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February
27, 2006
Libertarian
Commentary on The News 19-25 FEB 2006-02-17
This week we have a fairly good selection of news, starting with more
on the Cartoons War, and then a lot about this bizarre Port contracting
business. That is why the appropriate characteristic for lovers of liberty
this week is "caution" - we need to be cautious about jumping
into a situation before we fully understand it, and need to work hard
to sort out who are the good guys and who are the bad actors before we
really take an active role in any situation. We must always exercise caution
especially when defending ourselves and our loved ones - caution both
to make sure that we shoot fast enough, but not TOO fast.
The
Cartoons War and other Free Speech Matters
Sadly, lots of news from last weekend on this front, and for the third
week, we have a lot to cover. Apparently a variety of fatwas (decisions
under shari'a, or Islamic law) have announced open death penalties for
bunches of people, complete with rewards for the killings. It appears
that there is some Johnny Appleseed going around. But worse, we have more
comments from "Americans" that just make me sick. Expect more
to die and violence to continue.
Clinton
in Pakistan: Convict cartoon publishers
World Net Daily
Says press should not be allowed to criticize other faiths. Former
President Bill Clinton today called for the conviction of European papers
that published satirical cartoons of Muhammad, according to reports in
the Islamic press and elsewhere. Clinton condemned the publication of
the caricatures by European newspapers and urged countries concerned to
convict the publishers, according to the reports. He said religious convictions
of the people should be respected at all costs and no media should be
allowed to play with the religious sentiments of people of any faith.
(17 FEB 06)
I honestly
do not know why WND is not screaming this as the top of column news: that
the former president of the United States should PUBLICLY deny the first
amendment (we know what he and other presidents think about free speech
in private) and calling for this kind of thing is far, far beyond the
pale.
Libya:
nine die in cartoon Riot
BBC News
At least nine people are reported to have been killed and several injured
in clashes during a protest outside an Italian consulate in Libya. Riot
police confronted hundreds of protesters as they stormed the building
in the city of Benghazi, in the latest protests over the Muhammad cartoons.
They were said to be angry at recent remarks - deemed to be anti-Islamic
- by Italian minister Roberto Calderoli. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
has called for his resignation. He said Mr. Calderoli - of the anti-immigrant
Northern League party - should step down for announcing he would start
wearing a T-shirt bearing the controversial cartoons, which were first
printed by a Danish newspaper.
If you
are going to go out and bait Muslims, at least you should make sure you
are capable of bagging a few - a fact this typical Italian politico seems
unaware of.
Russian
city shuts paper over cartoon
International Herald Tribune
In a controversy with echoes of the Islamic anger over Danish cartoons
depicting the Prophet Muhammad, the authorities in a central Russian city
on Friday ordered the closure of a newspaper that published a cartoon
showing the Prophet Muhammad, along with Jesus Christ, Moses and Buddha.
The cartoon, published Feb. 9 in the official city newspaper in Volgograd,
prompted some criticism and a federal criminal investigation but no public
outrage. That may be, in large part, because it depicted the figures respectfully,
renouncing violence, though Islamic teachings forbid any depiction of
the prophet. "Well, we did not teach them that," Moses says
in a caption as the four watch a television set showing two groups confronting
each other with banners and clubs and hurling stones. The cartoon appeared
on Page 5 with an article on an agreement signed by regional political
parties and organizations to combat nationalism, xenophobia and religious
conflicts. Volgograd's first deputy mayor, Andrei Doronin, announced the
closure of the newspaper, Gorodskiye Vesti, or City News, "in order
not to inflame ethnic hostilities," according to the official Russian
Information Agency. He gave the newspaper a month to liquidate its assets,
leaving the future of its staff unclear. (17 FEB 06)
Russia
appears to be no better than the West in honoring freedom of speech by
punishing those who "offend" Muslim sensibilities. Since so
much does, it would seem that they will soon run out of people, long before
the Muslims run out of sensibilities to offend.
Cartoon
riots in Nigeria kill 80
BBC News
Sixteen people [later reports increased the number to 50 and then 80]
have been killed in northern Nigeria during protests by Muslims over the
cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad. Most of the deaths occurred
in rioting in Maiduguri, capital of northeastern Borno state. One person
died in similar riots in north-central Katsina state. Witnesses said most
of the dead were from Maiduguri's minority Christians.
An ugly
turn in this continuing spread of madness - these were Nigerian Christians
killed, not rioting Muslims, and they were killed by Muslims, not "security
forces." Clearly, these poor black believers are to blame, since
they are co-religionists with the evil theocrat G W Bush. More must die,
obviously, to avenge the Prophet.
Revenge
riots kill 138 in Nigeria
My Way News
ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Christian youths burned the corpses of
Muslims on Thursday on the streets of Onitsha in southeastern Nigeria,
the city worst hit by religious riots that have killed at least 138 people
across the country in five days. Christian mobs, seeking revenge for the
killings of Christians in the north, attacked Muslims with cutlasses,
destroyed their houses and torched mosques in two days of violence in
Onitsha, where at least 85 people have died. In northern Maiduguri, where
the Christian Association of Nigeria says 50 Christians were killed in
a weekend riot that began as a protest against cartoons of the Prophet
Mohammad, tensions were high during several Christian funeral masses.
The "payback"
for the killings discussed in the previous article are convulsing Nigeria,
and are just as evil and wrong as the first riots and lynchings. These
people may be "Christian" in some sense, but they are NOT true
followers of Christ: this is NOT self-defense, and this is NOT Godly in
any way. I condemn these people even more strongly than I condemn the
Muslims - since they at least are obeying their Prophet - evil as their
actions are.
Mama's
Note: Indeed! This is the same insanity as in Ireland (many other places)
and there will never be a time or place where both sides will consider
themselves "even." The original reason for it all may well be
lost in the mists of time as people kill one another in the name of their
"god." A pox on both their houses.
Cartoon
rioters attack US embassy
Breitbart (AP)
JAKARTA, Indonesia: Hundreds of Muslims protesting caricatures of the
Prophet Muhammad tried to storm the U.S. Embassy on Sunday, smashing the
windows of a guard post but failing to push through the gates. Several
people were injured. Pakistani security forces, meanwhile, sealed off
the capital of Islamabad to block a planned mass demonstration and fired
tear gas and gunshots to chase off protesters. In Turkey, tens of thousands
gathered in Istanbul chanting slogans against Denmark, Israel and the
United States. Christians also have become targets. Pakistani Muslims
protesting in the southern city of Sukkur ransacked and burned a church
Sunday after hearing accusations that a Christian man had burned pages
of the Quran, Islam's holy book. That incident came a day after Muslims
protesting in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri attacked Christians and burned
15 churches in a three- hour rampage that killed at least 15 people. Some
30 other people have died during protests over the cartoons that erupted
about three weeks ago.
NOW, I
understand - it was us evil Amis who convinced the poor Danish folks to
draw those cartoons (at gunpoint, no doubt) and then bribed the editors
(probably with organs harvested from third-world children supposedly brought
to the US after being orphaned by the tsunami triggered by US nuclear
testing in the Indian ocean) to publish them - so of course the peaceful
and loving Muslims of the largest nation in the Ummah have to attack the
US embassy, since we do not allow them to fly to DC and attack us directly!
How COULD I be so stupid as to not see this clear logic, or the fact that
it has all been orchestrated by Cheney from the White House as a way to
justify the US's nuclear destruction of all Islamic people in concentration
camps based on Gitmo? Just not smart enough, I guess. (Satire, folks....ML)
IL - University
paper editors punished for Mohammed cartoons
CNS News
A Catholic group Friday decried the suspensions of the editor-in-chief
and the opinions page editor of the Daily Illini, the student newspaper
at the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois, for republishing
cartoons that mock the Prophet Mohammed. The Catholic League said the
suspensions were hypocritical of the school's chancellor, Richard Herman,
because the school did not handle "anti-Catholic fare" the same
way. Herman said a discussion of the cartoons should have taken place
in lieu of republishing them. 'The University believes that true intellectual
discourse extends not only to written communication but also to the visual.'
Except when Muslims get angry," added Donohue.
Sounds
EXACTLY like the kind of thing UIUC would do, doesn't it? In addition
to outranking Catholics, clearly Muslims outrank American Indians, too,
in the offense sweepstakes.
Mama's
Note: On the basis of offense at printed, visual or spoken communications,
if the "cartoon" criteria were met in every case, damned little
would ever get published or broadcast again. Almost everything "offends"
someone. Why should the Muslims be treated differently? This is insanity
we certainly will pay for dearly one day.
Muslims
to UN: Make 'Defamation' Inconsistent With Free Speech
(CNSNews.com)
Human rights campaigners are urging the United Nations to resist pressure
to outlaw religious defamation in a resolution creating the U.N.'s new
human rights council. A Saudi-based grouping of the world's 57 Muslim
states wants the resolution's draft text to state that "defamation
of religions and prophets is inconsistent with the right to freedom of
expression."
Well, they
are out in the open - along with American and Euro-feminists and other
liberal groups which are making college campuses bastions of political
correctness.
Mama's
Note: It is hard to understand how anyone can equate such censorship with
"freedom of speech." The two ideas are totally opposite.
Scholar
who denied Holocaust jailed for 3 years
MSNBC
"Right-wing British historian David Irving pleaded guilty Monday
to charges of denying the Holocaust and was sentenced to three years in
prison after conceding he was wrong to say there were no Nazi gas chambers
at the Auschwitz concentration camp." (02/20/06)
The guy
was/is an idiot, but if we use that as the justification to put people
in jail - well, you get the idea.
OH:
Girls-and-guns posters rile town
Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Puffy polar bears decorate the front of the Artful Dragon. Stacks
of canvas bags create a cozy bunker at Coffee Corner Antiques. The whole
block blends into a Norman Rockwell scene. With one exception. The windows
of the Gunrunner, decorated with two large posters of scantily clad women
toting firearms, stand out in this buttoned-down town. Village officials
call the gun shop's display inappropriate -- 'It's pretty risqué,'
Mayor Nick Fischbach said -- and want it taken down. Last week, Zoning
Inspector Joe Hernandez deemed the Gunrunner in violation of zoning regulations
that limit the amount of window space devoted to advertising to 50 percent.
The warning does not address the content of the display. Hernandez, however,
admitted that the window coverage issue is driven by, well, another coverage
issue. " (02/01/06)
Oh, of
course, Islamicists aren't the only ones who hate free speech, or even
them and the Universities. This is an old article I'd overlooked, but
worth knowing about, because it shows how government uses any excuse to
tighten up on regulations that all must obey.
UK:
Man fined for giving camera the finger
Ananova [UK]
"A man has been fined £80 for giving a speed camera the
finger. Simon Thompson, 41, gave the middle finger when he spotted the
mobile camera as he drove home from work within the speed limit. Half
an hour later two policemen who had been operating the device knocked
on his door -- and handed him a fixed penalty notice for making offensive
gestures under the Public Order Act. Simon from Colchester, Essex, said:
'I accept what I did was foolish and it wasn't my finest hour. But this
shows the police have got their priorities completely wrong. I wasn't
giving the officers the finger, I was aiming my anger at the camera. I've
got as much contempt for speed cameras as everyone else. I'm a careful
driver. My licence has been clean for ten years.' Essex Police said: 'The
man received the fine because he was seen to gesture several times to
officers operating a mobile speed camera in an obscene and offensive way.'"
[FND editor's note: The 'Public Order Act???' - MLS] [RRND additional
editor's note: Yes, Mary Lou, the Public Order Act; the US has a patchwork
of federal, state and local "serfs better not get uppity" laws;
the UK has one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them -
TLK] (02/01/06)
Another
example of lack of free speech, and another article I'd overlooked some
weeks ago.
Yahoo
accepts Allah
Monsters and Critics
"Internet portal Yahoo has accepted Allah, reversing a ban on
having the Arabic word for God as part of user names on the site, the
technology news website ZDNet said Thursday. The popular Internet guide
imposed the ban in June 2005 to keep people from using the name with other
words to create phrases that might incite hatred, the report said."
(02/24/06)
What this
doesn't say is that the user name that was rejected was "Callahan"
a perfectly good Irish name (and name of a famous fictional pub) that
just happens to have "cALLAHan" in it.
Mama's
Note: Weird! I wonder if that's why my Yahoo account stopped working,
and I wasn't allowed to make another one. My name is "Callaway,"
and even though I never had that as part of my user name, I suppose it
could be the problem. Who knows? I'm seriously considering getting rid
of everything "Yahoo" and being done with it. Any comments on
that?
Google
to feds: Back off
ZDNet
"Friday, saying that a high-profile request for a list of a week's
worth of search terms must not be granted because it would disclose trade
secrets and violate the privacy rights of its users. In a strongly worded
legal brief filed with a federal judge in San Jose, Calif., the search
company accused prosecutors of a 'cavalier attitude,' saying they were
'uninformed' about how search engines work and the importance of protecting
Google's confidential information from disclosure. This response came
after the Justice Department last month asked a judge to force Google
to hand over a random sample of 1 million Web pages from its index, along
with copies of a week's worth of search terms to aid in the Bush administration's
defense of an Internet pornography law. That information is supposed to
be used to highlight flaws in Web filtering technology during a trial
this fall." (02/19/06)
A proper
response to an absolutely crazy fishing expedition. Too bad Google doesn't
respond in the same way to China.
Google
Bans SpaceWar.com
SpaceWar.com
Gerroa, Australia (SPX) Feb 24, 2006 - Google Inc. has banned SpaceWar.com,
a news site covering military space. Reasons for the ban by Google are
unclear. The company did not communicate with Space.TV Corp., the owner
of SpaceWar.com, prior to its action, and Google representatives did not
respond to requests for comment. Space.TV Corp is consulting with legal
advisers in the United States and Australia, where production of the company's
Web sites is conducted. We consider the ban a violation of the recently
enacted US-Australia Free Trade Agreement, and a gross violation of freedom
of speech. Please explain Mr. Google Inc.
This hits
home, since as readers know, I frequently use news items gathered by the
good folks at SpaceWar and their sister site, TerraNews. Google's actions
remain unexplained, but may have something to do with both the terror
investigations and their relationship with the Chinese.
Mama's
Note: Seems to me that Google can "ban" anything it wants. The
only people who should be able to influence that are the customers who
will vote with their fingers. If they don't like what Google has done,
they can quit using anything offered by that company. I've already quit
using Google completely, simply because of the Chinese thing. What a sick
joke it will be if they can be forced to do something by this "Free
Trade Agreement!" Freedom of speech belongs to Google too, let's
remember, and they can't prevent SpaceWar.com from speaking, only from
speaking on their turf.
The
Culture Wars at Home and Abroad
Closely
related to free-speech issues are the fights, especially here in the US,
that confront traditional values and morals against both those who hypocritically
"support" those traditional values and those who would throw
both the values and morals into the garbage bin. Freedom does NOT equate
to either license nor to immorality: an immoral and licentious people
have demonstrated time after time that they are unable to keep their liberties
because they refuse to accept responsibility for both their own actions,
and for that of society on their behalf.
Drives
to ban gay adoption heat up in 16 states
USA Today
"Efforts to ban gays and lesbians from adopting children are emerging
across the USA as a second front in the culture wars that began during
the 2004 elections over same-sex marriage. Steps to pass laws or secure
November ballot initiatives are underway in at least 16 states, adoption,
gay rights and conservative groups say. Some - such as Ohio, Georgia and
Kentucky - approved constitutional amendments in 2004 banning gay marriage."
(02/20/06)
I've talked
about the insanity of widescale adoption of children by anything other
than a standard two-parent (one father, one mother) home, but the only
way this will happen is to get government out of the family business -
the more government controls it, the more political pressure there will
be to corrupt the system (even more than it is).
Anti-family
drives heat up in 16 states
USA Today
"Efforts to ban gays and lesbians from adopting children are emerging
across the USA as a second front in the culture wars that began during
the 2004 elections over same-sex marriage. Steps to pass laws or secure
November ballot initiatives are underway in at least 16 states, adoption,
gay rights and conservative groups say. Some -- such as Ohio, Georgia
and Kentucky -- approved constitutional amendments in 2004 banning gay
marriage." (02/20/06)
Yeah, this
is basically the same article as the one above, but with a bigoted headline,
showing the completely skewed and bizarre world view of far too many journos,
both in the mainstream and in the alternative media.
Harvard
president to resign
Fox News
"Lawrence H. Summers is resigning as president of Harvard University
at the end of the academic year, the school announced on its Web site
Tuesday. Summers' resignation ends the briefest tenure of any Harvard
president since 1862, when Cornelius Felton died after two years in office.
The announcement comes a week before an expected no-confidence vote by
the Harvard faculty, who have criticized Summers leadership style and
comments about women in science. 'I have reluctantly concluded that the
rifts between me and segments of the Arts and Sciences faculty make it
unfeasible for me to advance the agenda of renewal that I see as crucial
to Harvard's future,' Summers wrote in a letter posted on Harvard's Web
site. 'I believe, therefore, that it is best for the University to have
new leadership.'" [editor's note: The irony is, the students
(whose tuition pays those faculty salaries) support the guy, 57 to 19
in the latest Crimson poll! - SAT] (02/21/06)
Oh, dear,
how sad. Despite the man's occasional lapses into sanity, his lunacy is
above average for college presidents. But seriously, he really messed
up his administration by making observations about observed phenomena,
a pre-decadent action that is completely unacceptable in a decently-decadent
institution like Harvard. Of course, he really was too late: expecting
Harvard to be able to renew itself is akin to electing Abe Lincoln to
a third term and expecting him to serve.
Justices
to revisit partial-birth abortion ban
Cincinnati Enquirer
"The Supreme Court said Tuesday it would consider reinstating
a federal ban on ... partial-birth abortion, pulling the contentious issue
back to the high court on conservative Justice Samuel Alito's first day.
Alito could well be the tie-breaking vote when the court decides if doctors
can be jailed for performing the abortion procedure. It is the first time
the court has considered a federal restriction on abortion, and conservatives
said they expect the membership change to affect the outcome."
(02/21/06)
Although
this is literally a matter of life and death, it is a key part of the
culture wars. Actually, I will be surprised if the ban is reinstated,
because of the various claims and the fear of the left. But it would be
nice if we could stop killing a few more children.
SD:
Senate passes abortion ban
MSNBC
"Legislation meant to prompt a national legal battle targeting
Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, was
approved Wednesday by the South Dakota Senate, moving the bill a step
closer to final passage. The measure, which would ban nearly all abortions
in the state, now returns to the House, which passed a different version
earlier. The House must decide whether to accept changes made by the Senate,
which passed its version 23-12." (02/22/06)
As expected,
the House did accept the changes, and the bill is on Rounds' desk. He
vetoed a similar one last year, but supposedly this one has the things
fixed that he was concerned with. South Dakota, overall, DOES want a confrontation
- much of the state is very much behind this - likely a clear supermajority.
Mama's
Note: One thing that far too few people understand is the fact that there
is NO real MEDICAL reason for a woman's life to be in danger from a pregnancy,
therefore no legitimate reason at all for any abortion. The primary such
"reason" being used these days is an obviously invalid plea
that delivering the baby will somehow cause mental or emotional "damage."
I don't know anything that would cause more such damage than the murder
of your own child, and all legitimate research supports this.
Government
Ruined, Theft Funded Schools
Just one item. Where are YOUR kids during the work week? Got Education?
Eye
scans: High-tech hall passes?
USA Today
"The brushed aluminum box on the brick wall glows purple, a rim
of light around an unblinking HAL-like eye. You peek in and stare for
a second, and the steel doors click open. A soothing female voice says:
'Identification is completed.' Welcome to Park Avenue Elementary School.
Freehold Borough School District installed the iris-scanning devices in
its three schools last month. It and a district down the road in New Egypt
are the first U.S. school systems to study what happens when adults are
asked to eye-scan to get in the door each day. ... Parents began signing
up last fall, submitting to scans of both eyes and driver's licenses.
At last count, 300 of a possible 1,500 had enrolled, with many citing
privacy concerns. It's optional, and Meara doesn't plan to change that.
Privacy advocates such as Lillie Coney of the Electronic Privacy Information
Center in Washington, D.C., say people's concerns are justified -- both
government agencies and computer hackers could someday access the data.
'Eventually it's going to be used in ways that have nothing to do with
getting into those three schools,' she says." (02/23/06)
No details
on accuracy nor on security of the data used for the system. Another reason
(at least in those towns) to find a good school for your kids - private
or home.
Home
Front
We still have Katrina in the news, as we approach the six-month mark.
Not just one more way to bash the Bush Administration (not that I believe
that Jamie Lee or another Clinton appointee would have done better), it
has become an example of so much that is bad about government. In addition
to Katrina, we are fighting the war against terrorists and gov-goons (two
sides of the same coin) in many other ways. But the lead article in this
section today, although it is being touted as a Home Front issue, is really
an example of stupidity in government and ridiculous campaigning in an
election year.
Port Operations
Mess
There are too many articles to choose from to provide even a good representative
article or sampling, so let me provide a summary from various sources.
Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation (P&O), a British-based
international corporation, has been acquired (bought out for $6.8 billion)
by Dubai Ports World, another international corporation based in Dubai,
one of the United Arab Emirates. P&O was founded in 1837 and is one
of the world's largest port-operating firms and shipping firms, well known
for its ferry operations and historically famous for its liners.
The UAE
is an ally of the US, and has been since at least Gulf War I (Desert Shield),
but did recognize the Taliban and also was the home of two of the supposed
Bloody Tuesday hijackers. The UAE is a relatively loose federation of
seven emirates (much looser than, say Switzerland or Canada, much less
the US. For example, Dubai is not integrated into the federal court system).
Dubai has made itself into a kind of Singapore or Hong Kong micro-state;
a major financial center with a free market and a massive investment and
improvements program.
DPWorld
however, is owned by the Dubai government (not the UAE government), not
private investors, unless the purchase of P&O changes this. P&O
will continue to operate out of London with its own management. The 165-year-old
company operates 31 container ports and has operations in over 100 ports
in 19 countries. Its six US operations (Philadelphia, New Orleans, Miami,
Newark (with operations in both NY and NJ), and Baltimore) are a small
part of its total operations. (It also operates the British Columbia port
of Vancouver.) It does not actually own its ports, rather, it is contracted
as a "concessionaire" to operate some or all of the ports, (what
US DoD calls "commercial activities" contractors), awarded by
the individual port authorities or owners. Sometimes, it is in partnership
with other companies, as in Miami and Newark. For example, the Port Newark
Container Terminal LLC (PNCT) is the joint venture company of P&O
Ports and Mærsk Lines (a Danish firm) and has a 30-year lease with
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to operate a 180-acre container
terminal in Port Newark, New Jersey.
The US
Federal Government has no direct control over either the corporate ownership
or the contract between the Port Authority and the concessionaire. The
Federal government apparently has some kind of "clearance" authority
to review and "approve" the acquisition and allow the state
agencies (the port authorities) to continue to contract with an "approved"
firm. I was not able to find out who the current shareholders of P&O
are.
This entire
affair is absolute garbage: much ado about nothing. The Democrats and
the Republicans in Congress are responding in typical knee-jerk, panic-mode
fashion without bothering to check out what is really going on, and the
various groups outside gov't, both liberal and conservative, are completely
out to lunch. Finally, the President is apologizing and doing stupid things
for something that he should have forthrightly said is no more his business
than the Danish Cartoons were the business of the Danish Prime Minister;
and it is not Congress's business either. Why?
1. This is not outsourcing: the outsourcing is already done: P&O is
a Brit company.
2. But more importantly, it is effectively a multinational company, just
like GM or Exxon or Toshiba or hundreds of other companies. And like most
multinationals (and most corporations with more than a few dozen employees),
ownership has been divorced from management for years. For all we know,
the current owners are a bunch of ex-communists and Arab oil sheiks and
Castro's offshore trust fund (what, you don't think he doesn't have one?),
or even Kerry's wife or the Clintons (or their trust funds).
3. All of P&O's employees in the US are either US citizens or legal
immigrants with (presumably) valid green cards; DPWorld is not going to
suddenly replace them with Arabs from Dubai: in fact Dubai is a net importer
of guest workers: only 20% of its residents are actually citizens and
the rest are foreigners hired to work in the emirate - and get deported
as soon as they quit, retire, or get fired. (And many of those, like P&O's
management in London, are expatriate Americans, by the way.)
4. It is NOT the UAE government that owns DPWorld; it is the Dubai emirate
government: this is like saying that because the Colorado government owns
the company, it is really the Federal Government that owns it - except
that Dubai has considerably more true sovereignty than the current Colorado
State does. True, Dubai's emir has one of the two de-facto vetos in the
UAE Federal Council (its Executive Branch, rather like the Swiss model),
but the two governments ARE separate.
5. P&O, the contractor, at these five (not really six, as is touted)
ports, has no security responsibilities: those duties are handled either
by Port Authority employees and the US Coast Guard, or (if the Ports are
smart) by other contractors - Brinks or Guardian, or whatever rent-a-cop
firm has gotten the contract. (I suspect that the security contract, especially
in NY/NJ and PA, is probably a lot flakier than the container terminal
contract.)
6. The federal government is NOT, has NOT, and should NOT BE the organization
contracting or even regulating the contracts for operating container ports:
that should belong to the port owner, whether it is a city, a county,
a state, or a private firm.
So come
on, people, GET A LIFE and drop this silly piece of propaganda-campaigning.
If you don't like having a foreign company do this dirty work for your
port or your state or your nation, then start your own company, or go
buy P&O yourself! This is nowhere near the point of concern than is
having a Chinese company (COSCO) running the Panama Canal, or having a
Venezuelan company (CITGO) with gas stations in thousands of communities.
GOP
governors question port turnover
Indianapolis Star
"Two Republican governors on Monday questioned a Bush administration
decision allowing an Arab-owned company to operate six major U. S. ports,
saying they may try to cancel lease arrangements at ports in their states.
New York Gov. George Pataki and Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich voiced doubts
about the acquisition of a British company that has been running the U.S.
ports by Dubai Ports World, a state-owned business in the United Arab
Emirates." (02/20/06)
Before
I did the research above, the mere fact that more and more government
officials at all levels seem to be jumping on the bandwagon, made me question
if this is really the "disaster" that everyone was making it
out to be. As you read above, it wasn't and isn't - it just makes all
these goons look stupid.
Bush
shrugs off objections to port deal
Indianapolis Star
"Brushing aside objections from Republicans and Democrats alike,
President Bush endorsed the takeover of shipping operations at six major
U.S. seaports by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates. He
pledged to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the agreement.
The president on Tuesday defended his administration's earlier approval
of the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.
to Dubai Ports World, despite concerns in Congress it could increase the
possibility of terrorism at American ports." (02/21/06)
More imperial
president? So now we know what it takes to get a veto from this man -
forget about selling out the future, selling out freedom, or watching
children die: it is objecting to a bad decision and to Congress getting
in where it should not be. But his method is not what it should be. As
I stated above, the situation is simple: this is NOT a security issue,
it is NOT the business of the President, the Congress, or the Judicial
Branch - it is probably not even the business of the state governments.
It is private business!
UAE
company agrees to delay US port deal
Detroit Free Press
"A United Arab Emirates company offered Thursday to delay part
of its $6.8 billion takeover of most operations at six U.S. Ports to give
the Bush administration more time to convince skeptical lawmakers the
deal poses no security risks. The surprise announcement relieves some
pressure from a standoff between President Bush and the Republican-controlled
Congress, which has threatened to block the deal because of the UAE's
purported ties to terrorism." (02/23/06)
Probably
a wise move, but still, it is a shame that this is necessary.
On
security issue, Bush is only one leaning left
Washington Times
"President Bush is on the defensive on national security for the
first time in his presidency over his administration's decision to approve
a Middle Eastern company's bid to manage U.S. Ports, leaving Democrats
and Republicans all running to his right on the issue. Republicans are
openly talking about bills to halt the deal and sound eager to override
a threatened presidential veto, while Democrats say the administration's
decision cuts deeply into Mr. Bush's national security credentials. Democrats
even turned around White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove's barb
last month that they have a 'pre-9/11 view of the world.' " (02/23/06)
It is suddenly
as if they are all on the "Hate Bush" bandwagon, which might
make longtime Bush-haters happy, but should make the rest of us wonder
just what is going on. Even conservative talk-show hosts are split: Limbaugh
on the Prez's side, but Hannity very much against him.
Arab
company, White House had secret agreement
Cincinnati Enquirer
"The Bush administration secretly required a company in the United
Arab Emirates to cooperate with future U.S. investigations before approving
its takeover of operations at six American ports, according to documents
obtained by The Associated Press. It chose not to impose other, routine
restrictions. As part of the $6.8 billion purchase, state-owned Dubai
Ports World agreed to reveal records on demand about 'foreign operational
direction' of its business at U.S. Ports, the documents said. Those records
broadly include details about the design, maintenance or operation of
ports and equipment." (02/22/06)
My question
is very simple - what authority does the US FedGov have to demand ANYTHING
like this which is not required in that company's contract with the port
authority it is working for?
Frist
at odds with Bush over ports deal
Tennessean
"President Bush, trying to put down a rapidly escalating rebellion
among leaders of his own party, yesterday said that he would veto any
legislation blocking a deal for a state-owned company in Dubai to take
over the management of port terminals in New York, Miami, Baltimore and
other major U.S. cities. Bush issued the threat after Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert publicly criticized
the deal and said a thorough review was necessary to ensure that terrorists
could not exploit the arrangement to slip weapons into American ports.
Frist gave the White House only an hour's notice before he broke partisan
ranks earlier yesterday, declaring that 'the decision to finalize this
deal should be put on hold.' The Tennessee senator said that if he was
not heeded, 'I plan on introducing legislation to ensure that the deal
is placed on hold until this decision gets a more thorough review.'"
(02/22/06)
Once more,
as with the rest, I am completely at a loss to understand what Frist is
doing: it is almost as if there is blood in the water, and the sharkish
congrus-kritturs are going after it.
Mama's
Note: If the operation of the ports is so sensitive and so vital, why
aren't American companies lined up trying to buy up the contracts to start
with? How was this turned over to foreign companies in the first place?
Americans need to put up or shut up. And we need to kick the government
out of all our business, period.
Terrorism:
overblown threat
AlterNet, via San Francisco Chronicle
Conventional wisdom says that none of us is safe from terrorism. The
truth is that almost all of us are. The conventional belief is that in
response to terrorism, the federal government has spent huge sums on homeland
security. The fact is the increased federal spending on homeland security
since Sept. 11 pales in comparison to increases in the U.S. defense budget.
But homeland security has costs beyond spending, costs that conventional
thinking rarely considers. U.S. homeland security policy conjures up a
flawless enemy that could strike at any moment, in any place. That policy
institutionalizes the fears terrorists created and harms liberal values.
Thanks
to Tim for this article. While more commentary than news, it reports a
very significant fact regarding the way politicians and Beltway bandits
take advantage of irrational fears.
OH:
Three charged with planning to attack troops
Detroit Free Press
"Three men from the Middle East have been charged with plotting
terrorist attacks against U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq and other
countries. One of the men, a citizen of both the U.S. And Jordan, also
was accused of threatening to kill or injure President Bush, according
to an indictment released Tuesday. All three had lived in Toledo within
the past year and were arrested over the weekend -- two of them in Toledo,
the third in Jordan, authorities said." (02/21/06)
Toledo
is hardly the place you first think of for this sort of plot, but it is
close to several bases and central to the Eastern US, with good access
from all points. Hmmm.
Mama's
Note: Mere talk is insignificant, of course. The real question is if these
people had the means and opportunity to carry out their plans. Who was
going to pay for it and was that proven to be in place? If all the people
who toyed with the idea of assassination were jailed, there wouldn't be
enough room for them anywhere. Talk is cheap - where is the proof of real
actions?
Supreme
Court rules for church, against drug thugs
USA Today
"The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that adherents of
a small Brazilian-based religion practicing in New Mexico may continue
to use a hallucinogenic tea. The court rejected arguments by the Justice
Department that the communion ritual undermines federal anti-drug law.
The court broadly interpreted the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act,
intended to protect people from U.S. laws that appear to be neutral but
can impinge on sacramental practices." (02/21/06)
One very
small, but still pleasing, victory. I think these religious groups are
wrong, but I believe that they must be allowed to worship as they desire
- or we shall see, ultimately, communion wine and unleavened bread banned
or modified to meet government requirements.
Mama's
Note: There is no logical or moral division between something used for
"sacramental" reasons and any other if individuals actually
own their own bodies, of course. This permission is a small victory for
these people, perhaps, but it doesn't change the fact that government
still owns them. Ownership equals control. Who owns your life?
SF
Area has big appetite for DHS pork
Bay Area officials will ask the federal government for $322 million
over the next two years to pay for homeland security projects such as
securing the Golden Gate Bridge against terrorist attacks and making sure
enough shelter beds are on hand for a major earthquake, a San Francisco
official said Thursday. The Bay Area proposal was put together by a committee
of city and county leaders from San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Berkeley,
Daly City, Fremont, Hayward, Palo Alto, Richmond, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale
and Vallejo. Santa Clara and Alameda counties also participated in the
grant application. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has set aside
$765 million to fund such proposals from throughout the country for the
2006-07 fiscal year. It is unclear how much would be set aside for the
2007-08 fiscal year. The proposals cover a two-year period.
Of course,
once upon a time San Francisco had troops (MPs, combat engineers, MI,
etc.) on both ends of Golden Gate Bridge who DID protect it and were available
to help out in case of earthquake and such. But the anti-military attitude
of SF and the entire Bay area pretty much sealed the fate of the Presidio,
Oakland Army Base, Forts Baker, Barry, Chronkite, Mason, Funston, and
Scott, as well as Treasure Island, Mare Island, Hamilton AFB, Parks AFB,
and others - so now they are begging. (Thanks to Tim for this one!). This
is more than the City and County of San Francisco's total budget, by the
way - pigs indeed!
From
New Orleans, an earful of reforms
Christian Science Monitor
"If Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff wants to know how
to make more improvements in beleaguered FEMA, New Orleans residents,
who have been dealing with the emergency response agency for nearly six
months, have plenty of ideas for him. Some advise common sense. Others
suggest ways of helping people without much money save some cents. If
there's any single theme that stands out, it's that the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) needs to speed up its response time. 'I asked
for a trailer on Nov. 5 and just got it in mid-January,' says Manuel Thibodeaux
as he takes a break from putting a new roof on his mother's house. Just
down the street from Mr. Thibodeaux, David Manning and Stanley Smith would
like to suggest that FEMA help them save money on their reconstruction
bills. 'Maybe they could make a deal with Home Depot or Lowe's so we could
get a price discount on sheetrock, paint, new insulation,' says Manning."
(02/17/06)
Nobody,
you notice (or at least nobody that the press is listening to) is suggesting
the obvious - that FEMA be made a part of history and the responsibility
for response to emergencies be turned over to the private sector and volunteers.
Some
gates shut down after Bush Intercontinental security breach
Houston Chronicle
"Authorities evacuated thousands of passengers from Bush Intercontinental
Airport today after a woman cut through a security checkpoint without
being screened. Officials do not think the woman intended any harm. 'She
was, in fact, looking for a restroom,' said Christopher White, spokesman
for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. 'She walked out the
exit lane and turned around and walked right back in,' White said."
[FND editor's note: Too funny not to include - rlw] [RRND additional
editor's note: On the one hand, the bumbling of the TSA thugs seems funny
at a distance; on the other, if I was a passenger hunted down and hassled
for wanting to use the restroom, or a passenger delayed by said hunting/hassling,
I don't think I'd find it a bit funny - TLK] (02/22/06)
Perhaps
next time she should just find a corner, preferably near a TSA location?
It sounds like the entire thuggish and bureaucratic community at BIA just
plain panicked. For one thing, if she walked out in plain sight, and immediately
turned around and went back in without touching or saying anything, there
was no real breech in security. But heaven forbid that this kind of goon
do anything but push the panic button (probably literally, in this case).
Snowe
holds up Katrina bill in bid for home heating aid
Boston Globe
"After months of fruitless efforts to add more federal money for
home heating assistance, Maine Senator Olympia Snowe has used a parliamentary
maneuver to put a hold on a federal relief program for victims of Hurricane
Katrina until the Senate is allowed to vote on energy grants for low-income
homeowners. Energy prices remain at record highs in New England, and four
states -- Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and New Hampshire -- have
already used up their grants from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee, last
year promised Snowe a vote on additional energy funds, but a handful of
Republican senators have used the Senate's practice of allowing individual
senators to place holds on votes to block the bill. In response, Snowe
placed a hold on more funds for a flood insurance program that provides
money to homeowners and businesses damaged in last year's hurricanes,
according to Senate aides." (02/22/06)
Pork, pork,
pork - whatever the excuse. To them, it really is all a big game. You
certainly know that this millionaire's club certainly isn't worried about
where to live or how to pay the high price of fuel - nor are their relatives
or friends.
Mama's
Note: Of course, we know that government at any level has no honest business
handing out welfare of any kind. As far as I know, every single utility
company has a voluntary fund - donations from their customers - to help
the truly needy. Churches, Senior Citizen's clubs, and countless other
private organizations are both willing and able to help members in real
need. They also have the incentive and ability to weed out those who are
not appropriate. Without government handouts of stolen goods, people have
the incentive to join these organizations and be good citizens so they
will be considered worthy if they do need help at some point. This lets
out the professional moochers and bums, of course, so it is naturally
vilified by the socialists. See "The
Tragedy of American Compassion" for details.
White
House report details Katrina failures
Houston Chronicle
"Flawed government planning for major disasters led to rampant
confusion during the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the White
House concluded today in a report focusing more on fixing shortfalls before
the next storm season than on assigning blame. The review described poor
communications systems, delays in delivering supplies and overall tumult
within the Bush administration, but revealed little new about the plodding
federal effort in the days just before and after the storm socked the
Gulf Coast last Aug. 29." (02/23/06)
As expected,
this report results in yet another concept of reorganization and spending
more money to do what government should not even be doing in the first
place.
Mama's
Note: Just remember that all this "reform" is really job security
for government. They can never reform the one fact that makes such things
inefficient and guarantees corruption: government has no business providing
such things to begin with and no incentive to do it right.
Mideast
Tarbabies
Iraq:
Bombings kill 24
PennLive.Com
"[A]t least 24 people, including an American soldier, were killed
by bombings in Baghdad and elsewhere. Two Macedonian contractors were
freed by kidnappers four days after they were abducted in Basra, a British
official said without giving further details. ... The U.S. command said
the American soldier was killed Monday by a roadside bomb southeast of
Karbala .... In Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt
on a bus Monday in the Shiite district of Kazamiyah, killing 12 people
and injuring 15 .... a bomb exploded next to tea stalls near Liberation
Square, killing at least four day laborers and wounding 14 .... In Mosul,
225 miles northwest of Baghdad, a suicide attacker blew himself up in
a restaurant packed with policemen eating breakfast, killing at least
five people and wounding 21, including 10 policemen .... Two more civilians
died when a car bomb exploded in Madain southeast of Baghdad, police said.
Eleven people, including three women, were injured." (02/20/06)
I'm not
sure, but I think that American casualties have dropped off somewhat in
recent days, even while Iraqi deaths and wounded, especially those of
innocent bystanders, have increased.
Mama's
Note: I just wonder why these innocent bystanders don't work together
and start eliminating those responsible for all the carnage? Why are they
standing around allowing these thugs to murder and maim their women and
children like this?
Iraq:
Civilians, police killed in attacks
Reuters
"Three policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near
their patrol in Baquba .... A roadside bomb went off near a pickup truck
carrying workers, killing one and wounding two in Iskandariya .... Police
colonel Burhan Taha, the head of police headquarters in Kirkuk, escaped
an assassination attempt on Monday when gunmen attacked his house in Kirkuk
.... His son and daughter were wounded .... Four Iraqi soldiers were seriously
wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near a joint Iraqi-U.S patrol near
the town of al Riyadh .... Six civilians were wounded when a mortar round
landed in a Shi'ite district of the capital .... Two police commandos
were killed and four people wounded, including a civilian, when a roadside
bomb went off near their patrol in southern Baghdad .... Two civilians
were wounded when a roadside bomb went off near a U.S. patrol in central
Baghdad .... A policeman was killed when a roadside bomb went off near
his patrol in western Baghdad .... The body of a man was found, bound
and with shotgun wounds to the head and chest .... One civilian was killed
and two were wounded when gunmen attacked a judge while he was heading
to his work in Baquba ..." (02/21/06)
This day,
most of the dead were "legitimate targets" but again, the complete
unconcern for killing innocent bystanders was obvious.
Iraq:
Sectarian violence breaks out after mosque attack
Toronto Star
"A large explosion heavily damaged the golden dome of one of Iraq's
most revered Shiite shrines Wednesday, spawning mass protests and sparking
reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques. It was the third major attack
against Shiite targets this week and threatened to stoke sectarian tensions.
Shiite leaders called for calm, but militants attacked Sunni mosques and
a gunfight broke out between Shiite militiamen and guards at the offices
of a Sunni political party in Basra. About 500 soldiers were sent to Sunni
neighbourhoods in Baghdad to prevent clashes between Shiites and Sunnis,
army Capt. Jassim al-Wahash said. A leading Sunni politician, Tariq al-Hashimi,
said 29 Sunni mosques had been attacked nationwide. ... The shrine attack
followed a devastating car bomb late Tuesday in a Shiite corner of Baghdad,
killing 22 people, according to police. The day before, 12 died in a suicide
attack on a bus in the capital's heavily Shiite district of Kazimiyah.
In other violence Wednesday, a judge was seriously injured and four of
his bodyguards killed when unidentified gunmen fired at his car on the
outskirts of Muqdadiyah .... In Baqouba ... two police officers were killed
in a drive-by shooting Wednesday morning. A roadside bomb exploded near
a primary school in a mostly Shiite area near Kut, killing two boys and
injuring four others." (02/22/06)
This appears
to be an effort to trigger a sectarian civil war, no less. Secular authorities,
unlike earlier days, seemed to be only secondary targets.
Iraq:
46 bodies found in wave of violence
ABC News
"A major Sunni Arab bloc Thursday suspended talks with Shiite
and Kurdish parties on a new government after scores of Sunni mosques
were attacked and dozens of bodies found in a wave of reprisal violence
following the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine. Violence continued Thursday
with an attack on a Sunni mosque in Baqouba, where eight Iraqi soldiers
were killed in a bombing and nearly a dozen people were wounded. ... At
least 46 bodies were found scattered across Iraq late Wednesday and early
Thursday, many of them shot execution-style and dumped in Shiite-dominated
parts of the capital .... In mostly Shiite Basra, police said militiamen
broke into a prison, hauled out 12 inmates, including two Egyptians, two
Tunisians, a Libyan, a Saudi and a Turk, and shot them dead in reprisal
for the shrine attack. ... The hard-line Sunni clerical Association of
Muslim Scholars said 168 Sunni mosques were attacked, 10 imams killed
and 15 abducted. The figures could not be independently confirmed."
(02/23/06)
More evidence
of a drift to civil war, leaving the Coalition, including the US, as either
bystanders caught in the crossfire or peace officers caught in the crossfire,
or targets of both sides, caught in the crossfire. The next day's news
reported that this prediction was indeed accurate.
Iraq:
Seven US troops, 100+ Iraqis killed
Indianapolis Star
"Gunmen killed dozens of civilians Thursday and dumped their bodies
in a ditch, as the government ordered a tough daytime curfew of Baghdad
and three provinces to stem the sectarian violence that has left at least
114 dead since the bombing of a Shiite shrine. Seven U.S. soldiers died
in a pair of roadside bombings north of the capital, and American military
units in the Baghdad area were told to halt all but essential travel to
avoid getting caught up in demonstrations or roadblocks." (02/23/06)
After a
lull in Coalition casualties, the killings this day made up for it - and
it is obvious that the Coalition casualties are more collateral than the
major thrust of the current fighting and killing.
Mama's
Note: And the US is going to impose "democracy," on these people?
What a sick joke and waste of everything involved. They obviously can't
even work together enough to protect their innocent women and children.
Djibouti:
Ten killed in helicopter crash
Houston Chronicle
"Ten U.S. service members died when a pair of Marine Corps helicopters
from a unit based in North Carolina crashed off the coast of Africa, U.S.
military officials confirmed today. The two CH-53E choppers, carrying
a dozen crew and troops from a U.S. counterterrorism force, went down
during a training flight Friday in the Gulf of Aden, near the northern
coastal town of Ras Siyyan in Djibouti." (02/19/06)
Although
probably not due to enemy action, this is definitely related to the operations
in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the de facto occupation of the entire region
by the US, UK, and other forces. This does remind us that those who claim
that deaths which don't actually happen in Iraq or Afghanistan are being
"covered up" by the Pentagon are wrong and harming their own
cause.
Gaza's
Tiny Christian Community Threatened With Violence
Jerusalem
(CNSNews.com)
Extremists are threatening to blow up the Palestinian Bible Society
in the Gaza Strip if the Palestinian people who work there do not close
up shop and abandon their ministry by the end of February, a Christian
source told Cybercast News Service. The threats apparently are coming
from Islamic extremists who are determined to drive Christians out of
the area...
Interesting
how these extremists popped up with their demand not long after Hamas
gained power.
Wounded
soldier, widow awarded $102.6 million
Fox News
"A soldier wounded in Afghanistan and the widow of his slain comrade
were awarded a $102.6 million judgment from the estate of a suspected
Al Qaeda financier. U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell said the lawsuit
may be the first filed by an American soldier against terrorists under
the Patriot Act. But Sgt. Layne Morris, of West Jordan, and the family
of medic Christopher Speer, could have a difficult time collecting their
award, because the assets of the suspected financier are unknown. Other
soldiers have difficulty identifying their attackers, making it difficult
to hold individuals responsible. Morris cited news reports -- including
interviews with his attacker's immediate family -- indicating that Omar
Khadr, then 15, had wounded him and killed Speer. The ruling, released
Friday, cited similar evidence that the boy's father, suspected financier
Ahmad Sa'id Khadr, was linked to Al Qaeda and trained his son to attack
American targets. Morris and Speer, who served with the 19th Special Forces,
were attacked with grenades and automatic weapons in a remote Afghanistan
village. Shrapnel severed the optic nerve in Morris' right eye, blinding
him." (02/19/06)
Of course,
their chances of collecting are not that great. And as usual, the court
system awards absolutely ridiculous amounts.
Democrats
may unite on plan to pull troops
Boston Globe
"After months of trying unsuccessfully to develop a common message
on the war in Iraq, Democratic Party leaders are beginning to coalesce
around a broad plan to begin a quick withdrawal of US troops and install
them elsewhere in the region, where they could respond to emergencies
in Iraq and help fight terrorism in other countries. The concept, dubbed
'strategic redeployment,' is outlined in a slim, nine-page report coauthored
by a former Reagan administration assistant Defense secretary, Lawrence
J. Korb, in the fall. It sets a goal of a phased troop withdrawal that
would take nearly all US troops out of Iraq by the end of 2007, although
many Democrats disagree on whether troop draw-downs should be tied to
a timeline." (02/20/06)
I would
be very surprised if this attempt will be any more successful than the
previous ones. They are trying to unite in opposition but have no real
strength to resist even the weak GOP congressional-administration alliance.
Iran
offers Hamas financial aid
BBC News [UK]
"Iran has offered to help finance the cash-strapped Palestinian
Authority governed by the Hamas militant group. The offer was announced
by senior security official Ali Larijani after a meeting with Hamas politburo
chief Khaled Meshaal, state radio reported. The decision follows moves
by the US and Israel to isolate a Hamas-led government with financial
penalties." (02/22/06)
A number
of commentators predicted this would happen quickly, as it has. This is
financing terrorism, clearly - will the West respond to this in the same
way as Europe and the US are responding to Iran's threat of nuclear development?
Mama's
Note: All the "sanctions" and attempts to cut the Palestinian
leaders from their economic base will ultimately hurt only the innocent,
of course. The military and political people will find a way to continue
their insanity and will use the starvation and death of the common people
as fuel for recruiting ever more terrorists and suicide bombers. This
is truly a lose/lose situation.
Saudis
join Egypt in support for Hamas
CNN
"Saudi Arabia will continue supporting the Palestinian Authority
despite the election of a government led by the Islamic militant group
Hamas -- because it does not want to punish ordinary Palestinians, the
kingdom's foreign minister said Wednesday. He made the announcement after
meeting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is on a tour of
the Middle East. She is trying to persuade Arab nations to increase pressure
on Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist."
(02/22/06)
I frankly
never expected the Saudis to do anything different, since their own view
towards Israel is clear, and more in line with Hamas (in reality more
than in "official language") than with the US.
FBI:
Gitmo interrogators were warned
ABC News
"FBI agents repeatedly warned military interrogators at the U.S.
prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that their aggressive methods were
legally risky and also likely to be ineffective, according to FBI memos
made public Thursday. A senior officer at the prison for terror suspects
also 'blatantly misled' his superiors at the Pentagon into thinking the
FBI had endorsed the 'aggressive and controversial interrogation plan'
for one detainee, according to one of the 54 memos released by the American
Civil Liberties Union. ... FBI officials, whose names were blacked out,
indicated that senior military officials, including former Deputy Defense
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, were aware of and in some cases had approved
of putting hoods on prisoners, threatening them with violence and subjecting
them to humiliating treatment." (02/24/06)
Watch how
the rats scurry now that the floodlights are turned on. Can we really
trust any of them to say the truth, as they seek to protect themselves?
Judge
orders Gitmo captive IDs released
MSNBC
"A federal judge ordered the Pentagon on Thursday to release the
identities of hundreds of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to The Associated
Press, a move that would force the government to break its secrecy and
reveal the most comprehensive list yet of those who have been imprisoned
there. Some of the hundreds of detainees in the war on terrorism being
held at the U.S. Military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been held
as long as four years. Only a handful have been officially identified."
(02/23/06)
A good
move, indeed - finally. Truth seldom is undesirable in a situation like
this.
More
News and Commentary on Page 2
Nathan
Barton's views and comments, however normal they sound, are too weird
to be anyone's but his own, and not necessarily anyone else's. Caveat
Lexor. Be sure to visit my blog,
Liberty's Outpost.
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