Day: April 9, 2010

16 Years Ago. 7 April 1994: The US was behind the Rwandan Genocide: Installing a US Protectorate in Central Africa By Michel Chossudovsky

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7 April, 2010 — Global Research

Originally written in May 2000, the following text is Part II of Chapter 7 entitled “Economic Genocide in Rwanda”, of the Second Edition of The Globalization of Poverty and the New World Order, Global Research, Montreal, 2003. This text updates the author’s analysis on Rwanda written in 1995, which was published in the first edition of Globalization of Poverty, TWN and Zed Books, Penang and London, 1997. To order the Second Edition of The Globalization of Poverty, click here.

This text is in part based on the results of a study conducted by the author together with Belgian economist Pierre Galand on the use of Rwanda’s 1990-94 external debt to finance the military and paramilitary.

The civil war in Rwanda and the ethnic massacres were an integral part of US foreign policy, carefully staged in accordance with precise strategic and economic objectives.

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Israeli Occupation Archive: Communal Groups Mobilize Against ‘Delegitimizers’ of Jewish State

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9 April, 2010 — Israeli Occupation Archive

Communal Groups Mobilize Against ‘Delegitimizers’ of Jewish State

Tony Judt: “[T]he ‘de-legitimization’ issue is a fraud… I know no one in the professional world of political commentary, however angry about Israel’s behavior, who thinks that the country has no right to exist… ‘De-legitimization’ is just another way to invoke antisemitism as a silencer, but sounds better because [it’s] less exploitative of emotional pain.”

Nancy Kricorian: “This is only a way of changing the subject… All we want is [for] Israel to respect human rights and international law. I don’t see how that delegitimizes Israel.”

IOA Editor: As always, the organized Jewish Community first tries to label us “anti-Semites” or “Self-Hating Jews,” but this doesn’t work nearly as well these days. Since the completion of the Reut ‘study’ — a consulting project conducted by propaganda experts for the Netanyahu government — the new term, “delegitimizers,” is in vogue. Much like the others, it is an empty charge designed to avoid the very specific reality of the Occupation and Israel’s legal responsibilities in connection with it.

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Israel Destroys Gaza Dairy For Second Time By Rami Almeghari

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8 April, 2010 — The Electronic Intifada

It was not a chemical plant, nor a nuclear facility, nor a manufacturer of weapons of mass destruction. But almost all the rubble of the entirely destroyed factory was covered in white, with white chunks everywhere. These were pieces of cheese, butter and yoghurt — some of the products made by the Dalloul dairy factory in southern Gaza City.

dairy-gaza.jpg

Palestinians inspect the remains of the destroyed Dalloul dairy plant in southern Gaza City. (Rami Almeghari)

Israeli warplanes bombed the factory shortly after midnight last Thursday through Friday night, 1-2 April, leaving the building, all its equipment and the distribution van completely destroyed.

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Scottish PSC ‘racism’ case thrown out!

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9 April, 2010 — Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Sheriff James Scott ruled the protest was “clearly directed at the State of Israel, the Israeli Army, and Israeli Army musicians”, and not targeted at “citizens of Israel” per se. “The procurator fiscal’s attempts to squeeze malice and ill will out of the agreed facts were rather strained”, he said.

“And if persons on a public march designed to protest against and publicise alleged crimes committed by a state and its army are afraid to name that state for fear of being charged with racially aggravated behaviour, it would render worthless their Article 10(1) rights. Presumably their placards would have to read, ‘Genocide in an unspecified state in the Middle East’; ‘Boycott an unspecified state in the Middle East’ etc.”

Read Sheriff’s ruling

Read SPSC Media Release

Read the transcript of BBC recording of the protest, included in Sheriff’s ruling

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NO2ID Supporters’ Newsletter No. 146 – 8th April 2010: SHARPEN YOUR PENS!

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+ SHARPEN YOUR PENS! +

The general election may be dominated by the economy, but every candidate needs to know that their constituents care deeply about other issues that affect them and their families. Stopping the database state will require MPs of all parties to pay attention now – and to take action for the long-term.

We’ve already asked that you express your concerns to candidates and party canvassers directly, but another important way to ensure that the database state is an issue in your area is to write a letter to your local paper.

It needn’t take long – many local papers now take letters by e-mail. Your letter should be brief (200-250 words is perfect) and to the point: write about one specific issue and why you personally are so concerned. You could challenge every candidate to say what they will do if elected.

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No Such Thing As Israeli Nationality

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6 April, 2010 — The Electronic Intifada

A group of Jews and Arabs are fighting in the Israeli courts to be recognized as “Israelis,” a nationality currently denied them, in a case that officials fear may threaten the country’s self-declared status as a Jewish state.

Israel refused to recognize an Israeli nationality at the country’s establishment in 1948, making an unusual distinction between “citizenship” and “nationality.” Although all Israelis qualify as “citizens of Israel,” the state is defined as belonging to the “Jewish nation,” meaning not only the 5.6 million Israeli Jews but also more than seven million Jews in the diaspora.

Critics say the special status of Jewish nationality has been a way to undermine the citizenship rights of non-Jews in Israel, especially the fifth of the population who are Arab. Some 30 laws in Israel specifically privilege Jews, including in the areas of immigration rights, naturalization, access to land and employment.

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Promoting Human Rights: Haiti's Resurrection By Mark Schuller

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6 April, 2010 — Counterpunch

Port-au-Prince – Today is Easter, an important symbol of rebirth. Christians everywhere rejoice in the victory over death. In Haiti the faithful celebrate in ra-ra bands, processions in the street led by a brass band, often hand-fashioned instruments. Children fly hand-made kites, symbolizing the resurrection and hope.

This year there is little cause to celebrate, particularly for the many who lost their homes and family members. One ra-ra band snaked through the streets, and only a handful of kites rose up.

It rained three nights this week. The air is thick in addition to the heavy dust from fallen buildings. In the mornings after, squadrons of mosquitoes – possibly carrying malaria – circle overhead. Machin prive (private car, usually much newer than public transport) struggle with the mud puddles in the road.

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Gaza Friends: One last plea before we sail

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9 April, 2010 — Free Gaza Movement

Please Donate Now: http://www.freegaza.org/de/donate

Our four boats are purchased or refurbished, flagged and registered. The cargo ship is now named the MV Rachel Corrie with the blessing of the Corrie family. Children in Gaza and the occupied West Bank will name the other two boats, and we will let you know what they chose.

We are hard at work collecting the cargo… cement, books for children and universities, paper for printing books, water filtration equipment, and medical equipment, all being denied the people of Gaza by Israel’s brutal blockade.

So we ask one last time for a $25.00-$100.00 donation from each of you, a donation that will be used for our operating costs. It is not enough to buy, register and insure the boats. We need fuel for all vessles, crew expenses, supplies for all four boats, a crane to add to the cargo ship to offload the cargo, and miscellaneous expenses that always appear at the last minute.

Please go to http://www.freegaza.org/de/donate and help us raise the final 20%. You can donate in the U.S. by writing a tax-deductible check to our fiscal sponsor in DC, donate through our two PayPal accounts, one in Cyprus and one in the U.S. or wire an amount into our Free Gaza account in Cyprus. The website provides all of the detail for you.
 
With your help, our final $100,000 can be raised in the next month as we get ready to leave Europe on May 3 and begin our voyage to Gaza. More than 5000 of you now follow our voyages; you have signed up for our TWITTER account, you have joined our newsletter, and you are members of many Free Gaza lists. Please donate, send our plea to your own lists, then watch our journey as we make our way across the sea to Gaza.

Thank you from all of us at Free Gaza. Every one of you has made this flotilla a reality.

National Security Archive Update, April 8, 2010: How Much is Enough? Part II

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8 April, 2010

“Prague Treaty Cuts Are Modest, Real” Old Cold War Proposals Went Even Lower

For more information contact:
Thomas Blanton/William Burr – 202/994-7000

http://www.nsarchive.org/nukevault

Washington, DC, April 8, 2010 – The new START Treaty signed today in Prague represents “real” but “modest” cuts in strategic nuclear forces comparable to some Cold War alternatives but still higher than the most far-reaching proposals considered by Presidents Reagan and Carter, according to documents posted today by the National Security Archive. The documents show that the Prague cuts reach levels lower than than the Carter administration’s “deep cuts” SALT II proposal in 1977 and very close to the “finite deterrence” numbers contemplated by Chief of Naval Operations Arleigh Burke in the late 1950s. Yet the Prague cuts do not reach the far lower numbers of nuclear weapons recommended by former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, or initially considered by President Jimmy Carter, or the zero nuclear forces in 10 years proposed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

Follow the link below for more information:

http://www.nsarchive.org/nukevault

THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals.

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8 April, 2010 — North American Congress on Latin America

Coca-Cola Sued for ‘Campaign of Violence’ in Guatemala
by Lisa Skeen
On February 25, José Armando Palacios and José Alberto Vicente Chávez, along with their families, filed a lawsuit against the Coca-Cola Company in the New York State Supreme Court. The company is accused of allowing its bottling and processing plants in Guatemala to engage in a campaign of violence against the two men, both prominent union leaders. Though Coke claims the U.S. legal system is being manipulated, the prosecution maintains that Guatemala’s courts, rife with impunity, are incapable of delivering justice.

NGOs and the Business of Poverty in Haiti
by Kevin Edmonds
No other country in the world has more non-governmental organizations (NGOs) per capita as Haiti. After the January 12 earthquake these NGOs received the bulk of the global relief funds, while the Haitian government, regularly accused of corruption by the U.S. State Department, has remained marginalized in the recovery and rebuilding efforts. This leaves a country where unelected organizations, unaccountable to the Haitian people, are calling the shots and accused of profiting from the poverty they are entrusted to fight.

Update: Communitarian Socialism in Bolivia
by Roger Burbach
When Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, was sworn in to a second term in January, he proclaimed Bolivia a plurinational state that would construct “communitarian socialism.” In an accompanying address, Vice President Álvaro Garcia Linera, envisioned a “socialist horizon” for Bolivia, characterized by “well-being, making the wealth communal, drawing on our heritage . . .” The process “will not be easy, it could take decades, even centuries, but it is clear that the social movements cannot achieve true power without implanting a socialist and communitarian horizon.”

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War In Afghanistan Evokes Second World War Parallels By Rick Rozoff

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6 April, 2010 — Stop NATO

With the Pentagon and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization planning the largest military campaign of the Afghan war this summer in the south, Kandahar province, a complementary offensive in the north, Kunduz province, and increased troop strength of 150,000 in preparation for the assaults, a war that will enter its tenth calendar year this October 7 is reaching the apex of its intensity.

The length of the war if not the amount of troops deployed for it inevitably conjures up a comparison with the U.S. war in Vietnam, before now the longest in America’s history. Not only protracted but intractable, with its escalation in earnest beginning in early 1965 and the end of U.S. combat operations not occurring until 1973.

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