The Real News Network – Beneath the hype: Is Iran close to nukes? Part 1

October 8, 2009Leave a comment

8 October, 2009 —The Real News Network

Retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern speaks on disinformation, Iran, and “faith-based intelligence”

Part 4 – Part 3 – Part 2 – Part 1

Bio
Ray McGovern is a retired CIA officer. McGovern was employed under seven US presidents for over 27 years, presenting the morning intelligence briefings at the White House under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. McGovern was born and raised in the Bronx, graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University, received an M.A. in Russian Studies from Fordham, a certificate in Theological Studies from Georgetown University, and graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

Media Lens Alert: The Westminster Conspiracy

October 8, 2009Leave a comment

8 October, 2009 — Media Lens – Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media

Former BBC Director General, Greg Dyke, On The Media-Political Opposition To Radical Change

Last month, Greg Dyke, who was the BBC’s director general from 2000-2004, described the BBC as part of a “conspiracy” preventing the “radical changes” needed to UK democracy. Speaking at the Liberal Democrat party’s conference, Dyke said:

“The evidence that our democracy is failing is overwhelming and yet those with the biggest interest in sustaining the current system – the Westminster village, the media and particularly the political parties, including this one – are the groups most in denial about what is really happening to our democracy.” (Brian Wheeler, ‘Dyke in BBC ‘conspiracy’ claim,’ BBC website, September 20, 2009; news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8265628.stm)

Dyke argued there had never been a greater separation between the “political class” and the public:

“I tried and failed to get the problem properly discussed when I was at the BBC and I was stopped, interestingly, by a combination of the politicos on the board of governors, one of whom [Baroness Sarah Hogg] was married to the man who claimed for cleaning his moat, the cabinet interestingly – the Labour cabinet – who decided to have a meeting, only about what we were trying to discuss, and the political journalists at the BBC.

“Why? Because, collectively, they are all part of the problem. They are part of one Westminster conspiracy. They don’t want anything to change. It’s not in their interests.”

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CUBA 50 event – CULTURA Y CUBANIA festival of music, dance, photography, film, discussion

October 8, 2009Leave a comment

5 October 2009 – 10 October 2009 — CUBA 50

Cultura y Cubania, coinciding with Black History Month, will be a week-long cultural event celebrating the richness of Cuban culture.

Taking place in prestigious London venues such as, Canning House, Bolivar Hall and Conway Hall, it showcases the work of some of the best Cuban Artists living in the UK today as well as that of important Cuban cultural figures.

Music – Dance – Photographic Exhibition – Videos – Lectures – And More

website – www.culturaycubania.com

Mon 5 October 6.30-9pm – Festival Launch and Photographic Exhibition, Canning House
Tue 6th-Fri 9 October 2-6pm daily – Photographic Exhibition – ‘A Few Streets, A Few People – Pocas Calles, Pocas Peronsas’, Canning House
Tue 6 October 7-8.30pm – Afro-Cuban dance workshop with Ariel Rios and guests, at Nueva Costa Dorada
Wed 7 October, 7-8.30pm – Rumba dance workshop with Ariel Rios, followed by the Cuban salsa party until late, Nueva Costa Dorada
Thu 8 October, 6.30pm – Film screening ‘Los Hijos de Baragua ~ My Footsteps in Baragua’ introduced by Eva Tarr, Director of the London Latin American Film Festival, Canning House
Fri 9 October, 7pm – Film screening ‘Raza – Race’ followed by debate and seminar ‘The Symbolism of Race in Cuba Today’ by Cuban writer and journalist Pedro Perez Sarduy, Bolivar Hall
Sat 10 October, 6.30pm-midnight – Festival Grande Finale with the debut performance of London’s new Cuban dance company CubanaDanza, plus live music from Mestizo (Ahmed Dickinson trio), Cuban Combination, and Kid Afrika. Cuban DJ and much more!, Conway Hall

Cultura y Cubania is organised by Cubacheche www.cubacheche.co.uk

‘Through Women’s Eyes: A PCHR Report on the Gender-Specific Impact and Consequences of Operation Cast Lead’

October 8, 2009Leave a comment

28 September, 2009 — Palestinian Center for Human Rights Ref: 43/2009

In conjunction with the presentation of the UN Fact Finding Mission’s report to the Human Rights Council on 29 September, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) release ‘Through Women’s Eyes: A PCHR Report on the Gender-Specific Impact and Consequences of Operation Cast Lead’.

The Israeli offensive claimed the lives of 118 women, and injured at least 825 more. However, although the numbers of victims and casualties illustrate the appalling human toll of this conflict, the true extent of the suffering lies in the day-to-day reality of life in the Gaza Strip following Operation Cast Lead, as civilians struggle to rebuild their lives, come to terms with their loss, and restore some semblance of human dignity.

PCHR has released ‘Through Women’s Eyes’ in order to highlight the gender-specific impact of Operation Cast Lead and the illegal Israeli closure. As a result of the patriarchal nature of Palestinian society, women in the Gaza Strip – victims of ‘peacetime’ discrimination – are particularly susceptible to the marginalization, poverty, and suffering brought about as a result of armed conflict and occupation. Israeli attacks result in often ignored gender-specific consequences. PCHR has chosen to allow these consequences, and the reality of life after the offensive, unfold through the victims words; although this report is necessarily grounded in international law, it is perhaps fitting that human rights, and human suffering, are expressed through human stories.

This report presents the cases of 12 women affected by Israeli attacks over the course of Operation Cast Lead. These examples are intended to demonstrate the extent of the suffering inflicted on the individual civilians of the Gaza Strip, and the continuing difficulties they face as a result of the devastation wrought by Israeli forces and the ongoing illegal closure.

‘Through Women’s Eyes’ highlights the difficulties women in the Gaza Strip face as they attempt to come to terms with their grief and their injuries; with the loss of their children, their husbands, their relatives, their homes, and their livelihoods. These narratives are illustrative, not only of the trials faced by women in the Gaza Strip, but of the resilience and strength they have demonstrated over 42 years of conflict and occupation.

‘Through Women’s Eyes’ is release as a continuation of PCHR’s work documenting human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory. With respect to Operation Cast Lead, in May PCHR released ‘War Crimes Against Children’ a report on the killing of 318 children, while earlier this month ‘Targeted Civilians’ PCHR’s comprehensive report on the offensive was released in Arabic; it will be available in English shortly.