Letter Never Sent

Ex-U.S. officials warn that U.S. policies threaten repression:

“When I was in the Carter administration, I was in Argentina and I saw mothers in the streets protesting, asking for the names of those being held, those who had disappeared,” Christopher said.

“We must be very careful in this country of not holding people without revealing their names. It leads to the ‘disappeared,”‘ he said. “The names of people should be revealed so that relatives will know what has become of their loved ones. It’s a good precaution against having the ‘disappeared.”‘

It blows my mind that a dupe like John Walker Lindh can get 20 years in the federal pen for being a footsoldier for the Taleban, and yet the very people who created the Taleban, Osama bin Laden, Al Quaeda, Saddam Hussein, ad nauseum, still draw breath and a fat government paycheck. I’m talking about corrupt individuals in the highest places of power in this country. What are we fighting for here? The opportunity to get eaten by wolves in sheep’s clothing? The freedom to be enslaved? Humbug.

One of the 23,000 fascist cogs employed in the Pentagon visited us today. Who was it? I don’t now, but I do know what they were looking for.

15 Jul, Mon, 12:07:17 WCS2-PENT.NIPR.MIL Netscape 3 Other

15 Jul, Mon, 12:07:17 WCS2-PENT-2.NIPR.MIL MSIE 5 Windows NT

They got here via this referrer, a google search for the terms “Joel Mowbray” reporter. Joel Mowbray is of course the NRO reporter who was detained at the State Department last Friday for asking the wrong questions. There was another State Department briefing today, maybe someone wanted to see how this detainment went over. I have no idea, but it’s still interesting to me.

Great. This is all I need. Next time I wear my Green Party shirt someone’ll probably call the Gestapo on me. If I were an Arab-American I would be crapping my drawers right now.

US planning to recruit one in 24 Americans as citizen spies:

The Terrorism Information and Prevention System, or TIPS, means the US will have a higher percentage of citizen informants than the former East Germany through the infamous Stasi secret police. The program would use a minimum of 4 per cent of Americans to report “suspicious activity”.

Civil liberties groups have already warned that, with the passage earlier this year of the Patriot Act, there is potential for abusive, large-scale investigations of US citizens.

As with the Patriot Act, TIPS is being pursued as part of the so-called war against terrorism. It is a Department of Justice project.

Highlighting the scope of the surveillance network, TIPS volunteers are being recruited primarily from among those whose work provides access to homes, businesses or transport systems. Letter carriers, utility employees, truck drivers and train conductors are among those named as targeted recruits.

A pilot program, described on the government Web site www.citizencorps.gov, is scheduled to start next month in 10 cities, with 1 million informants participating in the first stage. Assuming the program is initiated in the 10 largest US cities, that will be 1 million informants for a total population of almost 24 million, or one in 24 people.

Historically, informant systems have been the tools of non-democratic states. According to a 1992 report by Harvard University’s Project on Justice, the accuracy of informant reports is problematic, with some informants having embellished the truth, and others suspected of having fabricated their reports.

Thousands protest. I would too especially after those incidents involving Americans running over Korean children and raping 12 year olds. I’m also pretty sure the Koreans aren’t too happy with American soldiers marrying up all the local prostitutes and shipping them back to the US. Bring our hired killers and rapists back to the US where they belong.

Uh oh, is Bush gonna have to authorize another coup or assassination? Bolivia’s leftwing upstart alarms US manchurians:

“The Bolivian electorate must consider the consequences of choosing leaders somehow connected with drug trafficking and terrorism,” said Mr Rocha in a speech last month. “I want to remind the Bolivian electorate that if they vote for those who want Bolivia to return to exporting cocaine, that will seriously jeopardise any future aid to Bolivia from the United States.” …

Mr Reich’s intervention is the latest in a series of moves to influence politics in the region. He has been criticised for the way the US administration was seen as giving the green light to the military coup in Venezuela in April which would have removed the leftwing president, Hugo Chavez. Mr Chavez was returned to power after 48 hours but is still thought to be at risk from another possible coup attempt.

Last year, the US intervened in the Nicaraguan elections, warning that if the Sandinista leader, Daniel Ortega, won, there would be disastrous financial consequences for the country. A US state department official, Lino Gutierrez, visited the country to urge the conservative parties running against Mr Ortega to bury their differences to defeat him. Mr Ortega lost the election heavily although the US intervention was far from the decisive factor.

Mr Reich is a controversial figure in Latin-American politics. Under Ronald Reagan, he was the head of the office of public diplomacy at the state department and used his position to promote the cause of the “contras” in their war against the Sandinistas.

In an investigation in 1987 by the comptroller-general of the US he was found to have abused his office which had been engaged in “prohibited, covert propaganda activities… beyond the range of acceptable public information activities”.

The Bush Gang some evil bitches or what?

Orwellian translation: EASTASIA and OCEANIA declare alliance.

Bush wants the US to be buddy buddy with the totalitarian, repressive government of China. They have a lot in common, but the real reason is that the US is concerned. Concerned that China’s entrance into global military affairs could threaten American military hegemony and the American arms racket. They are hoping to at least be a part some aspects of the decision-making process hence the movement towards joint US/China military exercises. The US can’t go all hardline since American Business needs the cheap prison labor the Chinese can provide. Those sweatpants at Walmart aren’t going to make themselves you know! Not too mention any conflict between the US and China would be catastrophic to say the least. China still has the largest standing army in the world.

The threat is China becoming a regional power and enlarging its sphere of influence. It is in a unique position with relation to the rest of the world. Close to the petroleum wealth of the Mideast and Central Asia. Next door to the bustling ‘Asian Tiger’ economies of the Far East and the natural wealth of Russia. China has reiterated its intentions of retaking Taiwan and has moved military units into islands in the south which have been claimed by multiple countries. It has also engaged in ‘war games’ with the Russians. The new China is feeling its oats. It recently showed off its military in an event planned for the benefit of foreign media! It has even stepped into the US’s backyard by forming military ties with some South American countries like Suriname. It’ll be interesting so see what happens.

Related:

• US-China talks a polite standoff.
• China Moving Away From Military Strategy on Taiwan
• Congressional Panel Says US-China Trade Poses Security Threat
• Pentagon: China is a ‘Menace’