Pakistan India Earth Quake Support

Pakistan pleads for aid as quake toll climbs 7.6-magnitude temblor kills 20,000-30,000 people across south Asia.

9, 2005, MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - Rescuers struggled to reach remote, mountainous areas Sunday after Pakistan's worst-ever earthquake wiped out entire villages, buried roads in rubble and knocked out electricity and water supplies. The death toll stood at 20,000 and was expected to rise.

In this devastated Himalayan city, wounded covered by shawls lay in the street, and villagers used sledgehammers to break through the rubble of flattened schools and homes seeking survivors.

The magnitude-7.6 quake collapsed the city's Islamabad Public School. Soldiers with white cloth tied around their mouths and noses pulled a small girl's dust-covered body from the ruins, while the body of a boy remained pinned between heavy slabs of concrete.

The United Nations said more than 2.5 million people need shelter after the magnitude-7.6 earthquake along the Pakistan-India border. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Relief said it urgently needed 200,000 winterized tents.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf complained of a shortage of helicopters needed to ferry in relief workers, food and medical supplies, and appealed for international help.

Bush pledges assistance

In Washington, President Bush said eight U.S. military choppers were being moved to help in rescue efforts, and he promised financial assistance. India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan, also offered assistance, as did Israel, which has no relations with the Muslim nation.

Bush said he spoke with Musharraf and "told him that we want to help in any way we can."

"Thousands of people have died, thousands are wounded, and the United States of America wants to help," Bush said from the Oval Office.

"We are handling the worst disaster in Pakistan's history," chief army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said.

The quake was felt across a wide swath of South Asia from central Afghanistan to western Bangladesh. It swayed buildings in the capitals of three nations, with the damage spanning at least 250 miles from Jalalabad in Afghanistan to Srinagar in northern Indian territory.

In Islamabad, a 10-story building collapsed, killing at least 24 people.

Pakistan in need

Oct. 8: Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on what his nation needs in the wake of Saturday's deadly earthquake.

Late Sunday, helmeted rescuers found a survivor after hearing his cries for help. The thin man in a blue shirt, looking dazed, emerged on his own with little help and stood in front of a crowd of cheering onlookers. One rescuer patted his head, and the man waved and pumped his fist in the air.

Pakistan said the death toll ranged between 20,000 and 30,000. India reported more than 600 dead, and Afghanistan said four were killed.

"We have enough manpower but we need financial support ... to cope with the tragedy,"Musharraf said in Rawalpindi, according to the state-run news agency Associated Press of Pakistan.

He also appealed for medicine and tents.

Musharraf said he knew of as many as 20,000 people killed, and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said about 43,000 people were injured.

Musharraf said the only way to reach many far-flung areas was by helicopter because roads were impassable.

"Our helicopter resources are limited," he said. "We need massive cargo helicopter support."

Northern Pakistan hardest-hit

Most of the devastation occurred in northern Pakistan. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 60 miles northeast of the capital, Islamabad, in the forested mountains of Pakistani Kashmir.

"I have been informed by my department that more than 30,000 people have died in Kashmir," Tariq Mahmmod, communications minister for the Himalayan region, he said.

Pakistan pleads for aid as quake toll climbs

7.6-magnitude temblor kills 20,000-30,000 people across south Asia

By In Solidarity posted 11 October 05

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Devastating quake kills 20,000 in Pakistan and India
A major earthquake on Saturday morning measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale has devastated cities, towns and villages across northern Pakistan. The official death toll in Pakistan reached 19,369 yesterday with over 42,000 people injured, but casualties are expected to climb further as rescue workers reach outlying areas. Hundreds more were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The worst affected in both countries were the poor who lived in cheap housing built of mud brick and wood.

World races clock to help quake victims
Rescue teams and aid pledges have poured into Pakistan from around the world after the devastating earthquake that has killed about 20,000 people.

Devastating quake kills 20,000 in Pakistan and India

A major earthquake on Saturday morning measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale has devastated cities, towns and villages across northern Pakistan. The official death toll in Pakistan reached 19,369 yesterday with over 42,000 people injured, but casualties are expected to climb further as rescue workers reach outlying areas. Hundreds more were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The worst affected in both countries were the poor who lived in cheap housing built of mud brick and wood.

Already higher casualty figures are being mooted. Tariq Farooq, Minister for Communication and Works in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir (Azad Kashmir), estimated yesterday that 30,000 had died in that province alone. "There are cities, there are towns which have been completely destroyed. Muzaffarabad [Azad Kashmir's provincial capital] is devastated," he said. The death toll in the provincial capital is currently 11,000.

Farooq explained that the worst affected area was Bagh, 40 km southeast of Muzaffarabad where between 6,000 and 7,000 are estimated to have died in the town and adjoining villages. "There are no survivors in villages like Jaglari, Kufalgarh, Harigal and Baniyali in Bagh district," he told the International News. "People have been devoured by the earth." Kashmiri Affairs Minister Faisal Hayat said that over half of Azad Kashmir's population of 2.4 million had been affected by the quake.

Another 9,000 people believed dead in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NSFP), including 7,000 in Hazara. Many of the victims were children attending Saturday morning classes. At least six schools collapsed in the town of Balakot, trapping hundreds of children. Parents and other locals frantically worked with picks, shovels and their bare hands to reach those trapped in the rubble. The death toll is estimated as 2,500 for the Balakot and seven surrounding villages.

A Sydney Morning Herald article explained: "The Balakot region was a scene of devastation. Perhaps half of the concrete houses had collapsed and dozens of bodies lay in the open. Residents complained about the lack of help. The road into the town had been blocked by landslides, and it was only possible to reach it on foot." Rescue workers had only reached about 40 percent of the areas in Pakistan affected by the quake. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people have been left homeless, without food and medicine and, in some areas, exposed to torrential rain and hailstorms.

The epicentre was near Muzaffarabad and the tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi and Kabul. The quake was followed by about 20 significant aftershocks, measuring up to 6.2 on the Richter scale. In eastern Afghanistan, four children were crushed to death when the mud walls of their home collapsed.

In the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, the Margala Towers--a five-tower upmarket apartment complex--was badly damaged. At least 35 people were killed when two of the five blocks collapsed. On special orders from the Interior Ministy, a case has already been registered against the owners and contractors and the Capital Development Authority for the use of substandard construction materials. No such legal action is being taken over the countless shoddily built homes of the poor destroyed by the quake.

Most of the nearly 700 deaths in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir occurred close to the heavily-militarised Line of Control (LoC) that separates the Pakistani and Indian armies. According to the Union Home Ministry, the toll stood at 656 late last night--including 589 in the Kashmir Valley and 17 in Jammu. At least 258 people were killed in Karnah near the LoC and further deaths occurred in Uri--the last Indian town on the road connecting the Pakistan- and Indian-controlled portions of Kashmir.

As in Pakistan, casualty figures are expected to increase sharply. A state government official told the Hindustan Times: "The toll is expected to rise as there is no news from four villages in Teetwal area." He pointed out that 3,000 houses had been destroyed in the town of Tangdhar alone.

The media has speculated that the disaster may assist in ending the decades old dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. Indian Prime Minister Manhoman Singh rang Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to offer Indian assistance for relief and rescue operations. However, New Delhi and Islamabad could just as readily resort to sabre rattling as a means of diverting the social tensions produced by the catastrophe.

In fact, tight military restrictions in the quake-affected areas, including roadblocks and patrols, have hampered rescue operations in both countries. One indication of the substantial army presence in these areas is the size of the military casualties--at least 200 Pakistani and 50 Indian defence personnel died in the quake. The Indian army has taken control of the town of Uri and barred the media. Survivors complained to the Hindustan Times that relief and rescue efforts had been inadequate.

Apologia for government inaction

The glaring limitation of relief efforts has already provoked criticisms in Pakistan. An editorial in the International News on Sunday declared: "On the ground, however, confusion reigned supreme. There were obvious signs of lack of planning as the emergency services swung into action. It was obvious that the authorities were ill prepared and ill-equipped to deal with a catastrophe on this scale. While many people, including ordinary citizens, battled tirelessly to help those trapped underneath the rubble, their courage and sense of duty were clearly not a substitute for a strategy."

The newspaper, however, quickly sought to deflect blame from President Musharraf, noting that he and his ministers "were promptly on the scene of the disaster in Islamabad". It concluded with an appeal for national unity, declaring: "At this terrible moment in our history, let us all come forward with a single-minded aim: to ease the suffering of those devastated by this cruel act of nature. Let us leave the probing questions and post mortems for another day."

The Daily Times was even more blatant in its apologies for the Musharraf regime. In its editorial entitled "Getting the right perspective on the earthquake," the newspaper declared: "TV channels have subjected the government to criticism and unconsciously helped spread the impression that [the] earthquake tragedy was caused by the government simply because rescue work did not begin quickly enough. The truth is that no government anywhere, particularly in the Third World, can be prepared for large-scale post-disaster management."

The editorial berated critics who have pointed to the lack of building standards and poor construction as a major contributing factor to the high death toll. Unlike regulations for fire prevention, it argued, "earthquakes are a totally different category. Depending on scale, even an economic superpower may be humbled by a natural disaster... This scale of natural calamity is rare and defence against it is almost impossible." The commentator then compared the death toll in Pakistan favourably with that of the Iranian earthquake that claimed 32,000 lives in 2003 and the major tremor in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2001 that killed 11,500.

It is certainly true that individual earthquakes are notoriously difficult to predict with any accuracy. But the region of Kashmir and northern Pakistan struck on Saturday lies on the fault lines of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates and is regularly hit by substantial tremors. There is no excuse for the lack of disaster planning and proper emergency services and poor communications and transport, or the failure to ensure that buildings are capable of withstanding sizeable quakes. Both India and Pakistan spend billions of dollars every year maintaining huge armies equipped with expensive, sophisticated weaponry along the LoC.

Moreover, it is not simply the Pakistani and Indian governments that are responsible. The economic and social backwardness of these two countries is the legacy of decades of colonial rule and subsequent economic exploitation by the imperialist powers. As in the aftermath of the December 26 tsunami, the US, European Union and other major powers have once again demonstrated their indifference and contempt for the plight of the impoverished masses of the Indian subcontinent.

In statements reeking of insincerity, US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other so-called world leaders have expressed their sympathy for the victims. A pittance of international aid has been pledged to help relief efforts in India and Pakistan. Washington has offered military helicopters and $100,000 in emergency funding; the EU has promised $US3.8 million and individual European countries have dispatched a small number of rescue teams. Australia has offered $US380,000 and the World Bank $20 million. Even if the aid actually arrives, it is completely inadequate to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of people who have been affected.

The argument of the Daily Times editorial is that Pakistan, like Iran, India, and "even an economic superpower" can do nothing in the face of natural disasters of such a scale. The oblique reference to the Bush administration's appalling contempt for the victims of Hurricane Katrina is meant to be the clincher--if Washington is powerless in the face of such catastrophes, then how can Islamabad be expected to do better! In fact, the comment simply underscores the bankruptcy of the profit system as a whole: the techniques and resources exist to ensure that the impact of such disasters is minimal, but the operation of the capitalist market guarantees that ordinary working people--whether in Muzaffarabad or New Orleans--are left at the mercies of the forces of nature.

By Peter Symonds 10 October 2005

WSWS.org

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World races clock to help quake victims
Rescue teams and aid pledges have poured into Pakistan from around the world after the devastating earthquake that has killed about 20,000 people.

The situation in Nepal

Feb 1, 2005 will go down into the annals of Nepal's history as another darkest day when the tyrant and autocratic King Gyanendra, the most hated one by the majority of Nepali people as well as the democratic, secular and progressive forces all over the world, committed yet another crime against the democracy in Nepal through a palace coup.

Unite to Throw Out the Monarchy into the Dustbin of History Forever ! Move Earth & Heaven for a Democratic Republic of Nepal !! As you are aware that the monarchy in Nepal acting against the will of Nepali people is ruthlessly trampling on the democratic rights of Nepali people one after another & seeking to establish medieval rule, in an foolish attempt to move the wheel of history backward while Nepali people are carrying out resolute struggle for a democratic republican rule. The monarchy based on so-called Hindu religion and feudalism, has lost the support and confidence of overwhelming majority of Nepali people, including women, dalits, and janjatis.

The military, political and economic support provided by the U.S. and Indian government is the single most cause for the survival of dictatorial monarchy in Nepal, despite losing support of 25 million people of Nepal. The present palace coup and military rule is nothing but the outcome of consistent military and political support given by the U.S. as well as Indian government to the Royal Nepal Army headed by military dictator king Gyanendra.

It is strange that the U.S., which claims itself the champion of civil rights and democracy, has given wholehearted support to the undemocratic regimes worldwide. For realizing its political military and economic goals the U.S. has no objection even to embrace the tyrant rulers and dictators like military dictator Pervez Musarraf and feudal monarch Gyanendra.

In order to protect the feudal and dictatorial regime in Nepal, arms and ammunitions and financial aid to the tune of millions of dollars is being poured by the U.S., on pretext of suppressing Maoist rebellion, which has resulted in mass killings of people and democracy itself. As far as the monarchy is concerned, the Indian government is playing the same role as of their master i.e. the U.S. by fully endorsing the rule of King and supporting him politically and militarily.

Friends, at this point of time Nepal stands at the crossroad between the autocratic, mediaval and feudal military regime whose hands are soaked with the blood of thousands of Nepali people on one side and democratic republic on the other.

Nepali people need support and solidarity of all genuine democratic, secular and progressive forces in India to attain the goal of democratic republic in Nepal so as to get rid of feudal military rule propped up by imperialist forces forever. A massive rally & mass meeting will be held on February 13, 2004 at Chandigarh in support of democratic movement in Nepal and in protest against royal takeover You are requested to participate in the rally and mass meeting in large number to express solidarity to the democratic movement of Nepali people. With regards, Yours truly Laxman Pant President Central Committee.

Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

By Laxman posted 17 September 05

Sludge dirt on Coca-Cola

PLACHIMADA - In the end it was the "generosity" of Coca-Cola in distributing cadmium-laden waste sludge as "free fertilizer" to the tribes who live near the beverage giant's bottling plant in this remote Kerala village that proved to be its undoing. On Friday, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) ordered the plant shut down, much to the jubilation of tribal leaders and green activists who had focused more on the "water mining" activities of the plant rather than its production of toxic cadmium sludge.

"One way or another, this plant should be shut down and the management made to pay compensation for destroying our paddy fields, fooling us with fake fertilizer and drying out our wells," said Paru Amma, a tribal woman who lives in this once lush, water-abundant area. Chairman of the KSPCB, G Rajmohan, said the closure was ordered because the plant "does not have adequate waste treatment systems and toxic products from the plant were affecting drinking water in nearby villages" and that the plant "has also not provided drinking water in a satisfying manner to local residents".

Apparently, the generosity of the Coca-Cola plant was limited to distributing sludge and waste water free, and did not extend to providing drinking water to people seriously affected by its operations. In a statement, Coca-Cola said it was "reviewing the order passed by the chairman of the Pollution Control Board", and that "going forward, we are in the process of evaluating future steps, including a judicial review".

The KSPCB closure order was only the latest episode in a see-saw battle between Coca-Cola and the impoverished but plucky local residents ever since the Atlanta-based company began operating its US$25 million bottling plant in this village, located in the state's fertile Palakkad district, in 2001. Along the way, pollution control authorities, political parties, the judiciary and global environmental groups, starting with Greenpeace International, became involved in the dispute and Plachimada grew into a global symbol of resistance by local people to powerful transnational corporations trying to snatch away their water rights.

Although the local people had begun protesting against their wells running dry months after the plant began operations, serious trouble for the company began a little more than two years ago when a local doctor declared the water still available in the wells unfit for consumption. In July 2003, a BBC Radio-4 report, after carrying out tests at the University of Exeter in Britain, pronounced the sludge as dangerously laden with heavy metals, especially cadmium and lead, and already contaminating the food chain. The sludge also had no value as fertilizer, the report said.

Cadmium is a known carcinogen which causes kidney damage while exposure to lead can lead to mental derangement and death, and is particularly dangerous for children causing them severe anemia and mental retardation. The BBC report quoted Professor John Henry, a leading toxicity expert and consultant at St Mary's Hospital in London, warn of "devastating consequences for those living near areas where this waste has been dumped and for the thousands who depend on crops produced in these [paddy] fields".

In August 2003, the KSPCB ordered the plant to stop distributing sludge to farmers, but then its official, K V Indulal, charged with carrying out the investigations, unexpectedly announced that he found contamination levels "not beyond tolerable limits". Allegations of bribery and corruption by Coca-Cola followed and Indulal is presently under investigation by the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau, which carried out raids on his residence and properties spread across three Kerala cities earlier this month.

The Kerala High Court initially supported the Plachimada villagers and in a December 16, 2003 ruling, ordered Coca-Cola not to mine water through its deep bore wells but allowed the plant to draw water in amounts comparable to that normally used for agricultural or domestic purposes in the area. Coca-Cola approached the court after the panchayat (elected local body) canceled the plant's operating license for mining water and a single judge ruled that the state government had no right to allow a private party to extract large quantities of ground water which it deemed "property held by it (the government) in trust".

But on April 7 this year, a High Court bench allowed the plant to extract up to 500,000 liters of water a day, saying that existing laws on water ownership were inadequate. The ruling angered NGOs and triggered off a series of clashes outside the gates of the plant between agitating local people and police. "The High Court ruling is a great disappointment to everyone concerned with Coke's abusive practices around the world," said Corporate Accountability International's executive director Kathryn Mulvey in a statement.

Mulvey predicted that resistance to Coke's practices in Plachimada and throughout India would only grow. "We join with community leaders and allies around the world in calling on Coke to close the Plachimada facility permanently, and to pay back the community for the damage it has caused," she said. Nevertheless, on the strength of the court ruling, the plant resumed what were described as "trial operations" on August 8 after the 561,000-liter capacity plant that manufactures such brands as Coca-Cola, Limca and Fanta had lain shut for 17 months.

Barely 10 days later, on Friday, the KSPCB stepped in with its closure order for inability to explain the high cadmium levels and for failing to provide piped drinking water to people whose wells had become contaminated, as required by the body. Internationally known environmental scientist and activist, Vandana Shiva, who leads the New Delhi-based, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, has alleged that after Coca-Cola was restrained from dumping sludge or distributing it as fertilizer, it had begun injecting waste into dry boreholes and contaminating deep-water aquifers.

It has not helped Coca-Cola that the discovery of heavy metal in the sludge in 2003 followed findings by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), another well-known, New Delhi-based non-government organization, that nearly all colas and "mineral water" produced in India contained unacceptably large doses of commonly-used pesticides. The CSE findings seriously dented the image of Coke and its rival Pepsi, both of which were banned by nationalist governments for decades in India and allowed to return only when this country began a process of economic reforms following a serious balance of payments crisis in 1991.

Said Veerendrakumar, member of parliament and editor of the influential Mathrubhumi newspaper: "The fact of the matter is that water from underground sources is being pumped out free, bottled and sold to our people to make millions for cola companies while destroying the environment and damaging public health".

"We welcome the order shutting the factory down," said R Ajayan of the Plachimada Solidarity Committee, which was largely responsible for approaching the KSPCB. "We have to continue to work with the state government to ensure that Coca-Cola abides by the order and that there are no more violations."

Coca-Cola is already in deep trouble in India, its sales having dropped 14% in the last quarter (April-June), and the company is presently undergoing major reorganization and changing its top leadership in an effort to stem plummeting popularity. The state government has announced that it will also challenge in the Supreme Court Coca-Cola's claim to extract water, taking advantage of the fact that existing laws on groundwater ownership are vague.

"We welcome the actions by the state agencies in Kerala to stop the arrogance and criminal activities of the Coca-Cola company,'' said Amit Srivastava of the India Resource Center, an international campaigner. "These actions are major victories for the community of Plachimada, which has all along been demanding that the state do what it is supposed to do - safeguard the interests of the community."

Sunita Narain, who led the CSE's high-profile investigation and exposure of the presence of pesticides in colas manufactured in India, said the real value of the Plachimada struggle lies in the fact that it has highlighted the role that local communities can have in protecting groundwater resources. In January 2004, the agitating villagers received a boost when global activists converged on Plachimada for a three-day World Water Conference and joined in demonstrations in front of the main gate of the Coca-Cola plant, one of the largest in its chain of 27 plants in India.

Jose Bove, who leads Confederation Paysanne (a left-leaning union of peasants and farmers in France), declared that the struggle at Plachimada was "part of the worldwide struggle against transnational companies that exploit natural resources like water". Bove was joined by Maude Barlow, the Ottawa-based author of Blue Gold, a book on corporate theft of water resources, in pledging to turn Plachimada into another Cochabamba - the city in Bolivia where people thwarted plans to turn the water supply system over to US transnational Bechtel five years ago.

The question of toxic materials in the sludge distributed to farmers by the Coca-Cola factory as fertilizer was also highlighted, among others, by Inger Schorling, a delegate from Sweden and a green member of the European Parliament. A "Plachimada Declaration" adopted at the end of the conference asserted that people everywhere should "resist all criminal attempts to market, privatize and corporatize water".

By D Rajeev posted 25 August 05

Battlelines drawn on Security Council

THE US has outlined its first detailed position on UN Security Council reform, proposing a limited expansion of the permanent membership by two nations - one of them Japan - and foreshadowing a major statement next week on specific criteria to be met by candidate countries.

At the same time, China has told India it will support its bid for permanent membership, but only if New Delhi abandons its collective lobbying with Germany, Japan and Brazil in the grouping known as the G4.

The Chinese initiative was being seen as less about backing for India and more about denying Japan's ambitions for permanent membership, which are supported by most Western nations, including Australia.

Under the US proposal, announced in Washington by Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, Japan would be the first cab off the rank in any Security Council expansion, although it would be denied, along with other new permanent members, the veto powers held by the existing big five: the US, Russia, China, Britain and France.

The US proposal also advocates a limited expansion of non-permanent Security Council membership from 10 to 13.

The US proposal is at odds with two options for Security Council expansion put up by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a report in March.

Under Mr Annan's preferred model A, the permanent membership would be increased from five to 11 nations, with two of the six newcomers coming from Africa, two from the Asia-Pacific and one each from Europe and the Americas.

But Mr Burns said it was important to look beyond geographic factors, saying military capacity and potential to contribute to UN peacekeeping operations were also important.

He said the US would outline the criteria for eligibility for permanent or non-permanent membership of the Security Council in a major statement to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. Mr Burns indicated the criteria would include adherence to democracy and human rights, financial support for the UN and a good record on counterterrorism and nuclear non-proliferation.

On financial support for the UN, Japan ranks second to the US and has been a major contributor to peacekeeping forces.

Mr Burns said the G4 proposal to expand the Security Council from 15 to 25 members might "injure its effectiveness" and 19 or 20 would be more manageable.

The G4 countries have met the stiffest resistance from the so-called Coffee Club nations led by Pakistan, which opposes India's bid for permanent membership.

Other Coffee Club members include Italy, which is opposed to Germany, and Argentina and Mexico, which oppose Brazil.

South Korea and Eygpt, which respectively oppose South Africa's and Nigeria's permanent membership aspirations, are also Coffee Club stalwarts.

The last change to the Security Council was in 1971 when mainland China's communist government took over the country's permanent seat from the Taiwan-based Nationalist government.

In 1965, the Security Council's non-permanent membership was increased from six to 10 nations.

US Guantanamo Defenders Should Face The Hague!

US imperialists have defended the country's right to hold more than 500 suspected people in Guantanamo Bay indefinitely, as politicians examined whether the controversial detention centre should remain open and under what rules.

By David Nason posted 19 June 05

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A large American transport company has become the first contractor to pull out of Iraq because of the continuing violence.

Rumsfeld's war, torture and occupation ideology!
War criminal Donald Rumsfeld faced critical questioning at a Washington media conference, after the announcement that it was a suicide bomber who caused the blast inside a US military base in Mosul yesterday, killing 22 people including 14 illegal militants.

Annan admits to a tough year
United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan admits he has had his worst year at the United Nations and he is looking forward to it being over.

Iraq sale to be contested by 100 buyers
A hundred buyers, blocs and independents will contest Iraq's first shoe sale, in decades, on January 30, the George Dubya Bushit - Iraqi Sales Commission (GDB/ISC) said.

Fallujah refugees in desperate need of aid: UN
More than 200,000 people who fled Fallujah ahead of the US attack have yet to return and many are in desperate need of aid, with temperatures in Iraq heading towards freezing, a new UN emergency report says.

UN panel proposes criteria for legitimate military action
With countries still bitterly divided over the war in Iraq, a high-level panel appointed by the United Nations has recommended a five-step guideline to determine when to use military action.

Indonesians rally against Fallujah assault
About 8,000 Indonesian Muslims have staged a peaceful rally against a major US-led assault on Iraq's rebel city of Fallujah, which has claimed 2,000 lives.

UK politicians launch Blair impeachment bid
Parliamentarians and celebrity campaigners have launched a bid to impeach UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for "gross misconduct" over his justification for the Iraq war.

'This One's Faking He's Dead' 'He's Dead Now'
Fallujah: Video shows US soldier killing wounded insurgent in cold blood
by Andrew Buncombe in Washington.

US: Very superstitious? Writing's on the wall!
The US military says it has discovered close to 20 torture sites in the course of its massive attack against the resistance in the Iraqi city of Fallujah?

World Vision Aust pulls out of Iraq
The organisation says the country has simply become too dangerous and its decision to leave was made before the apparent murder of Care Australia's Iraq director Margaret Hassan.

US Senator slams !!! 'dysfunctional, rogue' CIA
Influential US Republican Senator John McCain blasted the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a "dysfunctional" and "rogue" organisation that needs to be reformed.

Civilian death toll to rise in Fallujah
The attack on the Iraqi city of Fallujah has taken its toll on Iraqi civilians no doubt including children and young babies. Iraqi's have witnessed civilian casualties. Yesterday during the assault on the main hospital nurses and patients were blindfolded after the US/Iraq militia stormed the main hospital and took control.

Illusionary demons blamed for US led Attack Iraq, Fallujah
In the name of an illusionary figure thought up by US militants suggests that Al Qaeda's? ally "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi" has called on Muslims to take up arms against their US enemy as American militia attacked the Iraqi city of Fallujah? Just a coincidence or just good timing?

Full-scale attack on Fallujah begins
Correspondents say radio traffic heard at a US militant's staging post just outside Fallujah indicates US/Iraqi militia have moved at least four blocks into Fallujah, and are still advancing.

US/Iraqi militants storm Fallujah hospital
United States troops and US/Iraqi militia have seized the main hospital in the Iraqi city of Fallujah without a fight, according to a pool reporter travelling [in-bed] with the troops. Those in hospital beds did not resist they were too sick and the doctor kept on operating regardless.

US warplanes and artillery attack Fallujah!
Journalists [in-bed] with the US military say warplanes fired at suspected resistance targets around Fallujah as night fell on Sunday, while artillery shells pounded a nearby town.

State of emergency: Allawi 'killer of saints'
The US puppet, Iyad Allawi otherwise known as "Sock" killer of saints has declared a state of emergency for 60 days to quell violent resistance gripping the country ahead of January's shoe sale.

US Empire Votes For Pre-Emptive War!!!
United States President George Dubya Bushit has been re-elected, winning four more years to press his war on liberty after a bitter campaign against Democrat John Kerry that focused on the US empire's role as - imperialists - initiating pre-emptive war - on the sovereign nation of Iraq - without the United Nations approval and in direct contravention of International law.

Saddam's family dismiss lawyer
The family of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has dismissed the head of his defence team. Other team members had accused the lawyer, Mohammad Rashdan, of acting without consulting them.

Who's counting the dead in Fallujah? CARE?
In distress: CARE says it is deeply concerned about the wellbeing of Mrs Hassan. But who's counting the dead in Fallujah?

Iraqi civilian deaths put at 100,000
Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in violence since the US-led invasion last year, according to public health experts who estimate there were 100,000 "excess deaths" in 18 months.

Unknown News Update - 2009
More than 103 times as many people have been killed in these wars and occupations than in all terrorist attacks in the world from 1993-2004. About 241 times as many people have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq than in the ghastly attacks of September 11, 2001.

Bushite group threatens civil liberties in Iraq
Allegedly a group led by George W Bushite has forced freedom fighters to threaten to behead a Japanese hostage it said worked with Japanese forces in Iraq if Tokyo does not withdraw its forces from the country within 48 hours.

US secretly moved prisoners out of Iraq for questioning: report
The CIA has secretly transferred detainees out of Iraq for interrogation after asking the US Justice Department to write a memo justifying the practice, which violates the Geneva Conventions.

Weapons inspectors missed WMD in Iraq
An Iraqi minister has said United Nations nuclear inspectors are welcome to return in response to concerns of an "apparent systematic dismantlement" of Saddam Hussein's once-vigorous nuclear program.

US accused of breaching international law
The United States is violating international law by holding prisoners in its war on terror incommunicado and in secret hiding places, Human Rights Watch said in a report to be published on Tuesday calling for an end to such practices.

Allies 'planned' Iraq war despite denials
The United States, Australia and Britain started to plan the invasion of Iraq months before the conflict, according to a report Wednesday quoting a leaked Pentagon document.

UN warns of Iraqi malnutrition
One in four Iraqis are dependent on food rations to survive and many of them have to sell what little food they have for basic necessities like medicine and clothes, the UN World Food Program (WFP) said.

Jordan's king doubts Iraqi elections possible
Iraq is far too unsafe to hold elections as scheduled in January and extremists would do well in the poll if Baghdad tried to hold it, Jordan's King Abdullah said in an interview. Excluding troubled areas from the nationwide poll would only isolate Iraq's Sunnis and create deeper divisions in the country, he said.

Annan tells world leaders to respect law
United Nations (UN) secretary-general Kofi Annan has made an impassioned plea to bring about the rule of law across the globe today. Mr Annan told world leaders to respect international law at home and abroad.

CO-OFFENDERS DO NOT REBUFF UN ON 'ILLEGAL WAR'
The 'coalition of the killing's' complicities - the US, Britain and Australia - have insisted that their countries' military action in Iraq was legal after they have committed war crimes against humanity.

Iraq war illegal, says Annan
United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says the United States decision to invade Iraq in March 2003 was "illegal". Australia was a key supporter of the war on Iraq and sent troops to join the United States-led invasion last year.

Bush team 'knew of abuse' at Guantanamo
Evidence of prisoner abuse and possible war crimes at Guantanamo Bay reached the highest levels of the Bush administration as early as autumn 2002, but Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, chose to do nothing about it, according to a new investigation.

Journalists ordered to leave Najaf as fighting continues
Journalists have been kicked out of Najaf as clashes flared in the Iraqi city, prompting speculation that a major United States-led assault on enemy Shiite fighters was imminent.

Enemy Mortars attack opening of Iraqi summit
US Enemies have fired mortars at a meeting where Iraqi puppet government leaders met to pick an interim national assembly, killing at least two people.

Iraqi Women in the Occupation Prisons As Material and Means of Violations It is important to say at the beginning that there are many psychological, social and cultural obstacles for Iraqi women to talk openly about what they actually went through inside the occupation prisons.

Ancient Babylon ruined by foreign troops: Iraqi minister
Iraq: Foreign forces in Iraq have caused severe damage to the site of ancient Babylon, one of the world's most renowned archaeological treasures, and need to leave the area as soon as possible, Iraq's Culture Minister Mofeed al-Jazaeri said.

Whatcha Gonna Do, When They Come For You? Bad boy!
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a threat and sought to possess weapons of mass destruction, United States President George W Bush reaffirmed when asked why no such weapons had been discovered in Iraq.

Saddam trial US propaganda
Saddam Hussein's trial will play an important part in the US election no doubt and for that to work at its potential just put a "women" behind it "She called the trials". Then add some "cleansing" like she's just doing the dishes and then some "reconciliation" by slaying Hussein during a US election. Now you can go and tell everyone you're reversing the trauma but really you're killing two birds with one Saddam.

Boycott companies profiting from war: peace activist

Boycott call: Roy says companies profiting from the Iraq war should be shut down.

Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy has told an audience at Sydney University that Australians should take action against companies that have profited from the war in Iraq.

Roy, who will receive the Sydney Peace Prize today, has been an active campaigner for justice for the poor, both in India and globally.

She says a group of rich nations falsely accused an impoverished Iraq of possessing powerful weapons as a pretext for invading the country to further their own economic interests.

But she says people in the western world could help the Iraqis by financially crippling companies that are profiting from the conflict.

"For example, you could make a list of those corporations who have profited from the invasion of Iraq and have offices here in Australia," she said.

"You could name them, boycott them, occupy their offices and force them out of business."

By End The Occupation 4 November 04

Sydney Peace Prize winner urges Iraqi resistance!!!!!!
"One wasn't urging them to join the Medhi army [in Iraq] but to become the resistance, to become part of what ought to be a non-violent resistance against a very violent occupation," she said.

Related:

US Empire Votes For Pre-Emptive War!!!
United States President war criminal, George Dubya Bush has been re-elected, winning four more years to press his war on liberty at home and resources in the Middle East after a bitter campaign against Democrat John Kerry that focused on the US empire's role as - imperialists - initiating, pre-emptive war plans, false flag Reichstag, 911, pre-emptive war on the sovereign nations of Afghanistan and Iraq - without the United Nations approval and in direct contravention of International law - and subsequently committing occupations, genocide, maiming, rendition, secret prisons and torture.

Kerry's 'amazing journey' draws to a close
US: Democratic challenger John Kerry has reflected on an "amazing journey" as he cast his vote in the US election. Senator Kerry says he is very confident he has made the case for new US leadership.

Who's counting the dead in Fallujah? CARE?
In distress: CARE says it is deeply concerned about the wellbeing of Mrs Hassan. But who's counting the dead in Fallujah?

Sydney Peace Prize winner urges Iraqi resistance!!!!!!
"One wasn't urging them to join the Medhi army [in Iraq] but to become the resistance, to become part of what ought to be a non-violent resistance against a very violent occupation," she said.

Iraqi civilian deaths put at 100,000
Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in violence since the US-led invasion last year, according to public health experts who estimate there were 100,000 "excess deaths" in 18 months.

British militants take up 'badlands' position in Iraq
Sixty-eight British militants have died in combat and from other causes, including accidents, since the war began, compared with more than 1,100 Americans and at least 100,000 innocent Iraqi men, women and children.

BBC news boss slams US media bias
The head of the BBC's news operations has accused United States media organisations of being overly patriotic in their coverage of the lead-up to the Iraq war.

Resistance in Iraq want Japanese militants to leave
Allegedly, resistance in Iraq has threatened to behead a Japanese hostage it said worked with Japanese forces in Iraq, if Tokyo does not withdraw its forces from the country within 48 hours.

Australia, Iraq US puppet work for Hassan's release
Margaret Hassan ... her kidnap is the result of the illegal and degrading war on Iraq and the subsequent occupation, genocide, maiming and torture of a sovereign nation.

Freed journalist denies he ignored advice
Australia: Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says an SBS journalist detained by militants in Iraq was in an area of Baghdad to which he was advised not to travel.

Australia's Baghdad embassy to be moved
He says the embassy is currently located several kilometres from that area and security provided by Australian troops is "adequate".

Why is war-torn Iraq giving $190,000 to Toys R Us?
If that seems backwards, it's because it is. Iraqis have never been awarded reparations for any of the crimes they suffered under Saddam, or the brutal sanctions regime that claimed the lives of at least half a million people, or the US-led invasion, which the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, recently called "illegal". Instead, Iraqis are still being forced to pay reparations for crimes committed by their former dictator.

Iraq war protesters take to London streets
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of central London to protest against the Iraq war as Prime Minister Tony Blair struggles to shake-off fierce criticism of the invasion.

Blast hits cafe near Iraqi Australian embassy
A loud explosion has rocked a cafe frequented by Iraqi militia near the Australian embassy in Baghdad, according to witnesses.

US launches air bombing on Fallujah
US planes raided the Iraqi town of Fallujah killing five people and wounding 16. US warplanes have launched sustained and fierce attacks on the Iraqi town of Fallujah, witnesses said.

500,000 Iraqis may be in mass graves?
Satire: Baghdad, Iraq - Fatima Al-Zahra is believed to have up the ante and said Saddam Hussein's government buried as many as 500,000 opponents in 300 mass graves that dot the Iraqi landscape.

Five killed as US militants clash with resistance
United States warplanes have dropped a huge bomb on the Iraqi city of Fallujah after US marines clashed with resistance on the eastern fringes of the Sunni Muslim bastion.

Weapons inspectors missed WMD in Iraq
An Iraqi minister has said United Nations nuclear inspectors are welcome to return in response to concerns of an "apparent systematic dismantlement" of Saddam Hussein's once-vigorous nuclear program.

US accused of breaching international law
The United States is violating international law by holding prisoners in its war on terror incommunicado and in secret hiding places, Human Rights Watch said in a report to be published on Tuesday calling for an end to such practices.

Observers endorse Afghan election despite complaints
International observers in Afghanistan have endorsed the nation's first, [alleged], democratic election despite, [pre-emptive strikes on the Sovereign Nation, subsequent occupation, genocide, maiming, torture and a puppet government, as well as], irregularities that caused several candidates to boycott the poll. The, [alleged], voter enthusiasm for Saturday's first democratic poll in Afghanistan was, [allegedly], formidable.[?]

Kerry attacks Bush's Middle East policy
The US Democratic presidential contender, John Kerry, has slammed, [war criminal], President George W Bush's Middle East policy, saying democracy cannot be imposed on foreign nations.

Bloodshed continues as Rumsfeld visits Iraq
Two blasts have killed up to 18 people, including an American, [militant], in Baghdad, hours before US Defence, [War], Secretary, [War Criminal], Donald Rumsfeld visited Iraq to gauge efforts to calm violence ahead of January elections?

US votes against the draft
The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have brought back compulsory militant service. The measure sought to require Americans aged between 18 and 26 to perform two years of national service.

Gaddafi joins calls for British hostage's release
Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has added his voice to calls for the release of British engineer Ken Bigley, who was kidnapped by resistance in Iraq last month. He also called on the, [war criminal], British Government to use its influence to persuade Iraqi and the, [war criminal], United States authorities to free a number of Iraqi prisoners, in line with the, [resistance], demands.

HOWARD NO REMORSE!
Australian caretaker Prime Minister, [war criminal], John Howard 'a rodent type' does not need to apologise for the illegal and degrading war in Iraq despite a new report that has found Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction at the time of the US-led invasion.

IRAQ: `Things are definitely not improving'
It's been a frequent refrain of US officials that Washington is winning its counter-insurgency war in Iraq. "It's very important for the people of the world really to know that we are winning, we are making progress in Iraq. We are defeating terrorists." In this case, however, it was US-installed Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi who made the claim.

Nothing fair about more lies, fear, terror and war!
Who's going to be sacrificed? for HoWARd's illegal and degrading war in Iraq and Australia's current foreign policies that are morally bankrupt?

Allies 'planned' Iraq war despite denials
The United States, Australia and Britain started to plan the invasion of Iraq months before the conflict, according to a report Wednesday quoting a leaked Pentagon document.

UN warns of Iraqi malnutrition
One in four Iraqis are dependent on food rations to survive and many of them have to sell what little food they have for basic necessities like medicine and clothes, the UN World Food Program (WFP) said.

Jordan's king doubts Iraqi elections possible
Iraq is far too unsafe to hold elections as scheduled in January and extremists would do well in the poll if Baghdad tried to hold it, Jordan's King Abdullah said in an interview. Excluding troubled areas from the nationwide poll would only isolate Iraq's Sunnis and create deeper divisions in the country, he said.

British hostage pleads with Blair to save his life?
A video, [allegedly], posted on an Islamic web site and allegedly recorded by Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi's group in Iraq has shown British hostage, Kenneth Bigley, pleading to, war criminal, Prime Minister Tony Blair to save his life.

Annan tells world leaders to respect law
United Nations (UN) secretary-general Kofi Annan has made an impassioned plea to bring about the rule of law across the globe today. Mr Annan told world leaders to respect international law at home and abroad.

CO-OFFENDERS DO NOT REBUFF UN ON 'ILLEGAL WAR'
The 'coalition of the killing's' complicities - the US, Britain and Australia - have insisted that their countries' military action in Iraq was legal after they have committed war crimes against humanity.

Iraq war illegal, says Annan
United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says the United States decision to invade Iraq in March 2003 was "illegal". Australia was a key supporter of the war on Iraq and sent troops to join the United States-led invasion last year.

Bush team 'knew of abuse' at Guantanamo
Evidence of prisoner abuse and possible war crimes at Guantanamo Bay reached the highest levels of the Bush administration as early as autumn 2002, but Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, chose to do nothing about it, according to a new investigation.

Australia will not Save Your Soul
The Federal Government will not Save Australian Soul's? Even if they're an innocent bystander caught up in it. Despite a group claiming to have kidnapped two Australian security guards? The alleged group, which allegedly calls itself the Horror Brigades of the Islamic Secret Army, allegedly has given the, war criminal, Prime Minister John Howard 24 hours to end Australia's involvement in Iraq.

World wants Bush out: poll
The world wants United States President, [war criminal], George W Bush out of the White House, according to a poll that shows in 30 of 35 countries people preferred Democrat candidate John Kerry.

Free Speech Free Speech "New York Style" Eight Blocks to Go !
The opening day of the Republican National Convention. Rudy Giuliani, New York City's beloved mayor, spoke. Giuliani disappointed me, although that shouldn't surprise anyone. He spoke about the Iraq war as if it were part of the War on Terror. Speaking with Bill Hemmer, he spoke of the Iraq war as if it were the War on Terror.

Anti-Bush rally hits New York streets
More than 100,000 people have marched through New York on the eve of the Republican National Convention, protesting against President George W Bush and the war in Iraq.

TIDE? OR IVORY SNOW?: Public Power in the Age of Empire
When language has been butchered and bled of meaning, how do we understand "public power"? When freedom means occupation, when democracy means neo-liberal capitalism, when reform means repression, when words like "empowerment" and "peacekeeping" make your blood run cold - why, then, "public power" could mean whatever you want it to mean. A biceps building machine, or a Community Power Shower. So, I’ll just have to define "public power" as I go along, in my own self-serving sort of way.

Najaf clashes stretch hospital to the limit
Some stroke victims are too afraid of the fighting to go to hospital, doctors don't have the medical instruments to save many victims of mortar bombs and snipers and ambulances cannot get to patients at night. Najaf's main hospital can barely cope with the chaos gripping the city of 500,000 after three weeks of battles between resistance Shiite's and US militants.

Journalists ordered to leave Najaf as fighting continues
Journalists have been kicked out of Najaf as clashes flared in the Iraqi city, prompting speculation that a major United States-led assault on resistance Shiite fighters was imminent.

Enemy Mortars attack opening of Iraqi summit
US Enemies have fired mortars at a meeting where Iraqi puppet government leaders met to pick an interim national assembly, killing at least two people.

Howard's war crimes, Turnbull, at least he's honest
HIGH-profile Liberal candidate Malcolm Turnbull has told voters the Iraq invasion was "an unadulterated error".

Alexanda Downer guilty of war crimes!
The agreement for going to war on Iraq carried with it and incentive and that was free trade with the US. The Howard Government knew about it and went along with it with the US under the guise of Iraq's WMDs. In criminal law this is commonly know as collusion to commit a crime.

John Howard's war crimes blameworthy
General Peter Gration is the spokesman for a group of 43 ex-military leaders, diplomats and departmental heads who have criticised the Government, saying involvement in Iraq has put Australia at greater risk of a terrorist attack.

Human Rights Watch slams Iraq war attacks
Human Rights Watch has condemned the 'wanton' targeting of civilians by 'armed militants', in Iraq. Then what about the Coalition of the Killing?

Genocide and Torture in Iraq: Justice in the balance?
No one is more vulnerable than a prisoner held beyond the reach of the law. So the grim picture of life as a US detainee, [prisoner], held without charge or trial, set out in the Guardian yesterday by three Britons should come as no surprise.

Auditor Generals damning war report
The Defence Department computer system upgrade has cost Australia tens of millions of dollars in a gigantic bungle, according to the Federal Opposition. The Commonwealth auditor-general has issued a damning report into the project.

Truck drivers working for US face death: resistance
A lot has been written about Insurgents they're all over the place these days especially in Iraq and the term means "Rebel" so all the Rebel's once they've been locked up and "tortured" become "Enemy Combatants" without any "rights". Can someone explain to me what is going on?

Ancient Babylon ruined by foreign troops: Iraqi minister
Iraq: Foreign forces in Iraq have caused severe damage to the site of ancient Babylon, one of the world's most renowned archaeological treasures, and need to leave the area as soon as possible, Iraq's Culture Minister Mofeed al-Jazaeri said.

UK report propaganda
Damaged basic services, cover up of key intelligence and prisoner abuse........They got that right but they got the remedy of the report wrong. Sure as hell they're using this as serious "propaganda".

Iraqis accuse British troops of war crimes.........
British troops committed "war crimes" in post-war Iraq, unlawfully killing civilians and beating and torturing prisoners in their custody, lawyers for the victims have alleged. Soldiers played cruel "games" with prisoners, forcing them to recite lists of English or Dutch footballers and beating them if they failed, Phil Shiner, a British lawyer leading six test cases in the High Court this week, said.

Fifteen "resistance" killed in Iraq shootout
The US military said insurgents opened fire on Iraqi security forces as they provided security for the 1st Infantry Division during a raid in a nearby farming area.

US:Military Draft expected
US: There is pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills: S 89 and HR 163) which will time the program's initiation so the draft can begin at early as Spring 2005 -- just after the 2004 presidential election. The administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed now, while the public's attention is on the elections, so our action on this is needed immediately.

US accused of butting into Australian election
The Prime Minister, war criminal, John Howard couldn't win an election this year if he hired the cheerleaders of the US Super Bowl. Howard the coward has accused the Opposition leader of hypocrisy in his response to the, war criminal. Bush administration's criticism of Labor's Iraq policy.

Whatcha Gonna Do, When They Come For You? Bad boy!
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a threat and sought to possess weapons of mass destruction, United States President, [war criminal], George W Bush reaffirmed when asked why no such weapons had been discovered in Iraq.

Saddam trial US propaganda
Saddam will be handed over to Iraqi, [puppet], justice on Wednesday, two days after the country allegedly regained sovereignty from Washington, but US militants will still guard him to ensure he does not escape.

US liars warn against 'fortress Australia'
The US and Australia could lose the war on terror, [the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], if they adopted a fortress mentality and failed to go after the terrorists, [scapegoats and patsies], in their global strongholds, US ambassador to Australia Tom Schieffer warned yesterday.

Fahrenheit 9/11: Cannes ends in controversy
Moore's film - about the, [war criminal], George Bush presidency and its response to, [US reichstag, call to arms, false flag], 9/11 and the subsequent, [resource], wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - pulls no punches in depicting George W. as a duplicitous buffoon.

George Bush never looked into Nick's eyes
My son, Nick, was my teacher and my hero. He was the kindest, gentlest man I know; no, the kindest, gentlest human being I have ever known. He quit the Boy Scouts of America because they wanted to teach him to fire a handgun. Nick, too, poured into me the strength I needed, and still need, to tell the world about him.

IRAQ: CPT Colleagues Describe Massacre in Fallujah
What is portrayed in the US mass media as a grand and heroic firefight is,in reality, the crassest, goriest, and basest single incident of massacre of innocents by US troops in recent memory.

Lose the Occupation and Win the War on Liberty!
Friendly allies do pull militants out of illegal battles, believe it or not, under the heading, lose the battle and win the war. In this case it's lose the Occupation and Win the War on Liberty.

Spain demands 'radical change' in Iraq strategy
Spain's prime minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has demanded a "radical change" in the post-war strategy in Iraq otherwise he would withdraw Spanish militants from the country.

'FACTOPHOBIA' HOWARD, BLAIR AND BUSH
Well think about this! Australia's intelligence agencies, [fear mongering, propaganda agencies], look set to receive a substantial funding boost in this year's Federal Budget, with the Prime Minister saying it is an obvious step to take.

US to increase Iraq border security in Iraq
Just plain rubbish, the USA are the terrorists and are dividing and conquering Iraq, by attacking the Shiite Muslims and blaming it on someone else another "A" typical false flag operation.

Halliburton's Ancient Scandals
In the world of corporate scandals, the story breaks, there is a frenzy of reportage, a culprit in the lower levels of upper management is thrown to the SEC and then, slowly, the story dies.

Missile defence program 'will lead to arms race'
A group of Australian doctors opposed to war is warning national security will be compromised by any proposed involvement in the United States' missile defence program 'Son of a bitch'..

Pope calls for sanctions on leaders who violate rights
Leader of the child molesters, Pope John Paul II has called for political leaders who violate human rights to be punished, in a World Day of Peace message released amid worldwide debate over how Saddam Hussein should be brought to justice.

War criminals should be tried: Human Rights
The UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague should try George Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard for their part in the coalition of the killing for crimes against humanity.

Who cares wins? Those who inflict or those who endure?
When occupation means war then who cares wins? Not those who can inflict the most, but those who can endure the most, I would have thought.

Coalition of the Killing's alliance against law 'the wrong way'
Australia and Britain [and the Coalition of the Killing], could have agreed that the [resource], wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, and liberty, the proliferation of Security Housing Units, and Detention Centres, can be addressed unilaterally - a trend in the US that is feared all over the world - but must be faced collectively.

A STRUGGLE ON TWO FRONTS: PRISONS & IMPERIALIST WAR
After a war waged by the U.S. military against Vietnam which took the lives of more than 3 million Vietnamese people and more than 58,000 GIs, the U.S. finally withdrew in 1975. It had suffered its first official major military defeat by a united people struggle led by the Vietnamese, along with a mass U.S. anti-war movement.

Police surround protesters outside US Embassy
Thousands of protesters have marched to the Lodge to protest against [war criminal], US President George W Bush's visit. The protesters had rallied outside Parliament House, booing when the president arrived this morning and chanting "go home Bush you war criminal".

David Burchell: Paradox of anti-Americanism
[War criminal] President George W. Bush's trip to our shores today has focused attention on a striking fact - the apparently irresistible rise in hostility among many Australians towards the US.

Pilger said White House knew Saddam was no threat
Australian investigative journalist John Pilger says he has evidence the war against Iraq was based on a lie which could cost George W Bush and Tony Blair their jobs and bring Prime Minister John Howard down with them.

Illegal and degrading war crimes: Society on the New World Order (OWN)! While Australia and the US are very distinctive societies war criminal, Prime Minister John Howard and war criminal, President George Bush share core values.

Thousands march for peace! But does that mean no war?
THOUSANDS of people took to the streets around the country yesterday to march against the war in Iraq and for world peace.

US disturbed over 'biased' reporting in Arab media! But the US lies to the world! How could anyone describe pre-emptive strikes on a sovereign nation, occupation, genocide, torture, and human rights abuse by the Coalition of the Killing in a positive light?

Coalition force 'surprised' by stiff resistance for food aid
About 4,000-5,000 allied forces have launched what they vowed would be an all-out blitz. "We're going straight through that city," a US Marine officer, who asked not to be named, said. "It will be a Hail Mary with guns ablazing."

Explosions rock Baghdad, jets overhead Iraq
BAGHDAD, March 20 [Rooters] A handful of explosions rocked Baghdad at dawn today as jets roared overhead, Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries opened up and air raid sirens sounded.

Bin Laden calls? CIA blind man's bluff!
A [US propaganda, fear-mongering] taped message purportedly from Osama bin Laden has warned Arab nations against supporting a war against Iraq but has branded Saddam Hussein an infidel.

U.S. AMBASSADOR WARNED TO STOP MEDDLING:
The Australian Federal Opposition and Labor Party Leader, Simon Crean, has again warned the U.S. ambassador to stop meddling in Australian politics.

War: Part one The human cost
On the road to Basra, ITV was filming wild dogs as they tore at the corpses of the Iraqi dead. Every few seconds a ravenous beast would rip off a decaying arm and make off with it over the desert in front of us, dead fingers trailing through the sand, the remains of the burned military sleeve flapping in the wind. "Just for the record,'' the cameraman said to me. Of course. Because ITV would never show such footage.

Mandela speaks out against Bush, Blair
Former South African leader Nelson Mandela has lashed out at US President George W Bush's stance on Iraq, saying the US leader has no foresight, and cannot think properly.

All the way with (LPK) Love Peace and Kindness: Dalai Lama
Communication is a two way street. Threats and punishment solve nothing and serve none. In fact it is against the law in most countries to threaten or punish a person.

Pleas for peace ring the globe
Anti-war demonstrators turned out in their hundreds of thousands around the world on Saturday to protest against United States military preparations for an invasion of Iraq.

Not too late for Iraq peace, Blix says
But we all know that's rubbish now. The Coalition of the Killing were not seeking WMD in Iraq, they were there for their resource wars. So who gave the 'UN' and Blix the wrong information back then? War criminals!

George Bush's other poodle
John Howard, Australia's PM, is the mouse that roars for America, whipping his country into war fever and paranoia about terrorism within.