Week Ending: Saturday 17th July 2004

Elton John attacks 'censorship' in US
Elton John has said stars are scared to speak out against war in Iraq because of "bullying tactics" used by the US government to hinder free speech. "There's an atmosphere of fear in America right now that is deadly. Everyone is too career-conscious."

Iraqi clerics: US occupiers must leave
Sunni clerics have called on US forces to pull out of Iraq and stop "hiding behind the so-called multinational forces" or face a growing resistance movement.

No 10 admits Hutton cover-up
Downing Street admitted yesterday that MI6 embarked on an unprecedented cover-up after it withdrew intelligence supporting the Government's dossier on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction because it was unreliable.

False links claimed between DVD pirates and terror cells
Worried about losing money, the entertainment business is peddling false links between DVD pirates and terror cells. Buying pirated DVDs you could be personally responsible for the deaths of innocent women and children in terrorist attacks according to the Industry Trust for Intellectual Property Awareness.

Gaza marchers spurn Arafat reform
Thousands of Palestinians have staged marches in the Gaza Strip in protest at a new reform of the security services. They said the choice of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's nephew Musa as public security chief would do nothing to end corruption or promote change.

Barclays closes BNP accounts after secret film exposes racism
Barclays Bank moved to close accounts held by the British National party last night after its members were secretly filmed delivering racist tirades and admitting violence against Muslims.

Gaza kidnappings trigger crisis
The Palestinian Authority has been plunged into a political crisis by a spate of kidnappings in Gaza. Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei spoke of an "unprecedented chaos" and tendered his resignation and that of his government.

Al-Qaeda 'dismantled' in Iran
Iran says it has located and dismantled all branches of the al-Qaeda network in the country. Intelligence minister Ali Yunesi said his ministry had stopped al-Qaeda's terrorist acts.

Kids sodomized at Abu Ghraib, Pentagon has the videos - Hersh
"The worst is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking," the reporter told an ACLU convention last week. Hersh says there was "a massive amount of criminal wrongdoing that was covered up at the highest command out there, and higher."

Boy bomber speaks about mission
A Palestinian boy arrested with a bomb strapped to his chest wanted to become a suicide bomber to avenge the death of a friend - and be relieved of school.

Couple in anti-Bush T-shirts were arrested at president’s speech
A husband and wife who wore anti-Bush T-shirts to the president’s Fourth of July appearance aren’t going down without a fight: They will be represented by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union as they contest the trespassing charges against them.

Corporate Power is the Driving Force behind US Foreign Policy
Power in the modern great corporation belongs to the management. The board of directors is an amiable entity, meeting with self-approval but fully subordinate to the real power of the managers. The relationship resembles that of an honorary degree recipient to a member of a university faculty.

US bank 'hid Pinochet millions'
A US Senate report has alleged that a US bank helped former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet hide up to $8m and evade efforts to seize his assets.

US to pursue 'deserter' in Japan
The US has stressed it will seek the extradition of an alleged army deserter when he travels to Japan for health care.

Philippines set for Iraq pull-out
The Philippine government says the commander of the country's military force in Iraq will leave the country on Friday, along with 10 other members.

Anger of a quiet German village where neo-Nazis plan an SS-style baby farm
A normally tranquil west German village has been traumatised by a notorious neo-Nazi lawyer's plans to turn its 19th-century manor house and adjoining estate into an Aryan-style baby farm designed to further the Nordic race.

Government witnesses knew September dossier was unsafe
Crucial doubts about Iraq's ability to produce chemical weapons were withheld from two inquiries which examined the Government's case for war.

Japan school kids to be tagged with RFID chips
The rights and wrongs of using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on humans have been debated since the tracking tags reached the technological mainstream. Now, school authorities in the Japanese city of Osaka have decided the benefits outweigh the disadvantages and will now be chipping children in one primary school.

Chip Implanted in Mexico Judicial Workers
Security has reached the subcutaneous level for Mexico's attorney general and at least 160 people in his office - they have been implanted with microchips that get them access to secure areas of their headquarters.

Mexico's Attorney general has microchip fitted
Mexico's attorney general said he had had a microchip inserted under the skin of one of his arms to give him access to a new crime database and also enable him to be traced if he is ever abducted.

Most Serious Warning Ever
In politics, one of the few things you can be certain about is, those who take away your liberty are not doing it to benefit you. A secret Department of Justice report recently leaked to the press gives the government's view on its legal duties in this war. It turns out that the US government is superior to the rest of mankind, it's not required to obey any laws

A History Lesson in Iraq - Robert Fisk
The Americans could learn a lot from Sheikh Jouwad Mehdi Al-Khalasi. A tall, distinguished man who speaks with eloquence and humor, he has the same forehead and piercing eyes of his grandfather - the man who led the Shiite Muslim insurrection against British occupation in 1920.

Fox News in Cross Hairs of a New Documentary
A dogged hunt for evidence of GOP-tilted bias results in the latest salvo from the left. In a season of politically confrontational movies, documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald is aiming to do to the Fox News Channel what Michael Moore is trying to do to the Bush administration with his "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Fox News: Deploying Reporters/Pundits to Distort the Facts
On everything from Enron, to tax cuts, to national security, Fox News has used its reporters, anchormen and pundits to parrot the Bush administration's right-wing policies as if they were conventional wisdom or fact.

Ten Reasons to Fire George W. Bush
If you're looking for reasons to be disgusted with George W. Bush, here are the top 10. And nine reasons why Kerry won't be much better

US election postponement - rumours become facts
The Bush administration has asked for legislation enabling it to postpone the November election as a result of a terror attack. Allowing suspension of the elections on just the threat of a terror attack would create a hole in the legislation big enough to drive an oil tanker, or an open dictatorship, through.

French Anti-Bush Documentary Hits Silver Screen
A new French documentary grilling U.S. President George W. Bush and the neo-conservatives within his administration hit the screens in Paris. The documentary is entitled "Le Monde Selon Bush" (The World According To Bush), directed by William Karel on the US administration's 1000-day rule, from September 11, 2001 up to the Iraqi invasion in March 2003.

'Homeland Security' Beyond U.S. Borders
CNN reported that police officers across the United States are carrying handheld wireless computers on which they can access private details from large commercial databases about anyone they encounter on their beat.

What does it take to be an Elitist?
Time and time again, when you sneak into an Illuminati meeting, whether it's the Trilateral Commission or the Council on Foreign Relations or the more elite groups like Bohemian Grove, Skull and Bones or the the Bilderberg group, they are planning the course of the world. That's what elites have always done. But people in the past knew that elites shaped the course of the world and fought against that.

Florida Citizens to Help Catch Terrorists
Law enforcement officials in central Florida are planning to train cable repairmen, exterminators and apartment managers to report signs of terrorism inside their clients’ homes.

Dump Cheney' rumours gain momentum
The newest theory advanced privately by prominent Democrats, including members of Congress is that Cheney recently dismissed his personal doctor so that he could see a new one, who will conveniently tell him in August that his heart problems make him unfit to run with Bush.

Corrupted Intelligence
Ray McGovern and other veteran intelligence officers spent the weekend digesting the Senate Intelligence Committee report and ended up sick to their stomachs. Not only did the report confirm what they already knew - that the CIA skewed intelligence - but corruption ran much deeper, with analysts cooking up outright lies.

Blair faces renewed war questions
Tony Blair faces renewed pressure over the war with Iraq after Lord Butler's revelations about the "thinness" of the intelligence used to justify it.

New Zealand jails Israeli 'spies'
New Zealand has imposed diplomatic sanctions on Israel over the activities of two alleged members of the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad.

Claim for attack on Iraq's prime minister
Insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi purportedly claims responsibility for last week's missile attack against Iraq's interim prime minister, according to a statement posted on several Islamic Web sites.

Who was to blame? No one, says Butler
The intelligence: flawed. The dossier: dodgy. The 45-minute claim: wrong. Dr Brian Jones: vindicated. Iraq's link to al-Qa'ida: unproven. The public: misled. The case for war: exaggerated. And who was to blame? No one!

Happy talk from hell
Some people would say that Fox News Channel is nothing more than the private right-wing propaganda machine. Even if you think you're wise to Fox News' right-wing agenda, Robert Greenwald's "Outfoxed" will leave you very afraid.

US chides Manila on troop pullout
The Bush administration has expressed dismay at moves by the Philippines to rush its troops out of Iraq after pressure from kidnappers.

Ecuador IndyMedia activist assassinated
Lenin Cali Nájera at 23 years of age, national leader of the Pachakutik youth and founding member of Indymedia Guayaquil was assassinated on the night of the 29 of June.

A Secret Conference Thought to Rule the World
Sinceits first meeting 50 years ago, the Bilderberg conference, a secretive gathering of global power brokers, have been responsible for the creation of the European Union, the invasion of Iraq and the bombing of Serbia - all to service its most cherished goal: the creation of a world government.

10 news stories UN wants you to know about
To shine a spotlight on some of the important international issues and developments that often do not get sufficient media attention, the United Nations Department of Public Information presents a new initiative - "Ten Stories the World Should Hear More About."

Philippines troop offer in Iraq
A senior Philippines official has said his troops will leave Iraq "as soon as possible", as a deadline nears for the beheading of a Filipino hostage. Militants holding Angelo de la Cruz say they will kill him if the Philippines does not speed up a planned withdrawal.

Gulf syndrome victims are heard at last
Veterans were "dismissed as trouble-makers" when they complained of a range of debilitating illnesses after the Gulf War in 1991, the first day of an independent inquiry into the suspected syndrome was told yesterday.

'No proof of' Gulf war syndrome
A major study of former soldiers has cast doubt on the existence of Gulf war syndrome. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine researchers quizzed more than 40,000 former soldiers.

Many of the Abu Ghraib tortured were common criminals not terrorists
So why did Cpl. Charles Graner Jr. order a young woman to pull her shirt up to her neck? She was an accused prostitute. MPs allegedly ordered Hussein Mohsen Matar to masturbate, and rode on his naked back as he crawled on all fours. He was an accused thief.

US in talks over biggest missile defence site in Europe
The US administration is negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic over its controversial missile defence programme, with a view to positioning the biggest missile defence site outside the US in central Europe.

Fox Fights Back Against 'NY Times' Over Film Story
At a well-attended press conference in New York promoting the new documentary "Outfoxed," Fox News offered its rebuttal to the film, as well as a full-frontal attack on The New York Times, which published an article about the movie yesterday in its Sunday magazine.

Butler inquiry took evidence from Blix
The Butler inquiry has taken evidence from two critics of the Government's stance on weapons of mass destruction, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, who headed international weapons inspection teams in Iraq.

Antiwar Group Says Its Ad Is Rejected
A group of antiwar advocates is accusing Clear Channel Communications, one of the nation's largest media companies, with close ties to national Republicans, of preventing the group from displaying a Times Square billboard critical of the war in Iraq.

Family of dead surfer pleads to spare the sharks that killed him
Bradley Smith was a popular and experienced surfer. At the weekend he met an horrific end, mauled to death by two sharks off Western Australia. Yesterday, as fisheries officers armed with rifles searched for the fish, Australians agonised over whether they should be killed.

Pentagon: Bush Military Records Destroyed
Military payroll records that could more fully document President Bush's whereabouts during his service in the Texas Air National Guard were inadvertently destroyed, according to the Pentagon

Jew Banned from Israel for Supporting Palestinians
A Jewish American has been denied entry to Israel because she belongs to a pro-Palestinian group. Jamie Spector, 32, a social worker from San Francisco, arrived in Israel on Saturday to protest the West Bank separation barrier Israel is constructing. She has been held in detention since defying the order to leave.

Don't allow Kerry to take Communion, Vatican tells US Catholic bishops
American Catholic bishops are trying to defy secret advice from Rome that Communion should not be given to John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate.

The Myth of Republican Conservatism
The latest "Conservative Index" that has just been published by The New American is an eye-opener for those who think that the Republicans in Congress are "conservative." The index once again refutes the myth, based on the voting records of Republicans in Congress, that the Republican Party is the party of "conservatism."

14 Signposts to slavery
If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment whenyou will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival

Reporting on a possible draft
The government is telling truth that as of right now there is no need for a draft and chances of it happening at this moment are nil. Given that 85 percent of respondents in recent polls oppose the draft, what politician in their right mind would campaign on such a proposal in 2004?

Rapper Jadakiss asks Bush "Why did Bush knock down the Towers?"
Musicians often voice political opinions in their songs, especially during an election year, but most hip-hop acts have remained quiet on the current political environment -- until now.

Subliminal Advertising and Modern Day Brainwashing
The advertising industry, a prominent and powerful industry, engages in deceptive subliminal advertising which most us are unaware of. By bypassing our unconscious mind using subliminal techniques, advertisers tap into the vulnerabilities surrounding our unconscious mind, manipulating and controlling us in many ways.

Milk and coffee produced from.....blood?!
Scientists from a technological academy located in the Russian city of Voronezh developed a revolutionary technique of producing an entire array of food products such as milk, yogurt, chocolate and coffee from blood.

Butler acts to prevent PM 'spinning' his report
Lord Butler is to head off any attempt by Tony Blair to "spin" the conclusions of his report on the handling of intelligence before the Iraq war by speaking live before the Prime Minister makes his statement to the House of Commons.

Lord Butler: the ultimate British establishment insider
Lord Robin Butler, who will this week present a potentially devastating report into British pre-war intelligence on Iraq's weapons, is a man who spent his entire career attempting to smooth the business of government, not disrupt it.

Fury at anarchist convention threat
Fringe elements are hoping to spark major disruptions at the Republican National Convention with a series of sneaky tricks - including fooling bomb-sniffing dogs on trains bound for Penn Station, the Daily News has learned.

Dispersing demonstrators or chemical warfare?
On June 10th, 2004, the two clinics in Al-Zawiya treated 130 patients for gas inhalation. The patients were children, women, old people and young men. There was a high number of cases of [tetany], spasm in legs and hands, connected to the nervous system. Pupils were dilated, other symptoms included shock, semi-consciousness, hyperventilation, irritation and sweating.

Powell's WMD speech 'based on lies'
The day before Colin Powell, delivered his critical speech to the United Nations saying Iraq possessed mobile biological weapons laboratories, a US intelligence agent warned the CIA that the evidence had come from an Iraqi defector called Curve Ball who was unreliable and possibly an alcoholic.

Indian minister strip-searched in US
ndia's former defence minister was twice strip-searched at Washington airport while on official business, according to the former US deputy secretary of state, Strobe Talbott.

Conservatives Increasingly Unhappy With Bush
When an influential group of conservatives gathers in downtown Washington each week, they often get a political pep talk from a senior Bush administration official or campaign aide. They don't expect a fellow Republican to deliver a blistering critique of President Bush's handling of the Iraq war.

Prince warned over cancer remarks
The Prince of Wales has been accused of "overstepping the mark" in his support for alternative therapies to treat cancer patients. Prof Baum questioned the scientific evidence to back up much complementary and alternative treatment.

The man the Americans are parading is not the real Saddam Hussein
The Bush regime has been neither clever, nor careful nor plausible in its disastrous foreign policy, which culminates in parading a "Saddam" before the cameras who is certainly not the real Saddam Hussein, ex-President of Iraq.

Homeland Security Reviewing Proposal to Postpone Election
American counterterrorism officials, citing what they call "alarming" intelligence about a possible Qaeda strike inside the United States this fall, are reviewing a proposal that could allow for the postponement of the November presidential election in the event of such an attack.

Arafat: Israel masterminded Tel Aviv bombing
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat condemned Sunday's Tel Aviv bomb explosion that was claimed by his Aksa Martyrs Brigades militia, accusing Israel of masterminding the attack.

A visitor feels the heavy hand of John Ashcroft
Joe Black was supposed to be a lector at his niece's wedding in Crafton. Instead, he's sitting in a federal prison in Philadelphia, a man transformed by America's post-9/11 obsession from a reader of the Epistle into a prayer for intercession.

US 'may delay vote if attacked'
The Bush administration is reported to be investigating the possibility of postponing the presidential election in the event of a terror attack.

The dark and brutal story of America's big slaughterhouses?
To satisfy the public'sever-growing appetite for meat, slaughterhouses in the United States killed ten billion animals last year. That's 27,397,260 animals every day, 1,141,553 every hour, 19,026 every minute. Most Americans, largely disconnected from their food supply, assume these animals met a painless end, if they think about it at all.

Bush walks out on media when asked about relationship with Ken Lay
A clearly-rattled President George W. Bush walked out of a media briefing refusing to answer questions about his close relationship with indicted Enron executive Kenneth Lay, a campaign benefactor Bush nicknamed "Kenny Boy" when the two were up-and-comers in Texas.

Schoolchildren to be RFID-chipped
The rights and wrongs of RFID-chipping human beings have been debated since the tracking tags reached the technological mainstream. Now, school authorities in the Japanese city of Osaka have decided the benefits outweigh the disadvantages and will now be chipping children in one primary school.

Bush Regime working out Procedures for postponing November Election
The Bush regime is now working out procedures for postponing the coming November general election. This is totally unprecedented - even in 1864, in the midst of the Civil War, the Lincoln vs. McClellan presidential contest took place according the Constitution and relevant statutes.

Kerry blasts Bush Iraq 'failures'
US Democrat presidential hopeful John Kerry has accused President George W Bush of misleading the American people in the run-up to the Iraq war.

Prince warns against new 'thalidomide' disaster
The Prince of Wales warns today that thalidomide-style disasters could result from a startling new technology about to revolutionise industrial and everyday life.

MI6 'retracted' Iraq intelligence
Tony Blair's war case has suffered a fresh blow after MI6 took the rare step of withdrawing intelligence about Iraq's WMD, the BBC has learned.

U.S. medical students leave Cuba for fear of Bush measures
The majority of U.S. students who have been studying medicine in Cuba have returned to their country over the last few days, fearing that they will be imprisoned or fined as a result of the Bush administration’s new measures against the island.

New threat to kill Iraq hostage
Militants have issued a new threat to kill a Filipino hostage unless Manila shows clear intent to withdraw troops from Iraq, al-Jazeera has reported.

Kerry: U.S. Needs to 'Wipe Slate Clean' on Iraq
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said on Saturday the United States needed to start with a clean slate on Iraq and his new running mate John Edwards portrayed America's allies as "hungry" for better ties with Washington.

Australia defends Iraq invasion
Australia has defended its decision to join the invasion of Iraq, despite a US Senate report criticising intelligence on the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

US occupation "hands over" Iraq to lethal puppet regime
n a secret ceremony on June 28, Iraq's "sovereignty," which was taken by force in 2003, was "handed over" to an Iraqi interim puppet government constructed and controlled by the US, appointed by the US proconsul Paul Bremer, and headed by terrorist and CIA asset Iyad Allawi.

Cigarette giant settles $1bn row
Philip Morris, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, is to pay $1.25bn to settle a dispute with the European Union over accusations of cigarette smuggling.