Category: World News & Politics

Ralph Nader: Conservatively Speaking

Just came across this really interesting interview with Ralph Nader (Thanks Mohsan) in which he talks about US foreign policy, Israeli lobbies, Israeli/Palestinian peace movements and lots more.

Here’s some of what he has to say:

“First of all, we have been supporting despots, dictators, and oligarchs in all those states for a variety of purposes. We supported Saddam Hussein. He was our anti-Communist dictator until 1990. (…) The other thing is that we are supporting the Israeli military regime with billions of dollars and ignoring both the Israeli peace movement and the Palestinian peace movement. (…) The subservience of our congressional and White House puppets to Israeli military policy has been consistent. (…) They’re almost all puppets. There are two sets: Congressional puppets and White House puppets. When the chief puppeteer comes to Washington, the puppets prance. (…) instead of focusing on how to bring a peaceful settlement, both parties concede their independent judgment to the pro-Israeli lobbies in this country”

Ralph Nader

[More: Ralph Nader: Conservatively Speaking]
[Via: Je Blog]

Greece 1 – Portugal 0

WOW…
That Euro 2004 final was really one hell of a match.

Portugal controlled the ball most of the time and put constant pressure on the Greece team, but still Greece (the surprise team of Euro 2004) played great, stood strong and won the game.

A 57th minute goal from Angelos Charisteas gave Greece the lead, and then it was virtually over as Greece’s defense became one great wall in front of the Portuguese.

It’s always great to see an underdog come into a world class tournament, take it by storm and win it leaving everyone’s jaws dropping.
Greece did exactly that.
The Greece football team is basiclaly an unknown, they’ve never made it to any important stage in any tournament and nobody thought they’d go anywhere this time either. But they were wrong.

I hear they’ll be putting up a sculpture of the German coach Otto Rehhagel who got them here in Athens.
I guess they’re that happy about it 🙂

Well, congratulations to Greece and hard luck to Portugal.

Saddam Hussein Trial

Man, man, man…
Saddam Hussein was in court yesterday…
And what a show it was!

Saddam was very confident and extremely defiant. He was talking like he was still the President of Iraq, and he simply took control of the whole situation.

“This is all a theater” designed by President Bush, whom he called a criminal, to win re-election, he said.

He defended his invasion of Kuwait and questioned how an Iraqi judge could be asking him about it.

In short, he was very strong and unbroken.

I agree that Saddam is a criminal who deserves to be tried in a court of law for what he did.
I had a lot of Iraqi friends when I was in Jordan, and I knew how life was in Iraq not from the media, but from the people who lived it themselves.
It was a nightmare for these people. I had a friend who was afraid of going back to Iraq because they’d catch him and cut his ears off for not going into the army.
And I saw many families scattered and heard many tragedic stories about loss of family and friends.

Anyway, just like it’s always been, Saddam gets his charisma and popularity from his strength and his ability to defy his enemies.
To many arabs, Saddam was the last courageous arab man, the last person who could stand up to the US and defy them and mock them.
Everyone knew about the atrocities he committed in Iraq but still that would all be forgotten and they’d only see the side of Saddam that is strong and defiant, the side they loved him for.

Showing him in court yesterday and showing how he still is strong willed and defiant will only make people admire him for it.
I’ve heard that they showed the video so that people would know that he’s being tried by an Iraqi court and an Iraqi judge and that it would be fair. Well, people know that’s all an image, or theater as Saddam put it, and it’s obvious the US is the one pulling the strings from behind the curtains.

Of course, a lot of people are happy to see that he’s going to be tried for all he’s done, and hope that he gets the death penalty, and they don’t care who’s behind it as long as it’s done.

But some other people see a Saddam who is not willing to let go, who is still confident, who can’t be broken. And they will be awed by that and will admire him more. Something I’m sure the US and the interim Iraqi administration don’t want to see happening.

A BUT in the Iraq Handover

As if to confirm what I said yesterday about the handover not being such a big deal and that it’s basically the Americans handing over the rule to themselves, this comes out:

U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer has issued a raft of edicts revising Iraq’s legal code and has appointed at least two dozen Iraqis to government jobs with multi-year terms in an attempt to promote his concepts of governance long after the planned handover of political authority on Wednesday.

Some of the orders signed by Bremer, which will remain in effect unless overturned by Iraq’s interim government, restrict the power of the interim government and impose U.S.-crafted rules for the country’s democratic transition. Among the most controversial orders is the enactment of an elections law that gives a seven-member commission the power to disqualify political parties and any of the candidates they support.

The effect of other regulations could last much longer. Bremer has ordered that the national security adviser and the national intelligence chief chosen by the interim prime minister he selected, Ayad Allawi, be given five-year terms, imposing Allawi’s choices on the elected government that is to take over next year.

Bremer also has appointed Iraqis handpicked by his aides to influential positions in the interim government. He has installed inspectors-general for five-year terms in every ministry. He has formed and filled commissions to regulate communications, public broadcasting and securities markets. He named a public-integrity commissioner who will have the power to refer corrupt government officials for prosecution.

[Source: Washington Post]
[Via: Gulf Reporter]

Very very interesting…
Long live democracy!

Islamophobic Awards 2004

Designed to name and shame the best or worst anti-Muslims in Britain and beyond, the second annual Islamophobic awards ceremony took place in London last Saturday evening.

The awards were handed out at the Islamic Centre for England, in West London – although not surprisingly, none of the winners stepped up to receive them.

Here are the winners:

  • Most Islamophobic British politician: British National Party leader Nick Griffin
    This was most notably due to his “Muslim or free/fair/democratic – but not both” round of speeches during the recent UK local elections.
  • Most Islamophobic International Politician: Ariel Sharon and Jacques Chirac shared this award.
  • Islamophobe of the year: George Bush.
  • Islamophobic media award: The Telegraph newspaper
  • Islamophobic Media Personality: Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee.

[Source: Al Jazeera]

Iraq Handover: Done or Not?!

So, 2 days earlier than the announced deadline, the CPA has handed Iraq over to the interim Iraqi Government.

I’m sure the media will make a really big deal out of this and portray it as one of the greatest historic events of this decade.

But well, honestly, I don’t see anything big or different about it.
An American led Authority is handing over sovereignty and rule to an American puppeted Iraqi government. The American army will still be in Iraq, in fact there could be more on the way, and at the end of the day the final say will be the word coming from Washington.

Anyway, being my optimistic self, this can be regarded as a step forward, not as big as they would want people to believe, but still a small step forward.

Still, the real handover for me happens when true democratic elections are held in Iraq and the people really choose who they want to govern them.

It remains to be seen though whether the U.S. will let them choose who they really want, or if it has to be someone with the “U.S. Friendly” tag on them.

Syria preparing sanctions against U.S.

Syria is preparing a law that would prohibit trade dealings with the United States in response to U.S. sanctions imposed on the Arab country last month, Syrian legislators said Saturday.

More than 130 members of the 250-seat legislature have prepared a draft of the “America Accountability Act” that would impose “strict sanctions” on American interests in Syria.

In a statement faxed to The Associated Press in Damascus, parliament officials said the draft law is a response to “Washington’s policy in the region and its unlimited support and bias for Israeli policies and practices and to the Syria Accountability Act.”

[More: CNN]

An eye for eye…
A sanction for a sanction…

Dark Victory

While no one was looking, something historic happened in the Middle East. The Palestinian intifada is over, and the Palestinians have lost … Israel is now defining a new equilibrium that will reign for years to come…

Charles Krauthammer
Israel’s Intifada Victory
June 18, 2004

Even if the Arabs lower their heads and swallow their shame and anger forever, it won’t work. A structure built on human callousness will inevitably collapse in on itself. Note this moment well: Zionism’s superstructure is already collapsing like a cheap Jerusalem wedding hall. Only madmen continue dancing on the top floor while the pillars below are collapsing.

Avraham Burg
A Failed Israeli Society Collapses While Its Leaders Remain Silent
August 29, 2003

[Via Billmon, Via Je Blog]