happening these days'.

"'He was just a rubber tapper,' said Maeje Niumah, the mother of one of the men killed at the tea shop outside the home of a relative.

"Angry villagers in Tanyong Limo accuse troops of being behind the tea shop deaths just as people in Lahan, another village in Narathiwat province believe that the army was behind the murder of an imam (religious leader) just days before.

"The people of Lahan reacted to the murder of their religious leader in similar fashion-- by blocking the entry of soldiers with makeshift barricades.

"But additionally, over 130 men, women and children from Lahan village and its vicinity, fled across the border to asylum in Malaysia, sparking off a diplomatic storm between the South-east Asian neighbours.

"The villagers' fear was natural. After all, it was in the Narathiwat locality of Tak Bai that 78 Muslim boys and men died of suffocation while in military custody, in October last year. They had been arrested for demonstrating against police abuse.

"Feelings of distrust that the villagers have for the regime in Bangkok is due to 'a sense of injustice', says Perayot Rahimullah, a former professor of political science, but now a parliamentarian from Narathiwat for the opposition Democrat party.

"'The Muslims in the three provinces feel that they have no social dignity due to the reality they encounter,' Peryaot told IPS , referring to Narathiwat and neighbouring Pattani and Yala provinces, predominated by Malay-Muslim populations.

"But that is not solely the creation of the Thaksin administration. The local Muslims have long complained about the economic neglect and cultural discrimination they have endured from policy makers in Bangkok that stretches back decades.

"The consequences of those policies are reflected in studies by United Nations agencies that have noted that Narathiwat, where 82 percent of the province's 730,146 people are Malay-Muslims, has a poverty rate that is two to three times higher than Thailand's national average.

"The poverty and deprivation is visible in Tanyong Limo in the unkempt houses made of wood or drab brick and cement which are a world away from the commercial buzz and the acres of plate glass and chrome that makes Bangkok a world-class capital.

"Muslim disaffection against the Thai state has only grown since the southern provinces, which were once part of the Muslim kingdom of Pattani, were annexed by Siam in 1902, as Thailand was then known ..."
IPS

Tagged: thailand, terrorism, islam, muslims, state+terror

The news media and the anti-war movement

By Norman Solomon

"It's reasonable to estimate that more than a quarter of a million people demonstrated against the Iraq war on Saturday in Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other U.S. cities. The next day, the Washington Post front-paged a decent story that described 'the largest show of antiwar sentiment in the nation's capital since the conflict in Iraq began.' But more perfunctory back-page articles were typical in daily papers across the country. And over the weekend, many TV news watchers saw little or nothing about the protests.

"Hurricane Rita was clearly a factor. But even without dramatic natural disasters, the news media are ready, willing and able to downplay news about war -- and the antiwar movement -- for any number of reasons. Conventional wisdom on Capitol Hill or in newsrooms can tamp down media coverage of a surging movement. What's crucial is that the movement not allow its momentum to be interrupted by media treatment.

"If 'journalism is the first draft of history,' the journalism of corporate media is usually the quickie top-down view of history that's told from vantage points far removed from progressive movements. Media technologies and styles aside, what we're experiencing now from major U.S. news outlets is not very different from the coverage of the Vietnam War.

"A persistent myth is that mainstream American news outlets were tough on the war in Vietnam while boosting the antiwar movement. And these days -- after a summer of plunging poll numbers for President Bush along with the profoundly important media presence of Cindy Sheehan -- many people seem to think that the news media have turned against the war makers in Washington. But overall the media realities are something else. Actual history should make us wary of any assumption that the press is apt to be a counterweight to militarism ..."
AlterNet

Tagged: usa, peace, peace+movement, war, media

The impending cakewalk in Iran

"'Top-ranking Americans have told equally top-ranking Indians in recent weeks that the US has plans to invade Iran before Bush's term ends. In 2002, a year before the US invaded Iraq, high-ranking Americans had similarly shared their definitive vision of a post-Saddam Iraq, making it clear that they would change the regime in Baghdad.' Calcutta Telegraph 9-25-05

"The UN's nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA, officially signed Iran's death-warrant yesterday. By passing a US-backed resolution that refers Iran's nuclear program to the Security Council, the member states have endorsed America's genocidal Middle East policy and paved the way for another war. Even though Tal Afar, Samara and other civilian enclaves are still under a withering attack from American forces, and even though reports of rampant prisoner abuse and torture continue to surface around Falluja, and even though increasing numbers of young Sunni men, who've been beaten and shot in the back of the head, are being fished from the Euphrates River every day; the sycophantic Euro-allies have thrown their support behind a resolution that will unavoidably lead to another war. Everyone who signed on to this treacherous pact is equally culpable of the misery it will inevitably produce ..."
Centre for Research on Globalization

Tagged: iran, nuclear, usa

Were UK Special Forces planting bombs in Basra?

Suspicions strengthened by earlier reports

By Michael Keefer

"Does anyone remember the shock with which the British public greeted the revelation four years ago that one of the members of the Real IRA unit whose bombing attack in Omagh on August 15, 1998 killed twenty-nine civilians had been a double agent, a British army soldier?

"That soldier was not Britain’s only terrorist double agent. A second British soldier planted within the IRA claimed he had given forty-eight hours advance notice of the Omagh car-bomb attack to his handlers within the Royal Ulster Constabulary, including 'details of one of the bombing team and the man’s car registration.' Although the agent had made an audio tape of his tip-off call, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, chief constable of the RUC, declared that 'no such information was received' (Link).

"This second double agent went public in June 2002 with the claim that from 1981 to 1994, while on full British army pay, he had worked for 'the Force Research Unit, an ultra-secret wing of British military intelligence,' as an IRA mole. With the full knowledge and consent of his FRU and MI5 handlers, he became a bombing specialist who 'mixed explosive and … helped to develop new types of bombs,' including 'light-sensitive bombs, activated by photographic flashes, to overcome the problem of IRA remote-control devices having their signal jammed by army radio units.' He went on to become "a member of the Provisional IRA’s "internal security squad"—also known as the "torture unit"—which interrogated and executed suspected informers' (Link).

"The much-feared commander of that same 'torture unit' was likewise a mole, who had previously served in the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Squadron (an elite special forces unit, the Marines’ equivalent to the better-known SAS). A fourth mole, a soldier code-named 'Stakeknife' whose military handlers 'allowed him to carry out large numbers of terrorist murders in order to protect his cover within the IRA,' was still active in December 2002 as 'one of Belfast’s leading Provisionals' (Link).

"Reliable evidence also emerged in late 2002 that the British army had been using its double agents in terrorist organizations 'to carry out proxy assassinations for the British state'—most notoriously in the case of Belfast solicitor and human rights activist Pat Finucane, who was murdered in 1989 by the Protestant Ulster Defence Association. It appears that the FRU passed on details about Finucane to a British soldier who had infiltrated the UDA; he in turn "supplied UDA murder teams with the information" (Link).

"Recent events in Basra have raised suspicions that the British army may have reactivated these same tactics in Iraq.

"Articles published by Michel Chossudovsky, Larry Chin and Mike Whitney at the Centre for Research on Globalization’s website on September 20, 2005 have offered preliminary assessments of the claims of Iraqi authorities that two British soldiers in civilian clothes who were arrested by Iraqi police in Basra on September 19—and in short order released by a British tank and helicopter assault on the prison where they were being held—had been engaged in planting bombs in the city

"See: Link :: Link :: Link

"A further article by Kurt Nimmo points to false-flag operations carried out by British special forces troops in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, and to Donald Rumsfeld’s formation of the P2OG, or Proactive Preemptive Operations Group, as directly relevant to Iraqi charges of possible false-flag terror operations by the occupying powers in Iraq (Link).

"These accusations by Iraqi officials echo insistent but unsubstantiated claims, going back at least to the spring of 2004, to the effect that many of the terror bombings carried out against civilian targets in Iraq have actually been perpetrated by U.S. and British forces rather than by Iraqi insurgents.

"Some such claims can be briskly dismissed. In mid-May 2005, for example, a group calling itself 'Al Qaeda in Iraq' accused U.S. troops 'of detonating car bombs and falsely accusing militants' (Link). For even the most credulous, this could at best be a case of the pot calling the kettle soot-stained. But it’s not clear why anyone would want to believe this claim, coming as it does from a group or groupuscule purportedly led by the wholly mythical al-Zarqawi—and one whose very name affiliates it with terror bombers. These people, if they exist, might themselves have good reason to blame their own crimes on others ..."
Centre for Research on Globalization

Tagged: iraq, disinformation, uk, usa, military, progressive, peace, war, ireland, ira

Project Censored: Top Censored Stories of 2004 - 05

#1 Bush Administration Moves to Eliminate Open Government
#2 Media Coverage Fails on Iraq: Fallujah and the Civilian Deathtoll
#3 Another Year of Distorted Election Coverage
#4 Surveillance Society Quietly Moves In
#5 U.S. Uses Tsunami to Military Advantage in Southeast Asia
#6 The Real Oil for Food Scam
#7 Journalists Face Unprecedented Dangers to Life and Livelihood
#8 Iraqi Farmers Threatened By Bremer's Mandates
#9 Iran's New Oil Trade System Challenges U.S. Currency
#10 Mountaintop Removal Threatens Ecosystem and Economy
#11 Universal Mental Screening Program Usurps Parental Rights
#12 Military in Iraq Contracts Human Rights Violators
#13 Rich Countries Fail to Live up to Global Pledges
#14 Corporations Win Big on Tort Reform, Justice Suffers
#15 Conservative Plan to Override Academic Freedom in the Classroom
#16 U.S. Plans for Hemispheric Integration Include Canada
#17 U.S. Uses South American Military Bases to Expand Control of the Region
#18 Little Known Stock Fraud Could Weaken U.S. Economy
#19 Child Wards of the State Used in AIDS Experiments
#20 American Indians Sue for Resources; Compensation Provided to Others
#21 New Immigration Plan Favors Business Over People
#22 Nanotechnology Offers Exciting Possibilities But Health Effects Need Scrutiny
#23 Plight of Palestinian Child Detainees Highlights Global Problem
#24 Ethiopian Indigenous Victims of Corporate and Government Resource Aspirations
#25 Homeland Security Was Designed to Fail
Project Censored (USA site)

Tagged: censorship, progressive, media

News news

Yesterday increased Daily Planet News to 140+ newsfeeds on the one page.

Britain to pull troops from Iraq

· Defence Secretary confident withdrawal will start in May
· Plan follows pressure for exit strategy

"British troops will start a major withdrawal from Iraq next May under detailed plans on military disengagement to be published next month, The Observer can reveal.

"The document being drawn up by the British government and the US will be presented to the Iraqi parliament in October and will spark fresh controversy over how long British troops will stay in the country. Tony Blair hopes that, despite continuing and widespread violence in Iraq, the move will show that there is progress following the conflict of 2003.

"Britain has already privately informed Japan - which also has troops in Iraq - of its plans to begin withdrawing from southern Iraq in May, a move that officials in Tokyo say would make it impossible for their own 550 soldiers to remain.

"The increasingly rapid pace of planning for British military disengagement has been revealed on the eve of the Labour Party conference, which will see renewed demands for a deadline for withdrawal. It is hoped that a clearer strategy on Iraq will quieten critics who say that the government will not be able to 'move on' until Blair quits. Yesterday, about 10,000 people demonstrated against the army's continued presence in the country."
Observer

Update: Blair denies Iraq pull-out date ... "The prime minister also told Andrew Marr he had not expected the 'ferocity' of resistance from Middle East elements following the invasion of Iraq." He must be kidding, or else he had his head pretty far up his arse before he invaded, because everyone else expected it.

Tagged: uk, britain, usa, iraq, war, peace, activism

US using Hicks as 'guinea pig': military lawyer

"Lawyers for Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks say they're shocked by a decision to push ahead with his terrorism case, accusing the US of using him as a guinea pig.

"David Hicks will face a fresh hearing before the US military commission sometime in October.

"He's the only detainee whose case is moving forward, with the decision announced just a day after the Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's visit to Washington.

"Hicks' lawyers had been promised the case will not move forward while they're waiting for two other crucial court decisions challenging the validity of the military commissions themselves."
World Today

Related: Guantanamo Bay hunger strike 'desperate'

Tagged: david+hicks, guantanamo, human+rights, usa, australia

Calls for withdrawal from Iraq echoing in Washington

"Far from demanding to 'bring the troops home now,' Congress has begun considering what steps will create a stable Iraq without involving our soldiers' writes Tom Hayden

"Congressional debate finally has turned to an exit strategy from Iraq after an interminable period of dominance by proponents of war and occupation, as a result of the Sept. 15 hearing on withdrawal chaired by Rep. Lynn Woolsey. Twenty-nine members of Congress attended the four-hour forum, including one Republican, Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina.

"After next week's massive anti-war demonstrations, Congress is expected to increase its gradual exploration of how to get out of Iraq. Activists who attended the hearing are demanding a specific exit strategy resolution. A critical moment will come in January 2006, the start of the election year, when Bush is likely to send a request for another $100 billion in Iraq funding on top of $100-plus billion for Hurricane Katrina. According to the Wall Street Journal, 'cutting spending on Iraq is Americans' top choice for financing the recovery from Katrina.'

"Despite the hearing and intensified anti-war pressure, there remains a huge gap between the minimum demands of the anti-war movement and the maximum that Congressional representatives are able or willing to offer, at least in the short run. But a deep unease runs through both parties and the military. The original neo-conservative "vision" of a quick victory in Baghdad followed by invasions of Syria and Iran seems out of the question (although a sudden bombing of Iran's nuclear site remains possible) ..."
AlterNet

Tagged: war+on+terror, bush, washington, iraq, peace, war, congress

Bush Helps Disaster Profiteers

"Katrina is a disaster for the people of the gulf region and for the nation's economy. About 400,000 Americans will lose their jobs, according to the Congressional Budget Office. But for some companies, especially those with political connections, Katrina -- like the war in Iraq -- is a bonanza.

"Congress has already appropriated $62 billion for post-Katrina relief and repair, and the figure is expected to exceed $100 billion. The reconstruction of New Orleans and the gulf coast, like the rebuilding of Iraq, has unleashed a feeding frenzy of government contracts to companies. FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers quickly suspended rules in order to allow no-bid contracts and speed up reconstruction. Politically connected firms like Haliburton, Fluor Corporation, and Bechtel have already scooped up hundreds of millions of dollars for post-Katrina reconstruction.

"Haliburton, formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney, is facing questions for allegedly overcharging on work done in Iraq. The Department of Defense has been criticized for awarding Iraq reconstruction contracts to Haliburton and Bechtel without competition. Since the storm hit, Haliburton's shares have risen by more than 10 percent to $65."
AlterNet

Tagged: progressive, hurricane, katrina, hurricanekatrina, bush, cheney, bechtel, halliburton

"Saddam has no WMDs": Colin Powell, February 2001

"He (Saddam Hussein) has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction."
Colin Powell, February, 2001

See him say it, and see and hear Condoleezza Rice make substantially the same assertion at http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/multimedia/powell_condy_on_wmds.wmv (it's 1,090 kb and 56 seconds).

Please don't hot link it on your site. Download it and upload it to your server, or else give some support (I'm poor and bandwidth is starting to affect my pocket) at the Support page.

Read more of Powell's disinformation at Colin Powell and CNN: misleading the public of the world, and check out Myths of the War on Terrorism and Iraq which has hundreds of footnotes and links for the interested student of propaganda.

Tagged: impeach, bush, colin, powell, condy, condoleezza, iraq, wmd, wmds, weapons, mass, destruction, lies, disinformation, propaganda

US Justice Dept "trying to blame environmentalists for flood"

NEW YORK "The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., has obtained a copy of an internal e-mail the U.S. Department of Justice sent out this week to various U.S. attorneys' offices. Reporter Jerry Mitchell’s conclusion: 'Federal officials appear to be seeking proof to blame the flood of New Orleans on environmental groups, documents show.'

"He quotes from the e-mail: 'Has your district defended any cases on behalf of the (U.S.) Army Corps of Engineers against claims brought by environmental groups seeking to block or otherwise impede the Corps work on the levees protecting New Orleans? If so, please describe the case and the outcome of the litigation.'

"Cynthia Magnuson, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, told the reporter Thursday she couldn't comment 'because it's an internal e-mail.'"
Editor and Publisher

Tagged: hurricane, katrina, hurricanekatrina, usa, justice

"Hitchens, you are a slug": Galloway vs. Hitchens

"Amy Goodman hosted a fiery debate Wednesday between British antiwar MP George Galloway and columnist and author Christopher Hitchens in a public duel over the war in Iraq. It was held at the Baruch College performing arts center in Manhattan. Speaking before a sold-out crowd, both men battled it out for over two hours. We play an excerpt of the debate that centers on Hurricane Katrina.

"Christopher Hitchens, writer and columnist. He is author of numerous book, including 'Thomas Jefferson: Author of America.'

"George Galloway, British antiwar MP. For information on his speaking tour: MrGallowayGoesToWashington.com

"AMY GOODMAN: Today we thought, on this special that we're doing with Pacifica Radio stations around the country that we're broadcasting on over 350 radio and TV stations, we would play an excerpt of the debate that related to hurricane Katrina. They were speaking before a sold out crowd of more than 1,000 people. I asked them about the impact of Iraq on New Orleans. Christopher Hitchens responded first, but this was the question:

"AMY GOODMAN: Christopher Hitchens, what about the cost of this war at home? I have just come from New Orleans. Across the political spectrum, you're hearing more and more dissent and criticism of what's happening in Iraq because of what didn't happen in New Orleans, lack of National Guard in Mississippi and Louisiana, the weapons, rather the vehicles that were needed that weren't there. So two questions on that -- what about the cost here at home with the hurricane Katrina and the lack of response. We see clearly, because the reporters are un-embedded here, the troops weren't in New Orleans, and they really presented the pictures, we see clearly the way the U.S. responded here in terms of rebuilding or not, what makes you think the U.S. is any better in Iraq?

"CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS: Well, I would caution people from adopting a zero sum mentality in this respect. I had the opportunity to speak with a close associate of lieutenant general Steve Plum some time ago. He said that he had, before the situation became as dire as it did, had been able to call up the secretary of defense and say, I have 200,000 troops that you can have any time. The question is where is the order going to come from. The president can't, as you know Amy, cannot order American troops into action in the state of the union. He has to be asked by the governor for this to happen. The governor has to admit. I'm sorry, it is in the Constitution. I’m sorry, it is in the Constitution.

"Unless you want to invoke the Insurrection Act, which hasn't been, I think, invoked since the Civil War. So, the fact of the matter is, there were more than enough soldiers. They just weren't given the orders in time, and that's a matter for you -- but as soon as they made their appearance, didn't everything start to look a lot better? Aren't you proud of General Honore? Are you not proud? Are you not proud that a man born -- that a man born into segregation and discrimination is leading really hard professional, tough, generous, brave men and women in uniform for the recovery of New Orleans and all the time has a son in Fallujah and seems to think he can manage both? I think it's hugely to the credit of the United States armed forces that they would consider it ignoble to abandon their commitments in Sadr City and in Halabja and elsewhere. Ignoble and parochial and provincial. Now, Mr. Galloway, came a little near the knuckle a moment ago and I decided to overlook it. He said what I said was bordering on racist. I really feel I'm entitled to ask him to withdraw that imputation. I think that's an opprobious thing to say but I will have to add for people to start pumping out propaganda before the bodies have even been uncovered in New Orleans staying and to make points, demagogic of, and saying they wouldn't be dead if they weren't black. People haven't been identified yet. Whose parents don't know where they are, and to say this wouldn't have happened if we weren't wasting money on Arabs? That, that is an appeal to the most base, provincial, isolationist, and chauvinist mentality.

[Boos]

"CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS: You're on TV.

"AMY GOODMAN: Mr. Galloway.

"CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS: You’re all on TV.

"GEORGE GALLOWAY: Amy, I'm so glad Mr. Hitchens gave that answer. You see, this is where it ends, isn't it? You start off being the liberal mouthpiece of one of the most reactionary governments this country has ever seen on the subject of war. You say you have got your own liberal reasons for doing so, and you end up on apologist and a mouthpiece for those miserable, malevolent incompetents who could even not pick up the bodies of their own citizens in New Orleans in the aftermath of a hurricane. That's where it ends, Hitchens. That's where it ends. You end up a mouthpiece and an apologist for the Bush family, whose matriarch-- you want to talk about racism? What about Barbara Bush-- what about Barbara Bush, who took a look at the poor, huddled masses in the Astrodome and told us they never had it so good? Who told us they were better off than they had ever been, underprivileged people, now in an Astrodome, the only problem, with whom, she said, was that so many of them wanted to stay in Texas. You know, Hitchens, you're a court jester. You're a court jester, not at Camelot, like other ridiculous former liberals before you, but at the court of the Bourbon Bushes. Barbara Bush, the Marie Antoinette of modern day American politics.

"CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS: Well, I think I have to say a quick word, Amy, if I may. This is all good knock about stuff, I must say, Mrs. Bush senior does remind me of, I think it was Lady Diana Cooper who was once stopped outside Claridges Hotel in London as she was waiting under the umbrella for the car to be brought around after a ball. A ragged man approached her and said, ma'am, I haven't eaten for three days. She said, you're very foolish then, you must try, if necessary. You must force yourself, if necessary. It's called a tumbril remark in some circles. I don't know where the Marie Antoinette cake shop was in the Astrodome. But if you notice, I didn't say that I defended the president’s record on this, I have written critically about for all of you to read already in Slate Magazine. What I would not have said -- what I will not have said is that we should go to a refugee woman in Biloxi and say to her, do you realize the Arabs have stolen the money that should have come you to? We have no right to pit the poor against each other in that way and to betray our internationalism. And we have no right whatever to insult the tremendous performance of the United States armed forces once they're put into action. I will add one more thing. The 82nd airborne and first air cavalry so far from being distracted by Iraq, have learned in Iraq matters of civil reconstruction, water distribution, purification, that have been extremely useful to them in New Orleans. The case -- the case, don't – I would advise you not to jeer at these men and women while you're being televised, ladies and gentlemen. I would advise you not to do it."
Democracy Now

Listen to Segment * Ø * Download * Ø * Show mp3 * Ø * Watch 128k stream * Ø * Watch 256k stream

Pacifica Radio

"Galloway responded with withering scorn, dwelling at length on Hitchens's stance during the first Gulf War. All of the arguments he made for going into Iraq today could have been made in 1991, and even more strongly since most of Saddam Hussein's depredations occurred during the 1980s, including the gassing of the Kurds. But this did not stop Hitchens from opposing the war. In a follow-up in the next round, Hitchens claimed that he was "mistaken" at the time and left it at that. But the most satisfying part of Galloway's remarks, and what most people came to hear, was his characterization of Hitchens as an exception to the laws of evolutionary biology. He once was a butterfly, making beautiful speeches against the Gulf War in 1991, but has turned into a slug, leaving a trail of slime behind him."
Counterpunch: The Brawl at Baruch

Tagged: dubya, bush, hurricane, katrina, hurricanekatrina, politics, peace, iraq, galloway, hitchens, progressive, pacifica, radio

Make Poverty History ad banned by Ofcom

In a statement today Ofcom have pronounced the Make Poverty History campaign's political aims to be in breach of broadcast regulations.

Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.

Members of the Make Poverty History coalition reacted with dismay to Ofcom’s verdict. In a statement, a spokesperson for Make Poverty History said:

“We're disappointed with this decision. Members of the Make Poverty History coalition went to great lengths to ensure the 'click ad' met broadcast regulations and took appropriate advice before submitting it to broadcasters.

“This advertisement simply highlights the fact that a child dies every three seconds because of preventable poverty. The millions of people who are wearing a white band or taking action as part of this campaign do not see it as a narrow party-political issue. They see it as the great moral issue of our time.

“We will look carefully at the implications of this decision for our future activity. As world leaders meet in New York for the UN World Summit, it is vitally important that we get across the message that they must go much further in order to make poverty history."
Indymedia UK

Watch the ad

Tagged: make, poverty, history, ad, advertisement, ofcom, uk, political, live8, geldof, censorship, fundraising

Aussie gov't and the detained US peace activist

Australia: "Immigration lawyer Julian Burnside is today calling on the Federal Government to reveal why it revoked US peace activist, Scott Parkin's visa.

"And Mr Burnside says the Government could be breaking its own laws by leaning on Mr Parkin to abandon his appeal against the decision.

"But the Federal Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock has defended the Federal Government's decision to detain the US peace activist, who is still in police custody in Melbourne.

"Mr Ruddock does concede though, that Mr Parkin was not considered a security risk when he was granted an Australian visa."
The World Today

Tagged: australia, australian, activism, activist, usa, american, immigration, human, civil, rights

Three new features in the Almanac project

I've added three new features to the Almanac project. We now have Google News (illustrated) in Daily Planet News, making 38 global newsfeeds on the one page. I think it's a pretty good one-stop news source -- I don't know another like it (tell me if you do, I'd love to see it).

Also, I'm trialling two other features:

Blogmanac lite: Bookmark this if you want the Blogmanac in two-column format and with a faster download (no sidebar with blogroll, etc).

Tagcloud: I've added that to the Almanac Scriptorium homepage. The purpose of this is for the casual or regular visitor to see the main themes of recent posts in the various Almanac blogs. If you want to know what the blogs are, see the menu bar at the top of this page.

What is the Almanac project? At this stage, it's well over 3,000 pages to help with our aim "To give readers many reasons and many ways to 'carpe diem!' -- seize the day!" If you would like to see the project grow, or even stand still, please throw Puppy a coin. A couple of bucks every now and again will help pay our growing Internet and luxury bills. Many thanks.

Tagged: web, website, news, almanac, blogmanac

New terror laws: No to Howard’s police state

Australia: "PM John Howard announced on September 8 an 'unusual but necessary' increase in the state’s repressive armament, supposedly to fight the 'war on terror'.

"Taking his cue from British PM Tony Blair following the terrorist bombings in London, Howard is seizing the opportunity to introduce draconian new 'anti-terror' laws, adding to a plethora of existing 'anti-terror' legislation. The new laws will, according to many commentators, move Australia decisively towards becoming a police state.

"The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation already has the power to snatch people from the streets and hold them incognito for a week on the basis that they might have some terror-related information. Those 'disappeared' by ASIO have no right to a lawyer and no right to silence.

"Under the existing National Security Information Act, the government can order secret trials of alleged terrorists. It can also order that witnesses not be cross-examined, that the accused not be in court to respond to their accusers, that the accused's lawyers get 'security clearances' from ASIO and that 'certificates of evidence' issued by the attorney-general be accepted without question by the courts. Such certificates can prevent the court from seeing relevant evidence, but tell it what that evidence proves in the case.

"This act is being used for the first time in the trial against 'terror suspect' Jack Thomas. His lawyer, Rob Stary, has had to obtain a security clearance in order to accompany him to court and the prosecution wants the entire trial to be held in secret.

"Now the Howard government wants more power to intimidate and hamper those it deems a 'threat' to national security. Howard has said that key elements of the new legislation include:

"The Australian Federal Police (AFP) being able to obtain court orders to restrict the movement of people they consider 'terrorism risks'. This will include being able to 'electronically tag' people and restrict who they can meet - in effect a 12-month home detention regime without having committed an offence.

"'Preventive detention' of suspects for up to 14 days. That is, people can be put in jail for two weeks at a time if they are deemed a 'terrorism risk'. The federal government will need state governments' cooperation to implement this as constitutionally it can only legislate for 48 hours’ detention.

"The AFP will be given the power to stop, question and search people in the streets.

"New migrants will have to wait three instead of two years to apply for citizenship. That this change has been included in an “anti-terror law” package speaks volumes about the racist inclinations of our government.

"A new offence of leaving bags unattended at airports.

"Changing sedition laws to make it an offence to 'incite violence' in the community or against Australian troops overseas. This will carry a seven-year jail term.

"Some state Labor premiers have said they will approach the new laws with 'an open mind' and the federal ALP has said that it will support measures that protect Australians from terrorist attack. Yet even Howard has said that there is no guarantee these laws will do that."
Green Left Weekly

Muslim community expresses concern over anti-terrorism laws
More

Tagged: australia, blair, bliar, terrorism, law, laws, legislation, howard, liberty, liberties, civil, human, rights, islam, muslim, muslims

Yes, we should be afraid - of sacrificing freedoms to expedience

"Do the changes to the Crimes Act and the associated anti-terrorism measures announced by the Prime Minister last week suggest a Government that is more alarmed than alert, or are they further evidence of political virtuosos who can spin the public's security concerns into political advantage? The answer is: it is a bit of both.

"But where alarm and spin combine to constrain personal freedoms without having much impact on the problem - terrorism - the public has reason to worry ...

"Of greater concern are the proposed laws that significantly increase the powers of government and the bureaucracy to curtail personal freedoms. Civil liberty and jurisprudence issues aside, we need to ask ourselves whether the threat is serious enough to warrant these changes, and whether they will be effective anyway.

"Serious doubts attach to legislation permitting control orders, preventive detention, notice to produce relevant information, and the extension of stop, question and search powers. Such powers, if aimed at the communities that might harbour terrorist sentiments, are more likely to exacerbate the problem than alleviate it ...

"Governments must work together to attack the causes and motives of terrorism by addressing the issues that alienate vulnerable communities and generate radicalism.

"What is more alarming is that these measures are unsupported by argument and evidence of threat. Nor is there any analysis of their likely effectiveness. And accountability is overlooked. It is here that one might suspect the victory of politics over reason. Australia will not be more secure by becoming less free: our real defence is the rule of law, inclusiveness and prosperity."

Allan Behm advises on strategy and risk. From 1990 to 1994 he was responsible for counter-terrorism policy in the Attorney-General's Department.
Sydney Morning Herald

Meanwhile, the Alustralian Labor Party under Kim 'Bomber' Beazley is as weak as water once again: Beazley calls for practicality in terrorism fight. No analysis, no direction, no vision.

Australia’s terror paranoia is unfounded

Tagged: australia, terrorism, law, laws, legislation, howard, liberty, liberties, civil, human, rights

Pentagon moves for pre-emptive use of nukes

"The Pentagon has drafted a revised doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons that envisions commanders requesting presidential approval to use them to preempt an attack by a nation or a terrorist group using weapons of mass destruction. The draft also includes the option of using nuclear arms to destroy known enemy stockpiles of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

"The document, written by the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs staff but not yet finally approved by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, would update rules and procedures governing use of nuclear weapons to reflect a preemption strategy first announced by the Bush White House in December 2002. The strategy was outlined in more detail at the time in classified national security directives.

"At a White House briefing that year, a spokesman said the United States would 'respond with overwhelming force' to the use of weapons of mass destruction against the United States, its forces or allies, and said 'all options' would be available to the president.

"The draft, dated March 15, would provide authoritative guidance for commanders to request presidential approval for using nuclear weapons, and represents the Pentagon's first attempt to revise procedures to reflect the Bush preemption doctrine. A previous version, completed in 1995 during the Clinton administration, contains no mention of using nuclear weapons preemptively or specifically against threats from weapons of mass destruction."
Washington Post

Tagged: pentagon, usa, war, nuclear, nukes, rumsfeld, defense, defence

New to the Yellow Pages: Young Blogosphere

From today you will find in the sidebar of the Yellow Pages a new feature (below the news headlines). I call it Young Blogosphere and it comprises the 50 most recent posts from a selection of more than a dozen progressive young bloggers from several continents.

I think you'll find Young Blogosphere a fascinating read every day, and of course the content is constantly updating. I look forward to reading it myself as it refreshes, but I won't hold myself responsible for what they write, so I hope you won't.

I know Young Blogosphere sounds pretty hokey -- sort of Church of England -- but it's the best name I could think of without bending my mind. Bookmark and enjoy.

If you would like a particular young blogger added to the list, please let me know, but not just any blogger, thanks; we want change agents in this list.

Categories: youth, young, progressive, liberal, radical, blog, blogs, blogosphere, bloggers

"Impeach Bush" says top conservative

"Bush's single-minded* focus on the 'war against terrorism' has compounded a natural disaster and turned it into the greatest calamity in American history. The US has lost its largest and most strategic port, thousands of lives, and 80% of one of America’s most historic cities is under water."

Paul Craig Roberts "is John M. Olin Fellow at the Institute for Political Economy and Research Fellow at the Independent Institute. He is a former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal, former contributing editor for National Review, and a former assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury."
Source

*("Single-minded" is a polite way of saying "obsessive" or "monomaniacal".)

"Impeach Bush" hit Number One Search at technorati yesterday. Much more on Impeach Bush at the Blogmanac.


Categories: hurricane, katrina, hurricanekatrina, iraq, dubya, impeach, bush, conservative, progressive

This free tip really does increase traffic to blogs

The tutorial I wrote on how to get more hits on your progressive blog really works.

At left is the latest screen shot of my hits counter. I applied the method on September 1 and hits are now running at about three times my average for this year.

Here's a comment from Nora of the excellent blog extra!extra:

"I can't recommend this highly enough! Thanks for all the work, Pip, and thanks for sharing your tip.

"I thought the method might be tricky but no, I just followed the easy steps and it worked like a treat.

"First off my hits doubled. Then I had to go offline briefly and lost 2 days. Now I'm back posting again and today, using your method, my hits have quadrupled!"

Nora then wrote and said she has had a 500% increase in hits.

I will share this with any progressive blog, but only with progressive blogs. Blogs that oppose the war in Iraq, for example. The method takes about half an hour, maybe an hour, to put into effect on your blog. Grab the step-by-step tutorial for free.

Categories: free, tutorial, tip, tips, blog, blogs, technorati, delicious, del.icio.us, tag, tags, blogger, increase, hits, website, internet, rss, xml, tagcloud, progressive, traffic

Eight big lies about Katrina

"In the past week, Bush administration officials and conservative commentators have repeatedly used the national media to spread misinformation about the federal government's widely criticized response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

"1. Bush: 'I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees'
On the Sept. 1 broadcast of ABC's Good Morning America, President Bush told host Diane Sawyer, 'I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees' that protected New Orleans from flooding. As Media Matters for America has noted, Sawyer did not challenge Bush's claim, despite numerous, repeated warnings by government officials, experts and the media that a major hurricane could cause levee breaches resulting in catastrophic flooding. A September 2 New York Times front-page article repeated Bush's false claim without challenge -- even though a Times editorial the same day declared, "Disaster planners were well aware that New Orleans could be flooded by the combined effects of a hurricane and broken levees."

"A Sept. 5 CNN.com article reported that Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff falsely told reporters that 'planners' did not predict a breach of the levees that would flood the city. As CNN.com reported, Chertoff said, 'That 'perfect storm' of a combination of catastrophes exceeded the foresight of the planners, and maybe anybody's foresight.' But unlike the Times, CNN.com noted that "officials have warned for years that a Category 4 [hurricane] could cause the levees to fail." The CNN.com article added that in an August 31 interview on CNN's Larry King Live, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael Brown said, 'That Category 4 hurricane caused the same kind of damage that we anticipated. So we planned for it two years ago. Last year, we exercised it. And unfortunately this year, we're implementing it.' But in the same Larry King Live interview, Brown responded to complaints that rescue efforts were not moving quickly enough by insisting, 'And I must say this storm is much, much bigger than anyone expected.'

"Additionally, as journalist Joshua Micah Marshall noted on Talking Points Memo, National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield 'talked about the force of Katrina during a video conference call to President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas" on August 28 [St. Petersburg Times, 8/30/05]. The Washington Post quoted Mayfield on September 6: 'They knew that this one was different. ... I don't think Mike Brown or anyone else in FEMA could have any reason to have any problem with our calls. ... They were told ... We said the levees could be topped.'

"2. Chertoff strained credulity in defense of Bush, claimed levee breaks and massive flooding came as a surprise -- more than 12 hours after local media reported them ...
Read on at Alternet

Categories: bush, dubya, usa, lies, hurricane, katrina, impeach, hurricanekatrina, alternet, chertoff, public, relations, pr, spin

Powell: UN speech "a blot" on my record

"In an interview with American ABC TV news to be broadcast on Friday (US time), Colin Powell, former Secretary of State, describes his speech to the UN Security Council on Iraq's WMD capabilities as 'a blot' on his record. 'I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world, and (it) will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now,' [Powell] said. Finally, some recognition of this fact, albeit two years too late."
Metafilter

Must read: How Colin Powell lied to the United Nations
To the best of our knowledge, Wilson's Almanac scooped the world
-- read the extraordinary circumstances under which this happened:

Wilson's Almanac: How Powell lied to the UN Security Council

Categories: colin, powell, lied, lies, bush, un, united, nations, security, council, blot, iraq, invasion, wmd, wmds, occupation, abc, news