John Walker Lindh’s lawyers made a deal with prosecutors and Lindh pled guilty to aiding the Taleban effectively ending the trial. This is disappointing since it gives the US propaganda machine an apparent win in case that should have been used to showcase the routine cruelty and bloodthirst of the mercenary American military. Those pictures of Lindh strapped to that cot and bound like some sort of S&M slave were disturbing. This deal means that the US will not be held accountable for the mistreatment of an American citizen. As part of the plea agreement, Lindh withdrew any claims of mistreatment by the military. Stupid. Stupid.
Monthly Archives: July 2002
15
Jul 02
Mowbray vs. the State Department
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.
15
Jul 02
/me looks askance at neighbors
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.
15
Jul 02
S. Koreans Protest U.S. Military
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.
15
Jul 02
Evil Meddlers: The US in Bolivia
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?
15
Jul 02
Bush wants military relations with China
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:
14
Jul 02
Jewish, down on your luck?
Jewish? Ultra-zionist? Had trouble finding gainful employment in this troubled economy? Immigrate to Israel and get a twenty thousand dollar bonus per family! All you have to do is hate Palestinians and possess the requisite siege mentality and racism. Brought to you with help from crazy apocalyptic American Christians! The end is near! From the Times online:
Asked why he was willing to expose his two children to such a hostile environment, Baruch, 47, exploded into fury. “It’s the Palestinians and that murderous thug Arafat, may his name be blotted out,” spat the computer specialist from Portland, Oregon.
“We were going to come anyway but in particular at this time we are not going to change the way we lead our lives. They think that just by murdering us that we will run and hide. We tried to make peace with them and they murder us. We used to care about them but we don’t care any more. They can sit in their squalor and starve for all we care. They can live in peace or rest in peace.”
That’s one less insane lunatic walking the streets. He sounds like the life of the party.
14
Jul 02
More on the Lindh case
The scapegoating of John Walker Lindh is really fucked up. I think to the right-wing he represents anyone who opposes US foreign policy and therefore an example must be made of him:
Also, after the video aired, Pelton was interviewed by CNN about his impressions of Lindh.
At one point, he said of Lindh: “His goal was not to fight against America. He got caught up in a war when it started shortly after Sept. 11. So I don’t think he deliberately went to fight against American interests…. At no time during my conversation with him did he give me negative opinions about America or say anything bad about our country.”
He also recalled that once U.S. Special Forces realized Lindh was an American, “one of the Green Berets guys offered to shoot him.”
These Green Beret sickos need to cut down on the bloodthirst. We need to have these psychopaths doing something useful like building roads or something.
13
Jul 02
NRO Reporter Detained by State Dept Thugs
I actually saw this exchange while watching a State Department briefing with that piece of crap, Richard Boucher, on CSPAN. It’s crazy what happened after.
Evidently, the reporter, Joel Mowbray had received a classified directive showing that the State Department had implemented a ‘Visa express’ program for Saudi nationals which means Saudis were able to enter the US without the normal scrutiny given to international visitors. This is a huge fuck up by the State Department since almost all of the 9-11 hijackers were Saudis. Basically, the US opened the backdoor to terrorists who just waltzed in. Anyway, after the briefing Mowbray was detained by State Department thugs no doubt at the behest of Richard Boucher. Crazy.
Mowbray had challenged Boucher on his account of events at State this week, which had to fire its longest-serving career diplomat in response to the congressional uproar created by Mowbray’s reporting on the “Visa Express” program (the program gives the Saudis easy access to U.S. visas — see Mowbray’s reporting here.
Mowbray read from a classified cable that had been leaked to him and that contradicted Boucher’s spin (both Mowbray and the Washington Post quoted from the cable earlier this week). State Department officials were not amused. Very not amused.
When Mowbray was leaving the briefing, a State Department official, accompanied by four guards, asked him to stay to answer a few questions. Mowbray said he could come back later. The official said, no, they wanted him to answer a few questions immediately.
When Mowbray began to get the feeling that he couldn’t leave even if he wanted to, he asked, “Am I being detained?”
When a diplomatic security official — who had showed up on the scene — told him “no,” Mowbray announced that he was leaving.
At which point, the guard stepped in front of Mowbray and said, “Now, you’re being detained.”