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| Taking a Closer Look at the Stories Ignored by the Corporate Media |
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Archive for the Month of December, 2005.
Viewing International Affairs NEWS articles 1 through 75 of 101.
- Venezuela is once again at odds with other Latin American governments. This time, it’s with Bolivia, because of the general elections coming on December 18. Once again, the Latin American right is reacting with "rage" to a president who wins elections and has the support of his people. And in the middle are the Bolivian Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, a Venezuelan official, and a bunch of idiots burning a Venezuelan flag in front of that country’s embassy in La Paz. Let’s take a look at the gossip... - The mystery about the installation of a United States military base in Paraguay begins to clear: The purpose is to drive a wedge into the Mercosur trade bloc and to control the region, objectives that contrast with the passivity of governments that should have reacted long ago. - Should historic inquiry cease, because the UN and the courts of Austria and Germany have stated their position on the Holocaust? That is no way to suppress fascism. It is fascism. - Salvadorans Mobilize Against Gold Mining
- National Guard leaders visited Israel last week to forge a new relationship with that country’s Home Front Command ... - ...the British people have but two choices—either they surrender their civil liberties or fall victim to evil terrorists. It’s so simple—and very Manichean. Never mind that the alleged "mastermind" behind the London bombings, Haroon Rashid Aswat, is a British intelligence asset. - Its central aim is not to combat terrorism, but to hand the government and its security agencies unprecedented powers to silence political dissent. The sedition measures make this clear, allowing for organisations to be outlawed and individuals jailed for "urging disaffection" with the government or expressing sympathy for resistance to Australian military interventions, such as the one currently underway in Iraq.
- You'd think it impossible for US policymakers to be so foolish and cavalier about a key region, until you look at the mother of all Bush failures, Iraq, and see that similar ignorance and arrogance created that debacle. - Recent Canadian policy in Haiti has been remarkably successful, having achieved most of its objectives. This is the case in much the same way that US policies in places such as El Salvador and Nicaragua in the 1980s were smashing successes – quite literally. - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Thursday Israel and other countries couldn't accept an Iran with a nuclear bomb, adding Tehran's program could be stopped by military means. - "Another conspiracy is being acted out against Venezuela, and I am not going to blame the dogs but the masters, the government of the United States," said Chávez. - The United States knew well in advance of and explicitly approved Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975, which led to a brutal 24-year occupation of the former Portuguese colony, according to newly declassified documents.
- European ministers have agreed on plans that will force telecommunications companies to retain phone and email logs for at least six months, to help investigations into terrorism and other serious crimes.
- Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted that he could consider a pre-emptive air strike against Iran's nuclear installations if he were to be re-elected. Netanyahu, who is widely expected to regain the leadership of the right-wing Likud party later this month, said Israel needed to "act in the spirit" of the late premier Menachem Begin who ordered an air strike on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981. - The President of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), Jorge Rodriguez, said that with 79% of the voting center results examined, voter turnout so far was at 25%. - As oil-rich Kazakhstan went to the polls Sunday police declared that a prominent Kazakh politician had committed suicide by shooting himself three times. - Is there a case to be made for allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons in the interests of peace? Or has all the air been sucked out of the debate by American and Israeli demagogues who dominate the airwaves?
- Controversial anti-terror laws which will allow police to detain terror suspects without charge were last night rammed through Parliament.
- The United States Tuesday delivered a sprawling storage base it has built for the Israeli army.
- Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, England, threw a bash for anti-war activists this evening and denounced the Bush Administration as "a gang of thugs."
- Were discovered trying to poison water supply - A military cargo plane attempting an emergency landing Tuesday in Tehran clipped an apartment building and crashed short of the runway, killing at least 115 people, including 78 journalists who were en route to cover military maneuvers in southern Iran. - Forget Iraq’s weapons of mass non-existence, the lies about torture and other facts fixed around policies cooked up in Washington: nothing demonstrates British subservience to the United States quite as blatantly as the theft of Diego Garcia.
- The United Nations investigation into the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, is beginning to show some cracks: one witness is dead, another is in jail and still another has recanted his testimony with a fantastic story of abduction, drugging and bribery. - ...fresh evidence shows the UK knew the ingredient it sold to Norway would be subsequently sold on to Israel for nuclear weapons. - ...the United States, especially in recent years, is increasingly being seen in the world as a lone state, thumbing its diplomatic nose at international pacts on everything from banning the use and production of landmines to curbing global warming.
- Venezuelan politicians claim that the CIA plotted to kill Hugo Chavez, the president, in an attempt to derail the country's legislative elections on 4 December. - Detained for throwing a tea party...Apprehended for "offensive" T-shirt...Held for shouting "nonsense" at Jack Straw... - Netanyahu, affectionately nicknamed Bibi, tells us if he "succeeds in becoming Israel’s next prime minister … he will not hesitate to order a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program in order to safeguard his nation from annihilation"...not only does Netanyahu take for granted Iran has nuclear weapons (or is about to have them), a less than factual assertion, but he also believes if Iran possesses nukes it will most certainly annihilate Israel. Netanyahu would have us believe Iran is not only genocidal and insane, but suicidal as well. - Israel's armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed.
- A Diary of U.S.-Backed Mass Murder in Mexico - How the Informant’s Role and U.S. Law Enforcers’ Complicity Were Exposed - It's not hard to see why. The 46-year-old candidate is a staunch leftist who counts Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez among his close friends. Moreover, he's a coca farmer, promising to reverse the U.S.-backed campaign to stamp out production of the leaf that is used to make cocaine. - U.S. troops are waiting just across the Syrian-Iraqi border, ready for the command to cross in full force – or perhaps as part of a scouting expedition in hot pursuit of "terrorists," who will then be set upon by Syrian troops in a Middle Eastern remake of the Tonkin Gulf incident. Coming soon to a theater of war near Iraq…
- Police in Sydney will be given tough new powers to crack down on rioters, the New South Wales premier has said. - As Australian media covers up Howard’s role - "Ever since 9-11 it's been far tougher to get into the U.S. They think everyone's a terrorist or something." - ...tens of thousand of workers brought the main cities and towns across the country to a complete stand still as they took to the street both in solidarity with the Irish Ferries workers and against the wide spread exploitation of migrant workers. Workers are outraged at the use of migrant workers particularly from Eastern Europe to undermine the wages and conditions of all workers.
- The Bodies Are Uncovered, A Rogue Cop Gets Away, and a Cover-Up Begins - How could Parliament pass such a law, when it is so patently inimical to the freedom of speech that this country once considered fundamental? Why did MPs, who are meant to be the custodians of our values, let it happen? - The secret service camp Kiejkuty is about 10 kilometers from the Szymany airport in Northeast Poland. In 1968 the Soviet army planned the quashing of the "Prague Spring" at this camp.
- Poverty is worsening in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories because of continued Israeli military activities and the closure of border crossings between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, a UN report said. - Suspected of plotting terror, a group of men have been held for four years but never charged. Now, in their first testimonies, they reveal the authorities have not even questioned them since their arrests. - Islamophobia in Australia is not something suddenly appeared over the horizon because of the weather. To the contrary, racism against Muslims has always been part of Australia’s psyche. Whether it is against neighbouring Indonesia, Malaysia or Muslim Australians; the pall of racism is permanently hovering over Australia. Government policies, including the criminal war against Iraq and the introduction of the so-called "anti-terrorism" laws have legitimised racism against Arab and Muslim Australians. - According to informed sources in the Middle East and in Washington, unconfirmed US ambassador to the UN John Bolton is personally leading the effort to pin Syria with a series of political assassinations in Lebanon ultimately aimed at bringing Israeli ally General Michel Aoun to power in Beirut and topple the Bashar Assad regime in Damascus and replace him with an Ahmad Chalabi-like political figure tied to neo-con interests in Washington and Israel.
- In response to racial violence last weekend in Sydney, state Labor Premier Morris Iemma yesterday called an emergency session of the New South Wales (NSW) parliament for Thursday to pass a series of repressive measures that will allow police to declare “lockdown zones” throughout the city. The laws will provide extensive new powers to police who are already engaged in sweeping and unprecedented operations. - Are U.S. tactical nuclear weapons deployed in the Persian Gulf, on hair-trigger alert, and ready to be launched against Iran at a moment's notice? - State Dept. Will Send DynCorp Hired Guns to Assist "Peacekeeping" Efforts - In Latin America and the Caribbean, popular movements are demanding that the United States' "gift to the world" make good on its promise of majority rule. That would likely disrupt a system-otherwise known as "free-market democracy"-that has benefited a small elite and worsened poverty for most people. The possibility has so alarmed CIA Director Porter Goss that he recently labeled the spate of upcoming elections in Latin America as a "potential area of instability."
- During his recent visit to Ankara, CIA Director Porter Goss reportedly brought three dossiers on Iran to Ankara. - Iran is not Iraq and the neo-cons cannot sell us a new (and costlier) war based on the same old tired rhetoric and myopic viewpoints. - Northern Ireland's unionist politicians have demanded a public inquiry into revelations that a senior member of Sinn Fein was a British spy for more than 20 years.
- Hong Kong's leader has vowed to punish protesters who attacked policemen outside world trade talks on Saturday. - Iran is being pressurized to abandon its nuclear programme. Tel Aviv and Washington are behind this. London has joined the duo. Paris and Berlin are lending their support just as some other Western capitals are also "concerned" about Iran. - Kirchner said today the IMF advice and loans in the 1990s helped lead to the country to "failure" and said the fund has neglected to help since the default when they most need the help. He said the IMF's demands acted as constraints that impeded the economic recovery...
- Cuba's comprehensive, free healthcare system has a ratio of one doctor for every 170 Cubans, compared with 188 in the US and 250 in the UK. - Evo Morales, who challenges US anti-drug policies, is to be Bolivia's first Indian president and join Latin America's shift to the left after winning a large majority in Sunday's elections. - Not only is the U.S.-supported military closely allied with right-wing paramilitaries responsible for most of the human rights abuses in Colombia, it is evidently working to destabilize the Andean region by seeking to oust Venezuela’s democratically-elected president. Which raises the question: What sort of war on terror and democracy promotion is the Bush administration engaging in? - ...neoconservative activists inscribe the narrative of conflict in international relations; they inscribe it in institutions (e.g., the Project for a New American Century), language (e.g., the "axis of evil"), mindsets (e.g., Why do they hate us?), and policies (e.g., the doctrine of preemption). This strategy transforms other countries into replaceable variables.
- Venezuela has given the world's biggest oil company, ExxonMobil, until the end of this year to enter a joint venture with the state. - Israel’s special forces at the "highest stage of readiness". - The days of the Raj are long gone, but multinational corporations are riding high on the trend toward globalization by taking advantage of India's educated work force and deep poverty to turn South Asia into the world's largest clinical-testing petri dish. - The election of indigenous leader Evo Morales as president of Bolivia is being hailed by native leaders from throughout the region as a "sign of hope" for all impoverished and discriminated indigenous peoples in Latin America.
- You’d think the fact Porter Goss, head broom sweeper at the CIA, recently told the Turkish government the United States plans to attack Iran and Syria would be headline splashing news in the New York Times and the Washington Post. But although the news was carried in the Turkish press, it elicited hardly a murmur here in America...
- Although the truth about Gander may never be known, the evidence pointing to a government cover-up is another example in a long line of suspicious airplane accidents and other suspected terrorists events where the U.S. government frustrates an honest and forthright investigation into the causes, hiding behind what family members day is a false veil of national security. - The new national surveillance network for tracking car journeys, which has taken more than 25 years to develop, is only the beginning of plans to monitor the movements of all British citizens. The Home Office Scientific Development Branch in Hertfordshire is already working on ways of automatically recognising human faces by computer, which many people would see as truly introducing the prospect of Orwellian street surveillance, where our every move is recorded and stored by machines. - The racist violence that exploded in the Sydney suburb of Cronulla on December 11 has exposed the ugly face of Australian society. Intense social pressures generated by the prolonged assault by the Howard government and its Labor predecessors on living standards have erupted in a malignant and reactionary form. A violent and drunken mob—draped in Australian flags, singing the national anthem and chanting nationalist and racist slogans—sought out, abused and physically assaulted anyone who appeared to be of Middle Eastern origin. - If Jesus Christ were to return to earth and the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit were to slay the greater part of mankind, the first thing the media would do would be to find out how the markets had reacted. The next would be to ring Sir Digby Jones, the head of the Confederation of British Industry, for a comment. - An Ominous Neocon Gathering
- If the Zionist state has its way, Iran will remain in the technological dark ages, or possibly share the stone age fate—as in "bomb them back to the stone age"—of Iraq in the wake of the Straussian neocon invasion. - ...the warrants allowed for the arrest of the suspects in any of the 25 EU member countries. Previously, Italy had issued arrest warrants for the 22 inside Italy. - Cuban President Fidel Castro has called the US secretary of state "mad", following American moves to promote democratic change on the island. - The winner of Bolivia's presidential elections has repeated his vow to nationalize oil and gas and said he will void at least some contracts held by foreign companies "looting" the poor Andean nation's natural resources. - A high-level Sinn Fein official named Denis Donaldson has admitted that he was a spy for British intelligence, thus confirming complaints made by Northern Irish republicans for years that politics in Northern Ireland was completely manipulated by London...
- A Palestinian man, said to have been last seen in the custody of Israeli border police, died after being found wounded and comatose beside a mule to which he had apparently been tied and dragged along a dirt road.
Pages for December, 2005
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