Year: 2004

Must Reads

> What We Have Become
An excellent blog by Lawrence.
One other thought on the “it’s just a few bad apples defense”. Why should the Arab or Muslim worlds care whether the torture and killing of their compatriots or coreligionists is the policy of our nation or the work of a few rogue elements? On September 11, 2001, the US was attacked by 19 members of al-Qaeda, a small rogue element on the very fringes of Islam, which enjoyed no significant public following in any Arab or Muslim country. And what was our response? … [Full Article]

> Racism at Core of Iraq Invasion
UN Observer
There is an arrogance in the West that everything Western is superior, exemplary and ideal for all cultures. In 2002, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Belusconi said that Islamic culture was inferior to the advanced Western civilization. This school of thought is prevalent throughout every sector of US society and has been nudged on by the various

Brits Can Torture Too

Not to be outdone by their fellow US partners in liberation, it seems UK soldiers are trying to be even worse to Iraqis.

British military officials confirmed Friday that they are investigating new allegations that their soldiers abused a prisoner in Iraq.

Photographs in the Daily Mirror show an Iraqi being battered with rifle butts, threatened with execution, and urinated on by British troops.

The Mirror told how the man was later driven away from the Army camp, still hooded, and thrown off the back of a moving wagon.

“We are not helping ourselves out there. We are never going to get them on our side. We are fighting a losing war,” one of the soldiers told the paper.

[Via Je Blog, Antiwar, CNN]

Americans torment and denigrate Iraqi prisoners

CBS TV says it has “dozens” of pictures showing a wide range of maltreatment.
Taken by US troops, many of the pictures show American troops watching in apparent approval. CBS says the pictures it obtained show a wide range of abuses, including:

– Prisoners with wires attached to their genitals
– A dog attacking a prisoner
– Prisoners being forced to simulate having sex with each other
– A detainee with an abusive word written on his body.
– An Iraqi standing on a box with wires attached to his hands and told he would be electrocuted if he stepped down.

The Sgt Frederick said he and his fellow reservists had never been told how to deal with prisoners, or what lines should not be crossed. He said he never saw a copy of the Geneva Conventions.

So he thought as a “civilized” US soldier that they could use cruelty, maltreatment, assault and indecent acts against prisoners.

[Via CNN, The Age, Je Blog]

Take your hands off! Not you! YOU!

In the darkness of a cinema, a woman’s voice: “Hey! Take your hands off! Not you! YOU!”

This old joke illustrates the American policy regarding nuclear armaments in the Middle East. “Hey, you there, Iraq and Iran and Libya, stop it! Not YOU, Israel!”

The danger of nuclear arms was the main pretext for the invasion of Iraq. Iran is threatened in order to compel it to stop its nuclear efforts. Libya has surrendered and is dismantling its nuclear installations.
So what about Israel?

It has become clear that the Americans are full partners in the creation of Israel’s “nuclear option”.

[More: Vanunu: The Terrible Secret]

Newspaper Design

Just the other day, I was thinking about how badly designed some newspapers were and how they were unfriendly and unattractive to readers.

The main problems that just shouted out loud at me were the following:

  • Too many different fonts, font sizes and font colours.
  • Bad organization of content.
  • Too many colours that don’t blend well together.
  • Bad choice of fonts for article content.
  • Bad choice of pictures and picture sizes.
  • Information looks too bulky.

I think newspaper design should be given more importance than it already gets.
It would make a really big difference for the people if the experience of reading a newspaper is made easier, friendlier and more attractive to the eye.

For an example of a newspaper re-design, check out what was done with The Jordan Times here.
A before & after is also provided and the difference is great although the old Jordan Times wasn’t that bad compared to other newspapers.

National Census of Population

The national census of the Tunisian population starts today.

The last census took place in 1994. The Tunisian population was then 8.7 million. It is estimated today at about 10 million. Thanks to the country’s family planning program, Tunisia’s demographic growth rate has shot down to less than 1 percent.

More than 14,000 trained employees will take part in the collection and processing aspects of the 2004 census operation, scheduled from April 28 to May 25, 2004.

Watch what you blog!

People in black trench coats might soon be chasing blogs as US intelligence agencies start to monitor them.

Some blogs are whimsical and deal with “soft” subjects. Others, though, are cutting edge in delivering information and opinion.

As a result, some analysts say U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials might be starting to track blogs for important bits of information. This interest is a sign of how far Web media such as blogs have come in reshaping the data-collection habits of intelligence professionals and others, even with the knowledge that the accuracy of what’s reported in some blogs is questionable.

Still, a panel of folks who work in the U.S. intelligence field – some of them spies or former spies – discussed this month at a conference in Washington the idea of tracking blogs.

Hmmm…
Whatever…

[More: Yahoo! News]
[Via: eclecticism]

Definition of Iraq’s “sovereignty”

Powell has taken the time and effort to explain the definitions of Iraq’s sovereignty.

Simply, any new Iraqi government due to take power on 1 July will have to surrender many of its powers to occupation forces.

“I hope they will understand … some of its [Iraq’s] sovereignty will have to be given back”

Colin Powell, US secretary of state

See? It’s simple.

The US hands over sovereignty to Iraqis on July 1st, hands are shaken, other hands are clapped, pictures are taken, champagne is poured, then the Iraqis give back the sovereignty and what’s left of their dignity to the US, and everybody goes home happy.

[Source: Al Jazeera]