The Largest Minority

June 2nd, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The US has been operating “floating prisons” for the detention of suspects held without trial in the so called “war on terror” in order to conceal their numbers and locations. An analysis of the operation of prison ships, set to be published this year by the human rights organization Reprieve, has been compiled from the statements of the US military, the Council of Europe and related parliamentary bodies, and the testimonies of prisoners themselves.

The Reprieve study includes the account of a prisoner released from Guantánamo Bay, who described a fellow inmate’s story of detention on an amphibious assault ship. “One of my fellow prisoners in Guantánamo was at sea on an American ship with about 50 others before coming to Guantánamo … he was in the cage next to me. He told me that there were about 50 other people on the ship. They were all closed off in the bottom of the ship. The prisoner commented to me that it was like something you see on TV. The people held on the ship were beaten even more severely than in Guantánamo.”

Clive Stafford Smith, Reprieve’s legal director, said: “They choose ships to try to keep their misconduct as far as possible from the prying eyes of the media and lawyers. We will eventually reunite these ghost prisoners with their legal rights. By its own admission, the US government is currently detaining at least 26,000 people without trial in secret prisons, and information suggests up to 80,000 have been ‘through the system’ since 2001. The US government must show a commitment to rights and basic humanity by immediately revealing who these people are, where they are, and what has been done to them.”

Reprieve says that the US may have used up to 17 ships since 2001. The report also claims there have been more than 200 new cases of rendition since President George Bush declared in 2006 that the practice had stopped.

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May 29th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

South African archbishop Desmond Tutu was sent to Gaza earlier this week by the UN Human Rights Council to lead a long-awaited investigation into the shelling of a Palestinian house in Beit Hanoun by Israeli security forces, in which 19 members of a the same family were killed in November 2006. Archbishop Tutu was sent only days after the incident in 2006 to conduct the inquiry, but was denied a visa by the Israeli government who said the council would politicize the issue by criticizing Israel.

Tutu and his team visited Beit Hanoun on Wednesday to interview witnesses of the attack. In 2006, the Israeli military drastically reduced their ’safety’ margins, despite being warned of an inevitable increase in Palestinian civilian deaths and injuries. This resulted in 19 members of the Athamna extended family being killed by Israeli tank shells as they slept. Tutu will prepare a report to present to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

All 19 of those killed were asleep in their house when the shells struck early in the morning. 14 of the 19 Athamna family members killed were women and children. As the family poured out of their house they were hit by six or seven waves of Israeli shells. The massacre came only a day after the Israeli military had ended an illegal six-day incursion into the town, which had left another 50 Palestinians dead.

After much delay and obstruction, the Nobel Peace Prize winning Archbishop Tutu was finally granted a visa to enter through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza. Tutu said the 2006 incident was a “violation of human rights in the fact that civilians were targeted,” and also came out against the current Israeli blockade on Gaza, which he said had turned the occupied territory into a “desolate and scary” place.

The blockade, which has resulted in shortages of fuel and basic goods, is a form of collective punishment which Tutu has described as another “gross violation of human rights”. Tutu also said that from his experience in South Africa as an anti-apartheid activist, that “peace came when former enemies sat down to talk”.

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May 28th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

As Crooks and Liars points out, Kiffiyehs are worn by nearly everybody in the middle east, even Western troops, to protect them from the sun and sandstorms. Hell, they’re even popular amongst Israeli Jews (and Meghan McCain it turns out). Affiliating such a common article of clothing with terrorism is like saying that shoes are terrorist-related apparel because bombers happen to wear them too.

The kind of proud ignorance which allows Malkin to publicly state that “Palestinian = terrorist” must finally be confronted in this country rather than catered to, and Dunkin’ Donuts should be held responsible for vindicating such vitriolic hatred and bigotry.

If the most important meal of the day for you is a deep-fried ring of dough and sugar, then please consider boycotting Dunkin’ Donuts and frequenting another doughnut place. Hell, maybe even find yourself a healthier breakfast alternative, like a bag of chips and a smoke.

May 27th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Gareth Porter takes a look at the evidence the US has that Iran is training “insurgents”, and goes on to explain why no progress will be made as long as the US continues to insist that those oppressed by its illegal actions recognize the legitimacy of its occupation.

May 25th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Bombers responsible for a deadly blast on the Shiraz mosque in Iran have confessed to having links to Israel and the US, said Iran’s chief prosecutor Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi.

The bombing took place on April 12th and left 13 people dead and more than 200 wounded. 15 suspects were subsequently arrested. The group also admitted carrying out “one or two minor operations” a year ago, but the ISNA student news agency failed to provide further details into what those operations were.

US-led forces in neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan have also launched attacks in the past on Iranian border provinces with significant minority populations. The attack in Shiraz was the first in decades which took place in Iran’s normally placid Persian heartland. The city is not in a border zone, nor is it home to any friction between ethnic or religious groups.

In addition to the military and even nuclear threats of US and Israeli politicians against Iran, the United States has also been suspected in the past of financing and training rebel groups within the country to create a schism between Sunni and Shia populations. This strategy to divide and conquer has been a trademark of American imperialism throughout Asia and Latin America. Destabilizing governments and undermining national unity is considered necessary in order to “protect American interests”. Terrorism is called defense in the US when America is the one doing the bombing.

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May 24th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was almost killed Monday as two Israeli warplanes threatened to shoot down his private jet. Israeli air traffic controllers spotted Blair’s aircraft heading into Israeli airspace as he flew from a Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai Peninsula to a major conference on private investment in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. Blair is currently the official Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East on behalf of the UN, the EU, the US, and Russia.

When Blair’s pilot failed to respond to air traffic requests to establish contact, two Israeli fighters were scrambled to intercept what they feared could be a terrorist attack. The warplanes flew above the civilian aircraft to indicate to the pilot that he was a suspected target, at which point contact was made and the warplanes were informed that the jet was carrying the former Prime Minister.

Blair and other delegates he was flying with from the WEF were unaware of the situation until they heard about it in the media. Initial investigations indicate that a technical malfunction on the ground was to blame, due to new systems which had been installed in recent months. Israeli fighters have been scrambled on several other occasions to intercept potential terrorist targets. The Israeli army refused to comment on the incident.

The conference in Bethlehem aimed to attract up to £1 billion in capital to jump-start the Palestinian economy, the main focus of Mr Blair’s mission in the region. More than 2,000 delegates and would-be investors attended the conference, which many welcomed as a positive first step towards creating a viable Palestinian state.

But as the West Bank looked hopefully towards renewed economic growth, Gaza, which is run by Hamas and which has in effect been under an Israeli blockade for almost a year, was again stricken by bloodshed.

Had Israel actually shot down Blair’s plane do you think they’d blame it on Iran, Hamas, or cover it up with help from the US, just like the assault on the USS Liberty in 1967?

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May 20th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Bush publicly disowned the National Intelligence Estimate which concluded that Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, former Bush-appointed US ambassador to the UN John Bolton has stated that the US must attack Iran to “win” in Iraq, there has been a naval build-up in the Persian Gulf along with an increased US troop presence along the Iranian border, and Admiral William Joseph Fallon was forced to resign for opposing war with Iran ever since his confirmation hearing in 2007.

These are just a handful of examples which suggest that war with Iran is not just an “option” to the Bush administration, but a desired goal. We have saber-rattling followed by complete denial. Talk about sending mixed signals. At least Israel is consistent with their message that they want to wipe Iran off the map.

May 20th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

This commemoration post is a day late. That seems to be the trend lately.

Brother Malcolm’s birthday was yesterday. He would’ve been 83 years old. Following an introduction by Howard Zinn, from his book A People’s History of the United States, Mos Def reads Malcolm X’s “Message to the Grass Roots”. This was recorded in November of 2006.