Sunday, October 14, 2007

This Week in Peace (10-14-2007)

This Week in Peace (10-14-2007)


New Resistance Group Emerges in Iraq; Seeks Ouster of U.S. and "Al Qaeda"
This week a new group, the Political Council of the Iraqi Resistance, was established with the aim of “bringing together the main non-al-Qaida Islamist groups in the Sunni areas;” “rejecting sectarianism and attacks on ‘the innocent;’” and “declaring the armed resistance against illegal foreign occupation to be the legitimate representatives of the Iraqi people.” This group includes some groups that have previously been working with the U.S. military.

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/65090/


Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations
While the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, in 2005 the Justice Department secretly promulgated another opinion which constituted “an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the CIA.” “The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/washington/04interrogate.html?th&emc=th


Most in Poll Want War Funding Cut
Nearly half of Americans want President Bush’s $190 billion request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan “cut sharply or entirely” and 7 out of 10 want it at least reduced. Furthermore, over 55% of Americans want the Democrats to do more to challenge President Bush on his Iraq policies. Despite this, congressional democrats are still moving ahead with plans to continue to fully-fund President Bush’s wars.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/01/AR2007100101235.html?wpisrc=newsletter


Chris Matthews Says Cheney Pressured MSNBC Brass to Influence Content
Free Press? Chris Matthews revealed that Vice President Cheney's office “called MSNBC brass to complain about the content of his show and attempted to influence its editorial content.” This is not an isolated incident, which is why it is so important to read independent media ( www.alternet.org , www.democracynow.org , www.truthout.org, etc).

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/64579/


Educate Yourself about the Military-Industrial Complex: What is The Carlyle Group?
Hint: It is an investment group that has included former U.S. President Bush I, current U.S. President Bush II, Former British Prime Minister John Major, members of the Bin Laden Family, former U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense, and it is intricately tied to global war industries and is currently profiting handsomely from the drastic increases in defense spending in many countries after 9/11….

1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/wtccrash/story/0,1300,583869,00.html
2. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7094545816220336237
3. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,,919897,00.html
4. Best Thing to Watch on the Military Industrial Complex in general: ‘Why We Fight’ documentary. Trailer at: http://www.sonyclassics.com/whywefight/


Commentary of the Week: The Mega-Lie Called the "War on Terror": A Masterpiece of Propaganda
Yes, I am including this again because this is an absolute must read! Please read the whole thing—it is quite enlightening!
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/63632/


US-made 'Censorware' Aiding Oppressive Regime in Burma and Beyond
While the popular revolt of monks and other brave citizens was gaining ground a few weeks ago in Burma, their military junta decided to censor its internet and eventually decided to shut it down because it was unable to control the images of oppression and revolution that were pouring out into the rest of the world via the world wide web. What was not discussed is that OpenNet Initiative (ONI) testing in 2005 indicates that “Burma censored the Internet using software made by Fortinet, a Sunnyvale, Calif., company.” Other U.S. tech companies such as Websense, Secure Computing Corp., and Blue Coat Inc. provide censorship technology to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Tunisia. Should U.S. companies be supplying technology that stifles free and democratic expression? Is our government’s highest concern for “freedom and democracy” as they claim, or for the expansion of U.S. business interests?

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1010/p01s01-ussc.html?s=hns

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