Zochrot 2

1948, het begin van de Israelische etnische zuivering van toen nogPalestina.

'This Week: Eitan Bronstein and Louise Bethlehem from Zochrot in a conference on one state in London Eitan Bronstein and Louise Bet lehem from Zochrot
participated in a conference on one state in London .

Click here for the conference program

Click here for Etan's talk at the conference

Click here for an article in Haaretz about the conference

Thursday November 29th:60 years to the partition resolutionZochrot will mark the 60th anniversary of the U.N. Partition Plan on November 29th 2007.Location: Rothschild Boulevard, Tel-Aviv (near Balfour corner) at 6:30 pm. Life-sized posters of Palestinian refugees expelled from the village of al-Ras al-Ahmar, now residents at Ein al-Hilwa refugee camp, will be presented.Thursday, November 29, 2007, 6:30 pmRothschild Boulevard (near Balfour corner)Tel Aviv

Het Israelisch Expansionisme 58

'Middle East talks in Annapolis: photo-op or talk-fest
Phyllis Bennis
Institute for Policy Studies.

The forthcoming Middle East peace conference has two main goals, buying support from Arab regimes for Washington's war in Iraq and escalating threats against Iran, and providing a photo-op to restore Rice's tarnished legacy.
· There is one thing certain about the international (or regional or bilateral) Middle East peace conference (or meeting or get-together) called by Condoleezza Rice (or George Bush or Elliott Abrams) for November (or maybe December): it's going to be held in Annapolis, Maryland (probably).
· Rice's sudden renewal of interest in and commitment to a new Middle East "peace process" has two main goals: buying support from Arab regimes for Washington's war in Iraq and escalating threats against Iran, and providing a photo-op to restore Rice's tarnished legacy.
· The agenda for the talks has not yet been finalized, but it will not include the goal of reversing Israeli occupation and dispossession and ending Israel's discriminatory apartheid policies.
· Because of U.S.-Israeli control of the agenda, "success" in Annapolis will depend on whether the Palestinian leadership can be coerced to sign on to a U.S.-Israeli text that many Palestinians will view as further abandonment of Palestinian national goals, and many in international civil society will see as violations of international law and human rights. There are serious questions whether the meeting as currently envisioned will be convened at all because of Palestinian refusal to accept U.S.-backed Israeli preconditions.
· With the U.S.-Israeli-led international boycott remaining intact, the conference is unlikely to lead to any even short-term improvement in the humanitarian crisis exploding across Gaza.
There is serious doubt about even the official viability of the conference. Ten days from the anticipated opening, invitations have not been issued (because Arab governments and even the Palestinian leadership have not so far agreed to U.S.-Israeli terms), an agenda has not been announced, and no preliminary statement of goals and/or principles has been agreed to. Palestinian officials have so far - at least publicly - rejected at least some of Israel's preconditions.
Besides her urgent need to update her legacy (which is currently that of the person who stood before the world at the United Nations and announced "we don't want a ceasefire yet" as Israeli jets bombarded Lebanon in summer 2006), Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urgently needs to win flagging Arab government support for the Bush administration's failing war and occupation in Iraq and its escalating mobilization against Iran. While most Arab governments remain quite happy to join the U.S. crusade, their people do not share support for the occupation of Iraq or for the anti-Iranian fervor now ascendant in Washington. As a result, the unpopular and often unstable Arab regimes (absolute monarchies, family dynasties and military regimes masquerading as democracies) must provide some kind of concession for the Arab rulers to pacify their restive populations. The latest version is to offer a high-profile (however low the results) diplomatic show aimed at allowing Arab governments to announce that the U.S. is now helping to give the Palestinians a state. As the New York Times described it, "now the United States is mired in Iraq and looking for a way to build good will among Arab allies."
The Bush administration apparently anticipated that Arab governments, at the highest levels, would welcome invitations to Annapolis. But so far, even Jordan and Egypt, the two Arab governments with full diplomatic relations with Israel, have hesitated, and Saudi Arabia has remained unconvinced. Even if the Arab governments agree to participate, they may send low- to mid-level officials, without the political clout - and photo-op value - of kings and prime ministers.
The stated U.S. goal for the Annapolis meeting is to realize a two-state solution. But in fact, if the conference takes place at all, the result will be to continue the approach of the long-moribund 2003 "Roadmap to Peace." It will, at most, provide a high-visibility launch of a new edition of the same Israeli-Palestinian "peace process" that has failed so many times before: a process based on acceptance of Israeli dominance over Palestinian lives and territory. Its real goal will be to create something that the U.S. can anoint as an "independent Palestinian state," while leaving largely unchallenged Israeli strategic, military, and economic domination over the entire area of Israel-Palestine.
The meeting's agenda will not be based on what international law, as well as Palestinian and global public opinion, requires for a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement of the conflict: an end to Israeli occupation and settlement projects, realization of the Palestinians' rights of self-determination and return, and an end to Israeli discrimination and apartheid policies.
If the U.S.-Israeli goals for Annapolis are realized, they would probably lead to the following "two-state solution" results:'

Lees verder: http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?act_id=17591

Het Israelisch Expansionisme 57

'AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE Embargo Date: 24 November 2007 00:01 GMT
Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: Annapolis talks must lead to immediate, concrete action on human rights If next week's Annapolis talks are to make progress towards a just and durable solution to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, peace pledges must be accompanied by clear and concrete steps to halt and redress the grave human rights abuses and serious violations of international humanitarian law that continue to destroy lives on both sides. In particular, measurable benchmarks should be laid down by the parties to the talks -- together with a clearly-defined mechanism for their implementation and including a regime of enforceable measures -- to ensure that the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority (PA) comply with their obligations under international law and that the fundamental rights of both Palestinians and Israelis are respected. To this end, and to avoid a repetition of past failures, the parties should agree to the deployment of international human rights monitors in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), with a mandate to monitor and report publicly on compliance and on violations by either party of their commitments under international human rights and humanitarian law. The members of the Quartet (the USA, EU, UN and Russia) and the Middle Eastern countries involved in the negotiations have an obligation, as state parties to the Geneva Conventions and to other international human rights treaties, to ensure respect for international law. They should use these prerogatives as a positive force for change and insist that both the Israeli government and the PA adhere to their human rights and international humanitarian law commitments. Among the most pressing issues to be addressed are those that impact daily on the human rights of millions of Palestinians and Israelis, feeding the spiral of violence and impeding progress on other fronts. These must be addressed as a priority if progress is to be made towards establishing the basis for achieving a durable solution to the decades-long crisis. In particular:
Both Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups must immediately end unlawful killings and all other attacks on civilians and the Israeli government and the PA must both bring to justice all perpetrators of such abuses -- regardless of their rank and seniority and political affiliation or backing.
The Israeli government should lift without delay the current regime of blockades and restrictions on the movement of people and goods in the OPT which have effectively paralyzed the Palestinian economy and denied any semblance of normal life to the 3.5 million Palestinian inhabitants.
The Israeli government also should lift immediately the blockade it has imposed on the Gaza Strip and which has fuelled a humanitarian crisis, causing extreme and widespread poverty and food aid dependency, and the deaths of individuals in need of medical care unavailable in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli authorities should cease all construction or expansion of Israeli settlements and related infrastructure in the OPT, including East Jerusalem -- including the 80 percent of the 700km fence/wall built inside the occupied West Bank -- and begin preparations to relocate Israeli settlers from the OPT back to Israel. If a fence/wall is needed to protect Israelis' security, it should be positioned on the boundary between Israel and the OPT, not inside the OPT.
The Israeli authorities should stop destroying Palestinian homes and land in the OPT, cancel outstanding demolition orders, and transfer the responsibility for planning and building regulations in the OPT from the Israeli army to the local Palestinian communities.
The Israeli authorities should release Palestinians arbitrarily detained, notably more than 800 administrative detainees who are held without charge or trial, and should review the cases of some 300 Palestinian children, who have been trial or are awaiting trial by Israeli military courts without benefiting from the necessary procedures designed to protect children, in breach of the provisions stipulated by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Killings of civilians Unarmed civilians have paid a heavy price for the repeated failures of the opposing parties, and of the international community, to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since the collapse of the Oslo process and the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising (intifada), seven years ago, some 4,300 Palestinians, including some 850 children, have been killed by Israeli forces and some 1,100 Israelis, including 120 children have been killed by Palestinian armed groups. Tens of thousands of others have been injured, many of them maimed for life. Most of the victims on both sides have been unarmed civilians not involved in the conflict who were killed unlawfully. Since the 2003 "Roadmap" -- the last internationally-backed but never implemented agreement between Israel and the PA -- more than 2,200 Palestinians and more than 300 Israelis have lost their lives. While recent years have seen a welcome and significant decrease in the number of Israeli victims, the killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces has continued at a high level. This year alone, close to 300 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, scores of them children, and 11 Israelis have been killed by Palestinian armed groups. The perpetrators, on both sides, have been able to act with impunity; neither the Israel government nor the PA has shown any serious inclination to hold those who perpetrate abuses to account, further fuelling the violence. Settlements and "outposts" The Quartet powers must require the Israeli government to end its unlawful appropriation of Palestinian land and natural resources in the OPT on alleged grounds of "security" and to expand unlawful Israeli settlements. Under the "Roadmap" agreement, the Israeli government undertook to freeze all settlement activity, including expansion for so-called "natural growth," and to dismantle all the settlement "outposts" established since 2001, but it has signally failed to do so. Instead, dozens of these "outposts" -- as well as some 150 settlements officially recognized by the Israeli government throughout the West Bank -- have been expanded. While the removal of some 8,000 Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005 was a positive step, it was offset by a larger increase in the number of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. Checkpoints and blockades The Israeli government has failed to fulfil its commitment made last month to the US administration in preparation of the Annapolis meeting to remove some of the 560 military checkpoints and blockades which impede the movement of Palestinians between towns and villages in the West Bank, and to allow access for Palestinian farmers now cut off from their land by special procedures or processes designed to protect children the construction of the fence/wall. The Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the UN reported last week that the Israeli army had lifted only two of 24 blockades that were supposed to be removed, and that only 18 percent of the 30,000 Palestinians who have been cut off from their land by the fence/wall have been able to obtain permits from the Israeli army to access their land. Gaza At the same time, the tightening by Israel of the blockade on the Gaza Strip continues to have devastating consequences for its 1.5 million inhabitants. With only rare exceptions, critically ill patients continue to be prevented from leaving Gaza, where the medical treatment they need is not available, and several have died as a result. The World Health Organization reported earlier this month a shortage of some essential drugs and a further deterioration in health among the inhabitants of Gaza, where hospitals are also affected by food shortages, including dairy products and meat. International aid agencies have expressed concern that Israeli restrictions on the movement of goods into the Gaza Strip are severely hampering their ability to meet the humanitarian needs of the population -- 80 percent of whom are now forced to rely on international assistance. The international community must continue to insist that the PA, and the Hamas de-facto administration in Gaza, take immediate steps to put an end to the firing of home-made "Qassam" into Israel by Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip. The international community must also demand the immediate lifting of the arbitrary and disproportionate blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza, which constitutes a form of collective punishment on the Palestinian inhabitants, including hundreds of thousands of children and others who bear no responsibility for the violence and who are living in a dire situation of enforced poverty.'

Verarmd Uranium 15

Deze email kreeg ik vanochtend van de SP:

'Beste Stan van Houcke,

Stom van me maar ik had het idee dat ik jou wel een tonque in cheek mailtje kon sturen. Helaas ik ben inderdaad al na een halfjaar Den Haag mijn feeling kwijt. Het was goed bedoeld. Ik vind het alleen maar toe te juichen dat mensen van buiten Den Haag brieven sturen over onderwerpen waar ik me mee bezig hou, maar het had net iets beter gekund. Dat is wat ik bedoelde. Een dagje eerder had kunnen schelen.

Ik ken de verhalen ook over verarmd uranium. Ben nooit in Irak geweest, maar was wel geschokt door de verhalen van Pilger in 'the New Rulers of the World', dat je vast wel kent? Ik zie ook dat Nederland zich schadalig gedraagt.

Op het moment dat ik het mailtje verstuurde dacht ik nog zal ik er nog even de motie bij stoppen, maar dat leek me overbodig bij iemand met jou staat van dienst. Maar hierbij. Hij komt volgende week dinsdag in stemming.


Vriendelijke groet,

Martin Broek
SP fractiemedewerker Defensie'

Dit is de tekst van de SP-motie:


'31 200 X Vaststelling van de begrotingsstaten van het
Ministerie van Defensie (X) voor het jaar 2008

Nr. 33 MOTIE VAN HET LID VAN VELZEN
Voorgesteld tijdens het Wetgevingsoverleg van 12 november 2007

De Kamer,
gehoord de beraadslaging,
constaterende, dat Nederland op 1 november in het Eerste Comité van de
Verenigde Naties tegen resolutie A/C.1/62/L.18/Rev.1 heeft gestemd,
waarin de secretaris-generaal werd verzocht om onderzoek te doen op
basis van input van VN-lidstaten en ngo’s naar het militaire gebruik van
verarmd uranium en de effecten daarvan op milieu en gezondheid en dit
op de agenda van de volgende algemene vergadering van de VN te
zetten;
roept de regering op bij de eindstemming van de algemene vergadering
van de VN in december/januari vóór dit voorstel te stemmen,
en gaat over tot de orde van de dag.
Van Velzen
Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 2
Vergaderjaar 2007–2008
KST112186
0708tkkst31200X-33
ISSN 0921 - 7371
Sdu Uitgevers
’s-Gravenhage 2007 Tweede Kamer, vergaderjaar 2007–2008, 31 200 X, nr. 33'


Maar nu weet ik nog niet wat er gisteravond precies besproken is over verarmd uranium en welk besluit er is genomen, als er uberhaupt een besluit is gevallen. Op de website van de Tweede Kamer is alleen dit te lezen:

'Krijgsmacht kan missie Uruzgan volhouden

22 november, begroting Defensie - De krijgsmacht kan deze kabinetsperiode de bestaande ambities op het huidige niveau zeker volhouden. Minister Van Middelkoop: "Defensie is een robuuste organisatie met een budget van ruim 8 miljard en 65.000 professionals". Er wordt volgens hem geen mens met onvoldoende training of materieel naar Uruzgan gestuurd.
"Uruzgan is een gevaarlijke missie, maar wel een waarop wij ons leger hebben voorbereid", aldus minister Van Middelkoop. Het leger is er volgens hem niet om op de Veluwe te zitten. De missie verloopt in het algemeen naar verwachting. Er is bij deze missie steeds rekening gehouden met gevechtshandelingen. Nederland heeft tot nu toe duizend Afghanen voor politietaken opgeleid. Volgens Peters (GroenLinks) is 80% van hen alweer weggelopen. De minister is het ermee eens dat de opleiding van Afghaanse hulppolitie te traag gaat.
Werkgever Defensie is een van de grootste werkgevers van Nederland. Scheidend staatssecretaris Van der Knaap stelt dat Defensie op personeelsbeleid in Nederland toonaangevend is. Werving van nieuw personeel krijgt alle aandacht. Eijsink (PvdA) vraagt hoe het mogelijk is dat Defensie met 85% van de mensen 100% van de ambities waarmaakt. Volgens de staatssecretaris zijn er relatief veel mensen in opleiding en worden mensen extern ingehuurd.
PvdA-voorstellen De PvdA heeft een visie op de Nederlandse defensie voor de lange termijn ontwikkeld. Vooral op het punt van het personeelsbeleid is dit rapport volgens minister Van Middelkoop interessant. De voorgestelde ingrijpende vermindering van wapens waardeert hij minder. "Je kunt de krijgsmacht niet in stand houden zonder materieel." Volgens Knops (CDA) is het PvdA-rapport onverenigbaar met het beleid van de minister.
JSF Eijsink vraagt aan staatssecretaris Van der Knaap om opnieuw onderzoek te doen naar alternatieven voor de JSF. Die is daar niet toe bereid. De staatssecretaris vindt dat die onderzoeken al genoeg zijn gedaan. Knops dient een motie in die de regering aanspoort, samen met NAVO-partners militaire transportvliegtuigen aan te schaffen. Boekestijn (VVD) pleit er in een motie voor om zo'n vliegtuig voor een deel door particuliere partijen te laten financieren.
Het kabinet reageert dinsdag 27 november op de ingediende moties.'

Zie: http://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/verslagen/kamer_in_het_kort/krijgsmacht.jsp#0

Behalve Groen Links en de SP hebben de andere fracties nog geen antwoord gegeven op de vraag welk standpunt ze innemen met betrekking tot verarmd uranium. Ik hou u op de hoogte.

Verarmd Uranium 14

Welke van de drie klopt niet in dit rijtje?

Waarom de Belgen wel en de Nederlanders niet?

'Belgium Bans Uranium Weapons and Armour
They were first with land mines, first with cluster bombs - now Belgium has become the first country in the world to ban uranium weapons! ICBUW praises the hard work and commitment of the Belgian Coalition Stop Uranium Weapons.
10 March 2007 - Willem Van den Panhuysen
On March the 7th, 2007, the Belgian Chamber Commission on National Defence voted unanimously in favour of banning the use of depleted uranium "inert ammunitions and armour plates on Belgian territory." Although Belgium isn’t a user of DU, it is the home of NATO and regularly has US DU shipments travelling through its port of Antwerp.
Acknowledging the Precautionary Principle, the deputies agreed that the manufacture, use, storage, sale, acquisition, supply and transit of these conventional weapon systems should be prohibited. At the last minute, the term "weapon" was deleted to make sure that the law proposal would not cover the US thermonuclear bombs that are stored on the Air Force base of Kleine Brogel.
On Thursday 22nd March, the bill was adopted by Parliament, again with a unanimous vote from across the political spectrum; making Belgium the first country in the world to ban ammunitions and armour that contain depleted uranium, or any other industrially manufactured uranium.
Because it was suggested that the government needs time to promote the ban outside Belgium, and because the Dutch-speaking liberal-democrat party wanted to know if other countries would be willing to follow the Belgian example, it is now stipulated in the accepted text that the law will enter into force two years after its publication in the Belgian Statute Book.'

Lees verder: http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/118.html

Verarmd Uranium 13

In 1995 zag ik in het grootste kinderziekenhuis van Bagdad een zaal vol kinderen sterven aan de gevolgen van verarmd uranium. Omdat het Westen een boycot van Irak had bewerkstelligt was er voor deze kinderen, die aan verschillende vormen van kanker stierven, geen pijnstillers en geen medicijnen om de kanker te bestrijden. De artsen van het ziekenhuis deden een beroep op mij om bij terugkeer in het beschaafde Westen burgers te mobiliseren tegen deze misdaad. Ik heb als journalist gedaan wat ik kon, besteedde er bij de VPRO Radio aandacht aan, maar kreeg geen respons. Men nam het voor kennisgeving aan. De enige die ooit reageerde, was mijn collega Rudie van Meurs die opmerkte dat het grof schandaal was dat de politiek dit accepteerde. Ik heb er daarna regelmatig aandacht aan besteed, maar niets.

Zie: http://home.planet.nl/~houck006/oorlogomolie22.html

Deze email kreeg ik gisteravond:

'do 22-11-2007 23:01

Beste Stan van Houcke,

Jan Marijnissen vroeg me je email te beantwoorden.

Je had waarschijnlijk niet mee gekregen dat wij al een een motie van deze strekking hadden ingediend. Verder was het wel erg op de valreep. Ik kreeg je mailtje 5 minuten voor het debat. Dat is nog erger dan de stukken van het ministerie van Defensie zelf die komen ook vlak voor het debat binnen. Voortaan graag iets eerder.

Het is natuurlijk totaal van de gekke dat Nedrland tegen zo’n resolutie stemt. Nadat zelfs NAVO-bondgenoto Italie heeft besloten schadevergoeding aan zijn militairen uit te keren nadat onderzoek de verbanden tussen kanker en DU heeft aangetoond.

Vriendelijke groet,

Martin Broek
SP-fractiemedewerker Defensie

Kijk ook eens op: www.sp.nl

www.janmarijnissen.nl

kristavanvelzen.nl (o.a. woordvoerdster Defensie)'

Dit is nu eens een schoolvoorbeeld hoe monomaan Den Haag is. Men denkt dat de hele wereld permanent op de hoogte is van hun doen en laten. Ik heb vanochtend op Radio 6 het NOS-Journaal van 6 uur beluisterd en de onderwerpen waren: 'Ontslagrecht, Hells Angels, een moord, vakbonden defensiepersoneel die meer geld willen voor Uruzgan en Dan nog het weer...' En ik denk dat ook de kranten geen informatie over verarmd uranium zullen hebben. Dus in plaats van dat Martin Broek zich beklaagt zou hij informatie hebben moeten geven. Welke motie? Hoe luidt die? Nu weet ik nog niet meer. Wat is er besproken en wat is er beslist? Ik ben zelf op zoek gegaan op de site van de Tweede Kamer, maar ik vond niets over gisteravond. Wel dit:

'De vaste commissie voor Defensie <1> heeft op 5 november 2007 overleg gevoerd met staatssecretaris Van der Knaap van Defensie over het aspect Personeel van de begroting van het ministerie van Defensie over het jaar 2008 (31200-X).

Van het overleg brengt de commissie bijgaand stenografisch verslag uit.

De voorzitter van de vaste commissie voor Defensie,
Van Baalen
De heer Poppe (SP):

Wij zien continu verbeteringen in het veteranenbeleid, waarvoor hulde. Maar er is nog veel te verbeteren. Onlangs besloot Italië over te gaan tot het uitkeren van schadevergoeding aan slachtoffers van verarmd uranium in Bosnië. Wij waarderen het dat de staatssecretaris heeft toegezegd, het Italiaanse onderzoek te laten vertalen, maar wanneer krijgen wij die vertaling? In dit verband herhalen wij ons voorstel voor een verplichte afname van bloed voor een uitzending. Van iedere militair die wordt uitgezonden, wordt een bloedmonster bewaard. In vrijwilligheid was dat mogelijk, dus waarom dan niet verplicht? Is de staatssecretaris bij gebleken oorzakelijk verband tussen besmetting met verarmd uranium en kanker bereid, binnen de NAVO te pleiten voor het afschaffen van verarmd uranium, en onze soldaten niet meer met munitie met verarmd uranium op te zadelen…

De heer Poppe (SP): Komt de staatssecretaris ook nog terug op mijn vragen rondom verarmd uranium?

Staatssecretaris Van der Knaap: Ja, daar kom ik graag op terug. Dat zou ik later doen, maar ik wil het nu ook wel doen. Wij namen inderdaad ook kennis, waarschijnlijk op hetzelfde moment als u, van het bericht in het Algemeen Dagblad waaruit bleek dat er in Italië een onderzoek was op basis waarvan Italiaanse militairen die in aanraking waren gekomen met dat verarmde uranium een schadevergoeding kregen. Ik heb de Kamer erover in kennis gesteld dat ik dat weet en dat ik zo snel mogelijk zal proberen om dat onderzoek in mijn bezit te krijgen, zodat wij ernaar kunnen kijken. Dan kunnen wij nagaan hoe het kan dat uit onze onderzoeken helemaal geen relatie blijkt. Het is belangrijk om vast te stellen wat de Italianen dan boven water hebben gekregen wat wij niet hebben gezien. Ik wil dat zeer zorgvuldig doen. Als die relatie er wel is, mijnheer Poppe: het zijn net zo goed mijn mensen als dat het uw mensen zijn. Daar wil ik zo zorgvuldig mogelijk mee omgaan. Wel moeten wij daar de goede weg voor bewandelen. Wij moeten eerst kennis nemen van de feiten, dan moeten wij proberen duidelijk te krijgen wat het verschil is tussen het onderzoek dat wij in het verleden gedaan hebben en dit resultaat. Ik zal de Kamer over alle stappen informeren die ik in deze zaak zet.

De heer Poppe (SP): Voorzitter.

De voorzitter: Dat is dan uw laatste interruptie.
**

De heer Poppe (SP): Er is net een discussie geweest in de Verenigde Naties, waarin 122 landen hebben ingestemd met een aantal punten rondom verarmd uranium en het onderzoek van de effecten en het gebruik van de bewapening. Waarom heeft Nederland daar tegen gestemd? U hebt dus kennelijk al een standpunt ingenomen.

Staatssecretaris Van der Knaap: Als het goed is, krijgt u daar ook schriftelijk antwoord op. Het gaat mij een beetje te snel om dit soort conclusies te trekken. Dat wil ik nog wel even bezien, ook op basis van een interne memo. Ik zal de Kamer daarover voor de begrotingsbehandeling schriftelijk informeren.

De heer Poppe (SP): Voorzitter, dat was geen interruptie, lijkt mij, als ik zo'n antwoord krijg.

De voorzitter: Nee, maar u stelde een extra vraag. De eerste keer herinnerde u eraan dat uw vraag niet beantwoord was, terwijl de staatssecretaris daar later op terug wilde komen. Dat heb ik niet als interruptie gerekend, maar wel uw vraag.
Bij de toezeggingen noteren wij dat de staatssecretaris voor het aanvang van de begrotingsbehandeling de Kamer schriftelijk informeert.

Zie: http://www.tweedekamer.nl/images/OSV008-0708_tcm118-140326.doc

'VERSLAG VAN EEN WETGEVINGSOVERLEG

De vaste commissie voor Defensie <1> heeft op 12 november 2007 overleg gevoerd met staatssecretaris Van der Knaap van Defensie over materieel.

Van het overleg brengt de commissie bijgaand stenografisch verslag uit.

De voorzitter van de vaste commissie voor Defensie,
Van Baalen

Mevrouw Van Velzen (SP): Verleden week vroegen wij opheldering over het stemgedrag van Nederland in de Algemene Vergadering van de VN over het gebruik van verarmd uranium. De staatssecretaris was hierdoor zichtbaar overvallen; er is een onderzoek ingesteld en hij zou erop terugkomen. Heeft hij inmiddels al wat duidelijkheid hierover? Waarom is er zo gestemd en is hij bereid om dit recht te zetten op de volgende Algemene Vergadering in december, als er opnieuw gestemd zal worden?

Mevrouw Eijsink (PvdA): Kortheidshalve sluit ik mij aan bij de vragen van mevrouw Van Velzen over verarmd uranium. Ik denk dat wij de discussie moeten aangaan over een breed verbod van verarmd uranium in munitie en legermaterieel.
Staatssecretaris Van der Knaap: Mevrouw Van Velzen heeft met name gevraagd naar het verarmd uranium en naar het gebruik van persoonsmijnen vanuit Engeland en Frankrijk. Dit is een vraag die niet mijn ministerie maar dat van Buitenlandse Zaken regardeert. Dat is degene die in internationaal verband hierover van gedachten wisselt. Over de vraag naar het verarmd uranium dient mevrouw Van Velzen dan ook met het ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken te communiceren. Dat is het ministerie dat op dat moment verantwoordelijk was voor de stemming namens de Nederlandse regering. Ten aanzien van de mijnen geldt precies hetzelfde.

Zie: http://www.tweedekamer.nl/images/OSV014-0708_tcm118-141452.doc

Den Haag,
16 november 2007

Aan de leden en plaatsvervangende leden van de vaste commissies voor:

Defensie

en

EZ

NAAZ

OCW

SZW

BUZA

Rondvraag
Er zal na het kerstreces een rondetafelgesprek worden gepland over het gebruik van verarmd uranium en de gezondheidseffecten daarvan.
De commissie vraagt het kabinet om een reactie op het Amnesty rapport ‘Afghanistan:Detainees transferred to torture: ISAF complicity?’ Reactie kabinet uiterlijk 29 november 2007.
Naar aanleiding van het recente besluit terzake van het Presidium besluit de commissie dat in de toekomst per procedurevergadering tot beslotenheid van de vergadering wordt besloten, tenzij op verzoek van één of meer Leden anders wordt beslist.

Zie: http://www.tweedekamer.nl/images/20071115_besluitenlijst_Defensie_tcm118-141903.doc

Een jaar geleden stelde de SP schriftelijke vragen over verarmd uranium. De beantwoording kunt u hier lezen:

De Voorzitter van de Tweede Kamer
Der Staten-Generaal
Plein 2
2511 CR Den Haag
Datum 4 oktober 2006
Ons kenmerk D2006032312
Onderwerp Antwoorden op vragen van het lid Van Velzen over munitie
met verarmd uranium
Ministerie van Defensie
Postbus 20701
2500 ES Den Haag
Telefoon (070) 318 81 88
Fax (070) 318 78 88

Zie: http://www.mindef.nl/binaries/Antwoorden_op_vragen_verarmd_uranium_tcm15-67486.pdf

Zie ook: http://www.the7thfire.com/Politics%20and%20History/Depleted-Uranium.htm

Klimaatverandering 121

'Top 100 Ways Global Warming Will Change Your Life

by Center for American Progress
AlterNet

Say Goodbye to French Wines. Wacky temperatures and rain cycles brought on
by global warming are threatening something very important: Wine. Scientists
believe global warming will "shift viticultural regions toward the poles,
cooler coastal zones and higher elevations". What that means in regular
language: Get ready to say bye-bye to French Bordeaux and hello to British
champagne. [LA Times]

Say Goodbye to Light and Dry Wines. Warmer temperatures mean grapes in
California and France develop their sugars too quickly, well before their
other flavors. As a result, growers are forced to either (a) leave the
grapes on the vines longer, which dramatically raises the alcoholic content
of the fruit or (b) pick the grapes too soon and make overly sweet wine that
tastes like jam. [Washington Post]

Say Goodbye to Pinot Noir. The reason you adore pinot noir is that it comes
from a notoriously temperamental thin-skinned grape that thrives in cool
climates. Warmer temperatures are already damaging the pinots from Oregon,
"baking away" the grape's berry flavors. [Bloomberg]

Say Goodbye to Baseball. The future of the ash tree - from which all
baseball bats are made - is in danger of disappearing, thanks to a
combination of killer beetles and global warming. [NY Times]

Say Goodbye to Christmas Trees. The Pine Bark Beetle, which feeds on and
kills pine trees, used to be held in control by cold winter temperatures.
Now the species is thriving and killing off entire forests in British
Columbia, unchecked. [Seattle Post Intelligencer]

Say Goodbye to the Beautiful Alaska Vacation. Warmer weather allowed Spruce
Bark Beetles to live longer, hardier lives in the forests of Kenai Peninsula
in Alaska, where they killed off a section of spruce forest the size of
Connecticut. [Alaska Science Forum]

Say Goodbye to Fly Fishing. As water temperatures continue to rise,
researchers say rainbow trout, "already at the southern limits" of their
temperature ranges in the Appalachian mountains, could disappear there over
the next century. [Softpedia]'

Lees verder: http://www.alternet.org/environment/63895/

Het Neoliberale Geloof 68

'Economic Expert Says Global Crash Imminent Echoes former world bank leader with prediction of global recession

''Economic Expert Says Global Crash Imminent''

A leading economic expert has warned that a global crash and recession is imminent on the back of record highs in real estate, stocks and energy, combined with a devaluation of the dollar and continued "speculative bubble thinking". Robert Shiller, the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Economics at Yale University told an audience at the annual Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Week that a sharp downward correction is due in the global markets.
Shiller stated:
"Perhaps we have gotten a little too confident in the global economic growth," said Shiller. "The problem is high oil, stock and real estate prices. I believe that a substantial part is speculative bubble thinking. We have gotten too confident of the prices in these markets,".
"The unwinding of these markets is the most serious risk facing these markets today," Shiller added.'

lEES VERDER: http://www.infowars.net/articles/november2007/201107Economic.htm

Oil 19

'Oil Officials See Limit Looming on Production
by Russell Gold and Ann Davis

Dow Jones Newswires

(From The Wall Street Journal via Dow Jones Newswires)
A growing number of oil-industry chieftains are endorsing an idea long deemed fringe: The world is approaching a practical limit to the number of barrels of crude oil that can be pumped every day.
Some predict that, despite the world's fast-growing thirst for oil, producers could hit that ceiling as soon as 2012. This rough limit -- which two senior industry officials recently pegged at about 100 million barrels a day -- is well short of global demand projections over the next few decades. Current production is about 85 million barrels a day.
The world certainly won't run out of oil anytime soon. And plenty of energy experts expect sky-high prices to hasten the development of alternative fuels and improve energy efficiency. But evidence is mounting that crude-oil production may plateau before those innovations arrive on a large scale. That could set the stage for a period marked by energy shortages, high prices and bare-knuckled competition for fuel.
The current debate represents a significant twist on an older, often-derided notion known as the peak-oil theory. Traditional peak-oil theorists, many of whom are industry outsiders or retired geologists, have argued that global oil production will soon peak and enter an irreversible decline because nearly half the available oil in the world has been pumped. They've been proved wrong so often that their theory has become debased.
The new adherents -- who range from senior Western oil-company executives to current and former officials of the major world exporting countries -- don't believe the global oil tank is at the half-empty point. But they share the belief that a global production ceiling is coming for other reasons: restricted access to oil fields, spiraling costs and increasingly complex oil-field geology. This will create a global production plateau, not a peak, they contend, with oil output remaining relatively constant rather than rising or falling.
The emergence of a production ceiling would mark a monumental shift in the energy world. Oil production has averaged a 2.3% annual growth rate since 1965, according to statistics compiled by British oil giant BP PLC. This expanding pool of oil, most of it priced cheaply by today's standards, fueled the post-World War II global economic expansion.'

Lees verder: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=53040

De Commerciele Massamedia 100

Media Lens analyseert:

'GUEST MEDIA ALERT: INVASION - A COMPARISON OF SOVIET AND WESTERN MEDIA PERFORMANCE - PART 2

By: Nikolai Lanine and Media Lens


Blaming ‘External Interference’

A striking feature of Soviet media performance on Afghanistan was its focus on “external interference” - primarily US in origin - and the role of this interference in fuelling the war.

In 1988, Pravda reported that Afghan president Najibula had criticised this ”interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan”. (Pravda, February 9, 1988) The newspaper failed to mention that the Soviet Union was itself guilty of illegal external “interference“. Instead, journalists blamed the West for ”pouring oil onto the fire of the Afghan conflict”. (Pravda, February 22, 1987) Ignoring the fact that much of the fighting in Afghanistan was in +response+ to the Soviet occupation, the media were also heavily critical of Iran and Pakistan.

Iran was criticised for “supporting the armed Islamic opposition” and for “sending its political emissaries and agents into the territory of Afghanistan”. (Spolnikov, 1990, pp.104-105) Russian journalist Andrei Greshnov, who worked as a TASS correspondent in Afghanistan for eight years in the 1980s, describes in his book “Afghanistan: Hostages of Time” (2006) how for several years, starting in the early 1980s, he was tasked with collecting information on Iranian Shia infiltration across the Afghan border near Herat. Iranian influence was very tangible in Western Afghanistan and widely confirmed by the testimony of Soviet soldiers interviewed (by Lanine) over the last 20 years.

We wonder how the Western media would have reacted if, in response to claims that Tehran had supported the Afghan insurgency and resisted their illegal invasion, Soviet officials had proposed bombing Iran. One can only guess at the level of Western outrage and horror at such a clear example of Soviet aggression, if an attack +had+ taken place. Presumably the press would never have tired of reminding us that the Soviets’ real goal in the region was control of oil.

The Soviet press also directed fierce criticism at Pakistan for training and aiding Afghan jihadis, and for providing “the bridgehead for an undeclared war against [Afghanistan]”. (Izvestiya, February 19, 1986) Readers were left with the impression that “external interference” and “terrorism” were the +only+ reasons for the continuing bloodshed, with Soviet troops acting in self-defence to bring “stability” to Afghanistan. In most reporting, the Soviet role in sustaining the conflict was not even a consideration.

The Soviet media heavily emphasised that weapons captured by Soviet and Afghan troops “were manufactured in the USA, UK, Italy, Iran, Pakistan”. (Izvestiya, July 7, 1987) These arms were “arriving from Iran [and] Pakistan” (Komsomolskaya Pravda, March 4, 1987), and “exploding and shooting in Afghanistan, killing children, women, soldiers...”. (Komsomolskaya Pravda, January 14, 1986)'

Lees verder: http://www.medialens.org/alerts/index.php

Oil 18

'Oil closes on $100 as Asia tumbles over US fears
November 21, 2007

The price of fuel has reached a record high while the Nikkei and Hang
Seng indices plummet over the worsening US economy
Dearbail Jordan

Oil prices nudged $100 a barrel today after surging to a record high
as Asian markets plunged on the back of the weakening dollar and the
deteriorating American economy.

US light crude rose to $99.29 a barrel, a 39 per cent rise in the
price of fuel since the end of August, while London Brent crude rose
50 cents to $95.99 as traders reacted to the prospect of tightening
oil supplies in colder weather.

Gold opened up, from $793 to $804.75 an ounce.

Opec, the 13-country cartel responsible for producing 40 per cent of
the world’s oil, will discuss increasing fuel supplies next month.

However, the price of oil reacted against Opec’s discussions at a
weekend summit meeting in Riyadh, that fuel should be priced in
currencies other than the dollar.

The dollar has weakened today to $1.4841 against the euro and to
109.97 yen, sending the Japanese Nikkei 225 average down 2.5 per
cent, or 373.86, to 14,837.66 points.

The Hang Seng index, in Hong Kong, also fell sharply, down 3.89 per
cent, or 1,079.75 points, to 26,691.46.

Last night the US Federal Reserve cut its forecast for growth of the
American economy from between 2.5 per cent and 2.75 per cent to a
range of 1.8 per cent and 2.5 per cent.

The Fed revealed the change from its June forecast in the minutes
from its meeting when the Federal Open Markets Committee voted for a
quarter-point cut to the US interest rate to 4.5 per cent.'

Lees verder: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/article2912816.ece

Opdracht I. Waarom staat deze foto van Bush hierboven? De inzender van het goede antwoord wordt beloond met een chocoladeletter.

Het Israelisch Expansionisme 56

Van joods-Israelische activisten, die de moed hebben hun mond open te doen:

'From: Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, Action Advocacy Officer

"We’ll make a pastrami sandwich of them. We’ll insert a strip of Jewish settlements in between the Palestinians, and then another strip of Jewish settlements right across the West Bank, so that in 25 years, neither the United Nations, nor the U.S.A, nobody, will be able to tear it apart.” Ariel Sharon to Winston S. Churchill III in 1973.

Watch ActiveStills/ICAHD photo exhibition Jerusalem Dispossessed: http://www.activestills.org/jerusalem/jerusalem.html Read NOWHERE LEFT TO GO about Jahalin Bedouin forced displacement: http://www.icahd.org/eng/articles.asp?menu=6&submenu=2&article=411 Watch DEIR YASSIN REMEMBERED: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=341600202419569830&hl=en
LAST WEDNESDAY FORUMT he Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD),together with its outreach center Daila invite you to their next English-language monthly lecture and discussion series in the “Last Wednesday Forum.” The forum is intended to strengthen the dialogue between representatives of the international community and important voices within the critical peace and human rights community in Israel – voices of Israeli NGOs, activist groups and academics seldom heard in official dialogue. The lecture/discussion will be held at the Daila Center on Wednesday, 28th November, at 7:30 PM. Meron Benvenisti, Israeli political scientist and journalist, who was Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, will conduct a wide-ranging discussion around the theme:
"Annapolis: Demise of the Two-State Solution?"
Meron Benvenisti's unflinching analyses often cause squirming both on the Right and the Left. He served as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem in the 1970's, administering the city's annexed Palestinian sectors. In the 1980's, before the First Intifada, he founded and directed the West Bank Data Project, an eye-opener with regard to the effects of Israel's policies. His most controversial conclusion was that these policies amounted to de facto annexation. He claimed that because of the settlements (then a mere smattering compared to today), the situation had become irreversible.His books include Jerusalem: The Torn City (1977); Conflicts and Contradictions: Israel, the Arabs and the West Bank (1986); Intimate Enemies: Jews and Arabs in a Shared Land (1995); City of Stone: The Hidden History of Jerusalem (1996); and Sacred Landscape: The Buried History of the Holy Land since 1948 (2000). He is a regular contributor of opinion pieces to Haaretz newspaper.The Daila Center is located at Shlomzion Hamalka Street 4, opposite the Ministry of Interior in West Jerusalem. Donations at the door are welcome. For more information, please contact Lucia Pizarro: 02-6245560/052-5995959. ______________________________Israel Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)PO Box Jerusalem, Israelwww.icahd.orgemail: info@icahd.org

Your support is always appreciated.Please go to our website to make a secure online donation.'

Verarmd Uranium 12

Vanochtend kreeg ik deze email op mijn vraag aan onder andere Groen Links of de partij het standpunt van de Nederlandse regering deelt dat er geen onderzoek moet komen naar Verarmd Uranium wapens:

'Beste Stan,
Nee afschuwelijk, natuurlijk steunen wij dit niet. Nav o.a. deze ontwikkeling organiseert de kamer nu eerst een eigen hoorzitting over de effecten van het gebruik van verarmd uranium. Wat ons betreft is dat de opmaat voor een stevig debat met de regering daarover.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Mariko Peters Tweede Kamer-lid GroenLinks Woordvoerder Buitenlandse zaken, Europese zaken, Defensie groenlinks@tweedekamer. nl tel. 070-318 2677'

Van de andere politici heb ik nog geen antwoord ontvangen. De SGP wacht af wat de rest van de wereld van deze duivelse wapens vindt. Kennelijk verdwijnt de eigen christelijke moraal als sneeuw voor de zon zodra het de NAVO niet uitkomt. Of misschien is dit wel de christelijke moraal. Enfin, leest u hun reactie maar:

'Deze discussie moet in internationaal verband worden gevoerd. Het geeft geen zin voor Nederland om hier een geïsoleerde koers te varen. Binnen de EU en binnen de Navo bestaat onvoldoende draagvlak voor een internationaal verbod op dergelijke munitie. Defensie volgt heel zorgvuldig alle mogelijke informatie over gezondheidseffecten van deze munitie. Op basis van deze informatie is er geen reden voor Nederland om een ander standpunt in te nemen dan het huidige. De SGP steunt deze lijn.

Janie de Jong, secr. SGP-fractie Tweede Kamer'

En van zapcoat ontving ik deze reactie:

zapcoat (zaplog nick) heeft een nieuwe reactie op uw bericht "Verarmd Uranium 11" achtergelaten:

Op zaterdag 10 nov. schreef ik dat doordringen van het stemgedrag in de VN tot de kamer en vervolgens de mainstreammedia nog toe aan een aangekondigde e-mailactie naar kamerleden zoveel dagen eerder op het zaplog naar aanleiding van een blogitem op 5 november hierover van mij. Of deze e-mailactie daadwerkelijk de doorslag gegeven heeft om vragen te stellen weet ik echter niet.

http://zaplog.nl/zaplog/article/radio_actieve_besmetting/zapcoathttp://zaplog.nl/zaplog/article/

nederland_stemt_voor_massavernietigingswapens#n4456 '

Verarmd Uranium 11

Een slachtoffertje van Verarmd Uranium Munitie. Zie: http://thecedarsoflebanonweep.com/

Ik kreeg net deze email:

'Vanavond gaat de minister van Defensie reageren op een SP-motie over dit onderwerp. We wachten zijn reactie af.
Met vriendelijke groet,
Janie de Jong, secr. SGP-fractie Tweede Kamer'

Ik heb deze email terug gestuurd:

'Dank u mevrouw De Jong. Betekent dit dat de SGP nog steeds geen standpunt heeft ingenomen over het massaal gebruik van verarmd uranium munitie? zo ja, waarom niet? Zo nee, wat is het standpunt op dit moment? Ik vraag dit omdat het gebruik van deze wapens talloze misgeboortes veroorzaakt, zoals uit uitgebreide documentatie blijkt.
vriendelijke groet
stan van houcke'


En dit bericht heb ik van de website van Krista van Velzen van de SP gehaald:

'Nederland heeft in de VN algemene vergadering geprobeerd het agenderen van een discussie over het gebruik van verarmd uranium te blokkeren. Onbegrijpelijk, zeker gezien de eerdere reactie van het ministerie van defensie toen bleek dat de Italiaanse regering over is gegaan tot het uitbetalen van een soort schadevergoeding aan getroffen militairen..
Kamer wil opheldering van kabinet over uraniumzaterdag 10 november 2007 10:45
(Novum) - De Tweede Kamer wil opheldering van het kabinet over zijn standpunt ten aanzien van verarmd uranium. In New York stemde Nederland deze week tegen een voorstel om binnen VN-verband te spreken over het gebruik van verarmd uranium in wapens. Het CDA, de PvdA en de SP geven zaterdag aan uitleg van het kabinet te willen.
Zes landen zouden tegen de resolutie hebben gestemd, en 122 landen voor. Onder de tegenstemmers waren de Verenigde Staten en Israël. CDA-Kamerlid Karien van Gennip zei zaterdag in het Radio 1 Journaal te willen weten ‘wat de overwegingen waren om tegen de resolutie te stemmen’. Ook PvdA-Kamerlid Martijn van Dam en SP’er Krista van Velzen willen opheldering.
Verarmd uranium is een zwaar metaal. Het is gevaarlijk wanneer het wordt ingeademd of via wonden in het lichaam terechtkomt. Blootstelling aan de radioactieve stof zou kunnen leiden tot kanker. Munitie met verarmd uranium is niet verboden.'

Zie: http://kristavanvelzen.sp.nl/weblog/2007/11/11/nederland-tegen-vn-discussie-over-verarmd-uranium/

Zie ook: http://www.cadu.org.uk/

Verarmd Uranium 10

Slachtoffertje van Verarmd Uranium Munitie.

Ik heb net deze email verstuurd:

'g.wilders@tweedekamer.nl'; 'cda@tweedekamer.nl'; 'J.Tichelaar@tweedekamer.nl'; 'Jan@janmarijnissen.nl'; 'm.rutte@tweedekamer.nl'; 'F.Halsema@tweedekamer.nl'; 'A.Slob@tweedekamer.nl'; 'B.vdVlies@tweedekamer.nl'; 'r.verdonk@tweedekamer.nl'

Geacht Kamerlid,

Zoals u hieronder kunt lezen heeft Nederland in de Verenigde Naties tegen een resolutie gestemd waarvan de strekking was: The resolution urges UN member states to re-examine the health hazards posed by the use of uranium weapons. In verband met het schrijven van een artikel hierover is mijn vraag aan u: Steunt uw partij het standpunt van Nederland? Zo ja, waarom? Zo nee, waarom niet?
In afwachting van uw antwoord,
met vriendelijke groet
Stan van Houcke
Journalist

UN First Committee Passes DU Resolution in Landslide Vote

UN First Committee Passes DU Resolution in Landslide Vote
Late last night the UN First Committee passed, by an overwhelming majority, a resolution highlighting concerns over the military use of uranium.
1 November 2007 - ICBUW
The resolution entitled ‘Effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium’ was passed by 122 votes to six at the UN First Committee in New York; with 35 abstentions. The resolution urges UN member states to re-examine the health hazards posed by the use of uranium weapons.The resolution was drafted by the Movement of Non Aligned States and submitted by Indonesia. It requests that states and international bodies submit a report on DU to the UN General Assembly during next year’s session; depleted uranium weapons will also feature on the Assembly’s agenda. A second vote confirming the resolution will take place early next year.“This is a good result for our campaign,” said ICBUW Coordinator Doug Weir. “States around the world are no longer content to accept the claims by the users of these weapon systems that exposure to uranium dust is not linked to ill health. The last few years have seen great advances in our understanding of the health hazards posed by depleted uranium and it’s high time that the international standards caught up with this research.”The vote comes after a year of intense campaigning by ICBUW and its member organisations, and follows calls by the European Parliament for a ban. In March this year, Belgium became the first country in the world to introduce a domestic ban on the use of uranium in all conventional weapon systems. The decision by Brussels to take this step sent a clear message to all NATO members and users of uranium weapons that the continued use of chemically toxic and radioactive weapon systems is incompatible with international humanitarian legal standards.How the voting went:For: 122 countries (including Japan)Against: 6 countries (US, UK, France, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Israel)Abstentions: 35 countries
‘Effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium’ A/C.1/62/L.18/Rev.1
Full text (select your language of choice):http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/C.1/62/L.18/rev.1Full list of voters:
Vote on Use of Depleted Uranium in ArmamentsThe draft resolution on the effects of the use of armaments andammunition containing depleted uranium (document A/C.1/62/L.18/Rev.1)was approved by a recorded vote of 122 in favour to 6 against, with 35abstentions, as follows:In favour: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, BruneiDarussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Comoros,Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, ElSalvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea,Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy,Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic,Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Malawi,Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius,Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia,Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan,Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, SaintLucia, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone,Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia,Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania,Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.Against: Czech Republic, France, Israel, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States.Abstain: Albania, Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia,Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary,Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova,Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, RussianFederation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The formerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine.Absent: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, EquatorialGuinea, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan,Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Palau, Rwanda, Saint Kitts andNevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe,Seychelles, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu,Uganda, Vanuatu.
Zie: http://www.abdolian.com/thoughts/?p=1405

Mijn verzoek aan u is dit bericht te copieren, zonder mijn naam natuurlijk, en namens uzelf de vraag stellen aan de hierboven vermelde kamerleden en fracties. Ik ben zo benieuwd wie namens wie heeft beslist dat verarmd uranium munitie niet onderzocht moet worden. Zelfs onderzoeken mag niet van de Nederlandse regering. Waarom niet? En welk debat is hieraan vooraf gegaan? En waarom wisten wij burgers hier niets van? Waarom is dit niet uitgebreid ter sprake geweest in de Nederlandse commerciele massamedia? Het gaat niet eens om een verbod.
Deze landen stemden tegen: Czech Republic, France, Israel, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States. Dat Frankrijk, het Verenigd Koninkrijk, de Verenigde Staten en natuurlijk Israel tegen zijn is duidelijk, zij gebruiken deze terreurwapens op grote schaal zodra het hen uitkomt. De Tsjechen volgden vroeger de Russen, nu de Amerikanen, dus daar is niets geks aan, die Oostbloklanden hebben nog steeds iets totalitairs. Maar Nederland. Wij zijn altijd bijzonder Atlantisch gericht geweest, en altijd voor de hoofdaap gestemd, want daar verdienen we het meest mee, maar hoe zit het met de diepgelovige christenen in het kabinet en de overtuigde sociaal-democraten, waarom zijn die voor? En waarom zijn ze er zo stil over? Waarschijnlijk geeft deze foto antwoord. Deze terreur wordt door de Nederlandse regering gesteund!

Zie ook: http://thecedarsoflebanonweep.com/

P.S. De Partij voor de Dieren kunt u niet via het parlement bereiken, maar hier: http://www.partijvoordedieren.nl/content/view/209

Kijkt u eens goed naar de lijst van voorstemmers. Daar staat ook een land als Iran bij, de axis of evil, het gedraagt zich in elk geval beschaafder dan de Nederlandse regering. Zie ook: http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/

Nederland en Afghanistan 150

We are in the process of destroying an entire society. It is as simple and terrifying as that. It is illegal and immoral". - Denis Halliday, former UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, October 1998

Vanaf 1990 weten onze politici van de kwalijke effecten van verarmd uranium en al die jaren heeft de overgrote meerderheid er niets tegen gedaan.

Van Poplar kreeg ik dit bericht gemaild:

Poplar heeft een nieuwe reactie op uw bericht "Verarmd Uranium 9" achtergelaten:

'Ik ben eigenlijk vergeten of je wel gehoord hebt dat de Nederlandse vertegenwoordiger (als een van de weinigen) bij de VN tegen een voornemen heeft gestemd om de effecten van verarmd uranium uit te zoeken. Nota Bene een CDA parlemntslid heeft hierover eenvraaggesteld aande regering."Iraq wants to turn the First Committee's attention to the use of depleted uranium (DU) in armaments. Its resolution, "Sub-item on the effects of the use of depleted uranium in armaments" (A/C.1/56/L.8), refers to "the facts that have come to light on the use of [DU] shells in military operations during recent years" and requests the Secretary-General to seek views on "all aspects of the effects of the use of depleted uranium in armaments and to submit a report" on the findings to the next session of the UN General Assembly." (zie http://www.acronym.org.uk/un/un02.htm )
tekst van de resolutie"Effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium The General Assembly, Guided by the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the rules of humanitarian international law, Determined to promote multilateralism as an essential means to carry forward negotiations on arms regulation and disarmament, Convinced that as humankind is more aware of the need to take immediate measures to protect the environment, any event that could jeopardize such efforts requires urgent attention to implement the required measures, Taking into consideration the potential harmful effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium on human health and the environment, 1. Requests the Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States and relevant international organizations on the effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium, and to submit a report on this subject to the General Assembly at its sixty-third session; 2. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-third session the item entitled “Effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium”. "(via link hier http://www.abdolian.com/thoughts/?p=1405 te vinden)

Misschien kan Joost Lagendijk als europarlementarier van Groen Links dit eens onderzoeken. Hij is volgenms eigen zeggen links en ook nog groen, wat wil hij nog meer, hier worden arme mensen het slachtoffer van een grootschalige en langdurige milieuvernietiging. Stel hem die vraag: jlagendijk@europarl.eu.int Bestook hem met vragen. Of misschien kunnen de Groen Links dames in het parlement hier eens vragen over stellen. Je weet maar nooit. Ze zitten er toch niet voor spek en bonen of alleen maar voor Hirsi Magan/Ali wanneer die weer eens zonder bewakers komt te zitten.

Een video over depleted uranium is hier te zien: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17eno_du-part-1

Nederland en Afghanistan 149

Depleted Uranium victim in Afghanistan:

Deze terreur wordt stilzwijgend gesteund door de Nederlandse regering.

Hoewel voor Groen Links europarlementarier Joost Lagendijk een stem tegen de oorlog in Afghanistan 'SP-retoriek' is, was de onderstaande informatie al in maart 2002 in Le Monde Diplomatique te lezen, 5 1/2 jaar geleden:

'America’s big dirty secret
The United States loudly and proudly boasted this month of its new bomb currently being used against al-Qaida hold-outs in Afghanistan; it sucks the air from underground installations, suffocating those within. The US has also admitted that it has used depleted uranium weaponry over the last decade against bunkers in Iraq, Kosovo, and now Afghanistan.
By Robert James Parsons

"The immediate concern for medical professionals and employees of aid organisations remains the threat of extensive depleted uranium (DU) contamination in Afghanistan." This is one of the conclusions of a 130-page report, Mystery Metal Nightmare in Afghanistan? (1), by Dai Williams, an independent researcher and occupational psychologist. It is the result of more than a year of research into DU and its effects on those exposed to it.
Using internet sites of both NGOs (2) and arms manufacturers, Williams has come up with information that he has cross-checked and compared with weapons that the Pentagon has reported — indeed boasted about — using during the war. What emerges is a startling and frightening vision of war, both in Afghanistan and in the future.
Since 1997 the United States has been modifying and upgrading its missiles and guided (smart) bombs. Prototypes of these bombs were tested in the Kosovo mountains in 1999, but a far greater range has been tested in Afghanistan. The upgrade involves replacing a conventional warhead by a heavy, dense metal one (3). Calculating the volume and the weight of this mystery metal leads to two possible conclusions: it is either tungsten or depleted uranium.
Tungsten poses problems. Its melting point (3,422°C) makes it very hard to work; it is expensive; it is produced mostly by China; and it does not burn. DU is pyrophoric, burning on impact or if it is ignited, with a melting point of 1,132°C; it is much easier to process; and as nuclear waste, it is available free to arms manufacturers. Further, using it in a range of weapons significantly reduces the US nuclear waste storage problem.
This type of weapon can penetrate many metres of reinforced concrete or rock in seconds. It is equipped with a detonator controlled by a computer that measures the density of the material passed through and, when the warhead reaches the targeted void or a set depth, detonates the warhead, which then has an explosive and incendiary effect. The DU burns fiercely and rapidly, carbonising everything in the void, while the DU itself is transformed into a fine uranium oxide powder. Although only 30% of the DU of a 30mm penetrator round is oxidised, the DU charge of a missile oxidises 100%. Most of the dust particles produced measure less than 1.5 microns, small enough to be breathed in.
For a few researchers in this area, the controversy over the use of DU weapons during the Kosovo war got side-tracked. Instead of asking what weapons might have been used against most of the targets (underground mountain bunkers) acknowledged by Nato, discussion focused on 30mm anti-tank penetrator rounds, which Nato had admitted using but which would have been ineffective against superhardened underground installations.

Lees verder: http://mondediplo.com/2002/03/03uranium

'Depleted Uranium - Far Worse Than 9/11
Depleted Uranium Dust - Public Health Disaster For The People Of Iraq and Afghanistan

by Doug Westerman

Global Research, May 3, 2006
Vital Truths and Information Clearing House

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In 1979, depleted uranium (DU) particles escaped from the National Lead Industries factory near Albany, N.Y.,which was manufacturing DU weapons for the U.S military. The particles traveled 26 miles and were discovered in a laboratory filter by Dr. Leonard Dietz, a nuclear physicist. This discovery led to a shut down of the factory in 1980, for releasing morethan 0.85 pounds of DU dust into the atmosphere every month, and involved a cleanup of contaminated properties costing over 100 million dollars. Imagine a far worse scenario. Terrorists acquire a million pounds of the deadly dust and scatter it in populated areas throughout the U.S. Hundreds of children report symptoms. Many acquire cancer and leukemia, suffering an early and painful death. Huge increases in severe birth defects are reported. Oncologists are overwhelmed. Soccer fields, sand lots and parks, traditional play areas for kids, are no longer safe. People lose their most basic freedom, the ability to go outside and safely breathe. Sounds worse than 9/11? Welcome to Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Jawad Al-Ali (55), director of the Oncology Center at the largest hospital in Basra, Iraq stated, at a recent ( 2003) conference in Japan:
"Two strange phenomena have come about in Basra which I have never seen before. The first is double and triple cancers in one patient. For example, leukemia and cancer of the stomach. We had one patient with 2 cancers - one in his stomach and kidney. Months later, primary cancer was developing in his other kidney--he had three different cancer types. The second is the clustering of cancer in families. We have 58 families here with more than one person affected by cancer. Dr Yasin, a general Surgeon here has two uncles, a sister and cousin affected with cancer. Dr Mazen, another specialist, has six family members suffering from cancer. My wife has nine members of her family with cancer".
"Children in particular are susceptible to DU poisoning. They have a much higher absorption rate as their blood is being used to build and nourish their bones and they have a lot of soft tissues. Bone cancer and leukemia used to be diseases affecting them the most, however, cancer of the lymph system which can develop anywhere on the body, and has rarely been seen before the age of 12 is now also common.",
"We were accused of spreading propaganda for Saddam before the war. When I have gone to do talks I have had people accuse me of being pro-Saddam. Sometimes I feel afraid to even talk. Regime people have been stealing my data and calling it their own, and using it for their own agendas. The Kuwaitis banned me from entering Kuwait - we were accused of being Saddam supporters."
John Hanchette, a journalism professor at St. Bonaventure University, and one of the founding editors of USA TODAY related the following to DU researcher Leuren Moret. He stated that he had prepared news breaking stories about the effects of DU on Gulf War soldiers and Iraqi citizens, but that each time he was ready to publish, he received a phone call from the Pentagon asking him not to print the story. He has since been replaced as editor of USA TODAY.'

Lees verder: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20060503&articleId=2374

'RENSE.COM
Perpetual Death From America
By Mohammed Daud Miraki, MA, MA, PhD Afghan-American Freelance Academic Mdmiraki@ameritech.net2-24-3

"If they had killed us once, it would not be so bad. But what the Americans have brought upon us is not only depriving us but our future generations of our basic god given human right, the right to live. They will be killing us for generations to come" (An Afghan Victim of US-UK bombing)
In Afghanistan, elders used to cite an ancient saying "we are made for death and death is made for us" to point to the inescapable reality of facing death sooner or later. However, when this natural phenomenon changes form from its natural course to one tailored by humans, it becomes a tool of life deprivation. This tailored and forced deprivation of life on millions of people took a form of its own when used for cleansing generations of people of their basic human right, their right to live. Specifically, for millions in Afghanistan, their natural course of life and death took a sharp turn when US-UK military used uranium based weapons. This violation of immense proportion transformed the natural process of birth, growth and death into the inescapable horrors of perpetual death.
Perpetual death is characterized by continuous murder of people of a community, state or nation. It takes several forms. It could be exercised by conventional means of imposing war and destruction on people. The Russians have institutionalized this horror in Afghanistan by its invasion of the country in 1979 and sustained perpetual death there by planting millions of mines scattered all over country. The United States government also shares this responsibility after it abandoned the Afghans, leaving them to death and despair and refused to help them by clearing the millions of mines left behind after the Sovietsí retreat. These mines have been maiming and killing Afghans daily since the early 1980s.
However, the form that is exercised currently is the indiscriminate use of the Weapons of Mass Destruction, namely the usage of uranium based weapons. This mode of the perpetual death lives up to its name because it continues to foster deaths of thousands silently and indiscriminately. In fact, the usage of the Weapons of Mass Destruction alters the texture of the ecosystem wherein the victims reside. This ultimately condemns the people living there and future generations to death, and deprives them of their fundamental human right, the right to live.
The perpetrators of this horrible crime are the governments of the United States and that of the United Kingdom. The US and the UK are the only two countries used these horrible weapons indiscriminately in Iraq during the Gulf War and Balkans in the 1990s and in Afghanistan from October 7th, 2001 onward. Meanwhile, based on past experiences with victims of the US-UK bombing in Iraq and the Balkans, every informed source suspected to have similar situation in Afghanistan. Tragically, the US-UK armed forces have used three times more uranium based weapons in Afghanistan than they did in Iraq or in the Balkans. In fact, the types of Weapons of Mass Destruction used in Afghanistan are more potent than those used in Iraq.

This became evident with the recent report by the Uranium Medical Research Center (UMRC), establishing the presence of a mysterious metal in Afghan soil samples and urine samples of victims. The investigation carried out by the two teams of experts, one concentrated on the city of Jalal Abad while the other on the capital Kabul. The two teams gathered data and established the use of uranium-based weapons there. They discovered symptoms in population of illnesses associated with exposure to depleted uranium contamination similar to that in Iraq and Balkans. This added to the curiosity of the investigators and collected soil samples from impact sites to investigate them here in the US. The investigators were also surprised to find high concentration of uranium in the urine of subjects from Jala Abad. In fact, the level of uranium was 400% to 2000%, the highest level of uranium ever recorded in civilian population. Incidentally, the uranium discovered in the urine samples from subjects in Jala-Abad exhibited characteristics more potent than depleted uranium. The report said the following in regards to the impact of the uranium-based weapons:
"Dr. Asaf Durakovic, a professor of nuclear medicine and radiology and a former science adviser to the US military, who set-up the independent UMRC, has been testing US, British, and Canadian troops and civilians for DU and uranium poisoning over the past few years. His findings confirm significant amounts in the subjects' urine as much as nine years after exposure."
The above quote points to the perpetual death imposed on population of any country where the USA and the UK had used uranium-based weapons.
"Durakovic and his team have searched for possible alternative causes, such as geological or industrial sources, or the likelihood of Al Qaeda having uranium reserves. But the uranium found is not consistent with the "dirty bomb" scenario proposed by the US (in which stores of radioactive materials might explain the findings), nor is it connected to DU, or an enriched uranium-type dust that has been found in Iraq and Kosova."
In Iraq, it took up to five years to have any significant effects of exposure to depleted uranium, however, in Afghanistan only after one year, the UMRC research group suspects that 25% of newly born show symptoms of exposure to uranium weapons. The latter factors further strengthen the hypothesis of the UMRC that the US-UK militaries are using uranium ore in their weapons in order to increase its destructive capability. The usage of uranium ore also makes it difficult to trace these weapons to the US-UK militaries and creates a distortion as if the uranium had come from the local uranium deposits. The conclusion of the report was:
"However, marked differences between natural uranium and the uranium used in the metal fragments found in Afghanistan was uncovered with the use of an electron microscope, which revealed the presence of small ceramic particles produced by the high temperatures created on impact. This method of disguising uranium would benefit governments that are under pressure from the growing anti-DU lobby."

"The only conclusion is that the allied forces are now possibly using milled uranium ore in their warheads to maximise [sic] the effectiveness and strength of their weapons, as well as to mask the uranium, hoping that it may be discounted as part of any local natural deposits."

The destructive effects of the uranium-based weapons became evident in the beginning of the bombardments in Afghanistan, when Reuters reported that people died from minor injuries. Public Health Minister Mullah Abbas said:
"Our findings prove that this is true. These bombardments have radioactive rays and chemical materials that also cause cancer." (Reuters, October 29, 2001)
The news report continued with quotes that further added credibility to the claims of many that the US and the UK had used uranium-based weapons in Afghanistan. Dr. Wazir a surgeon at Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital had said the following amidst the bombardments: "We have some patients with superficial injuries with symptoms of chemical weapons." (Reuters, October 29, 2001)
According to Dr. Wazir a 10 years old boy, who had superficial injuries died from respiratory problems after the bombing, while another individual, a 50 years old woman also died from minor injuries. The doctor continues by citing three of his other patients-two girls aged 12 and 15 and a boy aged 15-who had only sustained superficial injuries from the US bombings, died hours later from breathing difficulties and internal bleeding. Dr. Wazir continued:
"These are only three examples. There have been other cases where we suspect chemical weapons have been used. Most of the victims have had respiratory problems and internal bleeding for which there is no apparent cause." (Khalifa.com, October 30, 2001)
At the fighting front north of Kabul, where Taliban forces were pounded night and day, many dead Taliban soldiers had no visible injuries except blood flowing out of their mouths, internal bleeding consistent with uranium based and chemical weapons. Furthermore, many dead Taliban soldiers had severe discoloration of the skin, orange, without being burned, while others had their rifles melted in their hands. This aroused suspicion among Taliban and others that weapons used by the US-UK military were not conventional weapons. Many Taliban soldiers that survived the bombing in the north have died after returning to their native villages in the south and southeast of the country. They had no physical injury upon their death, however, died from internal bleeding and other bizarre symptoms including uncontrolled vomiting, diarrhea, and blood loss in urine and stool. Their families were shocked with disbelieves.

Another bizarre, yet tragic scene was reported near Rish-Khor military base in Kabul. Multiple witnesses reported seeing dead birds on tree branches with blood coming out of their mouths. As one witness put it:
"We were amazed to see all these birds sitting quietly on [tree] branches; but when we shook the tree the birds fell down and we saw blood coming out of their mouths. Then we climbed the trees to see those that were still stuck on tree branches, all of them had bled from their mouths. Two of the birds appeared to be partly melted into the trees branches."

These various claims by witnesses of the US-UK bombing amply establishes that Weapon of Mass Destruction have been used. Amidst the nonstop bombing, Taliban Public Health Minister Mullah Mohammad Abbas had expressed concerns about the utility of depleted uranium by the US in Afghanistan. The Minister was anxious about the long-term contamination of large areas in Afghanistan. He was aware of the US indifference to the well being of people in other regions and said: "They used uranium in Kosovo and our concern is that they will do the same thing in Afghanistan."

According to Dai Williams, independent DU researcher, there has been 50 to 100 times greater health hazard in Afghanistan than had been in Balkans from the usage of uranium based weaponsódepleted uranium, dirty uranium and uranium ore. As pointed out above, the efforts of UMRC to expose the so-called mystery metal used in the bombing in Afghanistan strengthened by the efforts of other researchers aimed to explore the ongoing ëAfghan War Syndromeí similar to the ëGulf War Syndromeí, which has caused horrific congenital deformities in Iraq. According to the Washington based Center for Defense Information, several hundred tones of weaponsósmart bombs and cruise missilesóenriched with the so-called mystery metal aimed for hard targets such as caves, bunkers and command and control installations were used in Afghanistan. The problem becomes more severe when one compares, the hard target weapons used in Afghanistan to the ones used in Balkans. Dai Williams compares the weapons, namely hard target weapon in Afghanistan to that in Balkans as follows:
"The mystery metal is 50-75% of the weight of the bombs - up to 1.5 tons in the GBU-37 Bunker Buster bombs. If this is DU then target zones will be 50-100x more contaminated than by the pencil-sized 30 mm (0.27 kg) anti-tank shells used in the Balkans War, and more like the DU ammunition fire in the Gulf War. DU oxide is known to travel up to 25 miles by wind so large areas may be affected by each bomb."
What this translates into is more deaths, morphological changes in people, congenital deformities and various types of cancers. In this tragedy, an intertwined horrifically fatal relationship emerges between the individual and his/her environment. Since Afghans, as other people worldwide, live in their respective localities, where they have lived from childhood on, are forced to make painful choices. On the one hand, they do not want to leave their villages and cities because those are their homes. On the other, hand, they can not remain there out of concerns for the safety of their families from uranium poisons as well as further bombings. Tragically, they have no choice and no place to go. Even if they could, for the overwhelming majority it is too late because uranium dust has already determined their fate, diseases and inevitable death.
In their attempts to "smoke-out" the Taliban and Al Qaida, the US has bombed these ancient tunnels and caves that villagers throughout Afghanistan have been using for water supply. This not only worsened the existing situation characterized by drought and lack of water, but it also permanently destroyed the ecological centers in east, southeast and southwestern Afghanistan, and created a perpetual source of disease and death for populations living in those areas. According to Fred Pearceís article ëdying of Thirstí in the New Scientist, November 17, 2001, the US military bombed the kajaki dam, which waters land in southwestern Afghanistan that supports over 1 million people. In the same article, Fred Pearce articulates the following:
"Afghanistan, which is in the third year of an unprecedented drought, relies on a mixture of ancient and modern water-supply systems. As well as relying on the Kajaki dam, the south of the country is peppered with hundreds of water-supply tunnels, often running for tens of kilometres [sic] into hillsides to tap water reserves deep underground. The tunnels, known in Pashto as karez, are now a [sic] target for American warplanes. Military strategists claim that bin Laden and Taliban troops may now be hiding out in the karez, many of which are wide enough to accommodate companies of men. They say the karez made impenetrable hideouts for the mujahedin during their guerrilla war with Soviet occupiers in the 1980s."
Therefore, the traditional systems of water, Karez system of tunnels, whereupon thousands in Afghan countryside rely, have been permanently tailored to serve as sources of perpetual death for locals living there.

The following photos are reminders of the US-UK murderous legacy of perpetual death experienced in Iraq but now in Afghanistan'


Zie voor u zelf op de website hieronder.


'These beleaguered souls are probably dead due to depleted uranium dust. If they are alive, they will most likely die from dreadful diseases. This is one example among thousands in the tragedy of perpetual deaths imposed on the poor and gallant people of Afghanistan I wish to conclude with the following quote from one of the victims of US-UK bombing in Afghanistan:
"Tell the Americans, they kill us to sustain your way of life, when they enjoy living, they better think about the 15 members of my family. Tell them that they are guilty. Only if they had conscience, they would know that they are as guilty as their government."

Mohammed Daud Miraki, MA, MA, PhD
Freelance Academic
Afghan-American Interviews, December 2002'

Zie: http://www.rense.com/general35/perp.htm

Mail Joost Lagendijk en vraag hem waaruit blijkt dat de SP retoriek gebruikt in hun verzet tegen de oorlog in Afghanistan. jlagendijk@europarl.eu.int

Voor de goede orde, ik ben geen lid van de SP, ben nooit lid geweest van welke politieke partij dan ook. Ik ben namelijk een onafhankelijke journalist, die politici per definitie wantrouwt. Ik zag vandaag op de voorpagina van de Telegraaf een foto van de Tweede Kamer waarin alle aanwezige parlementsleden staande de dood van de parlementair journalist Kees Lunshof herdachten. Een erger brevet van onvermogen is ondenkbaar. Denkt u dat de Amerikaanse Senaat collectief opstaat als Sy Hersh overlijdt. Geen sprake van. Ze zullen dolgelukkig zijn dat hij in zijn graf lig. En zo hoort het ook. Journalisten dienen niet door de macht geeerd te worden, maar gehaat. Anders heeft hij zijn werk niet goed gedaan. Zoiets kan ook alleen maar in Nederland, met zijn corrupte poldermodel. Desgevraagd zei premier Jan Peter Balkenende (CDA): "Kees Lunshof was een icoon van de parlementaire journalistiek.' Dat was de genadeslag.

Dit schreef Kees Hammink op het Forum van Groen Links:

'Groen Links andermaal voor de inzet van soldaten ! 2e kamer fractie ga u schamen !!!!!!!!!!!!!Wat een teleurstellende slap standpunt in de notitie "kabinet moet alternatieve strategie kiezen voor Afghanistan". De analyse dat de militaire benadering niet werkt en niet bijdraagt aan enige vorm van wederopbouw is correct. Maar de conclusie dat we dan de militaire aanwezigheid moeten handhaven, de strategie bij moeten stellen en er alleen nog wat meer ontwikkelingssamenwerking in moeten stoppen is bizar. Ontwikkeling 'at gun point' werkt niet en heeft ook in het verleden nooit gewerkt. De enige reeele oplossing om de Afghanen vooruit te helpen is het ontwikkelingsproces totaal te demilitariseren. De Talibaan en de eigen corrupte regering kan alleen bestreden worden door een reeele welvaartsgroei van de bevolking, door de 'goede' krachten te ondersteunen, met adequate economische steun (investeringssteun in landbouw en industrie), goed onderwijs en gemeenschaps/bestuursontwikkeling. Afghanen hebben niet zozeer een getraind leger nodig maar getraind bestuurskader en een rechtssysteem, inclusief politie, dat werkt. Kortom alle vreemde legers naar huis sturen en het geld gebruiken om echte ontwikkeling te steunen. Kees Hammink'

Zie: http://forum.groenlinks.nl/viewtopic.php?pid=23635#p23635