Expect hilarity from the man who made hating your boss socially acceptable. Ricky’s website features a host of facts and figures behind the alter-ego of David Brent. Or is it the other way round?
- The LA Times reports on the dark side of the “War on Terror.” German citizen Khaled el-Masri claims he was “kidnapped in Macedonia, beaten by masked men, blindfolded, injected with drugs and flown to Afghanistan, where he was imprisoned and interrogated by U.S. intelligence agents. He said he was finally dumped in the mountains of Albania.” Masri has no reported links to terrorism of any kind.
- Riverbend reports from Baghdad of the tactics of the Iraqi officials and spokespeople in the recent case of the alleged Sunni kidnappings of numerous men, women and children in Medain. It now appears that this story was based on vague rumours (though reported in the West without caveats and later corrected by AP, though little disseminated.) The real reason behind the story, Riverbend says, may have been to mask an assault by the American military and Iraqi national guard on a town not controlled by the “Coalition”. Accent on “may”. Simply put, if a story is rumour, journalists should write this clearly in their reports.
“Ratzinger’s immersion in political culture wars has become even deeper. I also cover his radical innovations on the role of women, gays and conscience. A woman should follow the “roles inscribed in her biology”; gays are inherently disposed to “intrinsic moral evil”; conscience as the modern world understands it is illusory. Yes, we have a new Pope. Just like the old one, but without any of his redeeming features.”
Personally, I salute the choice of Ratzinger, if for no other reason than the church’s inherent bigotry and misogyny will finally be clear for all to see. Prediction number one: attendances in churches in the Western world will continue to dive due to Ratzinger’s divisive nature. Prediction number two: the new Pope will be completely incapable and unwilling to engage on any of the fundamental issues facing the world in the 21st century. Prediction number three: being a former Nazi will do wonders for the church’s image.
All in all, a grand day for the secularists.
UPDATE: US Rabbi Michael Lerner explains why Ratzinger is “a disaster for the world and for the Jews.”
“In the next 10 days the Republican leadership is planning to pull the trigger on their scheme to break the rules of the Senate and seize absolute power over judicial appointments. We must act.”
The progressive organisation’s latest alert outlines the dangers of this Republican attempt at subverting democracy:
“If radical Republicans seize absolute power to pack the courts with extremist judges, some of our most treasured rights, like basic environmental protections, the right to privacy, and even the 40-hour work week would be in danger. A rally in your area, as part of a massive national wave of protest, could help sway enough votes in the Senate to stop them. Can you help make it happen?”
Let’s not forget the recent comments of Republican House Majority Leader Tom Delay who said after the death of Terry Schiavo: “The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behaviour, but not today.” Directly threatening judicial independence strikes at the heart of democracy. Delay is currently charged with numerous ethical breaches though his supporters claim this is nothing more than a left-wing vendetta against him. Bollocks.
Which country is the most religiously dangerous in the world? It sure ain’t Iran.
“Had the IDF banned live ammunition and restrained itself in the first days of fire in 2000, and had soldiers used innovative non-lethal weapons that frighten and hurt, but do not kill, hundreds of Israelis would still be with us today – hundreds of Israelis who were later killed by the flames that were fanned into a mutual massacre.”
“However, Chief-of-Staff Mofaz’s IDF hit back as powerfully as it knew how to, firing two million bullets in the intifadah’s early stages and maintaining a 10 to 1 casualty ratio.”
Thousands of Palestinians would still be with us, too. During the second intifadah, the number of Palestinians and Jews slaughtered was in the thousands. The facts, however, speak for themselves. 3164 Palestinians were murdered between 2000 and 2005 (including 639 minors) and hundreds of Israelis.
“…lobbyists have spent nearly $13 billion since 1998 to influence members of Congress and federal officials on legislation and regulations.”
Roberta Baskin, the Center’s executive director, said: “Our report reveals that each year since 1998 the amount spent to influence federal lawmakers is double the amount of money spent to elect them.”
In relation to the Middle East, as a renowned correspondent told me recently, “if you’re a congressman, and you become a harsh critic of Israel, the chances are you won’t get re-elected again”, such is the power of the pro-Israel lobby in Washington. Funds will be directed to your opponent and charges of anti-Semitism will follow.
(Thanks to PR Watch for the tip.)
During a recent talk in Canada, Dershowitz claimed that Israel no longer tortured Palestinians, a fact he said was confirmed by speaking to the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI). The group deny making any such statements. For the record, Israel still tortures Palestinians in detention; the evidence for this is overwhelming.
Dershowitz is a curious case. American academic Norman Finkelstein has documented the professor’s difficulties with the truth and his upcoming book, Beyond Chutzpah – On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and Abuse of History, further explores the ways in which “… apologists for Israel contrive controversy. Whenever Israel comes under international pressure, another media campaign alleging a global outbreak of anti-Semitism is mounted.”
Finkelstein sent me the introduction to his book late last year. It painfully explains the increasingly vicious attempts by pro-Israel supporters to silence dissent on the Israel/Palestine conflict and media culpability in this trend.
So begins a timely report from this classy American magazine. Here in Australia we are constantly bombarded by Green scepticism dressed up as reasoned debate. This anti-Green hysteria is defeated by mountains of fact but the self-appointed conservative commentators create a left-wing conspiracy and routinely dismiss the evidence. Much easier to laugh at environmental damage than actually examine the facts.
As Mother Jones discovers, the political and financial affiliations of these sceptics should always be considered and investigated. Besides, ever wondered why virtually all Green-sceptics hang onto every word of the genre’s master, Bjorn Lomborg? Professor Ian Lowe, emeritus professor of science, technology and society at Griffith University, explains the true reasons behind his following:
“Propaganda units like the Institute of Public Affairs fund the travel of people like Lomborg to muddy the water and obscure the harsh reality that we are not using our natural resources sustainably. The facts show that we desperately need a new approach. Trusting business and the magic of markets has caused the problem; it cannot solve it, even in principle.”
UPDATE: The UK Independent provided a useful summary yesterday of why the environment should feature prominently in the current election campaign and beyond. We should take note:
10 of the hottest years in the world on record have occurred since 1990
3.5C predicted rise in average UK temperature by 2080. For every one degree rise, Spring advances six days
1.5 per cent rise in UK carbon dioxide emissions in 2004
In its 2001 manifesto, Labour reaffirmed its pledge to cut greenhouse emissions by 20 per cent from 1990 levels, by 2010. They are currently 12.6 per cent lower than in 1990
8.6 months is the estimated reduction in lifespan of average European due to pollution
434,000,000 tons of waste is produced in Britain each year – enough to fill the Albert Hall every two hours
50cm average distance between pieces of litter on UK beaches. Levels of rubbish on beaches have increased 82 per cent in a decade
Rubbish is dumped illegally in UK every 35 secs
22m tons of rubbish from British homes sent to landfill sites every year
10 species of wild flower are believed to be disappearing from each county in Britain each decade
21 native flowering plants have disappeared from Britain in the past 150 years
50 per cent fall in the population of birds living in agricultural fields since 1970 (with tree sparrows down by 87 per cent )
95 per cent of our important, wildlife-rich lowland peat bogs have been destroyed in the past half century
97 per cent of our flower-rich lowland grasslands have disappeared since 1930
17 per cent of household waste was recycled last year. The target is 35 per cent by 2015
19 per cent of municipal waste recycled last year
50 per cent of household and municipal waste is recycled in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands
97m passengers flew between the UK and the rest of Europe in 2003 – almost double the 51m in 1993
32.26m vehicles were on Britain’s roads last year, a rise of 3.2 per cent on 2003
100 tons of CO2 will be released by each of the main party’s helicopters during the campaign, say the Greens
“A source close to Sharon said that new unilateral moves – which reportedly could see Israel hold on to over 20 percent of the West Bank – would allow the country to sidestep international pressure over its future borders with a Palestinian state.”
And the West wonders if the Palestinians are serious about peace?
Pick a small party. Accountability will thank you.
Medialens has been pursuing the BBC over the broadcaster’s failure to fully investigate. Read the report of April 18. Human Rights Watch charges that the BBC’s claim of conducting “some investigations” into the napalm allegations is spurious. Credible evidence is emerging that demands investigation. Medialens has consistently proven that the BBC refuses to seriously challenge the Blair government, especially in their post Andrew Gilligan environment, though the problems existed way before Gilligan appeared on the scene.
How willing is our media to report on the use of napalm in Iraq? The deafening silence speaks for itself.
