The Largest Minority

February 10th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The British Ministry of Defense says that around 28 Iraqis were killed in the fighting while nine others were detained.

But lawyers, basing their evidence on witness statements, death certificates and video footage shot by the relatives of the victims, allege that 22 people were killed while in British custody and that nine survived torture and abuse.

“This incident, if proven, is off the scale for abuse committed by either British or American troops serving in Iraq,” lawyer Phil Shiner told Reuters.

“If these harrowing allegations are proven, then you’d be pushed to be able to put it in context — it would be the worst conduct by the British army in the last 100 years.”

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February 4th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The United Nations Security Council has condemned rebel attacks on the Chadian capital of Ndjamena in a non-binding resolution which gives other countries the green light to back the corrupt Chadian government. “The Security Council calls upon member states to provide support in conformity with the United Nations charter as requested by the government of Chad,” said current council president Ricardo Alberto Arias. An initial draft by France to support President Idriss Déby Itno of Chad “by all necessary means,” was changed to satisfy Russia for what was seen as a reference to military aid.

In October 2006, Chad was described as the world’s most corrupt nation by Forbes magazine for “what may turn out to be the single most piggish use of philanthropic funds”. $30 million in proceeds from an oil pipeline through Chad and Cameroon were not used by President Déby to assist and feed “the desperately poor people of these nations” as promised, but was used instead to buy arms to keep his government in power. Western powers have been concerned for years that continued attacks from groups possibly backed by neighboring Sudan could replace Déby with a government less subservient to their interests.

The rebels first attacked Ndjamena on Friday.

A force of 1,000-1,500 fighters, equipped with pickup trucks mounted with machine guns, arrived on the capital’s outskirts after a three-day push across the desert from Chad’s eastern border with Sudan.

They penetrated the city early on Saturday, reportedly trapping Deby in his palace.

The government launched a counterattack on Sunday and the rebels pulled back that evening in what they said was a tactical withdrawal to give Ndjamena’s inhabitants a chance to flee.

Analysts fear the fighting could broaden into a wider regional conflict.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France and the EU would send troops with the UN Security Council’s approval. He continued, “We must avoid a conflict in Chad by supporting the legitimate government.” After this call for military intervention, Sarkozy then made the ironic statement that, “In no region should weapons be a way to come to power.”

President Déby seized power in a coup in 1990 and has managed to stay in power with French-backing through various rebellions, claims of corruption, and election fraud. Déby is so unpopular that he even faces opposition from members of his own family. Western powers fear that if his government falls, a new government could start selling oil to China, giving the Chinese access to oil pipelines across Africa. Chad’s oil production is a project run by ExxonMobil and financed from loans made by the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.

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January 28th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Around 100 sheep were witnessed by a farmer and passers-by in the UK as they formed an orderly ring for about 10 minutes before dispersing. Estate agent Russell Bird, who took the photographs, said, “I was quite taken aback. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I did see a dog worrying sheep nearby beforehand and the dog ran off round the hedge in a different field, so I don’t know if they were discussing that.”

Bird then noticed another sheep circle form three fields away. He added, “The only reason this circle came to an end was that the farmer came in with a tractor and some food.” However, Dan Seaborne, farm manager at Herefordshire College of Technology, doesn’t think the sheep are trying to pull the wool over our eyes with their odd behavior. “I just think they’ve been fed with dry feed in that shape - you can get snacker feeders now and you tow behind a quad and it drops pellets on the ground,” he said. “I would imagine that’s what’s happened.”

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December 11th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

As you may or may not have learned from the History Channel, Germany does not have a very good track record when it comes to respecting the rights of religious minorities. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, daughter of a Lutheran pastor and head of the right-wing Christian Democratic Union, decided to carry on that great tradition of state-sanctioned intolerance when she told a congress of fellow conservatives that “we must take care that mosque cupolas are not built demonstratively higher than church steeples”.

Mosque building has become a sensitive subject for residents of Berlin, Munich, and Cologne, who range anywhere on the vast spectrum of humanity from xenophobes to outright bigots. Bekir Alboga, spokesman for the Coordination Council of Muslims, an umbrella organization for Muslims in Germany, said mosques could become a campaign issue in the upcoming state elections. Anti-Muslim sentiment is also prevalent in other European countries like Switzerland, where a nationwide initiative was proposed to ban minarets completely.

In a related story, a regional court ruled yesterday that a headscarf ban, introduced by Merkel in 2004, does not violate the German constitution. The ban forbids public servants (including teachers) from wearing articles of clothing that “could endanger confidence in the neutrality of their carrying out their official duties.” That sure seems a bit hypocritical to me. Merkel doesn’t want Muslims to be identifiable as such, yet she’s the leader of a fucking party called the “Christian Democrats”? Am I missing something?

By the way, Mary wears a headscarf too you twits.

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December 8th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter was advised by the Israeli foreign ministry to turn down an invitation to visit Great Britain over fears that an “extreme leftist” group would file a legal complaint, which would result in him being arrested on war crimes charges. The charges are in response to Dichter planning the 2002 extrajudicial killing of Hamas military commander Saleh Shehadah, which resulted in the bombing deaths of at least 13 civilians in occupied Gaza. Apparently, bringing murderers to justice is an “extreme leftist” position.

Dichter was planning to visit Britain to speak at a seminar in King’s College London. Other senior Israeli officials have also feared being charged for war crimes when visiting Britain, but Dichter is the first to actually cancel a trip specifically for such a reason. Shehadah’s wife and three children were among the innocent lives Dichter ended in his illegal bombing.

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November 23rd, 2007 by Manila Ryce

John Ging, Gaza’s director of operations for the UN refugee agency UNRWA, made an unprecedented appeal to British Members of Parliament to use their influence against what he said were “crushing sanctions” enacted since Israel declared occupied Gaza a “hostile entity” in September. Ging says that the sanctions are “indiscriminate” and “illegal” and have created “truly appalling living conditions”.

Israel uses the threat of rocket attacks, which have only killed 12 people since 2001, as an excuse for their torturous punishment of all 1.5 million civilians in Gaza. When speaking to the MP’s, Mr. Ging questioned the ability of Israel’s sanctions to lessen that threat.

“This presupposes that the civilian population are somehow more capable of stopping the rocket fire than the powerful military of the occupying power. My message … is that not only are these sanctions not working, but because of their profound inhumanity, they are counterproductive to their stated purpose and while Gaza is not yet an entity populated by people hostile to their neighbor, it inevitably will be if the current approach of collective punitive sanctions continues.”

Mr Ging, whose agency is responsible for 70 per cent of Gaza’s 1.5 million population, said that over the past two years “every hopeful opportunity has been irrationally dashed and followed by even worse circumstances”. He added that Gaza’s civilian population expected more of Israel and the international community, who regularly expressed concern about their humanitarian plight but “to no avail”…

…Mr Ging added that UNRWA was unable to provide more than 61 per cent of the necessary calories to refugees. “At present we do not have sufficient funding to provide just one high nutrient biscuit to 200,000 children in UN schools.”

Israeli officials cite signs of a decline in Hamas’s popularity as evidence that the sanctions are working. But Mr Ging said the “human suffering and misery for the entire civilian population in Gaza was creating fertile ground for the extremists”.

The Israeli branch of Physicians for Human Rights says that 11 patients have died since last month because their treatment was blocked or delayed. At least 800 more are being denied treatment abroad.

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November 19th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

Huge numbers of British troops serving in Afghanistan are suffering from hearing damage. As many as half of the troops suffer from a permanent, high-pitched ringing called tinnitus while many more suffer from more serious hearing loss. Unless the British are anatomically different or have wildly different standards than their American counterparts, I presume the statistics are similarly high for all troops in Afghanistan.

“It’s a horrific consequence of being out there that nobody wants to talk about or admit. We’re all aware of the consequences — you’d have to leave the infantry,” said a Grenadier Guardsman. “I know so many guys are suffering in silence, they can’t locate where a noise is coming from around them. Everything sounds like a buzz.”

Hearing protection is provided but cannot be worn in many situations as they prevent soldiers from hearing useful sounds, such as incoming grenades. According to Patrick Mercer, a former Army officer and current Conservative MP, the military is reluctant to test hearing because so many soldiers would fail. “The hearing loss issue is worse for Afghanistan than Iraq, given the intensity of the fighting and the caliber of weapons.”

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November 13th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

I’m a bit late on reporting this, but I’m going to pretend that I’m not.

There was a heated exchange between President Chavez of Venezuela and King Juan Carlos of Spain on Saturday when Chavez repeatedly referred to the former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar, as a “fascist” during the XVII Ibero-American Summit.

Aznar was a pro-Bush prime minister and supported America’s imperialistic Iraq War, along with the failed US-backed coup against Chavez in 2002. After Chavez was overthrown, despite being the democratically-elected President of Venezuela, Aznar tried to gather Latin American support for the new US puppet regime. You can understand why Chavez might describe such a man as a “fascist”.

After Chavez’s speech, Spain’s current Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero, told Hugo that he should be more diplomatic. President Chavez tried to interject, but his mic was cut off. This led to the king of Spain angrily lashing out at the Venezuelan President by saying, “Why don’t you shut up?” before leaving the chamber. Of course, Aznar is a fascist, but you don’t just come right out and speak the truth in politics. Who does this commie think he is?

The next day, Chavez spoke of the incident to a Spanish newspaper. He said he hoped the confrontation would not damage relations between the two countries, but reiterated; “Mr King, we are not going to shut up.” Chavez recalled the previous day: “They told me some Spanish officials grabbed him by the arm, because he’s strong and tall. He acted like an angry bull” as he stormed out. “I’m no bullfighter - but ole!”

Chavez suggested that King Juan Carlos was also aware of the 2002 coup since Spain’s ambassador immediately visited Venezuela to offer the king’s blessing to the interim president that replaced Chavez. “Mr King, did you know about the coup d’etat against Venezuela, against the democratic, legitimate government of Venezuela in 2002?” Chavez asked. “It’s very hard to imagine the Spanish ambassador would have been at the presidential palace supporting the coup-plotters without authorization from his majesty.”

Supporters of the Venezuelan president rallied in Caracas to show their support for Chavez over the weekend. One of the demonstrators said of the Spanish monarch, “He’s insolent. He has to respect a sovereign leader. The king is just a monarch and Spain has been sacking the people of Latin America for the past 500 years. President Chavez has more right to say what he pleases than the king because he was elected by the Venezuelan people.”

Western powers still have not given up on trying to bring down Chavez . He currently faces the threat of protests in his country from Washington-backed opposition groups.

h/t BoRev for the pic of the Spanish king after he apparently stepped out of a Velázquez painting.
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