Month: June 2004

Jose Padilla, originally detained for an alleged “dirty bomb” plot, is now being accused of conspiring to blow up apartment buildings with natural gas. Padilla, a New York-born American citizen, has been held since May 2002 without being charged. He was forbidden to speak to a lawyer until February 2004, shortly before the Supreme Court … Continue reading “Justice Dept. Changes Story on Padilla”

A friend recently asked me to write some about how Iraqis are getting by in regards to feeding themselves amidst 60% unemployment, the fuel crisis, and the already terrible security situation that continues to degrade. The increased number of women and children begging for dinars on the streets of Baghdad shows, more than anything else, … Continue reading “Hospitality and Hunger in Baghdad”

Sometimes a person “buys his world in one moment,” as the ancient Hebrew saying goes. This was done by the Minister of Justice, Yosef (“Tommy”) Lapid, when he uttered the words: “This old woman reminds me of my grandmother!” This old woman, an inhabitant of the Rafah refugee camp whose house was demolished by the … Continue reading “Israeli Politician Lets the Truth Slip”

In what has increasingly become an outsourced war, the Coalition Provisional Authority has just added half a billion dollars to the amount being spent on private security contractors. The role of such mercenaries has taken on new dimensions in Iraq. Heavily-armed personnel frequently engage in work traditionally done by the military, though they may not … Continue reading “More Money for Mercenaries”

In case you have not noticed, the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal has continued to justify its ardent support for the preemptive war against Iraq even though no weapons of mass destruction have been found and no links between Saddam and al-Qaeda have been found. The latest rationale is that the 24 million … Continue reading “Preemption: Back to Osirak”

In recent days administration officials have warned the nation about possible terrorist attacks, subjecting us once again to color-coded threat charts and puzzling admonitions to go about our lives as usual. The message is clear: grave danger surrounds us, but ordinary citizens should do nothing and trust the government to take care of it. But … Continue reading “Freedom vs. Security: A False Choice”

After nearly two months of generating some of the most compelling journalism to come out of Iraq this year, NewStandard correspondent Dahr Jamail has decided to stay on through the June 30 “handover” of partial sovereignty, adding more than a month to his work in Iraq and his witness to a crucial moment in modern … Continue reading “Help Support Dahr Jamail for Another 5 Weeks of Courageous Reporting”

Beijing’s main aim with the release of the white paper on Tibet entitled “Regional Ethnic Autonomy in Tibet” was to make the parameters of any future talks extremely clear to all Tibetans, especially the Dalai Lama. What the white paper also did was define the two separate views of what Tibet is and should be … Continue reading “Medieval Theocracy vs. Market Socialism”

Some flavor of the new president can be gathered from this recent FNS interview. Federal News Service May 27, 2004 (Note: The following was translated from Arabic) QUESTION: Would you be willing to intervene personally in trying to stop the fighting at Annajaf al Ashraf [Najaf]? GHAZI AL YAWAR: I think that the issue of … Continue reading “Ghazi al-Yawar on Iraqi Politics”

by Humberto Márquez CARACAS (IPS) – The opposition movement in Venezuela assumed a triumphalist attitude Monday while President Hugo Chávez’s supporters urged people to wait for the final results of the last phase of the signature-gathering effort aimed at activating a recall referendum to oust the president. "We have enough signatures. More than 700,000 people … Continue reading “Venezuela Opposition Upbeat about Last Phase of Recall Effort”