Day: May 5, 2010

Cochabamba Eyewitness: A Great Boost to Ecosocialism By Roger Rashi

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5 May, 2010 — The Bullet Socialist Project • E-Bulletin No. 351

I attended the alternative Climate Conference in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba as part of an eight-person Quebec activist delegation. I came back convinced that we witnessed a turning point in the global Climate Justice movement.

Up to now it has been very difficult to link environmental demands to social justice issues. The mainstream ecological movement, spurred by many NGOs, has generally avoided linking these issues under the spurious notion that a “realistic” approach of working with governments and the UN would yield significant results.

But as the spectacular failure of the UN-sponsored Copenhagen Conference of last December has clearly demonstrated, nearly 20 years of government summit-hopping and no less than 15 international conferences have yielded absolutely nothing in terms of binding international agreements. Furthermore, the Kyoto Accord lies in tatters and greenhouse gas emissions are rising dangerously, threatening the world with major ecological catastrophes by the end of this century. Continue reading →

KSM + military tribunal = 9/11 cover-up?

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19 April, 2010 — RT

US Republicans, in an effort to avoid a public civilian trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged 9/11 mastermind, are turning up the heat on Attorney General Eric Holder. Why?

First, for those who need a primer on their ‘War on Terror’ ancient history, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is ‘the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks,’ according to the 9/11 Commission Report sanctioned by the Bush administration.

Mohammed, accused of orchestrating a number of high-profile attacks, including the grisly decapitation murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was charged in February 2008 with war crimes by a US military tribunal and will be summarily executed if found guilty. But there is just one problem with all of this: not even the CIA is unanimous in the belief that KSM is their man.

Robert Baer, a former CIA field officer assigned to the Middle East, and the author of ‘See No Evil’, told Time magazine back in 2007 that ‘the Administration [of George W. Bush] is trying to blame KSM for Al-Qaeda terrorism, leading us to believe we’ve caught the master terrorist and that Al-Qaeda, and especially the ever-elusive bin Laden, is no longer a threat to the US.’

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Honduras still looking for truth in 2009 coup

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5 May, 2010 — RT

A truth commission has been established to investigate the situation surrounding Honduras’ 2009 coup, but observers are divided over whether or not it will have any effect on pacifying the country.

The ghost of Honduras’s 2009 coup just won’t die.

The US State Department is hoping a truth commission will help put the matter to rest. The establishment of the truth commission was part of an accord signed by ousted President Manuel Zelaya and members of the coup government last October. The commission, endorsed by the new Honduran government, would investigate the situation in Honduras following the coup d’etat that ousted Zelaya.

The State Department has been pushing for this truth commission since the election of President Porfirio Lobo. They see it as an important step for Honduras to improve its international standing following the controversial ousting of Zelaya. But many human rights organizations in the United States and on a majority of those on the ground in Honduras do not trust the truth commission to investigate and unveil human rights abuses as they are happening in Honduras.

The Obama administration came under fire following the coup against Zelaya. Critics and Latin American analysts accused the State Department of double talk, signing on to an accord it would later violate and then endorsing a president who was under investigation for human rights violations during his election.

The start of the truth commission comes as the resistance movement in Honduras amplifies. The country has suffered an increase in human rights abuses in recent years. Without investigating Honduras’s human rights issues and political problems, some say it will be politics as usual.

‘All the human rights organization on the ground in Honduras all of them are unequivocal in their condemnation of this truth commission. It’s just trying to whitewash the coup,’ said analyst Arturo Viscarra

Whatever comes out of the truth commission, analysts say the State Department will be among the first to celebrate it’s findings. Observers say that just the process of working to uncover problems would mean a new chapter for Honduras following the first coup in Latin America in almost two decades. However, for the resistence movement and human rights groups, the truth commission is everything but a truth fact finding mission. To them, it would is little more than a rubber stamp to settle a political crisis in Honduras they believe was heavily facilitated by the US.

Broadcasting Women's Voices in Haiti's Reconstruction By Beverly Bell

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3 May, 2010 — Truthout

Haitian women have been increasingly vocal and active in social, political and economic issues since the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986. Though it has not come easily, their progress in changing gender relations of power within the home, within social movements and within the nation has been steady.

Women’s organizations have been key to these advances, helping create the space to foster and protect women’s activism. One network is helping women gain a voice, literally: the Haitian Women’s Community Radio Network (REFRAKA by its Creole acronym).

The importance of radio cannot be overstated in a country where 45 percent of men and 49 percent of women are illiterate.[1] Nor can the significance of women taking the microphone, in a country where aggressive patriarchy in the home and society, as well as violence from male partners and the state, have tried to keep them silent.

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We believe US media are controlled by single unit – Ahmadinejad

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4 May, 2010 — RT Top Stories

On his trip to New York to attend the UN nuclear summit Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke to RT about nuclear non-proliferation, the Obama Administration, Iran’s representation in the US and other hot issues.

http://rt.com/s/swf/player.swf?file=http://rt.com/v/2010-05-05/568441_ahmadinejad.flv&image=http://rt.com/s/obj/2010-05-04/ahma.jpg&controlbar=over&skin=http://rt.com/s/swf/skin/stylish1.swf&streamer=lighttpd

[Q] Mr. President, thank you very much for taking the time for sitting with RT during your trip to New York City. Sir, I’d like to begin by asking you why you decided to personally make this trip to New York, to address to the international body about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty rather than sending Iran’s foreign minister or another top official from your administration?

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NO2ID Supporters’ Newsletter No. 148 – 5th May 2010: Election Special

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*Contacting us:* Call or email the office – 020-7793-4005 or (office@no2id.net).

+ ELECTION SPECIAL +

We’re sending the newsletter early this week, so that you have it in time for the election. NO2ID remains rigorously non-partisan: our battle is not with one party or another, but rather against the database state. This principle enables us to work with, and be supported by, people from across the political spectrum and helps make our arguments all the more effective. Evidence of this may be seen in the fact that by 30th April, opposition parties’ 2010 manifesto commitments on the National Identity Scheme stood as follows:

* The Conservatives (standing 631 candidates) will “scrap ID cards, the National Identity Register and the ContactPoint database”;

* The Liberal Democrats (631 candidates) will “scrap intrusive Identity Cards and have more police instead”. They also intend to “scrap plans for expensive, unnecessary new passports with additional biometric data”;

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Another Palestinian Protest Leader Jailed But Not Silenced

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2 May, 2010 — Friends of Freedom and Justice – Bil’in

Iyad Burnat.jpgIyad Burnat, a leader in the popular struggle against the Israeli wall, was banned by Israel’s military from crossing the West Bank borders into Jordan on Saturday. Burnat is head of the local committee against the wall and settlement in the central West Bank village of Bil’in. The villagers of Bil’in have been organizing weekly anti wall protest for five years.

“This is  just another episode of Israel’s aggression on us; soldiers detained me for three hours and then told me to go back. When I asked them why, they said for ’security reasons.’” Burnat said.

Despite the non-violent nature of the protesters, the Israeli army often respond with violence. Last year the army killed local activist Bassem Abu Rahma after shooting him in the chest with a high-velocity tear gas bomb. In total the army killed 29 Palestinians during anti wall protests in the West Bank.

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Viva Palestina: Flotilla to break Gaza siege

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5 May, 2010 — Viva Palestine

Dear Friends of Palestine
On May 15th, an international flotilla of cargo and passenger ships will depart from various European ports  and set sail for Gaza. 3 cargo ships will carry over 5,000 tonnes of medical and building supplies, and  5 passenger boats will carry over 600 people.

This flotilla is been led by the IHH charity from Turkey, and is supported by many groups worldwide, including the Free Gaza Movement, Free Palestine Movement, European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza and the Greek and Swedish Boat to Gaza groups amongst others.

In January of this year, IHH  was an integral partner with  Viva Palestina on the convoy to Gaza, where 500 people in over 200 vehicles successfully broke the siege on Gaza and delivered essential humanitarian aid.  Viva Palestina are therefore very proud to announce their involvement with IHH again on this flotilla, and in addition to sending medical and building supplies, a Viva Palestina Coalition team will be on board this historic journey.

The siege imposed on Gaza is now in it’s 4th year. It has created a humanitarian crisis that has left the entire population without sufficient food, water, medicine, electricity, building supplies, clothes, toys, and freedom of movement. 1.5 million people, over half of whom are children, suffer directly because of this siege. Since the attacks on Gaza last year that left over 1,400 people dead, and 50,000 people homeless, no building supplies have been allowed to enter Gaza. 15 months on, people still live in tents and temporary shelter, unable to rebuild their homes.

Viva Palestina, led by George Galloway M.P. have successfully broken the siege on Gaza 3 times with land convoys of aid. Over 1,000 volunteers in 500 vehicles have delivered essential humanitarian aid to the stricken region in the past year. By taking part in this flotilla, Viva Palestina will be bringing much needed humanitarian aid, and attempting to break the siege once more.

We are calling on our supporters to donate towards the cost of medical and building supplies. Viva Palestina will be purchasing supplies in Turkey that will be loaded onto the IHH cargo ship departing from Istanbul. People can donate towards the cost of materials by clicking on the following link:  http://www.vivapalestina.org/donations.htm

You can also follow us on facebook by joining the following Viva Palestina Flotilla group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=238347355199&ref=mf%20

If anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at: info@vivapalestina.org

Thanks for your valuable support,

———————
Alice Howard
Viva Palestina UK – Administration Manager
Tel: 07944 512 469
Email: alice@vivapalestina.org
Website: http://www.vivapalestina.org/Viva Palestina
Sign up to the Viva Palestina Mailing List http://www.vivapalestina.org/alert.htm