US passes 1000 executions in 30 years

December 3, 2005: Double murderer Kenneth Lee Boyd has became the 1,000th prisoner executed in the United States since 1976. Another man was put to death on Friday for the 1994 murder of a store clerk, becoming the 1,001st person executed in the United States since capital punishment was reinstated 28 years ago. The somber moment drew a sizeable crowd to Central Prison in Raleigh, N.C., to protest capital punishment...

Don't Kill For Me!

Kenneth Lee Boyd, 57, of Rockingham, N.C., died by lethal injection for the 1988 shootings of his estranged wife, Julie Curry Boyd, who was 36, and her father, Thomas Dillard Curry, 57. Members of both families had asked to be present.

Shawn Humphries, 34, mouthed "I'm sorry" to his victim's two sisters before fatal chemicals were pumped into his veins. His death came about 16 hours after North Carolina executed Kenneth Lee Boyd.

Humphries' attorney said he had told her "he would rather be 1,000 because if he has to die, No. 1,000 will be remembered. No. 1,001 won't." Boyd told Associated Press in a prison interview that he wanted no part of the infamous numerical distinction of being the 1000th prisoner executed.

"I'd hate to be remembered as that," Boyd said on Wednesday. "I don't like the idea of being picked as a number."

Boyd's attorney, Thomas Maher, had hoped to win a stay for his client, who he said had an I.Q. of 77. The cutoff for mental retardation, a mitigating factor in some capital cases, is 75. Others argue that the death penalty should be reconsidered because it is so arbitrarily applied. He also hoped the U.S. Supreme Court and North Carolina Governor Mike Easley would consider that before these murders, Boyd had no history of violent crime, and that he had volunteered to go to war in Vietnam.

"The vast majority of those sentenced to death for their crimes are impoverished and live in the South," said Stephen B. Bright, director of the Southern Center for Human Rights and a long time advocate for death row inmates.

"Texas has put 355 people to death in the last 30 years, with just one county in Texas, Harris County, accounting for more executions than the entire states of Georgia or Alabama. Where is the justice in that?" questioned Bright.

Boyd's son, Kenneth Smith, 35, who visited his dad every day for the last two weeks, said in an interview on Thursday that he felt the attention paid to the milestone had hurt his father's chances for clemency. Smith also said his dad was deeply troubled that he might only be remembered as a grim hash mark in the history books.

"He didn't want to be 999, and he didn't want to be 1001 if you know what I mean," said Smith. "He wanted to live."

Belinda J. Foster, District Attorney for Rockingham, N.C., who prosecuted Boyd, said she felt confident that the death penalty was warranted in this case.

"There are cases that are so horrendous and the evidence so strong it just warrants a death sentence," Ms. Foster said.

Michael Paranzino, president of the pro-death penalty group Throw Away the Key, agreed.

"You'll never stop crimes of passion, but I do believe the death penalty is a general deterrent, and it expresses society's outrage," Paranzino said. An October 2005 Gallup poll found that 64 percent of all Americans support capital punishment in murder cases.

Boyd never denied his guilt, but said he couldn't remember killing anyone and didn't know why he did it.

"We believe this occasion is the perfect time to reconsider the whole issue of execution," said William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International, a group that has sought to end the practice of using executions as a punishment for crime around the world.

"Since 1976, about one in eight prisoners on death row in the U.S. has been exonerated. That should raise serious questions about ending a person's life," Schulz said.

North Carolina executed two prisoners last month, as well as two others earlier in the year.

Debate over capital punishment

The grim milestone has prompted global outcry from human rights advocates. In a media statement the European Union also condemned the execution, calling for the end of the death penalty worldwide:

"We consider this punishment cruel and inhuman. It does not act as a deterrent and any miscarriage of justice - which is inevitable in any legal system - is irreversible."

Boyd's death rallied death penalty opponents, and about 150 protesters gathered outside the prison. After watching Boyd die, Rockingham County (N.C.) Sheriff Sam Page said the victims should be remembered.

"Tonight, justice has been served for Mr. Kenneth Boyd. What I would ask you to do is not forget the victims of this crime..." Page said. "Pray for them. Pray for them and their healing."

"This is one small step for humankind - backwards," said veteran American campaigner Clive Stafford Smith in an interview with Reuters. "The death penalty makes us all far more barbaric. I have watched a lot of people die, and when you come out from watching someone being executed it certainly isn't a better world."

According to Kenyan National Human Rights Commission Chairman Maina Kiai, "[It is] a great pity that the US can keep on executing people [when much of the developed world had already ended the death penalty]."

"Also, the fact that in the US a lot of death sentences that are carried out invariably affect people of colour and poor people, it's an issue of great concern," Kiai said.

In Singapore, where a 25-year-old Australian was hanged just hours before Boyd's execution, Sinapan Samydorai, president of the think-tank Think Centre, said there was no justice without life.

"The US is supposed to be a champion of human rights and democracy [? since when? total rubbish!], yet they do not recognise the right to life," he said. Singapore has a mandatory death sentence for crimes such as murder, firearms offences and drug trafficking, and has hanged 420 people since 1991, mainly for drug trafficking.

"It is a scandal that the death penalty still exists in a civilised country like the United States of America," said Petra Herrmann, chairwoman of the German group Alive e V.

In Japan, where the death penalty is widely supported, Akiko Takada of anti-capital punishment group Forum 90 said despite frequent use of the death penalty in the United States, "crime there shows no signs of diminishing, so ultimately the death of these people has no effect."

Thirty-eight of the 50 US states and the federal government permit capital punishment.

Only China, Iran and Vietnam had more executions in 2004 than the United States, according to rights group Amnesty International.

Sources

"U.S. reaches death penalty milestone". The New York Times, December 2, 2005

"Death penalty foes slam US over 1,000th execution". New Kerala, December 3, 2005

"Capital punishment at 1,000 and counting". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 3, 2005

"S.C. Man Apologizes Before He's Executed". CBS News, December 3, 2005

By elliot_k posted 4 December 05

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By net-paw posted 8 October 05

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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Chanting "Death to America" and burning effigies of President Bush and Saddam Hussein, tens of thousands of Iraqis flooded central Baghdad on Saturday in what police called the largest anti-American protest since the fall of Baghdad, the capital, exactly two years ago.

Annan calls for human rights agency revamp!
The commission has been harshly criticised recently by human rights groups claiming it has become less of a body for upholding human rights, and more of a haven for violators.

Attacks kill 21 two years after Iraq invasion
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Wolfowitz's World Bank nomination worries Oxfam
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USA - FEELING THE HEAT FROM INTERNATIONAL FIRE:
It seems the United States of America (The World Watchdog) is dictating and practising double-standards --- a unique law for America and another set of laws for all other countries.

CALL TO ACTION of the ANTI-WAR ASSEMBLY
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Returning veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan
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The Veil of Freedom
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Iraqi women eye Islamic law
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IRAQ: Shiite and Sunnis to unite against occupation?
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Violence continues ahead of Iraq Shoe Sale
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Rumsfeld's war, torture and occupation ideology!
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Unknown News Update - 2009
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Whatcha Gonna Do, When They Come For You? Bad boy!
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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.

THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK:

US: The American media reports that thousands of Iranians cheered, whistled and clapped as a serial killer was publicly executed in Iran last week.

Mohammad Bijeh, 22, was convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering 21 people - was flogged, stabbed, cursed, slapped and finally hanged from a crane in the main square of Pakdasht, 20 miles south of the capital Teheran. Handcuffed and shirtless, Bijeh was first lashed 100 times by judiciary officials using electrical cables, then hung by a crane.

The brother of one of his victims lunged from the crowd and stabbed him in the back, drawing blood.

Bijeh, sank to his knees but remained silent throughout the ordeal. To cries of "God is Great" and "Make him spin so he will suffer more", he was lifted high into the air by a crane. He writhed and throttled for several minutes, slowly dying from strangulation.

"Today's execution will reduce my suffering," said one of the victim's fathers. "This is my happiest day," another yelled out. "Turn him around, make him swing," screamed a victim's family member. The crane crew obliged and Bijeh's body began swinging from side to side, causing both his shoes to fall off.

The above horror details were reported in the American media. But what the American media fails to report is that the same cheers, claps and executions happen on a weekly basis in the USA (The World Role Model for Human Rights).

There are no public executions in America - the dirty work is done behind closed prison walls with a dozen or so witnesses. As the condemned prisoner is pumped with poisons, he slowly suffocates to death.

Outside the prison, the crowds sing and dance like clowns at a circus. "I would like to see them suffer before they are executed," say many victims' family members.

Indeed, many condemned prisoners have done just that suffered. The worst of the worst was Tommy Smith. He was not pronounced dead until one hour and 20 minutes after his execution began. Because the execution team could not find suitable veins in Smith's arm, they had to insert an angio-catheter into his heart - That took 35 minutes.

Smith remained conscious throughout the whole ordeal. After the lethal chemicals begin flowing into his veins and after eighteen violent convulsions, Smith was pronounced dead.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, three thousand deaths-in-custody (does not include homicides) are reported in the USA - each year.

By ACADP posted 21 March 05

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Hersh added that in interviews with past and present US intelligence and military officials, "I was repeatedly told that the next strategic target was Iran". This was indirectly confirmed four days after Hersh's article, when US Vice-President Dick Cheney declared in a radio interview: "You look around the world at potential trouble spots, Iran is right at the top of the list", to which he added: "They have a fairly robust new nuclear program" and "Iran is a noted sponsor of terror".

Since January 2002, when US President George Bush declared that Iraq, Iran and North Korea constituted an "axis of evil", Washington has claimed that the Shiite regime in Iran, like Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, has a secret nuclear weapons program. Furthermore, US officials have repeatedly implied that once Tehran has such weapons of mass destruction it would hand them over to terrorists to use against Israel and/or the US.

While top Bush administration officials will not yet make such a claim in public, their media supporters have. The February 11 Toronto Star, for example carried an article by Richard Gwyn in which he asserted that the "potential nuclear threat that Iran poses is real and it is exceedingly frightening. The true source of the threat isn't Iran itself, though. It's Al Qaeda-type terrorists. Once Tehran has acquired the bomb, the Iran government would be tempted to pass it to terrorists."

In his February 2 State of the Union speech, Bush accused Iran of being a "the primary state sponsor of terror in the world".

However, as with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the Bush administration has been unable to provide any credible evidence to back up such claims.

Demonising Iran

Washington's allegation that Iran is a sponsor of "terrorist organisations" rests upon Tehran's public support for the Hezbollah (Party of God) movement in Lebanon. But Hezbollah is a legal political party that now has representation in the Lebanese parliament, and has for the last decade has restricted its attacks to Israeli occupation forces in southern Lebanon and disputed border regions of Syria.

Washington's claim that Iran's Russian-built nuclear power reactors are a cover for a secret nuclear weapons program has been refuted by extensive inspections carried out by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Last October, the IAEA's director-general, Mohamed ElBaradei, told the Egyptian daily Asharq al Awsat that "Iran has no nuclear weapons program".

The existence of the reactors does mean that Iran has a greater capacity to produce nuclear weapons than Saddam Hussein's regime did in Iraq, but everything IAEA has found suggests that Iran's nuclear program is restricted to nuclear energy, which might be environmentally threatening, but is perfectly legal under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Following his presentation to the November 16 meeting of the IAEA board of governors of a 32-page report to this effect, Washington began a behind-the-scenes campaign to oust ElBaradei.

The January 8 Seattle Post-Intelligencer speculated that Washington's goal was to replace ElBaradei with someone "more to the Bush administration's liking -- one harder on Iran". According to the February 12 London Sunday Telegraph, Washington is seeking to gain support for a no-confidence motion in ElBaradei, possibly at the next IAEA board of governors' meeting, scheduled for February 28. "It cannot be good for an organisation when the biggest contributor and its director-general are at odds with each other", the paper was told by an anonymous "senior Bush administration official".

Air strikes?

Some commentators in the corporate press have raised the possibility of a US military strike against Iran's nuclear power facilities. In the December 4 Financial Times, columnist Philip Coggan argued that a US military attack on Iran "does not mean an invasion. The US could mount air strikes to try to eliminate Iran's nuclear facilities or it could encourage Israel to do so. Twenty years ago, Israel attacked a nuclear power plant in Iraq."

However, any such isolated military attacks would only make it more difficult for Washington to achieve its strategic political goal of getting UN Security Council cover for the restoration of a pro-US regime in oil-rich Iran through an Iraq-style invasion and occupation. As earlier with Iraq, a key step on this road is getting the UN Security Council to condemn Tehran for alleged violations of its "international obligations" and to impose crippling international economic sanctions.

While Washington's WMD lie campaign against Iran -- uncritically parroted by the US corporate media -- has convinced a significant minority of US voters to support a US invasion of Iran, without Security Council demonisation of Iran, it is unlikely Washington will succeed in convincing a majority of US voters to support an invasion.

According to a December survey conducted by the Washington-based Opinion Research Corporation, 42% of US residents would support the US invading Iran to stop its nuclear program, while 47% are opposed and 11% are undecided. However, 80% believed the US needs "the rest of the world" on its side before undertaking such action.

So far, Washington's three European Union allies -- Britain, France and Germany -- are not playing ball. On the eve of last November's IAEA meeting, Tehran agreed to temporarily suspend its uranium enrichment activities and to engage in negotiations with the EU Three on its nuclear power program on the promise by the latter not to back Washington's moves to refer Iran's case to the UN Security Council.

In its February 12 report of US moves to oust ElBaradei, the London Sunday Telegraph reported that US officials were bitterly annoyed by this move. It quoted the anonymous "senior Bush administration official" who spoke to the paper complaining: "We get all this criticism for being unilateralist American cowboys, but it is the US that wants to take this to the Security Council. Who's been opposing that? Britain, France and Germany -- two permanent members of the Security Council and one that wants to be. So who's in favour of using the UN system and who's against it?"

Iran is undoubtedly Washington's next strategic target for Iraq-style "regime change" and, as Hersh reported, the Pentagon is planning to invade Iran. But Washington still has a considerable way to go before it has created sufficient political momentum for such an invasion.

Furthermore, conquering Iran -- a country with almost four times the territorial area and three times the population size of Iraq -- would require a much larger occupation force than the US has been able to deploy in Iraq. And with the US military strained to breaking point waging a counterinsurgency war in Iraq, Washington at present simply does not have the available ground troops for an invasion of Iran.

Thus when US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice told reporters in London on February 4 that a US military attack on Iran was "simply not on the agenda at this point", it was a rare expression of truth. It's not politically or militarily feasible "at this point".

By Doug Lorimer, GLW posted 21 January 05

Iran warns of pre-emptive strike on US forces

Iranian Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani has warned that Iran might launch a preemptive strike against US forces in the region to prevent an attack on its nuclear facilities.

"We will not sit [with arms folded] to wait for what others will do to us," Mr Shamkhani told Al Jazeera television when asked if Iran would respond to an American attack on its nuclear facilities.

"Some military commanders in Iran are convinced that preventive operations which the Americans talk about are not their monopoly.

"America is not the only one present in the region. We are also present, from Khost to Kandahar in Afghanistan; we are present in the Gulf and we can be present in Iraq.

"The US military presence [in Iraq] will not become an element of strength [for Washington] at our expense. The opposite is true, because their forces would turn into a hostage" in Iranian hands in the event of an attack, he said.

Mr Shamkhani, who was asked about the possibility of an American or Israeli strike against Iran's atomic power plant in Bushehr, said: "We will consider any strike against our nuclear installations as an attack on Iran as a whole, and we will retaliate with all our strength.

"Where Israel is concerned, we have no doubt that it is an evil entity and it will not be able to launch any military operation without an American green light. You cannot separate the two."

Earlier, a commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted in the Iranian press as saying that the Iranian Government would strike the Israeli reactor at Dimona if Israel attacks the Islamic republic's own burgeoning nuclear facilities.

"If Israel fires one missile at Bushehr atomic power plant, it should permanently forget about Dimona nuclear centre, where it produces and keeps its nuclear weapons and Israel would be responsible for the terrifying consequence of this move," General Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr warned.

Iran's controversial bid to generate nuclear power at its plant being built at Bushehr is seen by arch-enemies Israel and the United States as a cover for nuclear weapons development.

The latest comments mark an escalation in an exchange of threats between Israel and Iran in recent weeks, leading to speculation that there may be a repeat of Israel's strike against Iraqi nuclear facilities at Osirak in 1981.

Iran insists that its nuclear intentions are peaceful, while pointing at its enemy's alleged nuclear arsenal, which Israel neither confirms nor denies possessing.

By No War 19 August 04

Sydney lawyer joins Saddam's defence team

Prominent Sydney lawyer John Marsden says he has agreed to join Saddam Hussein's defence team.

Mr Marsden says he was called from Jordan last night by Giovanni Di Stefano, who is another lawyer on the legal team.

Mr Marsden says everyone is entitled to a lawyer, including the former Iraqi dictator but he concedes it will be a tough case.

"I accept that it is very hard and until I go over and meet with the other people that his wives have employed, I really will find it hard to explain the basis of the defence," he said.

"I respect the people who have rung me and I will do what I can as a lawyer."

By Just Us 8 July 04

Related:

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.

Australia War Crimes: The Truth Hurts
[War criminal], Prime Minister John Howard thinks the violence in Iraq will go on despite the handover of power from the "occupying powers" to the "occupying powers" interim, [puppet], Iraqi Government.

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.

Labor back in front by a mile: Dark Horse
Corp Media: Labor is back in an election-winning position, reversing poll results earlier this month, the latest Newspoll has found. The survey shows that on a two party-preferred basis Labor has 52 per cent of the vote, against the Coalition's 48 per cent.

Iraq political disaster for the Libs!
[War criminal], Prime Minister John Howard believes voters are beginning to rethink their views on Iraq and that the issue of genocide and occupation of a sovereign nation is becoming a political positive for the Government?

How can we dance when our beds are burning?
The Un-Australian: "Mark Latham bundled his young family into the car and drove about an hour from his home in Campbelltown, in Sydney's southwest, to Peter Garrett's house in the NSW southern highlands.

The Un-Australian and US calls on Latham to rethink Iraq
The Un-Australian's Paul Kelly who just happens to be in Washington asked, [war criminal], Richard Armitage what he thinks about Mark Latham's bring the, [militants], home by Christmas policy, surely?

Australia: Silencing Dissent - Report on NGO's
The report, titled "Silencing Dissent: Non-government organisations and Australian democracy", can be downloaded by going to 'What's New' on The Australia Institute website.

Aust may host US military base
The United States is close to an agreement to build a major military base on Australian soil disguised as a training base. The US would spend tens of millions of dollars to upgrade one of Australia's existing training bases in Queensland or the Northern Territory.

Hill pledges Australian help with military bases
[War criminal], Defence, [War], Minister Robert Hill and the US Defence, [War], Secretary, [war criminal], Donald Rumsfeld, have discussed future military cooperation during talks in Singapore. The talks, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific defence, [war], talks, come ahead of the annual Australia-US Ministerial meeting next month.

Australia: Bringing up children can we afford it?
The government complains about the economic consequences of people not having enough children. [War criminal], Peter Costello expects us to carry out our patriotic duty by going home and having more children. But for most people it is a struggle to bring up one child let alone two or three.

Take Action to Stop the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement!
The Australian Government has signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the USA that undermines fundamental social, cultural, environmental and democratic protections which we all enjoy.

Australia: Howard's fortune cookie
Australians have witnessed a big turnaround all right, forget about the corporate media's latest opinion poll just look at, [war criminal], John Howard's social and foreign policies. What do they reflect?

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 puppet governing council calls Australia to maintain militant presence GKCNN: Who calls? Get the heading right ABC. The Governing Council appointed by the US calls for Australia to maintain militant presents in Iraq not Iraq! Unless the Governing Council has the support of the rest of Iraq then this is propaganda.

Collins questions intelligence 'failures'
The Federal Government is under pressure to release more documents in the case of a former senior intelligence officer. Lieutenant Colonel Lance Collins has released a statement raising concerns about the handling of his claims.

Govt is unaccountable, ALP primary votes
With the illegal occupation and [genocide], in Iraq the government lost any chance of winning support of its basic principals, the politics of fear and lying to the Australian people.

Collins questions release of critical report
A former senior intelligence analyst at the centre of a political row has renewed a call for a royal commission into the performance of Australia's spy agencies.

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.

Hill not accountable why?
The Federal Government has issued a whitewashed report discrediting a military inquiry, which found defence intelligence is being tailored to suit Government policy.

'Collusion' underpins Aust-US alliance
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, "We have an alliance with Australia that is very deep, that is very long and is very important to both of our nations." But that sounds to me like it could have been that way once but it's certainly not like that now.

"Flotillas of Hope": Real Hope Is Radical
Editor's Note: The following essay is excerpted from Robert Jensen's new book, Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity (City Lights).

Shiite protests confirms Lib's wrong on Iraq
[War criminal], Prime Minister John Howard says he is not taking comfort from his picture being posted Online as a wanted war criminal on Indymedia yesterday.

Skippy's: Last word on who we are?
AMID all the tumult and shouting characteristic of a federal election year, one remark by the [War criminal], Prime Minister has gone relatively unnoticed: his declaration of victory in the debate about Australia's identity and its place in the world.

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.

Strike against Australia's current insecurity
Mark Latham looks set to be the new Prime Minister after calling for Australian militants to be withdrawn from Iraq by Christmas. Opposition Leader Mark Latham said on Thursday that Labor's second priority was to abandon support for the doctrine of pre-emption, "which did not work in Iraq because there was nothing to pre-empt".

Iraq invasion 'strengthened Coalition of the Killing'
Mark Latham is aware that most Australians want the militants out of Iraq and the only thing digging was an elbow in, [war criminal], John Howard's ribs by his cronies.

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.

HoWARd, where's your head at?
Australians is living on the edge! Seems each time the bombs go off overseas for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East Australians are living on the edge.

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.

Protesters arrested during PM's Tas visit
Two people have been arrested at the start of the, [war criminal], Prime Minister's visit to northern Tasmania. John Howard was met by the protesters in Launceston this morning. Howard is in northern Tasmania to boost the profile of the Liberals' two new federal candidates for Bass and Braddon.

Australia: War Anthem
Australians all let us give voice, For we have gone to war, And just like Vietnam before, We're not sure what it's for, But Uncle Sam said "Jump", And so our PM said "How high?"

Australia: Drawing the line for trade
Once upon a "lifetime" there was, [war criminal], Prime Minister named John Howard. Dollar signs lit up in his eyes when he was told that if he got involved in the Iraq war and aligned the Australian Government with the Coalition of the Killing, US and the UK then the money he spent would be returned in a once in a lifetime Free Trade Agreement with the US.

JUDGEMENT: HOWARD'S WAR CRIMES
Howard Vs Regina in Canberra the Capital Territory of Australia- Friday January 30 2004. Would the defendant please stand while I read out the judgement of this court.

Australia: The gospel according to Farr
Howard said, "The teacher unions a year ago encouraged teachers to discuss the war on Iraq in the classroom that was code for attacking the Government's position."

War criminal Howard defends 'Son of a bitch'
[War criminal], Prime Minister John Howard, says the government would be "recklessly negligent" if it did not consider joining the United States' missile defence program, known as "Son of a bitch".

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'..

Australia buys into 'Son of Star Wars'?
[War criminal], Defence, [? War], Minister Senator Robert Hill says Australia may buy a sophisticated missile system that can destroy other ballistic missiles in space. But Australians want social services, health, and education, not warfare.

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.

International communities are the losers: Smith
[War criminal], Prime Minister John Howard says Saddam Hussein's capture is a huge relief and a great development for the people of Iraq. Howard says Saddam should face trial in Iraq and he would not oppose the death penalty if it were imposed.

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".

Police violent towards peaceful protesters
A protest march in Canberra involving more than 1,000 people has been violated, with some protesters breaking through an unlawful police barricade outside the United States Embassy.

Police cracked up about war criminal protest march
The protesters are about 100 metres from the entrance of Parliament House behind barriers and a long line of police officers. Busloads of protesters from Sydney are still on their way to the site.

Forty Labor MPs sign protest letter to Bush over Iraq
More than 40 Senators and Federal Labor MPs have signed an open letter to [war criminal], US President George W Bush, saying the war against Iraq set a dangerous precedent for the world.

50,000 protesters to turn out for anti-Bush protest
Protesters are expecting a 50,000-strong crowd to rally against issues such as the illegal and degrading, Iraq war and the treatment of prisoners, some renditioned and tortured, at Gunatanamo Bay in Cuba.

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.

Sydney Social Forum Oct 24-26
The war on Iraq has signalled an intensifying permanent war on the world's poor, adding more open unilateral military aggression to existing neo-liberal offensives conducted through organisations like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and World Trade Organisation.

Refugee policy, here is a new project: Burnside
The idea is to have thousands of Australian citizens writing to federal parliamentarians asking very simple, but hard, questions about the key aspects of refugee policy. I have devised a letter writing kit for this purpose. I attach a copy. It contains instructions which, are, I hope, fairly clear.

Habib's wife to join Greens protest during Bush visit
The wife of an Australian man imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay has urged the Prime Minister to seek her husband's release when the war criminal, United States President visits Australia this week.

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.

Civil Liabilities: Howard's diversity? I had a dream?
The war criminal, Prime Minister, John Howard, who only yesterday was claiming he was showing diversity has stepped up pressure on the states to support plans to increase the war criminal, Federal Attorney-General's powers to ban terrorist organisations, [scapegoats and patsies for the Coalition of the Killing's illegal and degrading resource wars in the Middle East.]

PM despot diversity shallow and cunning sales pitch
War criminal, Prime Minister, John Howard, says planned visits by the United States and Chinese presidents demonstrate the diversity of Australia's relationships.

US Deputy Sheriff dismisses Indonesian comment that US king of terrorists Deputy Sheriff to the US Prime Minister John Howard says he does not agree with comments by the Indonesian Vice-President Hamzah Haz that the real terrorist is the United States for attacking Iraq.

Americans given deficit of Carr's spin?
Bob Carr joined Richard Butler and other corporate and political leaders to discuss how the rest of the world views the US as well as the superpower's role in the world. [Brain-dead and totalitarian!!]

Beattie starts spreading the news in old New York!
Beattie must think he's king of the hill or top of the heap? This is not a democracy this is blatant war enthusiasm whipped up to ensure that Australia goes to war at the next available opportunity.

When the towns criers rang the bell!
THEY scaled the walls of the Sydney Opera House, sent a strong message to the people of Australia, with their "No War" message and reinforced the will of the people.

Australian way of life now threatened by State Terror
Defence [war criminal] Minister Robert Hill says plans to place about 1,000 army reservists on counter-terrorism duties [? scapegoat duties] do not mean there is a specific threat to Australia.

PM man of steel? Or killer and a thief?
Is JOHN Howard a killer and a thief or a man of steel after he dropped bombs on innocent civilians in order to fix the problem in Iraq for trade agreements with the US? Thousands of children are now dieing of disease.

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.

The Empire Strikes Back: Sydney anti-war rally
School children in uniforms, groups of young men and older protesters have gathered on one side of Town Hall while at least 200 police have gathered around the area.

Human shield describes 'sickening' scenes
An Australian 'human shield' who has fled Iraq into neighbouring Jordan has described the sight of bombed out buildings and distraught Iraqis as "sickening".

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."

Australians don't support US military action: poll
The second Australia-wide poll since the war began has found most Australians disapprove of the United States using military force to depose Saddam Hussein.

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.

AUSTRALIA AT WAR! Moment of death...
"The opening stages of the disarmament of the Iraqi regime [? resource war on Iraq regime] have begun ," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer [should have] said minutes after the strikes. He said Bush would speak at 2.15pm (AEDT).

Hit the road Jack and don't you come back No War, Jack Straw, No War, No War! LONDON: Nick Buxton, organising the protest outside Mr Straw's house, said: "We got the message across that the war is going to have a very huge humanitarian impact and people are angry about this war."

Moment of death 'HoWARd'
JOHN Howard lost the war for public opinion as Australia braces to invade Iraq by the end of the week. With nationwide anti-war protests, and Labor scrapping 30 years of bipartisanship on sending troops overseas, the Coalition has failed all Australians.

War criminal Howard high-jacks HRCA to 'legitimise killing'
The Human Rights Council of Australia (HRCA) says it fears Prime Minister John Howard's comments in support of the execution of [CIA operative] Osama bin Laden show his eagerness to overturn three decades of national opposition to the death penalty.

PM lost in space! Pre-emptive Strikes & Star Wars Defence!!
War criminal PM backs missile defence investigation but he is not on his own. Bob Carr dubbed Darth Vader after draconian laws were introduced in NSW following John Howard's threats to strike first and ask questions later.

Doom gloom and 'Boom' Downer shakes the room?
"Optimism is better and so is 'constructive feedback' because using constructive feedback means that the negatives also have a role in the construction of a nation. In short we have all the time in world to solve problems properly and that is what our leaders should be focusing on when they decide to inform all Australians. Hey what's the rush?" He said.

Hypocrisy not Democracy? No Blood for Oil!
Howard has refused to back down on the threat of war despite hundreds of thousands of Australians rallying against it. The question is why?

Australia backs CIA Reichstag, Downer's propaganda
The Foreign Affairs Minister says the latest message from Osama bin Laden is worrying. [Just plain rubbish!]

UK Reid, Blair and the reichstag London threat!
The nature of the [alleged] terrorist threat to London is on the scale of the [USA false flag] September 11 attacks in the United States, the chairman of Britain's governing Labour Party said.

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.

Hill defends decision to attack Iraq: Step by step?
FEDERAL Defence [War] Minister [Sinister] Robert Hill has defended the government's decision to send troops [ send militia] to the Persian Gulf [ to attack Iraq] in readiness for any [pre-emptive strike that would cause a] conflict with Iraq.

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.

US prepares for trade talks with Australia but it's not worth it!
The office of the United States Trade Representative has started formally preparing its negotiating position for the first round of talks on a free trade agreement between Australia and the US.

First strike and you're out!
The ideology of a super loser? John Howard shocks the nation again. A nation who cannot believe Howard's stupidity following his [complicity in the CIA's false flag operation, the Bali bombing.]

UN charter doesn't reflect new self-defence needs: Hill?
The Defence [War] Minister, Robert Hill, says the United Nations' charter needs to be changed to help countries defend themselves against potential threats. [?] [Pre-emptive strikes on soveriegn nation states like Iraq and Afghanistan?]

About Protesting &: Corporate media, Ben English and Rachel Morris who spell their names in capitals? Yes too right! Ordinary people some protesting against the occupation, murder and genocide of hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children. And you call yourselves reporters? You should hang your head in shame and go get jobs defending those poor innocent people. Shame on you!!!

Howard defends terror alert
Prime Minister John Howard says the Federal Government would not have issued a terror alert if it had not come from a credible source. (America?) Speaking for the first time since the Government revealed the warning, Mr Howard says he wants people to be more careful, but not to stop living. [As long as they don't go dancing in Bali? And sure we'll all be depressed for as long as John Howard and Bob Carr say so.]

When Johnny comes marching home again: 'hoorah hoorah'
Posted on the Resistance web page Bronwyn Powell, an organiser of the youth-led mobilisation told Green Left weekly that "in the face of attacks on civil liberties, it is unfortunate that some union officials have felt they need to submit. It could set a negative precedent for upholding the hard-won right to demonstrate in the street."

Give peace a chance
PIERS AKERMAN DT 28 Nov 02: JUSTICE John Dowd should be removed from the bench. His crime? Stupidity. In a breath-taking display of hand-wringing sanctimonious morality, Dowd has condemned the State and Federal Governments' anti-terrorism measures, claiming they erode rights and give encouragement to oppressive regimes.