30 de abril de 2009

New evidence of a secret torture prison

It has long been clear that the CIA used the Szymany military airbase in Poland for extraordinary renditions. Now there is new evidence of a secret torture prison nearby.
It was apparently here, just under an hour's drive from Szymany airport, that Sheikh Mohammed was tortured exactly 183 times with waterboarding -- an interrogation technique that simulates the sensation of drowning -- in March 2003 alone. That averages out to eight times a day. And all of this happened right here in Europe.
Over six years later, these acts of torture are putting President Obama under intense pressure. On the one hand, he released four memos in which his predecessor George W. Bush had legalized such interrogation methods. On the other hand, he decided not to prosecute the torturers. And he initially neglected to launch investigations into these "special interrogation methods."

25 de abril de 2009

Iran say terror acts used to justify occupation of Iraq

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi on Friday condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Iraq, saying such heinous incidents are actually being carried out to justify continuation of the U.S. occupation of the country.

Obama 31

Obama marks Armenian 'atrocity'
Barack Obama has refrained from calling the
killing of Armenians by Turks in World War I
"genocide" despite using the term during his
election campaign.

24 de abril de 2009

Iraqi Tally: 87,000 Dead Since 2005

A newly disclosed Iraqi government tally shows at least 87,000 Iraqis have been killed in violent attacks since 2005. An Iraqi government official provided the figure to the Associated Press. Studies have estimated anywhere between 500,000 to one million Iraqis have died as a result of the US invasion in 2003.

23 de abril de 2009

The CIA's use of waterboarding to interrogate terrorism suspects was approved by Condoleezza Rice as early as 2002, a senate report reveals.

As national security adviser, Ms Rice consented to the harsh interrogation of al-Qaeda suspect Abu Zubaydah, the Senate Intelligence Committee found.
Memos released last week show that he and another key detainee were subjected to waterboarding 266 times.
Former Vice-President Dick Cheney has said the techniques produced results.
The latest details were revealed in a timeline of the CIA's interrogation programme produced by the US Senate Intelligence Committee.
It shows Ms Rice and other top Bush administration officials were first briefed about "alternative interrogation methods, including waterboarding", in May 2002.

22 de abril de 2009

Obama 30

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Says Obama Violating International Law

The UN special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, has said President Obama is in violation of international law for declining to prosecute CIA agents who used torture. Nowak said the US is bound by the UN Convention Against Torture, which requires prosecution in all cases in which there is evidence of torture.

CIA Used Waterboarding 266 Times

A footnote in one of the newly declassified torture memos has revealed that CIA interrogators used waterboarding far more than had been previously reported. In August 2002, the CIA waterboarded Abu Zubaydah eighty-three times. The CIA also used waterboarding 183 times in March 2003 against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. In 2007, a former CIA officer publicly claimed that Abu Zubaydah had undergone waterboarding for only thirty-five seconds before agreeing to tell everything he knew.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Waterboarded 183 Times in One Month

Note, the information comes from the CIA IG report which, in the case of Abu Zubaydah, is based on having viewed the torture tapes as well as other materials. So this is presumably a number that was once backed up by video evidence.
The same OLC memo passage explains how the CIA might manage to waterboard these men so many times in one month each (though even with these chilling numbers, the CIA's math doesn't add up).
So: two two-hour sessions a day, with six applications of the waterboard each = 12 applications in a day. Though to get up to the permitted 12 minutes of waterboarding in a day (with each use of the waterboard limited to 40 seconds), you'd need 18 applications in a day. Assuming you use the larger 18 applications in one 24-hour period, and do 18 applications on five days within a month, you've waterboarded 90 times--still just half of what they did to KSM.
The reason the Bush administration used torture was to complete the legend of 9/11. They needed to create culprits where there were none...or at least in placed other than their own administration.

18 de abril de 2009

Estudio: mujeres y niños iraquíes representan la mayoría de las víctimas de ataques aéreos estadounidenses

Un nuevo estudio sostiene que la gran mayoría de las víctimas iraquíes identificables de los ataques aéreos dirigidos por EE.UU. son mujeres y niños. Según el grupo “Irak Body Count” (recuento de víctimas iraquíes), las mujeres y niños iraquíes representan el 85% de las víctimas de sexo o edad conocidos. El estudio abarcó una muestra de más de 60.000 fallecidos durante un período de cinco años desde que comenzó la invasión en 2003.

16 de abril de 2009

Obama 29

Obama da marcha atrás en divulgación total de memorandos sobre tortura

El gobierno de Obama, según se informa, decidió censurar parte de los tres memorandos secretos sobre tortura elaborados por el gobierno de Bush que había prometido difundir. El objetivo de estos memorandos del Departamento de Justicia fue dar sustento legal al programa de interrogatorios de la CIA. El Wall Street Journal informa que el gobierno de Obama dará a conocer los nombres de los prisioneros y detalles de las técnicas específicas utilizadas. Se prevé que el gobierno divulgue la información en el correr del día de hoy, en cumplimiento de un plazo impuesto judicialmente ante una demanda iniciada por la Unión por las Libertades Civiles (ACLU, por su sigla en inglés).

Obama Backtracks on Full Release of Torture Memos

The Obama administration has reportedly decided to censor portions of three secret Bush administration torture memos it had previously vowed to release. The Justice Department memos were written to give legal backing to the CIA’s interrogation program. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Obama administration will redact the prisoners’ names as well as details on how particular techniques were used. The administration is expected to make the announcement later today under a court-imposed deadline in a case brought by the ACLU.

Obama 28

Un ex prisionero de Guantánamo dijo que las condiciones en la prisión empeoraron luego de que el Presidente Obama asumió el mando. Binyam Mohamed hizo este comentario en una entrevista publicada en el sitio web CagePrisoners.com website.

Binyam Mohamed dijo: “Comenzaron a ser más represivos, y es como si hubieran empezado a implementar normas, normas degradantes que nos obligaron a la mayoría de nosotros a iniciar huelgas de hambre, y si se fijan en los registros, antes de que asumiera el nuevo gobierno solamente había diez o veinte personas en huelga de hambre y justo después de que el nuevo gobierno asumiera el mando, esta cifra aumentó a cuarenta y pico de personas que son alimentados a la fuerza y otras cien que están en huelga de hambre”.

Binyam Mohamed fue liberado de Guantánamo a fines de febrero tras haber estado detenido siete años por Estados Unidos. Mohamed dice que fue torturado reiteradas veces mientras estuvo detenido en una prisión secreta de la CIA y en Guantánamo.

Obama 27

El Washington Post informa que el gobierno de Obama aparentemente mantendrá su decisión de boicotear la Conferencia Mundial contra el Racismo que se llevará a cabo la semana que viene en Ginebra, a pesar de los esfuerzos por moderar las expresiones críticas de Israel en el esbozo del documento de la conferencia. Israel y varios grupos de defensa judíos exhortaron a Estados Unidos y a otros países a que no participaran en la conferencia. No obstante, otros grupos, entre ellos TransAfrica y el Fondo de Defensa Legal de la Asociación Nacional para el Progreso de la Gente de Color, están instando al gobierno de Obama a que participe en la conferencia. Imani Countess de TransAfrica dijo: “Era de esperarse que el Presidente Bush no participara, pero que el gobierno de Barack Obama no participe es una decepción. Envía el mensaje de que estos asuntos no son importantes”.

Obama 26

El Presidente Barack Obama ordenó a su gobierno que autorice los viajes y transferencias de dinero ilimitadas de los estadounidenses cubanos a sus familias en Cuba, pero se rehusó a levantar el embargo comercial que hace casi 50 años pesa sobre la isla. El lunes, el Secretario de Prensa de la Casa Blanca Robert Gibbs anunció la nueva política con respecto a Cuba.

14 de abril de 2009

Obama 25

El Presidente Obama se alineó con el ex gobierno de Bush al afirmar que los prisioneros retenidos por las tropas estadounidenses en el extranjero no tienen derechos legales en Estados Unidos. El viernes, el Departamento de Justicia apeló la sentencia de un juez federal que otorgaba a tres detenidos en la prisión militar estadounidense de Bagram, en Afganistán, el derecho a impugnar su detención en los tribunales estadounidenses.

13 de abril de 2009

687 civiles paquistaníes asesinados por aviones no tripulados de EE.UU. desde 2006

El periódico paquistaní The News informa que 687 civiles paquistaníes han muerto víctimas de los bombardeos estadounidenses desde 2006. Durante ese período, aviones no tripulados de Estados Unidos realizaron 60 ataques en el interior de Pakistán, pero sólo 10 de ellos dieron en los blancos reales.

8 de abril de 2009

Israeli high court rules in favor of further home demolitions in Jerusalem

Just a few days after ruling to force Palestinian homeowner Darwish Hijazi off his land to allow Israeli expansion in his home and property, the Israeli high court has issued a ruling on the cases of two more families who challenged the Israeli demolition orders placed on their homes.
The demolition orders are part of a larger Israeli settlement plan, which the Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem and the city planners have called the 'E1 Plan’, to tear down thousands of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem to make way for Disney-like theme parks based on biblical themes.

Please tell me, where is Israel headed?

So Israel will continue expanding its settlements in the West Bank. In fact, the Israeli press is reporting that Netanyahu and Lieberman agreed in their negotiations to form a government that Israel would build 3,000 housing units in an area between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim (a huge settlement bloc) known as E-1. Once that is accomplished, Israel will have effectively cut the West Bank in half, making it almost impossible to create a viable Palestinian state. This deal was supposed to be secret, because the United States is opposed to Israel building in the E-1 area.

Obama 24

Barack Obama goes ahead with missile defence shield despite disarmament pledge

"He sounded like George W Bush saying that we should be afraid in order to justify missile defence."
Gary Samore, a White House adviser on arms control, indicated that Mr Obama's call for ridding the world of nuclear weapons should not be taken too literally. "In terms of a nuclear-free world, we recognise this is not a near-term possibility," he said. Rather, the call was an attempt to "seize the moral high ground" in order to increase pressure on countries such as North Korea and Iran.

Obama 23

Estados Unidos aumentará el uso de aviones no tripulados en Pakistán

El New York Times informa que funcionarios del gobierno de Obama proponen intensificar el uso de aviones no tripulados para atacar Pakistán y comenzar a bombardear objetivos que se encuentran en el interior del país.

7 de abril de 2009

Obama 22

Following Bush lead, Obama moves to block challenge to wiretapping program

President Barack Obama invoked "state secrets" to prevent a court from reviewing the legality of the National Security Agency's warantless wiretapping program, moving late Friday to have a lawsuit that challenged the program dismissed.
The move -- which holds that information surrounding the massive eavesdropping program should be kept from the public because of its sensitivity -- follows an earlier decision in March to block handover of documents relating to the Bush Administration's decision to spy on a charity. The arguments also mirror the Bush Administration's efforts to dismiss an earlier suit against AT&T.

TVNL Comment: Still think "change" means what you thought it meant?

Massive US Arms Sale to Israel Disclosed

Amnesty International has revealed that the United States has sent a massive new shipment of arms to Israel despite evidence that US weapons were misused against civilians in the Gaza attacks. Amnesty said a German cargo ship carrying about 14,000 tons of arms docked in late March at the Israeli port of Ashdod, about twenty-five miles north of Gaza. The ship left for Israel on December 20, a week before the start of Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

Gazan fishermen abducted by Israeli forces

Gazan fishermen abducted by Israeli forces
ISM Gaza Strip

http://fishingunderfire.blogspot.com/

Since Friday 13th March 2009, 16 fishermen from the Gaza Strip have been abducted by the Israeli Navy.
12 were abducted while fishing off the coast of Beit Lahia;
Zaki Mostafa Tarowsh, 44; Ismaeen Zaki Tarowsh, 16; Thaher Mahmoud Zayad, 45; and Nedal Thaher Zayad, 23 were abducted on Friday 13/02/2009.
Kamel Deeb Alankah, 57; and Yoness Deeb Zayal, 36 were abducted on Wednesday 18/03/2009.
Ramzy Mostafah Alsultan,36; Anes Mohammed Alsultan, 20; Ashraf Hossan Alsultan, 34; Mohammed Hossan Alsultan, 23; Mahmoud Mohammed Zayad, 23; and Fahme Salah Abu Reash, 18 were all abducted on Thursday 19/03/2009.
4 were abducted on Wednesday 25th March while fishing near Rafah;
Mohammed Abulah An Najjar, 26; Khalil abdullah an najjar, 20 ;Yousif Abdullah An Najjar, 18 ; and Ali Hasan an Najjar,18.
The fishermen were forced at gunpoint to strip naked and swim from their boats to the Israeli warships. After being taken to Ashdod they were all released within 24 hours. The Israeli Navy have however impounded all of their boats - 7 in total.
International law, and various agreements to which Israel is a signatory indeed recognise that the Fishermen from Gaza have a right to fish at least 12 miles from shore at a bare minimum. In practice however a “law of the gun” has been enforced by the Israeli Navy, and this right has been denied to them.
According to numerous reports from the international media the Israeli Navy were enforcing a no fishing zone 6 miles from shore prior to the wholesale attacks on the population of the Gaza Strip. It has been commonly reported that in the wake of these attacks, this limit has been reduced to 3 miles.
The fishermen abducted from Beit Lahia however say that this is not the whole story, and that for them, the limit has been reduced to a mere 200m. Were this not bad enough, all of them were actually within this limit when they were abducted. Several of them say that whilst in captivity, when they told Israeli investigators where they had been abducted from, the investigators expressed surprise and told them “… but that is not a forbidden area.”
It is unclear what the Israeli military regard as the official “forbidden” area. There are no official channels of communication open between the Israeli Navy and the fishermen from Gaza. All the information regarding this that the fishermen have is delivered at gunpoint, and is inconsistent with the actions of the gunboat crews. Experience informs the fishermen that at any moment any portion of Gaza’s territorial waters can be deemed “prohibited” by the gunboat crews, no matter how close to shore, and irrespective of what the gunboat commanders have previously decreed (the status of these decrees as both arbitrary and illegal in the context of international law should also be noted).
This uncertainty is further compounded by what the fishermen say are unusually high levels of aggression by the gunboats. On the 17th March 2009 a gunboat crew shot Deeb Alankah, in the arm and the back. He was less than 200m from shore near Beit Lahia, and says that no warning was given to him nor demand made before he was shot. Other fishermen confirm that typically when the Israeli gun boats begin shooting at them, they now do so without warning.

Deeb’s father Kamel Deeb Alankah was one of the fishermen abducted on the day after his son was shot. He says of his interrogation;
“A colonel in the intelligence said “We shot Deeb by mistake.”
I told him “why did you shoot at us, on the sands and the small boats, you killed us.”
He said all of this was done by mistakes, I said “no its not by mistake, when the shots hit a boat 3 meters long? Is that by mistake?””
Israel is refusing to return the 7 fishing boats - the sole means of income for fishermen already greatly impoverished by the siege on the Gaza Strip.

6 de abril de 2009

Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe

We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in significant numbers in dust associated with the World Trade Center destruction. We have applied SEM/XEDS and other methods to characterize the small-scale structure and chemical signature of these chips, especially of their red component.
Based on these observations, we conclude that the red layer of the red/gray chips we have discovered in the WTC dust is active, unreacted thermitic material, incorporating nanotechnology, and is a highly energetic pyrotechnic or explosive material.

4 de abril de 2009

Obama 21

Mr Obama, who is in London for the G20 summit, has telephoned Mr Netanyahu to congratulate him on his new coalition government, the White House said.

"The president said he looked forward to working closely with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to address issues of mutual concern, including Iran and Arab-Israeli peace," its statement added.

2 de abril de 2009

Obama 20

Pentágono solicita envío de 10.000 soldados más a Afganistán
Comandantes militares estadounidenses solicitaron al gobierno de Obama el envío el año que viene de 10.000 soldados más a Afganistán. Esta cantidad de efectivos se sumaría a los 21.000 soldados adicionales que el Presidente Obama ha autorizado desde que asumió el cargo. El General David Petraeus dio a conocer la información al prestar declaración el jueves ante el Comité de Servicios Armados del Senado.
El General David Petraeus dijo: “No habrá nada fácil en el camino a seguir en Afganistán o Pakistán, o en muchas de las otras tareas que habrá que llevar a cabo en la zona del Comando Central. Nos espera un arduo trabajo, pero resulta evidente que lograr los objetivos de estas misiones es de vital importancia, y es igualmente claro que estos empeños requerirán un compromiso sustancial y continuo y la unidad del esfuerzo de todos los involucrados”.
Si Obama aprueba la solicitud en el correr del otoño, la ocupación estadounidense de Afganistán aumentaría a unos 70.000 efectivos.