By William Markiewicz
(As other short items may follow, I've decided to group them together.)
"The Pity" (6/01)Yahoo! News (excerpt) Pakistan test fires missile, plays down impact on peace process with India Sat May 29,11:27 AM ET ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan successfully test fired a medium-range nuclear-capable missile on Saturday, a week after a new prime minister took office in nuclear rival and neighbour India. .....< >.....
North Korea, Pakistan, India, really juggle with WMDs and the USA will not punish them. Why? Because this time the dangers are real and no oil profits in view.
Who Will Defend Women? (5/22)
Who will defend the Jews? -- the Jews
Who will defend the Blacks? -- the Blacks
Who will defend the working people? -- unions
Who will defend women? -- women
Who will defend children? -- children (at least up from a certain age).
Look at
"Alchemy of Voting" where I defend the right to vote of children and the mentally handicapped.
www.newyorker.com (excerpt) The Gray Zone How a secret Pentagon program came to Abu Ghraib by Seymour M. Hersh The roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in a decision, approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to expand a highly secret operation, which had been focussed on the hunt for Al Qaeda, to the interrogation of prisoners in Iraq. Rumsfeld's decision embittered the American intelligence community, damaged the effectiveness of élite combat units, and hurt America's prospects in the war on terror. According to interviews with several past and present American intelligence officials, the Pentagon's operation, known inside the intelligence community by several code words, including Copper Green, encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in an effort to generate more intelligence about the growing insurgency in Iraq. A senior C.I.A. official, in confirming the details of this account last week, said that the operation stemmed from Rumsfeld's long-standing desire to wrest control of America's clandestine and paramilitary operations from the C.I.A. . . . . . < > . . . . .
I once heard an old Eastern legend about a mighty king. I don't remember precisely what his problem was, just how he handled it. To implore God (or gods) he started to make human sacrifices. It didn't work, so he continued and continued. Finally came the moment that he asked God (or gods): "Isn't it enough for you, that limitless and bottomless sea of blood?" Suddenly he heard a voice from the skies: "And is it not enough for you, oh limitlessly cruel murderous monarch?"
Public opinion! You have constantly been fed disinformation about Yugoslavia, about Iraq, about the roots of terror, and gluttonously, without reserve, you have gobbled it all, thus permitting the worst crimes -- in your name because with your benediction. Finally, the light may dawn that will wake you up, improve your collective intelligence, and though history is irreversible and the victims will not revive, perhaps future crimes with your approval will become more limited.
(Please see "Disinformation as a War Crime")
Newday.com (excerpt) Israeli Army Leaves Destruction in Gaza By Ibrahim Barzak Associated Press Writer May 13, 2004 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli troops left behind a wide swath of destruction Thursday through a neighborhood in their biggest offensive here in years, blowing up several multistory buildings, damaging scores of homes, uprooting hundreds of trees and tearing up the main road. The Israeli military said three of the demolished buildings had served as cover for gunmen attacking soldiers and three more had housed weapons workshops, while Palestinians said much of the destruction was indiscriminate. .....< >.....
In WW2 the Nazis perpetrated military revenge over civilians in Russia, Poland, Yugoslavia, etc. Usually it was the SS that did the job and they went down in history as gangsters. The term "terrorists" was not yet in use. Israeli revenge on civilians for actions directed against their soldiers gives the terrorists fresh ammunition and puts Israeli civilians in renewed mortal danger. Fighters against fighters is a war. Soldiers against civilians is terror. Furthermore, this action makes peace an impossible dream. Cosmetic remedies, like Rumsfield's trip to Iraq, don't repair anything. Sharon and Rumsfield: two incompetents or who simply don't care.
A Practical Course In Realpolitics (5/13)New Zealand Herald nzherald.co.nz (excerpt) Secret US jails hold 10,000 13.05.2004 By Andrew Buncombe and Kim Sengupta WASHINGTON - Almost 10,000 prisoners from President George W. Bush's so-called war on terror are being held around the world in secretive American-run jails and interrogation centres similar to the notorious Abu Ghraib Prison. .....< >.....
The US knows well that as long as the Israeli settlers hold on to a single bit of Palestinian Territory there will be no peace in the Middle East, Central Asia and the rest of the world. But first things first: following the U.S. election, peace for oil will be on the agenda. After sacrificing the Arabs they'll sacrifice the Jews. It's predictable.
Crime Resides More in Motives Than in Acts (5/13)
New Actors, Same Game (5/01)
We've seen the photos of torture inflicted by Americans on Iraqi prisoners and practically at the same moment, Bush during his visit with Prime Minister Martin congratulates himself that the invasion was to eliminate the torture that Saddam was famous for. Could the President be so ill informed about what's really going on? Doesn't he have his Cerberi to protect him from self-ridicule?
If the cases are described as "isolated" it's because the rest may be very well hidden. Under Bush, it will always be called "an isolated case" but if it happens in the opposite camp, 'an order must have come from the highest level.' And what happens in Guantanamo, we'll never know.
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William Markiewicz