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Aaron Russo dies of cancer
Unconfirmed reports on the internet suggest that filmmaker and political activist Aaron Russo died on 24th August 2007 after a struggle with cancer - his wikipedia entry has been updated stating this. He will be perhaps most remembered for his outspoken work, America: From Freedom to Fascism. Although a filmmaker, famous for producing films as Trading Places and The Rose as well as managing Bette Midler, Aaron Russo became politically active when he produced the film Mad As Hell - which took its name from the phrase ranted by Peter Finch in the film Network - in which he was critical of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), the introduction of identity cards, the so-called war on drugs and proposed regulations on alternative medicine.

Robert Fisk: Even I question the 'truth' about 9/11
I am increasingly troubled at the inconsistencies in the official narrative of 9/11. It's not just the obvious non sequiturs: where are the aircraft parts (engines, etc) from the attack on the Pentagon? Why have the officials involved in the United 93 flight (which crashed in Pennsylvania) been muzzled? Why did flight 93's debris spread over miles when it was supposed to have crashed in one piece in a field? I am talking about scientific issues. If it is true, for example, that kerosene burns at 820C under optimum conditions, how come the steel beams of the twin towers - whose melting point is supposed to be about 1,480C - would snap through at the same time? (They collapsed in 8.1 and 10 seconds.) What about the third tower - the so-called World Trade Centre Building 7 - which collapsed in 6.6 seconds in its own footprint at 5.20pm on 11 September?

Ex-KKK man jailed for life in US
A US court has sentenced a 72-year-old former member of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group, to three life prison terms for his role in the 1964 killings of two black men. James Seale was sentenced on Friday in Jackson, Mississippi after being convicted in June of kidnapping and conspiracy in the killings of Henry Dee and Charles Moore. 'This case is an outstanding example of our ongoing, vigilant efforts to prosecute racially-motivated crimes to the fullest extent of the law, regardless of how many years have passed,' Alberto Gonzalez, US attorney general, said. Seale's lawyer said he will appeal against the convictions.

Iceland ends whaling due to lack of demand
Iceland has stopped commercial whaling after whalers discovered they cannot find domestic markets for the meat they have caught. Workers cut up a large fin whale in Hvalfjordur, Iceland, last winter: but the industry has failed to find a market
Iceland's fisheries minister Einar K. Guofinnsson said that it made no sense to issue new quotas if the market for whale meat was not strong enough. He said in an interview with Reuters that he would not issue a new quota until the market conditions for whale meat improved and permission to export whale products to Japan - which Iceland has been seeking - was secured.

More War on the Horizon
The Bush regime says it is going to designate part of Iran’s military - the Revolutionary Guards - a terrorist organization, whose bases and facilities Bush intends to bomb along with Iran’s nuclear energy sites. Three US aircraft carrier strike forces are deployed off Iran. B-2 Stealth Bombers are being fitted to carry 30,000 pound “bunker-buster” bombs to use against hardened sites. Politicized US generals assert that Iran is providing arms and aid to the Iraqi resistance to the US occupation. The media is feeding the US population the same propaganda about nonexistent Iranian weapons of mass destruction that they fed us about nonexistent Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

US surge sees 600,000 more Iraqis abandon home
The scale of the human disaster in the Iraq war has become clearer from statistics collected by two humanitarian groups that reveal the number of Iraqis who have fled the fighting has more than doubled since the US military build-up began in February. The Iraqi Red Crescent Organisation said the total number of internally displaced has jumped from 499,000 to 1.1 million since extra US forces arrived with the aim of making the country more secure. The UN-run International Organisation for Migration says the numbers fleeing fighting in Baghdad grew by a factor of 20 in the same period. These damning statistics reveal that despite much- trumpeted security improvements in certain areas, the level of murderous violence has not declined.

Moscow flexes military muscle again, but few in west say it is fit for a fight
From the ground it looked an impossible manoeuvre. The Russian Sukhoi-35 shot vertically into the sky before flipping forward in midair. It then raced downwards with an ear-ripping roar. The crowds were impressed. Even the seasoned US pilots standing on the tarmac next to their grey-painted B-52 bomber looked on admiringly. Nearby an array of lethal Russian missiles had been laid out. Next to them Russian pilots chatted under the shade of a formidably armed MiG. The Maks-2007 international airshow near Moscow was the biggest in Russia's post-Soviet history - and an apparent symbol of Russia's resurgent military might. Last week, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia's ageing fleet of strategic bombers had resumed 'combat missions'.

Paxman criticises media response to Blair's attack
In picking on The Independent in his now-infamous speech attacking the 'feral beasts' of the media, Tony Blair chose a 'pathetic target', Jeremy Paxman declared in his speech to the Edinburgh International Television Festival yesterday. The Newsnight presenter defended The Independent, insisting that 'if any paper chooses not to be part of the pack, it's the Indy'. But he said the media's response to the former Prime Minister's attack had also been 'pretty pathetic'. Paxman also cast doubt on how many more licence fee settlements the Corporation would be able to secure in a fragmented media age. 'The idea of a tax on the ownership of television belongs in the 1950s. Why not tax people for owning a washing machine to fund the manufacture of Persil?' he asked.

Dissidents freed as Raúl Castro signals change of tack in Cuba
Raúl Castro has started to make cautious changes in Cuba which could signal plans for political and economic reform. Since he took over from his brother Fidel, dozens of dissidents have been released, an olive branch has been extended to Washington and there is talk of easing communist controls on property and agricultural production. Three political prisoners have been freed in the past fortnight, the latest being Armando Betancourt Reina, a journalist jailed for 15 months after reporting on the eviction of a family in Camagüey. Analysts said Raúl, 76, who has been acting president since illness forced his brother to step down last year, was experimenting with stealth reforms to improve living conditions and morale without eroding government control.

Venezuela condemns questioning by U.S. daily
William Lara, the Venezuelan minister for communication and information, today condemned negative questioning by The New York Times of President Hugo Chávez’ government and democracy in the country. According to a statement released last Thursday, Lara stated that this position “is nothing more than another demonstration of Washington’s policy of interference” with respect to Venezuela’s internal affairs. 'A newspaper controlled by the government of the United States,' he indicated, 'has no right to criticize the government of a free and sovereign country and attempt to exercise control over Venezuelan politics and economy.'

Judge clears way for Noriega's French extradition
A U.S. judge on Friday denied former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega's demand for a speedy return home when his U.S. prison term ends next month and said nothing stood in the way of a French extradition request. Noriega's attorneys argued in court this month that his designation as a 'prisoner of war' after his arrest during the U.S. invasion of Panama more than 17 years ago entitled him to immediate repatriation after his scheduled release from a Florida prison on September 9. But senior U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler said protections awarded Noriega as a POW under the Geneva Conventions placed no restrictions on his possible extradition to a third country such as France, where he faces up to 10 years in prison on money-laundering charges.

Tensions rise after three British soldiers killed in US airstrike
Three British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in a 'friendly fire' attack by American aircraft while involved in a clash with Taliban fighters. The deaths brought the number of British forces killed in action in the country to 50, and came at the end of a week which had exposed rifts between American and British forces. The fatal incident, a 'blue on blue' in military terms, took place at Kajaki in Helmand province, where British troops are trying to create a safety zone around a dam which would enable an American company to start repair work. A British patrol called in air strikes after coming under fire from the Taliban and were then bombed by mistake by American F-15 aircraft which came in support.

How three Swedish geeks became Hollywood's Number One enemy
Operating under the sign of a Jolly Roger, The Pirate Bay website hopes to evoke a buccaneer spirit: swashbuckling swordsmen, or perhaps the pirate radio stations of the 1960s. But as the internet's number one destination for illegal downloads, it has raised the hackles of the entertainment industry and elevated its founders to the top of Hollywood's most wanted list. With more than two million visitors every day, The Pirate Bay has become one of the sharpest thorns in the side of the media business. Its controversial success has caused havoc in the music, TV and film industries. Current top downloads include The Bourne Ultimatum, Die Hard 4.0 and Knocked Up - all showing in British cinemas, but available to watch on a computer screen for those willing to take the risk.

Little green lies
A new survey suggests that 90 per cent of people tell 'little green lies' to pretend they're living more ethically. Have you replaced your light bulbs with low-energy ones? Do you drive a low emission car?Do you recycle all your waste? Or do you just tell everyone how green you are and feel secretly guilty? The survey, by Norwich Union, reveals that 56 per cent of us believe that unethical living is as taboo as drink driving. Around the same number, 53 per cent, say they have decided not to change their lifestyle because they do not want to be told what to do or because they're confused about green issues. The survey also found that more than three-quarters of people say ethical living is the main topic of conversation at the school gate and at dinner parties.