Irak 147

'Saddam Hussein Hanged for the Wrong Reason.

Gwynne Dyer, Arab News.

It was not the Iraqi government but its American masters that chose to execute Saddam Hussein in a great rush as soon as the first sentence was confirmed, thus canceling all the other trials on far graver charges that awaited him. The current Iraqi government had nothing to hide if those trials went ahead; the United States government did.
Cast your mind back to the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Washington’s pretext for war then was Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction, with barely a word about bringing democracy to the downtrodden Iraqi people. But in order to persuade us that Saddam’s WMD were a threat to the whole world, we were told a lot about how wicked he was, how he had even “gassed his own people.”
Well, there weren’t any weapons of mass destruction, so now the script has been changed to say that the war was about bringing democracy to Iraq. But that still requires Saddam Hussein to be a monstrous villain (which he certainly was), and it needs some dramatic supporting stories about how he abused his own people, like his poison gas attacks on rebel Kurds in 1988. So let’s try him for the slaughter of the Kurds in 1988, and then we’ll hang him.
Fair enough, and the trial for the gassing of the Kurds actually got started a couple of months ago. Other trials, for his savage repression of the Kurdish revolt in 1988 and the Shiite revolt in 1991, were already scheduled to happen in the New Year. But none of that came to pass. All the other trials have been cancelled, and they actually hanged Saddam for the judicial murder of 144 villagers in the town of Dujail who were allegedly involved in a plot to kill him in 1982.
Dujail? Here is a man who began his career in power in the late 1960s by exterminating the entire (mostly Shia) leadership of the Communist party in Iraq, went on to launch an invasion of Iran in 1980 that cost up to half a million lives, massacred his own Kurdish population in 1987-88 when some of their leaders sided with the Iranians, invaded Kuwait in 1990, and massacred Iraqi Shiites in 1991 when they rebelled against his rule at the end of that war. And they hanged him for Dujail?'

Lees verder: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=90555

Irak 146

'Short video explains the CIA's role in Saddams rise to power.'

Zie: http://www.ericblumrich.com/thanks.html

De Dollar Hegemonie 23

'Dollar Dethroned By Red Ink.
Paul Craig Roberts.

Will Congress allow President Bush to waste another year on his Iraq misadventure while serious problems overwhelm the United States? During 2006 while the US government focused on the deteriorating situation in Iraq, the US dollar declined sharply against many currencies. By December China’s central bank was expressing its concern that the massive US trade deficit could lead to a run on the dollar and to an international financial crisis. Since WW II the US dollar has been the world’s reserve currency, the currency in which oil is billed and international trade accounts are settled. The low US saving rate means that Washington’s budget deficits must be financed by foreign lenders, who are awash in US Treasury bonds. The massive US trade deficit means that foreigners acquire US assets as payment for US consumption of goods made abroad. Foreigners are worried about their large dollar holdings, because there is no indication that the US can reduce either deficit. The war against Iraq has run up the US budget deficit, and the practice of US corporations of producing offshore for their US markets has increased the US trade deficit. Every time a US company moves its production abroad, domestic output is turned into imports. China has indicated that it will continue to accumulate dollars, but at a slower rate by trading some of the dollars for other currencies. On December 18 Iran announced that it will cease to use the US dollar as reserve currency. On December 28 United Arab Emirates, a close US ally, announced that the weakening US dollar has caused its central bank to move some of its foreign exchange reserves from dollars to Euros. The decisions of foreign central banks to reduce the rate at which they acquire dollars implies higher US interest rates at a time when the US economy is slowing, making it difficult for the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy and more expensive for the US to borrow. If foreigners take the next step and begin dumping their dollar holdings, there is nothing the US government can do to avert the catastrophe. Washington must take steps before it is too late. The only timely solution is to reduce the US budget deficit. This requires Congress to cut spending or raise taxes or both. Raising taxes on a weakening economy is not a good idea. As entitlements (Social Security and Medicare) comprise most of nondefense spending, the easiest step for Congress to take is to stop funding Bush’s pointless war. With less red ink to be financed, there would be less pressure on the dollar. It is possible that Washington has waited too long to address the dollar problem. If 2007 brings recession to the US, the rise in the budget deficit from the loss of tax revenues could offset deficit reduction achieved by ending the war. Many economists offer false solutions. We hear, for example, that a weaker dollar will lead to more exports and a reduction in the US trade deficit. This “solution” overlooks the impact of offshoring. With so many US brand name manufactures now produced offshore, there is less for the US to export. Some economists still believe that the gap can be filled by the export of services, but offshoring has also taken its toll on professional services. The US cannot simultaneously offshore the production of goods and services and reduce its trade deficit. Other economists still think that the Federal Reserve can rescue the dollar by raising interest rates, thus making US Treasuries more attractive to foreigners. However, the US economy shows many signs of weakening. By stifling growth or provoking recession, higher interest rates can simply generate more red ink that must be financed by foreign borrowing, thus increasing the pressure on the dollar. The US cannot afford the Iraq war, and it cannot afford the distraction from the serious economic problems that a war-obsessed government has permitted to accumulate. Offshoring is destroying the ladders of upward mobility that made America an opportunity society.'

Lees verder: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16049.htm

Zie ook: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_hegemony

Irak 145

'''Illegal'' Execution Enrages Arabs By Dahr Jamail and Ali Al-Fadhily.
BAGHDAD, Jan 2 (IPS)

The execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein carried out at the start of the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha has angered Iraqis and others across the Middle East.* Saddam Hussein was hanged on what is held to be a day of mercy and feasting in the Islamic world. It is usually celebrated with the slaughter of a lamb, which represents the innocent blood of Ishmael, who was sacrificed by his father, the prophet Abraham, to honour God. Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, the Kurdish judge who had first presided over Saddam Hussein's trial told reporters that the execution at the beginning of Eid was illegal under Iraqi law, besides violating the customs of Islam. Amin said that under Iraqi law "no verdict should be implemented during the official holidays or religious festivals." While Iraqi Shias, particularly those in the U.S.-backed Iraqi government, view the execution as a sign that Allah supports them, many Sunnis across Iraq and the Middle East now see Saddam Hussein as a great martyr. "Saddam Hussein is the greatest martyr of the century," Ahmed Hanousy, a student in Amman in Jordan told IPS. A 50 year-old man in Baghdad said "the Americans and Iranians meant to insult all Arabs by this execution." Others see the execution in all sorts of ways. Sabriya Salih, a 55-year-old man from Baghdad who was evicted from his home by Shia death squads told IPS "I am happy for this end. I have too much to worry about now, but look what a holy death Saddam received." Salih paused and added: "He died at the holiest moments of the year with pilgrims just finishing their pilgrimage ceremonies hailing "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) as if God meant to give him that glory." In official expression of anger, Libya denounced the timing of the execution and announced three days of official mourning. Eid celebrations were cancelled. The government of Saudi Arabia also condemned the timing of the execution. Many Iraqis said they were disturbed by the footage just before the execution. "They surprised us by showing the video," 40-year-old Um Sammy told IPS in Baghdad. "I was busy preparing sweets for my guests when I heard my little kids crying in terror. All the children were terrified." A nine-year-old girl from Fallujah who is a refugee in Baghdad said she cried when she saw the footage on television. "Why did they do it in Eid? Why did they put it on TV to scare us?" Later, shots of the execution taken by a witness from a mobile phone showed Saddam being taunted by his executioners in his final moments. The video has exacerbated tensions between Sunnis and Shias, who follow Islam in different ways. First broadcast by al-Jazeera Sunday, the shots recorded someone praising Muhammad Bakr al-Sadr. Al-Sadr, founder of the Shia Dawa party and an uncle of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, was executed by Saddam in 1980. This, coupled with images of Saddam smiling at those taunting him from below the gallows, has evidently drawn widespread sympathy for Saddam. The Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars issued a statement condemning the execution. The Association said this was an execution carried out by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "for the Americans." The fact that those hanging Saddam praised al-Sadr is evidence that the Mehdi Army militia of Muqtada al-Sadr controls at least a large portion of Iraq's security forces. This underscores Sunni views that the security forces have been deeply infiltrated by Shia militias.'

Lees verder: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16051.htm

Mazin Qumsiyeh

'"The best jihad is when a person speaks the truth before a tyrant ruler."
The prophet Muhammad (PBUH, from authenticated Hadith)

"You will find, as you look back upon your life, that the moments that stand
out are the moments when you have done things for others." Henry Drummond

January 1, 2007 we spent a few hours taking turns reading the
names of the 3000 US military personnel killed in Iraq interspersed with
reading a few hundred selected names from the hundreds of thousands of
Iraqis killed.

Despite the rain, there were over 50 of us attending in New
Haven, CT. Similar events were held in hundreds of cities around the US. I
was especially touched reading names of whole families killed in Iraq. It
helps one focus on what is important and what we need to do. It could not
have been a more fitting beginning to the new year as it helps us focus our
energy and remember why we work for peace and why this war and colonial
occupation (and all wars and occupations) must stop.
If you do not want to read the following highlights of 2006, you can skip to
end for a hopeful message.

Notable highlights for 2006:
- Over 1200 Lebanese, 660 Palestinians, and 67 Israelis were killed as a
result of Israeli colonization, occupation, and greed in Lebanon and
Palestine. Tens of thousands of Lebanese and Palestinian homes were
destroyed (see images of one section of Beirut before and after here (look
at areas outside of "offices of Hizballah)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14252208
The number of Palestinians killed (660) is more than three times those
killed in 2005 (197), see http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/807007.html
- A study showed that the US occupation of Iraq resulted in over 655,000
Iraqi deaths (excess deaths over expected). This ongoing genocide is larger
than that in any other place in this year.
- We reached 3000 US military personnel killed and 15,000 injured in the
illegal war on and occupation of Iraq. Hundreds of "contractors"
(privatized military/security services, aka mercenaries) were also killed.
- Jimmy Carter publishes a book that mildly uses apartheid to describe
Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and thu8s stimulated
discussion. He was criticized by many of us for failing to recognize
apartheid inside the Green line (manifest in Israel's "basic laws").
Zionists viciously attacked him in the US media. See "The Ludicrous Attacks
on Jimmy Carter's Book: Carter's Real Sin is Cutting to the Heart of the
Problem," By NORMAN FINKELSTEIN

http://www.counterpunch.org/finkelstein12282006.html
- Israel and the US under Zionist lobby influence impose a suffocating siege
of the occupied territories (using the excuse of Palestinians voting for
those they do not approve of). The siege worsens an already dire colonial
occupied economy and results in massive poverty for millions.
- The US government (under Zionist influence) vetoes a number of UN Security
Council Resolutions that try to get Israel to comply with International law.
- The genocide in Congo goes unreported and undiscussed (as is the ongoing
Iraq genocide) because of the political need to focus at what the Sudanese
government did or did not do in Darfur to stop that ongoing atrocity.
- As if any further proof is needed that US policy in Iraq is to create
sectarian violence to justify its ongoing occupation, the timing and
scripted hooded execution of Saddam Hussein will leave no doubt. Executed
on the first day of the Sunni Eid Al-Adha (the day before the Shi'a Eid) and
the way the hooded US agents spoke of Al-Sadr illustrate this was very
scripted to achieve the maximum sectarian division (unedited graphic
clandestine video of the US led execution at
http://one.revver.com/watch/130549 ). It is also instructive that he was
executed without ever being tried for the most heinous (US supported) crimes
(like the chemical attacks in Kurdish areas). He was not allowed to reveal
the extent of US complicity in the earlier crimes of his US supported
regime.
- The US government ratifies the destruction of civil liberties, implements
domestic spying without warrants, ratifies use of torture, abolishes habeas
corpus and spreads fear and ignorance. (Number of people killed by
lightening or by other trivial causes exceeds by many fold those killed by
non-state terrorism in 2006).
- Stock market goes up 16% (Exxon Mobil stock up 35%).
- Hugo Chavez re-elected by 70% of the vote and the rejection of US imposed
policies also spreads through other Latin American countries. US policies
(influenced by Zionists) also fail with Lebanon, Iran, and North Korea among
others. Right-wing candidates allied with the US lose in Spain, Italy, and
other countries.
- Boycotts, divestments, and sanctions similar to those implemented against
apartheid South Africa are now being implemented against apartheid Israel.
Dozens of groups in the west (unions, churches etc) have adopted the
Palestinian civil society call to action. A call for boycott at The World
Economics Forum in Davos generated much discussion (see
http://www.qumsiyeh.org/theworldeconomicsforumcontroversy/ and
http://www.pacbi.org/ and http://stopthewall.org/news/boycot.shtml )
- UN Civil Society Conference in September slams Israeli apartheid http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/1300.shtml
These and many other stories were little covered in 2006 by the Zionist
leaning US mainstream media (they were covered in Europe and other parts of
the world). When they were covered in the US, the coverage was heavily
biased and totally distorted.
But Health Effects Need
Scrutiny

The tradition of investigative journalism seems to be dying off in favor of
sensationalism, fear mongering, and frivolity. I noted today that CNN
(which also has an Israeli lobbyist as key anchorman, ex AIPAC employee Wolf
Blitzer) is acting like the Nazi disinformation office by spreading lies and
distortions about the execution of Saddam Hussein (see this ridiculous peace
of PR): http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/02/

saddam.execution/index.html
And in equally useful news on CNN "Rolls Royce to unveil convertible"
(costing $405,000)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/01/01/rolls_convertible/index.html
On the other hand, Fox News today continued to provide free promos for
racist Rudy Giulliani's bid to become a US president! If you thought Bush
was bad, this guy makes Bush look like mother Teresa (he visited Israel more
times than many of the districts in NY City, he was voted by Israelis as
best presidential candidate fore Israel, he doled more money on a NY Israel
parade than on many needed services in NYC, and on and on):

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240626,00.html
and the theater of the absurd continues.
So we ask again: What really happened to the five Israelis apprehended
briefly on 9/11/01 and why was this important story dropped? See http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/fiveisraelis.html
Memories of Bethlehem by Mazin Qumsiyeh http://imeu.net/news/article003992.shtml
Yet, the internet gives us hope as people are getting more news from other
sources. Emails and websites reach millions with news stories censored in
the US media. Polls showed persistent erosion of support for wars and
occupations everywhere. Polls showed that despite the billions spent on
propaganda, psyops and more, that people are aware of the greatest dangers
in the world today (US and Israeli governments top the list in European
polls). And if you want reasons for hope in 2007, read this: "Why Hope?"
http://www.markandval.blogspot.com/
http://www.counterpunch.org/schneider12272006.html
BTW, upcoming national events
January 4 as congress opens, in Washington DC "World Can't Wait: Drive out
the Bush regime" see http://www.worldcantwait.net/
January 27, there will be a march and rally in Washington against the war.
See http://www.unitedforpeace.org/
March 17 (4th anniversary of war on Iraq). March on the Pentagon. See
http://www.internationalanswer.org/
May the new year bring you all love and peace
Mazin Qumsiyeh
http://qumsiyeh.org/
"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on
the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of
compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in
this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it
destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places
- and there are so many - where people have behaved magnificently, this
gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this
spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in
however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future.
The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we
think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is
itself a marvelous victory." Howard Zinn (You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving
Train: A personal history of our times, p. 208)

Dave vs. Carl: The Insignificant Championship Series. Who will win?
http://clk.atdmt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwsp0070000001msn/direct/01/?

href=http://davevscarl.spaces.live.com/?icid=T001MSN38C07001

De Commerciele Massamedia 20

Opvallend was dat, op Trouw na, alle Nederlandse ochtendkranten de inmiddels overbekende beelden van het ophangen van Saddam Hoessein op hun voorpagina hadden afgedrukt. NRC.Next was zelfs een stapje verder gegaan door het dode gelaat van de dictator, hangend in de strop, groot af te beelden, kennelijk in de overtuiging daarmee hun jonge publiek, dat te weinig tijd heeft om langere teksten te lezen, op deze manier te plezieren. We mogen daaruit concluderen dat er bij de lezers van de AD, Volkskrant, en NRC.Next een grote behoefte bestaat om deze weerzinwekkende beelden te zien. Waar die behoefte op stoelt, is buitengewoon interessant om te onderzoeken. Onderhuids broeit er van alles in de geest van de beschaafde democratische en Verlichte Westerling. Elke generatie schijnt een behoefte te hebben aan een portie geweld en gruwelijkheid. In de ene cultuur meer dan in de andere. Men hoeft maar een geschiedenisboek te lezen over onze christelijke cultuur en een ieder kan weten hoe die door de eeuwen heen op geweld is gebaseerd. Dat zou tot enige bescheidenheid moeten leiden, maar niets daarvan.

Hoe het ook anders kan, toont Democracy Now, gemaakt voor mensen die wel tijd en zeker ook belangstelling hebben voor de complexiteit van het bestaan

´The Hanging of Saddam Hussein: A Roundtable Discussion on International Law, the U.S. Role, the Kurdish Response and the Media's Glossing Over of U.S. Ties to Saddam.

Democracy Now! talks to Param Preet Singh of Human Rights Watch; international law expert Richard Falk; Najmaldin Karim, President of the Washington Kurdish Institute; and Professor John Collins.

It was a grisly scene. Just after dawn Saturday, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging in Baghdad.
A video released on the internet, filmed on a cellular phone, showed men preparing to execute Hussein. As the men with Hussein argue over how best to tie the noose, others behind the cameraman begin a series of chants including, "Muqtada muqtada," a reference to the Shia cleric Muqtada al Sadr. As Saddam Hussein interrupts to mock al Sadr, the men tell him "go to hell." The jeering continues as the noose is placed around Hussein's neck. He says the testimony once, then as he is in the middle of repeating it a second time, the door below him opens and he drops to his death. Afterwards the chants continue. Hours later, the video was shown around the world, drawing massive protest.
U.S. President George Bush hailed the execution as "the end of a dark era" for Iraq. Just hours earlier, Hussein had been transferred from U.S. custody to the custody of the Iraqi government. Last week, Hussein lost his final appeal and was sentenced to death by hanging for ordering the deaths of 148 Shiite Iraqis at Dujail in 1982. Yet while many Iraqis celebrated Hussein's demise, the execution was also met with worldwide condemnation. Egypt, Libya, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and the Vatican protested the hanging. Rallies were held in India and Pakistan throughout the weekend. In the Iraqi city of Samarra Monday, Sunni demonstrators stormed the Al-Askiriya mosque carrying a mock coffin and a photograph of Hussein. Iraqi Kurds protested the timing of Hussein's death--he was killed before hearing the majority of the counts against him. Human Rights groups also criticized the execution.
Param Preet Singh, counsel for the International Justice Program of Human Rights Watch.
Najmaldin Karim, President of the Washington Kurdish Institute.
Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law and Practice at Princeton University and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of more than twenty books and was a founding member of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms.
John Collins, Associate Professor of Global Studies at St. Lawrence University. author of Occupied by Memory: The Intifada Generation and the Palestinian State of Emergency and co-editor of Collateral Language: A User's Guide to America's New War.´

Lees en luister verder http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/02/1526255

National Geographic

Het januari nummer van de Nederlandse editie van National Geographic heeft een goed gedocumenteerd artikel over het gevaar dat het Amazone gebied bedreigt. Het wordt als volgt ingeleid

´De marktkrachten van de globalisering nemen bezit van het Amazonegebied, dat in rap tempo ten onder gaat. Voor natuurbeschermers is het vechten tegen de bierkaai. De afgelopen dertig jaar zijn in de strijd om land honderden doden gevallen, en talloze mensen worden met de dood bedreigd door lieden die dik verdienen aan de diefstal van grond en hout. In dit wilde Westen vol wapens, kettingzagen en bulldozers zijn overheidsinstanties vaak laks, corrupt en krachteloos. Naast veehouders en houthandelaren doen nu ook sojaboeren mee aan het landjepik, waardoor de verwoesting van de machtige Braziliaanse wildernis nog harder gaat.Wie vlees van met soja gevoerd vee eet, is mede schuldig aan de verwoesting van het Amazonegebied. Bent u het eens met deze stelling? Geef uw mening op ons forum.´

Zie http://www.nationalgeographic.nl/magazine/index.php?itemid=567