Australia terror bill in Cup clash

Australia's right-wing Howard Government has cynically chosen the day of Australia's most famous horse race to push through its draconian "anti-terror" laws. Like Christmas and Easter, Melbourne Cup Day is a time that the whole nation stops -- but not John Howard.

"The Australian government is under fire after it said controversial new anti-terrorism laws would be introduced to parliament on Melbourne Cup day

"Opposition politicians said that debating the legislation during Australia's most famous horse race was 'an extraordinary abuse of power'.

"Critics fear the new laws will be rushed through, without proper debate.

"But the government says the laws are so important they must be brought in soon, regardless of sporting events.

"The Melbourne Cup is known as the race that stops a nation. Large sections of industry and commerce close down for the day.

"The legislation will allow security agencies to detain suspects for up to two weeks without charge. There are also plans to impose life sentences on anyone caught funding militant organisations. The most controversial part of the legislation is a shoot-to-kill provision.

"The measures were drawn up following the bombings in London in July.

"Australian Prime Minister John Howard says that these are dangerous and threatening times, which require a strong and comprehensive response."
NBR (NZ)

Cup Day terror push 'contemptuous'
"The Federal Government is treating voters and the Parliament with contempt by introducing its anti-terror legislation on Melbourne Cup day, shadow attorney-general Nicola Roxon said today.

"Speaking on ABC radio today, Ms Roxon said MPs needed more time to consider the implications of the Bill.

"'Really, it's crazy. The Federal Government wants to introduce this Bill, which has not yet been seen in its final form, on Cup Day and expects to debate it and vote on it in the House of Representatives on that day,' she said.

"'Now, not only is that taking Parliament for granted and treating it with contempt, but we are actually elected by our communities and I think it's treating the communities with contempt not to allow proper debate and scrutiny on this important issue.'

"Ms Roxon said the demands from state leaders at the last Coalition of Australian Governments meeting for a five-year review of the laws and a 10-year sunset clause for the whole package of legislation was not included in the draft legislation.

"Federal Court judges had "next to no powers" to control the actions of police and security agencies under the draft legislation, she said.

"New sedition offences had been 'poorly drafted' and affected many people who might engage in non-violent protests against the Government.

"'We are calling Mr Howard's bluff. You cannot tell the community that these protections are there and then not put them in your legislation, and expect everyone to say that's fine -- people have signed off on it,' Ms Roxon said.

"But Ms Roxon would not commit Labor to repealing the laws if it won Government and if the legislation passed without proper safeguards in place."
Daily Telegraph

'Cup Day' terror law uproar
Howard defends Cup Day terror law
Australia terror bill in Cup clash
NEWS.com.au :: Aljazeera.net :: all 34 related »

Tagged: melbourne+cup, terror, legal, law, terrorism, civil+rights, human+rights

Al Gore decries media power

Here is part of the text of former US Vice President Al Gore's remarks at the We Media conference in New York:

I CAME here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave danger. It is no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse. I know that I am not the only one who feels that something has gone basically and badly wrong in the way America's fabled "marketplace of ideas" now functions.

How many of you, I wonder, have heard a friend or a family member in the last few years remark that it's almost as if America has entered "an alternate universe"?

I thought maybe it was an aberration when three-quarters of Americans said they believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on September 11, 2001. But more than four years later, between a third and a half still believe Saddam was personally responsible for planning and supporting the attack.

At first I thought the exhaustive, non-stop coverage of the O.J. trial was just an unfortunate excess that marked an unwelcome departure from the normal good sense and judgment of our television news media. But now we know that it was merely an early example of a new pattern of serial obsessions that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time.

Are we still routinely torturing helpless prisoners, and if so, does it feel right that we as American citizens are not outraged by the practice? And does it feel right to have no ongoing discussion of whether or not this abhorrent, medieval behavior is being carried out in the name of the American people? If the gap between rich and poor is widening steadily and economic stress is mounting for low-income families, why do we seem increasingly apathetic and lethargic in our role as citizens?

On the eve of the nation's decision to invade Iraq, our longest serving senator, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, stood on the Senate floor asked: "Why is this chamber empty? Why are these halls silent?"

The decision that was then being considered by the Senate with virtually no meaningful debate turned out to be a fateful one. A few days ago, the former head of the National Security Agency, Retired Lt. General William Odom, said,

"The invasion of Iraq, I believe, will turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history."

Read on at Source (Thanks Glenn)

Tagged: media, democracy, iraq, war, peace, disinformation

Indian call centres 'like slave ships' - study

"Call centres housed in swanky glass towers may represent the new face of 21st-century India, but the labour practices they follow belong to the 19th century.

"Though business process outsourcing (BPO) companies are projected as promoters of innovation, flexibility and freedom at workplace, they are actually quite inflexible, eroding even basic rights at work. This is the finding of the first major study of labour practices in Indian call centres.

"The BPO industry in India currently employs 350,000 workers, according to the trade body Nasscom.

"Superior work environment, the use of latest technologies, higher salaries compared to the manufacturing sector, fancy designations, smart and young peer workers — all these make young employees believe that the job they are doing is of an executive or a professional in a multinational-like environment.

"But the organisational structure of call centres is basically 'dualistic' — consisting of a core or permanent set of employees and ‘periphery’ or non-permanent workers. All call-centre agents are periphery workers, who are easily substitutable, while team leaders and managers make up the core group.

"This is similar to the popular model of work organisations followed in 1980s, the study done by the V.V. Giri National Institute of Labour pointed out. The institute is an autonomous body working under the Labour Ministry. The dualistic workforce model allows firms to regulate the workforce and nip in the bud any signs of collectivism.

"The labour practices call centres follow are even much older. Take, for instance, the monitoring of workers at the workplace. 'Work is monitored on the spot and after working hours with the help of specially designed software, computer network and closed circuit cameras,' the study says. 'The degree of surveillance required at work is even comparable with the situations of 19th century prisons or Roman slave ships.'

"In addition, all interactions among employees in office are continuously recorded or taped, and randomly checked by the team leader or manager. Mistakes in work lead to immediate warnings and they are recorded in 'warning cards' that form part of the daily ratings of agents. If an employee commits three errors in a day, he or she is warned and gets zero in his or her daily rating. Three consecutive zeros lead to counselling or even dismissal ..."
Hindustan Times

Tagged: call+center, india, globalization, sweatshop, marketing

Secret poll: Iraqis support attacks on UK troops

"Millions of Iraqis believe that suicide attacks against British troops are justified, a secret military poll commissioned by senior officers has revealed.

"The poll, undertaken for the Ministry of Defence and seen by The Sunday Telegraph, shows that up to 65 per cent of Iraqi citizens support attacks and fewer than one per cent think Allied military involvement is helping to improve security in their country.

"It demonstrates for the first time the true strength of anti-Western feeling in Iraq after more than two and a half years of bloody occupation.

The nationwide survey also suggests that the coalition has lost the battle to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, which Tony Blair and George W Bush believed was fundamental to creating a safe and secure country.

"The results come as it was disclosed yesterday that Lt Col Nick Henderson, the commanding officer of the Coldstream Guards in Basra, in charge of security for the region, has resigned from the Army. He recently voiced concerns over a lack of armoured vehicles for his men, another of whom was killed in a bomb attack in Basra last week.

"The secret poll appears to contradict claims made by Gen Sir Mike Jackson, the Chief of the General Staff, who only days ago congratulated British soldiers for "supporting the Iraqi people in building a new and better Iraq".

"Andrew Robathan, a former member of the SAS and the Tory shadow defence minister, said last night that the poll clearly showed a complete failure of Government policy ..."
Telegraph

Tagged: iraq, war, peace, uk, usa, occupation, terrorism, military, army, bush, blair

USA conspired on Iraq and UN: WMD inspection chief

Scott Ritter on the Untold Story of the Intelligence Conspiracy to Undermine the UN and Overthrow Saddam Hussein

"The CIA knew, since 1992, that significant aspects of the Iraqi weapons programs had been completely eliminated, but this was never about disarmament"

"We speak with Scott Ritter, the chief United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq between 1991 and 1998 about his new book: 'Iraq Confidential: The Untold Story of the Intelligence Conspiracy to Undermine the UN and Overthrow Saddam Hussein.' It details how the CIA manipulated and sabotaged the work of UN departments to achieve the foreign policy agenda of the United States in the Middle East. [includes partial transcript]

"In a major article in The New York Times this weekend, reporter Judith Miller admitted she was wrong when she wrote several of the key articles that claimed Iraq had an extensive weapons of mass destruction program ahead of the 2003 invasion. Miller wrote, 'W.M.D. -- I got it totally wrong. The analysts, the experts and the journalists who covered them -- we were all wrong.' Today we are joined by someone who was not wrong about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq:

Scott Ritter. He was the United Nations" top weapons inspector in Iraq at UNSCOM between 1991 and 1998. Before working at the UN he served as an officer in the US marines and as a ballistic missile adviser to General Schwarzkopf in the first Gulf war.

Scott Ritter has just published a new book titled 'Iraq Confidential: The Untold Story of the Intelligence Conspiracy to Undermine the UN and Overthrow Saddam Hussein.' The book details how the CIA manipulated and sabotaged the work of UN departments to achieve the foreign policy agenda of the United States in the Middle East. ..."

Read on at Democracy Now

Listen to Segment :: Download Show mp3 :: Watch 128k stream :: Watch 256k stream :: Read Transcript :: Printer-friendly version :: Purchase Video/CD

Tagged: scott+ritter, wmd, activism, wmds, unscom, usa, disinformation, propaganda, bush, cia, iraq, war, peace

Cheney 'cabal' hijacked foreign policy

By Edward Alden in Washington

Vice-President Dick Cheney and a handful of others had hijacked the government's foreign policy apparatus, deciding in secret to carry out policies that had left the US weaker and more isolated in the world, the top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed on Wednesday.

In a scathing attack on the record of President George W. Bush, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to Mr Powell until last January, said: “What I saw was a cabal between the vice-president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made.

“Now it is paying the consequences of making those decisions in secret, but far more telling to me is America is paying the consequences.”

Mr Wilkerson said such secret decision-making was responsible for mistakes such as the long refusal to engage with North Korea or to back European efforts on Iran.

It also resulted in bitter battles in the administration among those excluded from the decisions.

“If you're not prepared to stop the feuding elements in the bureaucracy as they carry out your decisions, you are courting disaster. And I would say that we have courted disaster in Iraq, in North Korea, in Iran.”

The comments, made at the New America Foundation, a Washington think-tank, were the harshest attack on the administration by a former senior official since criticisms by Richard Clarke, former White House terrorism czar, and Paul O'Neill, former Treasury secretary, early last year.

Mr Wilkerson said his decision to go public had led to a personal falling out with Mr Powell, whom he served for 16 years at the Pentagon and the State Department.

“He's not happy with my speaking out because, and I admire this in him, he is the world's most loyal soldier."

Among his other charges:

- The detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere was “a concrete example” of the decision-making problem, with the president and other top officials in effect giving the green light to soldiers to abuse detainees. “You don't have this kind of pervasive attitude out there unless you've condoned it.”

- Condoleezza Rice, the former national security adviser and now secretary of state, was “part of the problem”. Instead of ensuring that Mr Bush received the best possible advice, “she would side with the president to build her intimacy with the president”.

- The military, particularly the army and marine corps, is overstretched and demoralised. Officers, Mr Wilkerson claimed, “start voting with their feet, as they did in Vietnam . . . and all of a sudden your military begins to unravel” ...
www.newamerica.net

© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd

InformationClearingHouse

(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. Information Clearing House has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Information Clearing House endorsed or sponsored by the originator.) Yellow Pages cites the same Title.

"If you haven't yet heard it or read the newspaper reports on it, take the hour and fifteen minutes necessary and listen to Colonel Larry Wilkerson on Iraq and U.S. national security policy. Wilkerson was Colin Powell's chief of staff. While you won't agree with everything he has to say, you will find much of what he has to say of great interest. When you listen, it's pretty clear why
Wilkerson did not make General. He doesn't pull many punches and even some of the ones he pulls will jar. He is obviously a career soldier who cares dearly about the U.S. and the U.S. army. The presentation was made at the New American Foundation and is available on their website."
Lid dip to Chris Keeley

Lawrence Wilkerson Transcript (PDF)

Tagged: bush, washington, military, cia, iraq, wmd, policy, politics

Politician defies Aussie Govt over anti-terror bill

"ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says he will not comply with instructions from the Commonwealth insisting he remove draft counter-terrorism legislation from his website.

"He posted the documents on his website yesterday, because he says the public has the right to know about how the far-reaching laws will impact on civil liberties of Australian citizens

"'As far as I'm concerned, any one of the jurisdictions who's participating in the development of this legislation has a right to consult in the way that they feel appropriate,' he said.

"'It may be that Philip Ruddock and John Howard don't want to consult on this legislation, they don't want the views of many Australians, they want to rush it through, they want to do it in secrecy, but I don't.'

"A spokesman for the Attorney-General says the Federal Government acted in good faith in providing the draft documents to the state and territory leaders for their input.

"He says it is disappointing Mr Stanhope has made the documents public, when they are clearly marked as confidential.

"Mr Stanhope says he hopes posting draft counter-terrorism laws on his website will open community debate about the issue.

"'This is fundamentally important legislation, this goes to the rights of every Australian and I think it is bizarre in the very extreme to think that legislation of this significance can be rushed into Parliament without consulting a single Australian,' he said.

"Indecent haste"

"The Law Council of Australia says the Government has acted with indecent haste to try to push through anti-terror laws that will affect each and every Australian.

"With the bills set to go before Parliament in a fortnight, the Opposition and minor parties are angry a Senate inquiry will be given just one day to consider their content.

"The Law Council's president, John North, has told AM the laws seem to ignore the fundamental right to remain free unless a person is reasonably suspected of having committed an offence.

"'It looks as if the Government is going to be able to lock people up in times of fear such as if they're having a heads of government meeting or an Olympic Games and if they think that there's going to be trouble, well they can pull people off the street and hold them under these orders,' he said.

"Mr North says the suggestion that under the legislation that police will be able to use lethal force when arresting someone is just one of the proposals the Law Council is concerned about.

"'It differs in that police under today's law can only use lethal force if they are directly themselves threatened or they have to save someone,' he said.

"'Under this, there seems to be enough room to manoeuvre and it seems to be directly pointed at the London situation where the person was shot.'
ABC

Draft Anti-Terrorism Legislation :: [ Download - PDF, 331KB ]

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Human rights advocates and Opposition senators have reacted angrily to government efforts to push anti-terror legislation through the Senate.
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The Law Council has reacted angrily to the draft anti-terror laws which were released for the first time yesterday. ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope posted the proposed laws on his website even though they were given to him in confidence by the Federal Government.
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Draconian new "anti-terror" laws

How Howard plans to steal Australians' civil rights

"New sedition offences will put big constraints on anti-war protests, familiar since the Vietnam era, and come down hard on those advocating violence against any religious, national or political group.

"Those charged with sedition can argue they were acting 'in good faith' but it is unclear how the courts will interpret this.

"The bill sets out new federal police powers to detain terrorist suspects for up to 24 hours, and up to 48 hours with the approval of a judge or magistrate. Suspects will get access to a lawyer to challenge the detention order in a court or complain of maltreatment

"Police do not need to give suspects or their lawyers reasons for the detentions and can monitor lawyers. All conversations lawyers have with their clients must be in English or translated into English for the police. Police are prohibited from questioning the detainees but that ban does not apply to ASIO officers.

"Last month the states agreed to allow extensions of up to 14 days for detentions when a terrorist act is believed imminent. The suspect must then be released if no terrorist act occurs.

"Detentions are secret but suspects are allowed to contact a family member or employers to say they are safe but, 'not able to be contacted for the time being'. If they disclose the detention they can be jailed for up to five years.

"Under the bill, the Government can apply to a court for control orders on terrorist suspects who have not been charged. These orders include house arrest, preventing them using the telephone or internet and restricting their social contacts and work opportunities. Suspects can also be fitted with tracking devices.

"The suspect's lawyer can be shown the control order but not necessarily the evidence or reasons behind it.

"The orders can last up to 12 months and can then be renewed any number of times.

"Persons under control orders may be given 'counselling or education' if they agree.

"The bill does limit to three months control orders on those aged between 16 and 18.

"Also contained in the legislation are wide-ranging search powers that will compel the production of any documents relating to 'any serious offence', regardless of any laws protecting privacy or legal privilege ...

"Sweeping new anti-terror laws include a plan to jail people for up to seven years for promoting feelings of 'ill will' or hostility between different groups that would threaten the peace."
Global Research

Human Rights Watch slams Australian anti-terror controls
"'Putting people under house arrest for a year by a control order is tantamount to jailing people without trial,' said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"'This is a shocking departure from Australia’s proud tradition of protecting individuals from an overly powerful state,' Adams said."
INQ7.net

Terrorist laws to lock up objectors

Terrorism laws 'open way for abuse'
Anti-terrorism laws inquiry 'too short'
Chilling reality of draconian laws
Lawyers slam lack of consultation
Govt criticised over legislation push
Civil libertarians back Stanhope's anti-terrorism law stance
Top judge fears anti-terrorism laws threaten human rights

Tagged: australia, human+rights, civil+rights, liberty, disinformation, terrorism, police+state

Coping with the pace of change

We tend to under-estimate the extent of change -- and we tend to under-estimate what can be achieved. For example, no one would have believed 20 years ago what could be achieved in 2005 via the Google search engine -- it has transformed research.

I have just returned from the annual conference of The Club of Rome, held this year at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. The Duke of Edinburgh once referred to The Club of Rome as the “global conscience of humanity”. It is a think tank of 100 members drawn from across the world and a variety of disciplines.

The Club made its name in 1972 with a report warning about the dangers to the environment arising out of the rapid economic growth: The Limits to Growth. The world has changed a great deal since 1972 -- both in terms of what has been achieved and some of the increased risks.

This year’s conference reviewed the progress in sustainable development, the future of work (how to create employment in a globalised world), how to improve education to fit the new era, and how to improve cultural understanding.

The 1972 report was based on “systems thinking”. This was then a fairly new science based on seeing the interconnectedness of issues. Academics by contrast have a tendency to specialise in specific issues and so lose sight of the big picture and how one issue has a bearing on others.

The 2005 conference re-affirmed the value of system thinking. It called on decision-makers to see the interconnectedness of problems and solutions.

One recommendation was a suggestion for a “cross-generational contract”, which would oblige the present generation to refrain from practices which may destroy or severely deteriorate the conditions of life for future generations.

A second recommendation was that education in both developed and developing countries should be given much greater priority to overcome social exclusion, unemployment and poverty.

Education is not a guarantee of national success -- but it is a guarantee against national failure. In other words, no thriving society today has a poor record on education. It may well be that some societies do well in educational terms and yet are still not thriving. This is because education is a necessary but not sole key to success.

A third recommendation is that decision-makers take an immediate and deeper look into the serious threat of climate change and its consequences for humankind and the global economy.

Being in the US in the last few days has certainly been an interesting experience. The country is still reeling from “Katrina” and “Rita” and it will take years for the states affected to recover fully. There have been concerns raised about the ability of the three levels of government to cope with natural disasters. If the experts on weather are correct, then the hurricane situation will get worse rather than better. Some parts of the southern US may become uninsurable.

A second issue has been the high price of petrol. This has been due both to the loss of oil production in the southern US because of the hurricanes as well as the instability in the Middle East. But there is also a fear that perhaps the “age of oil” is drawing to a close because supplies are running down -- a warning issued by The Club of Rome in 1972. President Bush is now calling on fellow Americans to be more conservative in their use of oil.

But who knows what can be achieved if enough people are now aware of the new dangers and are prepared to act? The Club of Rome has provided some ideas over the years on what could be done.

Keith Suter, PhD, Consultant for Social Policy. Reprinted with permission.

Broadcast 7th October 2005 on Radio 2GB's 'Brian Wilshire Programme' (Sydney, Australia) at 9pm.

Tagged: club+of+rome, climate+change, global+warming, oil, education

The faith-based President defrocked

Bush defrocked

By Frank Rich

"To understand why the right is rebelling against Harriet Miers, don't waste time boning up on her glory days with the Texas Lottery Commission. The real story in this dust-up is not the Supreme Court candidate, but the man who picked her. The Miers nomination, whatever its fate, will be remembered as the flashpoint when the faith-based Bush base finally started to lose faith in our propaganda president and join the apostate American majority.

"Though James Dobson, America's foremost analyst of the gay subtext of SpongeBob SquarePants, was easily rolled by Karl Rove and dragged back into the Miers camp, he's an exception. The pervasive mood on the right was articulated by Cathie Adams, president of the Texas branch of Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum. She told The Washington Post: 'President Bush is asking us to have faith in things unseen. We only have that kind of faith in God.'

"This is a sea change. If anything, Ms. Miers's record of opposition to abortion (a contribution to Texans United for Life, a leadership role at a strenuously anti-abortion church) is less 'unseen' than that of John Roberts, whose nomination aroused no protest on the right only three months ago. The difference between then and now is a startling index of the toll taken by a botched war and hurricane response on whatever remains of Mr. Bush's credibility. The continuing inability of the administration to accomplish the mission in Iraq and of its post-Brownie FEMA to do a heck of a job on the Gulf Coast has inflicted collateral damage on its case for Harriet Miers ..."
NY Times (subscription/free 14-day trial)

Tagged: dubya, bush, bush+defrocked, harriet+miers

Do they have any oil in Pakistan?

That's what my friend asked me when I said that there were so far 18,000 earthquake dead reported in Pakistan alone and that the USA is donating the price of a yacht (a hundred grand; source BBC News).

As I write, the cost of the war in Iraq ticker in the sidebar of this blog says that the USA has so far spent a few bucks short of $200 billion.

Tagged: war, peace, usa, earthquake, pakistan, military

Bush White House declares torture vital to US security policy

"In an extraordinary declaration of the brutality of American foreign policy, the Bush administration denounced a Senate vote to bar the use of torture against prisoners held by the US military. Responding to the passage of an amendment to a Pentagon spending bill—approved by an overwhelming 90-9 vote Wednesday, the White House said the proposal would 'restrict the president’s authority to protect Americans effectively from terrorist attack and bring terrorists to justice.'

"The statement indicated that Bush would veto the entire appropriation, providing $440 billion to fund military operations for the next fiscal year, rather than accept the restrictions on interrogation techniques spelled out in the Senate amendment.

"The 90-9 vote came on an amendment sponsored by Senator John McCain of Arizona, a Republican and former prisoner of war in Vietnam. McCain, a fervent supporter of the war in Iraq, has opposed the use of torture in military facilities like Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo, because it damages US foreign policy interests and could become the pretext for subjecting captured American military personnel to the same techniques in retaliation.

"McCain’s amendment had the backing of two dozen former generals and admirals, including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and former Secretary of State and JCS chairman Colin Powell. Forty-six Republicans, 43 Democrats and one independent voted for the amendment, which was opposed by only nine Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist voted with McCain and against the White House position.

"Frist delayed the introduction of the anti-torture language earlier this summer, maintaining that Congress should not put restrictions on the measures which the administration felt were necessary to fight the 'war on terror.' But the events of the past three months, both in the increasingly bloody stalemate in Iraq and the feeble response of the federal government to the Gulf hurricane crisis, have weakened the Bush administration.

"The amendment itself is extremely limited in its scope. It simply prohibits 'cruel, inhuman or degrading' treatment of those in the custody of the military and requires that questioning of prisoners detained by the military follow the existing U.S. Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation. No such restrictions would apply to those held by US intelligence agencies, such as the prisoners in the CIA-run detention centers at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, and at undisclosed locations elsewhere in the world. Those captives can still be tortured at will ..."
wsws.org

Tagged: bush, white+house, usa, torture, human+rights

Bush wants army to combat bird flu

"The US military might have to quarantine areas of the United States if there was a serious outbreak of the deadly avian flu, George Bush has said. The President said he would ask Congress to consider giving him powers to use the army if bird flu struck.

"Mr Bush said on Tuesday that he was concerned about the danger avian flu poses to the world, though he was not predicting an outbreak in the US.

"'I am just suggesting that we better [sic] be thinking about it,' he said. 'And we are. And we're more than thinking about it; we're trying to put plans in place.'

"Regional quarantine would raise difficult policy decisions and legal issues, but the possibility had to be discussed.

"'It's one thing to shut down your airplanes, it's another thing to prevent people from coming in to get exposed to the avian flu,' he said. 'To do this, we might have to use the military, which is able to plan and move.'

"This is the second time in two weeks that Mr Bush has suggested Congress pass special laws to allow the US military to bypass the state-controlled National Guard to perform what amounts to civilian policing, which has been unlawful in the US for almost 80 years.

"In the wake of Hurricane Katrina last month, he suggested Congress give him the power to send in the military to take control in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack.

"Congress's response was lukewarm, while state governors said they would oppose any move to bypass their power as first responders to any disaster.

"That Mr Bush raised the issue of a military-enforced quarantine in the event of a bird flu epidemic shows that health authorities and the Administration are increasingly concerned a worldwide epidemic could kill millions and would inevitably strike the US.

"Since late 2003 the H5N1 bird flu strain has killed more than 60 people, and its spread through chicken populations in South-East Asia, and now to migratory birds, has alarmed health experts.

"The Senate passed legislation last week providing $US3.9 billion ($5 billion) in emergency funds to develop a response to a serious outbreak."
Sydney Morning Herald

Tagged: bush,, usa, civil+rights, human+rights, security, avian+flu, pandemic

Iraq war delayed Katrina relief effort, inquiry finds

"Relief efforts to combat Hurricane Katrina suffered near catastrophic failures due to endemic corruption, divisions within the military and troop shortages caused by the Iraq war, an official American inquiry into the disaster has revealed.

"The confidential report, which has been seen by The Independent, details how funds for flood control were diverted to other projects, desperately needed National Guards were stuck in Iraq and how military personnel had to "sneak off post" to help with relief efforts because their commander had refused permission.

"The shortcomings in dealing with Katrina have rocked George Bush's administration. Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has resigned from his post and polls show that a majority of Americans feel the President showed inadequate leadership.

"The report was commissioned by the Office of Secretary of Defence as an "independent and critical review" of what went so wrong. In a hard-hitting analysis, it says: 'The US military has long planned for war on two fronts. This is as close as we have come to [that] reality since the Second World War; the results have been disastrous.'

"The document was compiled by Stephen Henthorne, a former professor of the US Army's War College and an adviser to the Pentagon who was a deputy-director in the Louisiana relief efforts.

"It charts how 'corruption and mismanagement within the New Orleans city government' had 'diverted money earmarked for improving flood protection to other, more vote-getting, projects. Past mayors and governors gambled that the long-expected Big Killer hurricane would never happen. That bet was lost with Hurricane Katrina.'

"The report concludes that although the US military did a good job in carrying out emergency missions, there were some serious shortcomings.

"The report states that Brigadier General Michael D Barbero, commander of the Joint Readiness Training Centre at Fort Polk, Louisiana, refused permission for special forces units who volunteered to join relief efforts, to do so. General Barbero also refused to release other troops ..."
The Independent

Lid dip to Nora from Extra!Extra!, a blog well worth subscribing to by RSS or email.

Tagged: hurricane, katrina, hurricanekatrina, iraq, war, bush, military

Ousting Arroyo: the Filipino struggle for justice

From IndyMedia:

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has long been facing calls for her exit or removal from Malacañang because of her government’s imposition of anti-national and anti-people policies. More recently, renewed and well-substantiated allegations that she cheated her way to victory in the 2004 election have added fuel to the fire. The outbreak of large anti-Arroyo protests commenced with a big rally in Quezon City on June 23, followed by bigger and bigger mobilizations in Makati City and Manila through the first three weeks of July.

The tempo of public outrage would lead to calls for Arroyo’s resignation even from a number of her former allies, including the so-called Hyatt 10, the Liberal Party, and former President Corazon Aquino. These would also bring about the filing of three impeachment complaints against the President ... Read on

Tagged: philippines, arroyo, progressive, activism

Malawi: Five million face death in famine

"Famine is once again stalking Africa's poorest nations as new figures released on Friday show that the food crisis in Malawi is much worse than anticipated.

"Aid agencies now say that at least five million people face starvation this winter.

"The new figures are an increase of nearly a million on what agencies had previously expected in Malawi, a country in the grip of a severe drought and hamstrung by HIV/Aids. The food crisis here is replicated in five other southern African countries -- more than 12 million people face chronic shortages between now and the spring harvest.

"In Malawi, the ministry of health released data indicating that hunger across the country was rocketing.

"Numerous food distribution centres in the country's south, the worst affected area, have also recorded large increases in the number of people asking for food who were not previously registered for assistance.

"Thousands of hungry Malawians have been trying to get rations on the monthly distribution days. Many report they are only eating one meal a day or less.

"The World Food Programme has been warning of the imminent food crisis threatening southern Africa for the past six months. But even they have been taken by surprise by the emerging scale of the problem ..."
Observer

Ten ways you can help Africa :: Help Africa :: Hunger charities

Famine kills children in Malawi
Famine Hits Malawi
MALAWI: ADMARC forced to ration maize as food crisis deepens
Southern Africa facing starvation
HIV/AIDS Epidemic Threatening Food Supply in Famine-Prone Southern Africa

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Tagged: famine, poverty, hunger, aid, africa

Inequality growing in China

"Anyone who's visited Shanghai recently might be forgiven for thinking that China has made a spectacular leap from third world poverty to first world affluence in just a generation.

"However, despite the glittering skyscrapers and gleaming shopping malls, that is, at best, a half truth, and doesn't reflect the reality of daily life in much of China's rural areas.

"Even the government-controlled media are now warning that the gap between the rich and the poor is becoming alarmingly wide, and could lead to social unrest.

"As our China Correspondent John Taylor reports, the Chinese Government wants its people to know that it is trying to deal with the problem.

"JOHN TAYLOR: From the Bentley showroom in Beijing it's a brief walk to see people living in ramshackle dirty homes, struggling to make a living.

"China is officially communist. But from its founding, China has been a land of privilege and prosperity for some, and hard times for others.

"As economic growth booms and China sucks in investment money from around the world, the gap between the haves and the have-nots is getting bigger ..."
Correspondents Report

Tagged: china, corporations, poverty, inequality, globalization, capitalism, communism

Anger at army over violence in Darfur

"The Sudanese government was yesterday accused of again coordinating with Arab militias in attacks on civilians in Darfur, as violence in the region worsened.

"Despite African Union-sponsored peace talks in Nigeria and a ceasefire, conflict has spiralled in the region over the past two weeks as rebel forces attacked a government garrison and Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, rampaged through a refugee camp, killing 34 people.

"Baba Gana Kingibe, the head of the AU mission in Sudan, said: 'We must conclude that there is neither good faith nor commitment on the part of any of the parties.'

"About the Janjaweed attacks on villages and refugee camps in Darfur, he said government helicopters had been seen flying in the area at the time of at least one of the attacks. The violence broke a two-month long period of relative peace in the area, during which refugees and villagers were able to live their lives in relative stability."
Scotsman

Hell on earth
Refugees burned alive as violence returns to Darfur
United Nations Sudan Situation Report 26 Sep 2005

Tagged: darfur, sudan, refugees, africa, aid