The Largest Minority

August 18th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Eric Margolis points out the hypocrisy of this American president accusing Russia of “bullying” Georgia when he’s managed to invade Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, and conduct covert operations inside the sovereign nations of Iran, Palestine, Venezuela, Syria, etc. With a track record like that, provoking Russia only seems like the next logical step in this pattern of insanity. Not surprisingly, Senator Barack Obama, promising change, and John McCain, promising experience, have both been indistinguishable from Bush in the matter, a man with no experience or intention to change.

August 18th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Amid wide protests, the electoral defeat of pro-Musharraf parties, and impending impeachment charges from the ruling opposition, President Musharraf has officially resigned. Al Jazeera takes a brief look back at his turbulent career.

Though Pakistan was a military dictatorship under Musharraf, the majority of Pakistanis have expressed some concern that more radical elements may now attempt to fill the power vacuum. If such a movement does arise, civil war is a possibility.

August 14th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Pepe Escobar of The Real News is always a breath of fresh air in the shitty world of corporate media.

Georgia is a strategic client state of the US, and the primary energy hub in the region to supply the West. To circumvent Russia and Iran, Bill Clinton established the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline carrying a million barrels of oil a day westwards through Georgia during his presidency. As our thirst for oil has grown under the Bush administration, so too has our economic and military support, along with hostilities against our imperial control.

This is not about Russia wanting to suppressing Georgian independence, but about American dominance over oil and natural gas through yet another US-backed puppet. Russia still sees the “missile defense system” planned to be installed in Eastern Europe as nothing less than an act of aggression, and for good reason. It’s absurd to believe the official story that such a system has anything to do with defending poor little Europe from the aggressive superpower which is Iran. No, the Russians understand fully that the purpose of the “missile defense system” is to provide first-strike capabilities against them.

US expansion is rapidly turning former communist states into Western military bases right up to the Russian border, so as a reaction to US and NATO aggression the Russians are rebuilding their military machine and nuclear capabilities. With the bipartisan desire to preemptively attack Iran with the help of Israel, a nation which just can’t wait to shoot its nuclear load, this energy war could easily turn into a nuclear war. The world’s major consumers of energy are located far away from the sources of that energy, meaning that the empires of the US, Russia, Europe, and China will expand and continue to come into greater conflict as the need to tighten their control grows stronger.

August 6th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Physicians for Human Rights has reported that in keeping with its policy to cause as much pain and misery as is humanly possible, Israel has been forcing sick Gazans to trade intelligence information about Hamas for medical treatment. The 80-page report lists 32 Gaza Palestinians who were offered such a deal at the border before being allowed into Israel for treatment.

After the democratically-elected Hamas government prevented a US-backed Fatah coup in the Gaza Strip, Israel declared the occupied territory a “hostile entity” and sealed its borders, only allowing residents needing urgent medical treatment to leave with Israeli permission. When taken with the understanding that the situation in Gaza is the worst it’s ever been and that hospitals in the occupied territory are without power for up to 12 hours a day due to the blockade, the exploitation of those in need of medical attention is all the more disgusting.

Bassam Waheidi, one of the residents named in the report, is a 28-year-old reporter who focuses on women’s issues, social affairs, and workers’ rights. Waheidi is going blind and was referred by Gaza doctors to Israel for urgent treatment. When at the Erez border crossing he says he was led to an underground room and interrogated in an hours-long session to provide Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency information on militants in exchange for medical treatment to save his sight. Waheidi refused - choosing his dignity over his vision. Israel has not granted him a permit since. Now Waheidi has gone blind in his right eye and is losing sight in the other.

Israel is committing a horrendous crime against humanity by imprisoning a million and a half civilians, half of which are under 15 years of age. What were already dire health concerns in Gaza related to the legacy of occupation, underdevelopment, power cuts, reduce fuel supplies, untreated sewage, groundwater contamination, and reduced access to basic health and medical facilities have worsened significantly under the ongoing siege - an undeniable form of ethnic cleansing manifested through an official policy of collective punishment.

Unsurprisingly, Israel has denied the allegations of forcing Palestinians to spy for medical treatment, citing security concerns as the reason several Gaza residents have not been allowed into Israel. Meanwhile, the “Jewish State” continues to reject its responsibility as an occupier to provide Palestinians with the most basic of human needs under international humanitarian law. This core minimum obligation includes the right to health - a right which would only concern Israel if they wanted to keep their captives alive.

source

August 1st, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The sound quality sucks in this video so turn your speakers up.

Faiz Shakir of Think Progress interviews Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh, who reveals that Vice President Cheney had planned to put US Navy Seals in Iranian PT boats in the Strait of Hormuz to provoke a war with other US vessels in a similar fashion to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.

Hersh states: “There was a dozen ideas proffered about how to trigger a war. The one that interested me the most was why don’t we build — we in our shipyard — build four or five boats that look like Iranian PT boats. Put Navy seals on them with a lot of arms. And next time one of our boats goes to the Straits of Hormuz, start a shoot-up.”

Being the world’s only superpower comes with some perks - no one ever fucks with you - but that can also be a curse when maintaining your status depends on waging perpetual wars against indefensible nations. If you can’t get them to attack you, then you just have to attack yourself. US foreign policy is outright terrorism and “false flag operations” are a key part of that policy.

As if carrying out a “false flag operation” wasn’t easy enough, the planning, execution, and scapegoating is all funded by American taxpayers who then fit the bill for the upcoming war itself and volunteer themselves to be slaughtered in it as well.

h/t AlterNet

August 1st, 2008 by Manila Ryce

In a departure from its usual policy of shooting first and not asking questions later, Israel has actually been negotiating with Hezbollah while talking to Syria and Hamas. Such progress was glaringly uncharacteristic of a state which makes it a point not to negotiate with terrorists (the Israeli definition of a “terrorist” is any Arab who objects to being a slave).

So why the sudden change in policy? Well, it would seem that while facing multiple investigations of corruption and the still-present defeat of the second war against Lebanon fresh in the minds of Israelis, Prime Minister Olmert has been compensating on the diplomatic front to gain favor with a public increasingly dissatisfied with his character.

However, now that Olmert has announced he will resign, right-wing Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu (or Benji as he likes to be called) has demanded that national elections be held to decide a new Prime Minister because he is likely to be the winner of those elections. “This government has reached an end … it doesn’t matter who heads Kadima,” the hardline Netanyahu told Israeli Radio as he railed against Olmert’s talks with the Palestinians and Syria. “They are all partners in this government’s total failure. National responsibility requires a return to the people and new elections.” Fresh elections, which would put Netanyahu back into power as the prime minister, seem very likely

Read the rest of this entry »

July 27th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

McCain and Obama think it was. Given that they can’t say anything without checking with focus groups and military sponsors first, what do you think? Sabah al-Nasseri argues that the Iraqis not only brought down the violence and rebuilt the government, but that the US “surge” actually made things more difficult for them to do so. The main cause of death and instability in Iraq has always been, and continues to be, the US occupation.

July 24th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Disgusting.