FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006

stoppressstoppressstoppress !!
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been found dead in the detention centre at The Hague tribunal.

Mr Milosevic suffered from high blood pressure and a heart condition.

Last month the tribunal rejected a request by the former president to go to Russia for medical treatment.

"Russian doctors were prepared to give him the necessary aid and the Russian authorities guaranteed to meet all the demands of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia," a spokesman from Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday.

"Unfortunately, in spite of our guarantees, the tribunal did not agree to give Slobodan Milosevic the possibility of being treated in Russia," he added.

The tribunal has ordered an inquiry into the death.

The former president had been ill for some time, and his trial was interrupted last year because of health problems.

His lawyer told BBC News 24 that Mr Milosevic would not have committed suicide because he wanted to complete his trial, which had been due to restart on 14th March and was scheduled to end in May this year.

"In fact he said to me a few weeks ago. 'I hadn't fought this case for as long as I have with any intention of to do any harm to myself, Mr Kay'. And that is why he wanted medical treatment," Steven Kay said.

Happy International Women’s Day!
from Radical Women, U.S.A.


Around the world, workingclass women keep alive the radical tradition of International Women's Day as an opportunity to demand our rights and freedom. Today we salute courageous sisters in all corners of the globe, from Palestinian mothers fighting for their homeland to Venezuelans seeking a just society, from Sudanese women combating rape and genocide to Hurricane Katrina survivors battling for medical care, housing, food, education, employment, and the right to return to their own homes.

Within the United States, the struggle for fundamental civil liberties continues. Radical Women has defended Lynne Stewart, a veteran human rights attorney falsely convicted of aiding terrorists, who was targeted by the government in the effort to silence dissent. We have demonstrated against the dangerous anti-immigrant Minutemen and the criminal U.S. war in Iraq. We've mobilized for abortion rights and reproductive justice and expect a pitched battle over these basic human rights
in the coming year.

Radical Women has also built cross-border solidarity in collaboration with Iraqi women and Central American sisters, and formed new contacts at recent meetings of the World Social Forum. Because we live in the earth's greatest exporter of misery and violence, the greatest act of assistance
we can provide to the world's people is to achieve a socialist revolution right here in the heartland of capitalism. With a workingclass rainbow of women and men, people of color, indigenous nations, immigrants, lesbians/gays/bisexuals/transsexuals, youth and elders we can do it!

Long live International Women's Day and the global leadership of women
as a force for human survival and revolutionary change!

Anne Slater
National Organizer
Radical Women, U.S. Section
Natradicalwomen@aol.com
www.RadicalWomen.org

Radical Women
1908 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103


Americans,Go down screen to read agricultural warning re. cheap mulch for planting from new orleans - termites!!

USA SOLDIERS AGAINST THE WAR
US soldiers speaking tour of Ireland:Stop the US war & torture machine
> 
>The Irish Anti-War Movement is pleased to announce a national speaking tour of 18 meetings by two US soldiers - Frank Corcoran (Vietnam Veterans Against War) and Benjamin Hart Viges (Iraq Veterans Against the War). They will address meetings in most major cities and towns as well as every major university in Ireland.
> 
>Benjamin Hart Viges said, "I am a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace. I was with the 82nd Airborne Division as a Mortarman when my unit was deployed to Iraq in Febuary 2003."
> 
>"I joined up the day after September the 11th 2001.  I saw action in Fallujah and Baghdad.  My mortar platoon dropped numerous rounds on the town of Samawa during the start of the invasion.  I don't know how many innocents I killed with my mortar rounds."
> 
>"I was so disgusted by the war that after we came home in January 2004, I filed for Conscientious Objector status and received CO status in December 2004. I'm a Christian, what was I doing holding a gun to another human being?"
> 
>Frank Corcoran served with the Marines in 1968 in Vietnam. He said, "I have been a member of Philadelphia Veterans For Peace since 1990, I have also been active in the School of Americas Watch campaign for 10-12 years. I am a cancer victim because of exposure to Agent Orange while in Vietnam. I am an elementary school teacher for the past 20 years. I'm a Iraq Veterans Against War (IVAW) board member and a volunteer staff member for IVAW for the past year and a half."
> 
>"I wasn't long in Vietnam before my two best friends were killed. It was a long time before I could talk about what happened to me in Vietnam.  But now I want to tell his story has much as I can."
> 
>"In 2000 I travelled to Iraq to help repair a water treatment plant destroyed by US bombing.  I regularly speak at schools to help convince American children
>not to join the army when they are older."
> 
>This national tour is part of the build-up to the international peace protest on March 18th 2006. On that day every capital city on the planet will hold a demonstration against the US led war and occupation of Iraq. In Ireland the anti-war movement will also be calling for an end to CIA torture flights through our airspace and an end to the use of Shannon Airport by the US Military. This year alone over 300,000 US troops have passed through Shannon Airport. The March 18 demonstration in Ireland will take place at 2pm from Parnell Square, Dublin.
> 
>For interviews with our guest speakers please contact Donal Mac Fhearraigh at 0876838746
> 
>Tour dates:
> 



>Thursday 2nd March
>------------------
> 
>1pm Thursday 2nd March, Room 211 Peter Froggatt Centre Queens University
>Contact Sean Mitchell +44 771 7123462 for more information
> 
>7pm Thursday 2nd March, Transport House, High Street, Belfast
>Contact Sean Mitchell +44 771 7123462 for more information
> 
>Friday 3rd March
>----------------
> 
>5pm Friday 3nd March, Badgers Bar, Orchard St, Derry
>Contact Goretti Horgan +44 797 3528772 for more information
> 
>Saturday 4th March
>-------------------
> 
>Sligo - Contact Cllr Declan Bree 071-9145490 for information
> 
>7pm speaking at Marxism 2006 conference, Arts Block, Trinity College Dublin
>"Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran: Resisting the American Empire". Other speakers include: Sami Ramadami (Iraqi Democrats against Occupation), Roudabeh Shafie (Action Iran) and Richard Boyd Barrett (Irish Anti-War Movement)
> 
>Monday 6th March
>-----------------
> 
>6pm Limerick City, venue tbc
>Contact Mala O'Donohue 0877997506 for more information
> 
>Tuesday 7th March
>------------------
> 
>6pm National University of Ireland Galway
>Contact Kiran Emlich 0868443695 for more information
> 
>8.15pm Tuesday 7th March, Menlow Park Hotel, Galway
>Contact Niall Farrell 0879159787 for more information
> 
>Wednesday 8th March
>-------------------
> 
>1pm University College Cork
>Contact Gavin Ryan 0871305878 for more information
> 
>8pm Wednesday 8th March, An Spailpin Fanach, South Main Street, Cork
>Contact Joe Moore 0872994796 for more information
> 
>Thursday 9th March
>------------------
> 
>8pm Thursday 9th March, Grand Hotel, Tralee
>Contact Kieran McNulty 0876716009 for more information
> 
>Friday 10th March
>------------------
> 
>8pm Friday 10th March, The Granville Hotel, Waterford
>Contact Deccy Cheasty 051852047 for more information
> 
>Saturday 11th March
>--------------------
> 
>Screening of film 'Hearts and Minds' about the Vietnam war, introduced by Frank Corcoran, 12 noon Dublin in the Irish Film Centre, Eustace St, Dublin 2
>Contact Jim Roche 0876472737 for more information
>
Crisis in Palestine
>

From Dorothy:

 About an hour ago, I spoke with a friend who has been in Balata the entire shocking and sickening day, the 5^th day of the IOF incursion, and the worst, so far.  According to him, IOF soldiers shot at medical teams, and wounded also internationals who were  trying to help wounded Palestinians.  Israel has no shame.  The TV news filmof the house to house invasion through the narrow alleys, of IOF soldiers kicking in doors, of women screaming, of men being shot, of destruction …. are we all so inured that nothing moves us?  It makes me sick to my stomach.  How the average Israeli feels, I dare not think.

The incoming Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, stated “Palestinians will not allow their blood to become an tool in Israeli elections,”*  But it seems likely that more than elections are at stake.  Europe has not followed Israel in cutting off funds for the Palestinians, despite the Hamas win, and even the US is hedging.  A single Palestinian act of violence in retaliation for what the IOF is doing in Balata, and Israel will claim (as always) that “there is no partner.”  [The statement is absolutely true, but applies to Israel, not to the Palestinians.]  And so Israelis will pay the price for the follies of their leaders.  And the Palestinians, whose suffering increases daily, will be blamed.  And cruel heartless Israeli leaders will insist that the rest of the world starve the Palestinians by refusing to send funds to ‘terrorists.’  Ah, friends, what can I say? My mind runs dry.  I fear for the worst for both our peoples—Palestinians and Israeli Jews.  How did Israel produce leaders who care for land land land but shed not a tear for lives—the expendable, dispendable element, the ‘collateral damage’ on the way to the ‘greater Israel.’

Below is the ISM description of events today, followed by an Associated Press report on the same.  Following that, a few links take you to additional reports, if they interest you.  Please spread the information as widely as possible.

 Best, Dorothy

[ISM Media Group] Israeli military opens fire on medical team wounding

 Palestinian and International medical volunteers -

"We were standing in the alley way, everything was quite when

suddenly without warning we heard a big explosion and heard gun shots.

I then saw Jarar and Ihab liying on the floor. Ihab wasn't moving."

Wounded Dutch medical volunteer

At 11:45 this morning an explosion set off by the Israeli military

inside the house belonging to Muhammed Abu Hamis Abu Amar caused a fire

in the house. Occupation forces prevented fire trucks from accessing

the area and told them that they will be detonating further explosions

in the same house. Emergency teams accompanied by international

volunteers treated children in some of the adjacent houses who were

effected by smoke inhalation. Neighbours attempted to put out the fire

by bringing buckets of water.

At 12:30 the military set off a series of additional explosions inside

the house of Muhammed Abu Amar.

At 1:00 A medical team including two Palestinians and two international

volunteers were trapped in an alleyway adjacent to the house belonging

to Muhammed Abu Amar. They were standing behind an Israeli Jeep that

soldiers had vacated.

At 2:00 without any warning shots they were fired at and a grenade was

thrown at them from around the corner. According to the volunteers the

shooting came from the direction of the Alleyway where the Israeli

soldiers were. A twenty two year old American student was wounded by

Shrapnel in the hand a twenty nine year old Dutch volunteer was wounded

by shrapnel in the thigh and shoulder, Jirar Candola an ambulance

driver with the UPMRC was shot in the arm and leg and Ihab Mansour, a

medical volunteer working with the Palestinian scientific society, was

shot in the head and taken away by the Israeli soldiers.

At 3:00 the soldiers blew up Muhammad Abu Amar's house, thus killing

three Palestinian fighters who were inside.

Earlier this morning the Israeli military shot and killed 19 Year old

Ibrahim Saadi, who was throwing a stone at the Israeli armored jeeps

and 20 year old Naim Abu Sarif, who was shot dead by a sniper while on

the roof of his house.

For more information call:

In Balata Simone 054-2149589 or ISM media office 02-2971824

 ..............................................................

Israeli Army Kills Top Militant

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5642512,00.html

Thursday February 23, 2006 8:16 PM

AP Photo JRL137 By EMILIO MORENATTI

Associated Press Writer

BALATA REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) - Israeli troops on Thursday killed five Palestinians, including a top militant who said just a day earlier that he would never be caught, in the largest West Bank military operation since Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip last summer.

The three fugitives from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades were hiding in a crawlspace above the bathroom of a Balata house when soldiers ringed the building. A gun battle ensued, and at one point, the gunmen threw an explosive device toward the soldiers. Two soldiers were wounded, one seriously.

At the time of the blast, a group of medics and journalists had assembled nearby, after being prevented by troops from entering the camp, witnesses said. One medic, Khaled Saragic, said that when a soldier standing next to a jeep heard the blast, he started firing toward medics and journalists, wounding three people.

Also, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel charged that soldiers were impeding the movement of ambulances. Late Thursday afternoon, they said, four ambulances were trapped inside the camp.

The military denied that soldiers fired indiscriminately or that ambulances were detained. However, the army said ambulances were checked because of attempts to smuggle fugitives out of the camp.

The military said it was not aware of such incidents, and said all gunfire was directed toward armed Palestinians or those throwing firebombs.

Since the Balata sweep began Sunday, eight Palestinians have been killed by army fire, including the five shot dead Thursday. More than 50 Palestinians have been injured by live rounds and rubber-coated steel pellets, Palestinian hospital officials said. The military said 15 fugitives have been arrested.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas condemned the operation and warned it would endanger a cease-fire that has been in effect for a year, according to the Palestinian WAFA news agency.

In Gaza, Hamas backers marched toward the Palestinian parliament building to protest the Israeli operation in Nablus. After winning elections last month, Hamas has taken control of the parliament.

Addressing the rally, incoming Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas denounced the ``aggression committed against our people'' and expressed solidarity with the Palestinians resisting the Israeli military in the refugee camp. He said Hamas has a two-pronged program for the people: ``One hand resists and the other hand builds.''

One of those killed Thursday was identified as Mohammed Shtawi, a top Al Aqsa fugitive. On Wednesday, Shtawi told an AP reporter that earlier in the day soldiers surrounded his hideout for five hours, but he and several friends slipped away. ``They will never catch me,'' he said at the time.

Israeli forces have been carrying out nightly arrest raids in the West Bank, rounding up suspected militants, but the incursion into the Balata camp is the largest and longest since the summer pullout from Gaza and part of the West Bank. Dozens of army vehicles and hundreds of soldiers are involved.

Israeli security officials have been warning that with the pullout, Palestinian militants would switch their operations to the West Bank. Nablus has been a focus of attention for months, with soldiers keeping a tight grip on the city, which is encircled by roadblocks.

The Israeli military said troops entered Balata after receiving warnings that Al Aqsa and two other militant groups in and around the West Bank city of Nablus were planning attacks against Israelis. Before the raid, soldiers in the Nablus area seized four bomb belts, said Maj. Sharon Assman, an army officer in the area. Such belts are used in suicide bombings.

On Thursday morning, dozens of jeeps patrolled Balata and sealed off the refugee camp of 18,000 people from adjacent Nablus. Balata is a stronghold of the Al Aqsa group, a violent offshoot of Abbas' Fatah Party.

Al Aqsa fugitives have been moving from hideout to hideout since the army raid began.

Fighting in Balata began at midmorning Thursday when one of the jeeps broke down on the outskirts of the camp. Several teens began throwing stones at the vehicle, witnesses said. Soldiers opened fire, killing a 19-year-old man. The Israeli military said soldiers fired at the man because he was holding a firebomb.

In another area, Palestinians threw stones at a jeep and soldiers opened fire, hitting one man in the jaw, witnesses said.

An AP photographer who heard the shots and rushed to the scene found the man lying on the ground, with blood gushing from a large hole in his jaw. Bystanders quickly bundled him into an ambulance, and hospital officials later reported he was in serious condition. The Israeli military said the man was targeted because he held a firebomb.

Also, a 22-year-old man was shot and killed by a bullet to the chest while he was standing on his roof in Balata, witnesses said. The military said he was armed when he was shot and that he was an Al Aqsa fugitive.

The al-Askari shrine in Samarra. 22nd February 2006.Who Benefits as the destruction of Arab nations continues? Who has plans for the destruction of arab nations ?

Abu Ghraib leaked report reveals full extent of abuse

· 1,325 images of suspected detainee abuse
· 93 video files of suspected detainee abuse
· 660 images of adult pornography
· 546 images of suspected dead Iraqi detainees
· 29 images of soldiers in simulated sexual acts

By Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Nearly two years after the first pictures of naked and humiliated Iraqi detainees emerged from Abu Ghraib prison, the full extent of the abuse became known for the first time yesterday with a leaked report from the US army's internal investigation into the scandal.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11969.htm

Posted on Tue, Feb. 14, 2006

Syria switches from dollars to euros

Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria has switched the primary hard currency it uses for foreign goods and services from the U.S. dollar to the euro in a bid to make it less vulnerable to pressure from Washington.

The decree signed by Syrian Prime Minister Naji al-Otari on Monday ordered government bodies and public-sector companies to use euros to pay for foreign transactions, including payment for exports.

February 14, 2006

We The People Goes Hollywood
Movie Industry Moguls To Attend WTP Screening Of Russo Freedom Film

Fine Arts Theatre, Beverly Hills, CA

Once again, after playing to a "full house" in Austin, Texas this past weekend, the theater crowd stood and cheered for Aaron Russo's new film, "America.From Freedom To Fascism." Russo, who had personally introduced the film at the WTP Foundation's Right-to-Petition event, was greeted by throngs following the screening.

Because of the rapidly building interest the documentary is receiving and its strategic importance to the Foundation's Right-to-Petition effort, We The People is hosting a special weeknight screening event in Beverly Hills, California on Thursday evening, March 2, from 7:00 to 10:30 PM.

The event, which will be attended by at least a dozen Hollywood industry executives and personalities, will be held in the plush 400+ seat Fine Arts Theatreat 8556 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills, which the Foundation has rented for the event (details below). As with all the WTP regional events, the screening will be free and open to the public. 

This specific California showing holds the potential to influence film industry marketing decisions which will ultimately determine whether millions of Americans will have the opportunity to learn about the historic Right-to-Petition initiative and to see Russo's compelling work documenting the battle for Freedom in America -- a battle most people don't even know about.

american agriculturists and home owners : beware of mulch from new orleans ; termite infested!
     FYI.
Bruce Chesley

Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.".  Thomas Paine

If you use mulch around your house be very careful about buying mulch this year. After the hurricane in New Orleans many trees were blown over. These trees were then turned into mulch and the state is trying to get rid of tons and tons of this mulch to any state or company who will come and haul it away. So it will be showing up in Home Depot and Lowes at dirt cheap prices with one huge problem; Formosan Termites will be the bonus in many of those bags. New Orleans is one of the few areas in the country were the Formosan Termites has gotten a strong hold and most of the trees blown down were already badly infested with those termites. Now we may have the worst case of transporting a problem to all parts of the country that we have ever had. These termites can eat a house in no time at all and we have no good control against them, so tell your friends that own homes to avoid cheap mulch and know were it came from.

now that Ariel Sharon is no longer there to drive on hard for the war Israel requires, the editors of newspapers have cravenly followed the idea that they alone have priorities of free speech and multiple lies. A jewish Danish editor the leader:

Comment and posting by xymphora follows

A provocation, without a doubt. But here are some answers, also related to the previous postings:

1. Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten ("Morning Herald Jutland's Post") is under a corporation which owns two newspapers with a national distribution. The two editors-in-chief, however, are paid by two separate funds and have total editorial freedom. Among people in the know, JP goes by the name of Morgenfascisten Jyllands-Pesten ("Morning Fascist Jutland's Plague"). Defining it as neo-con, neo-lib and racially prejudiced fits the picture pretty well. No doubt they happily would work hand-in-hand with anything neo-con in the US, as when they basically advocated that Greenlanders keep their mouths shut and let the US continue their military occupation there. The other newspaper in the corporation, Politiken ("Politics") is quite the opposite: the editorial line is definitely humanistic, or what used to be called left-wing. More relevant, however, is the fact that its editor-in-chief is one of the most well-formulated defenders of tolerance and multiculturalism, and one of vociferous opponents of the pervasive religious and racial hatred, of the fascisation of Danish society, of Danish foreign policies etc.. In the present context, his voice has been heard repeatedly with the same arguments (and many more) expounded by Xymph, even in public discussions with JP's editor-in-chief (not to mention a tabloid that is even more radical-right than JP). A real good guy, in other words. Now, the interesting thing is that he is Jewish, and even that he at least once was a Bilderberg guest. More: Politiken's previous, now-retired editor-in-chief, is also Jewish, lives in Israel and is often heard in public interviews or discussions with opinions and analyses that are as close to Gush Shalom as can be. Just as interesting: the corporation's CEO has remained very noticeably silent during the past few weeks. The consensus is that his main concern is that both papers remain in the black, whatever they publish, but that he may not be able to keep quiet much longer, considering how fast events are developing. Just to point out that things are not as conspiratorily B&W as our feeble minds would like them to be.

Qûr Tharkasdóttir | 02.06.06 - 5:54 am |

Monday, February 06, 2006

Danish cartoon conspiracy by xymphora

We’re starting to see the details of the conspiracy behind the Danish cartoon scandal.  The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which started the problem by actually commissioning cartoons that would make Muslims furious as an experiment to see if political correctness would prevent the cartoons from being published – you can’t make this stuff up! - supports the anti-immigration Danish governing coalition, and has historic ties going back to the 1920s and 1930s to European fascism.  The editor in question, Flemming Rose, apparently has ties to Daniel Pipes (as if we couldn’t see that coming!).  The point was clearly to incite Muslim riots to enforce the idea that the ‘clash of civilizations’ means that immigration to Europe - particularly Muslim immigration - must be stopped, and to lead credence to the idea that Muslims are all irrational and violent, and can’t be dealt with except through violence.  Although they deny it, the conspiracy clearly flows through a whole series of like-minded European editors, all of whom should be given a blood test to check for Zionism.  The BBC actually had the audacity to carry the cartoons “to give audiences an understanding of the strong feelings evoked by the story”.  As we dig further, I am sure we’ll find that all the people involved in this story have strong connections to either or both of Zionism and far-right European fascism.  The people of Denmark, in particular, ought to be thinking about sending a bill to Jyllands-Posten for the damage done to the embassies, not to mention the fact that Danish firms will never again be able to do business in the Middle East or any place where there is a substantial Muslim population.  Denmark just lost a billion customers.

Iraq: US occupation forces fire against Canadian convoy

Baghdad, 1 February - US occupation forces opened fire on a Canadian diplomatic convoy inside Baghdad’s Green Zone, after the Canadian had failed to slow down while getting near to a US military vehicles. A US army spokesman admitted that the car carrying the Canadian ambassador and three other members of the diplomatic staff, had been damaged by US gunfire and explained: "The rear guard on a US convoy signaled the vehicle to stay back. After it failed to do so and continued moving toward the convoy from behind, warning shots were aimed at the front of the vehicle".

However, the spokeswoman of the Canadian embassy denied that any warning shots had been fired or signals given before the shots were fired against the convoy. According to the Canadian spokeswoman, the US "were on the other side of the road parked behind a waist-high cement barrier and we were passing on the other side. There were several lanes on our side of the road and theirs between us when they opened fire”. Nobody was killed in the incident, the likes of which are frequent as US military is reported to be at a breaking point. Arab Monitor

australia day Jan. 26th - better late than never!

My Country
by Dorothea McKellar

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins.
Strong love of grey-blue distance,
Brown streams and soft, dim skies -
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!

The stark white ring-barked forests,
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon,
Green tangle of the brushes
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops,
And ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When, sick at heart, around us
We see the cattle die –
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the rainbow gold,
For flood and fire and famine
She pays us back threefold.
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.

An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land –
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand –
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.