Robert Sterling
Editor, The Konformist
http://www.konformist.com
Robalini's Note: Few things better prove the utter moral bankruptcy and
fraudulence of our current "War on Terrorism" than this. The idea that
Somalia and Afghanistan are the greatest threats to mankind in the world is
absolutely ludicrous. What do Somalia and Afghanistan have in common? The
following:
1. They are both extremely impoverished countries.
2. They have vast untapped oil reserves that Western korporations want to
swindle.
Any questions?
Wednesday December 19 12:50 PM ET
US Says Could Target Somalia, Maybe Not Militarily BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The
United States' top soldier said on Wednesday that Somalia could be a target
in the war against terrorism, but action there would not necessarily involve
military force.
General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was responding
to a comment by a senior German official that Washington was likely to
target Somalia next in its assault on Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden's
al Qaeda network.
``There are...countries that worry us because they actively support and
harbor (terrorists). It's one thing to have a cell in your country, it's
another to actively support them,'' Richard Myers told reporters at NATO's
headquarters in Brussels.
``And Somalia is one potential country -- there are others as well -- a
potential country where you might have diplomatic, law enforcement action or
potentially military action. All the instruments of national power, not just
one.''
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday Yemen and Sudan were known
to harbor active al Qaeda cells and Somalia had hosted leaders of the
network in the past.
The senior German official said after Rumsfeld briefed NATO allies: ``It's
not a question of 'if' but of 'how' and 'when'.''
He added: ``Anyone who rules out Somalia would be a fool.''
Rumsfeld said Washington needed no new authorization from the U.N.
Security Council to strike suspected terrorist targets outside Afghanistan,
adding: ``Every country has the right to self-defense.''
Myers sought to discourage discussion of where the United States might take
military action next.
``We are not going to speculate on any next operation other than to
say...this is a global war on terrorism,'' he said.
``The objective continues to remain terrorists and their networks, those
that support them and those that conduct research or produce weapons of mass
destruction that could fall into terrorists' hands. I don't know why people
want to focus on one particular country, I don't think that's useful.''
A U.S. diplomat, Glenn Warren, arrived in Mogadishu on Tuesday on the first
visit in years by an American official but the U.S. embassy in Nairobi
declined to link his talks with Somalia's transitional national government
directly to the war on terrorism.
*****
The Illuminati in Haiti
33 Men Involved in Coup Attempt
Wednesday December 19 2:37 AM ET
Police Hunt for Conspirators in Haiti
By MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press Writer
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Police hunted for the leaders of an assault on
Haiti's National Palace and some opposition leaders charged the failed coup
was really staged by the government as a pretext to crush dissent.
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide called Monday's assault by armed men a
failed coup and afterward hundreds of his supporters armed with machetes and
revolvers burned opposition offices and homes across the country. They
killed at least two people.
On Tuesday, banks and schools reopened, street vendors returned to their
stalls and Haiti's international airport reopened, but the border with the
Dominican Republic remained closed. Streets in the capital still smelled of
smoking tires.
``The so-called coup d'etat was a masquerade,'' opposition leader Evans Paul
said. The former Port-au-Prince mayor's party headquarters were destroyed
Monday - for the third time in 10 years - by Aristide supporters.
Aristide was not in the palace at the time of the assault.
Authorities say 33 heavily armed men killed two police officers and took
over one wing of the building for seven hours before they fled.
Two passers-by were shot by fleeing attackers.
Paul, who was Aristide's campaign manager in 1990 but now leads an
opposition party, pointed to what he called the ``absurdity'' of 33 men
attacking the palace, which is guarded by hundreds of police officers. He
also said it is widely known that Aristide rarely spends the night there.
Authorities said one of the attackers was killed in a gunbattle at the
palace in central Port-au-Prince and a wounded gunman was captured at a
roadblock near the border with the Dominican Republic.
The rest escaped.
Aristide said police had made ``a strategic retreat'' to allow the attackers
to get away so they could ``snare them in a fish net.''
Aristide became Haiti's first freely elected president in 1990 but was
ousted by the army in 1991 after eight months in office - despite protests
by thousands of people who took to the streets to protect their new
democracy and president.
Aristide loyalists, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of
anonymity, acknowledged that demonstrations Monday in response to the
violence at the National Palace weren't spontaneous. They said pro- Aristide
organizers told them Sunday night, hours before the attack, that something
was happening and that they should mobilize.
Aristide said police were searching for dozens of conspirators on Tuesday.
Palace spokesman Jacques Maurice said the attackers wore the khaki and
camouflage fatigues worn by the army that Aristide disbanded in 1995.
The United States appealed Tuesday to the Haitian government and opposition
parties to reach agreement in their long-running conflict over election
issues.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher condemned the raid on the palace
and the mob violence that followed, saying it ``underscores the need for
dialogue and reconciliation among all elements of Haitian society.''
Haiti has been plagued by eight major revolts and thwarted or successful
coups since 1986, when the Duvalier family was ousted in a popular uprising
after a 29-year dictatorship.
After the 1991 coup, Aristide spent three years in exile before President
Clinton sent 20,000 troops to restore him to power. In 1996, he stepped down
because of term limits and was replaced by his protege.
In November 2000, Aristide was re-elected following disputed legislative
elections earlier in the year that led the international community to freeze
most aid. He took office in February.
*****
mikemail@cloud9.net
12/20/01
Hail George, Conqueror of Evildoers!
Dear George W. Bush:
Hats off to you, sir, for a job well done! The Soviets tried for ten years
to do what it took you only two months to accomplish in Afghanistan. How did
you do that? It's funny how a couple months ago there were all these
Taliban, and now -- there aren't any! You must be some kind of super
magician -- almost as good at disappearing acts as ol' Osama (or, as they
say on the Fox Nuisance Channel, "Usama" -- I like their spelling better,
like "We put the 'USA' in USAma!"). He did exist, didn't he? I would hate to
have gotten myself all worked up over the wrong evildoer! I loved that last
tape of his, the home video of his sleepover with that sheik. What a party
animal, that guy!
And how 'bout that Northern Alliance! Thanks to them, my weekly supply of
heroin will finally be reinstated. Whoo-hoo -- and just in time for New
Year's Rockin' Eve! Those Taliban simply did NOT have the best delivery
system for the stuff, kinda like why you never see Beaman's gum anymore --
poor distribution and shelf placement. According to the New York Times, the
Northern Alliance has put all the poppy farmers back to work, and they are
promising a "bumper crop" by spring.
But Mr. Bush, I am most impressed with how you have used those who died on
September 11th to justify your lining the pockets of your rich friends and
campaign contributors. Your "Economic Stimulus Bill" -- pure genius! You
actually got the House of Representatives to pass a bill eliminating the law
that said corporations have to pay at least a token minimum tax every year.
See, most people forget that back in your daddy's day (when he was VP)
thousands of companies were able to lawyer their way out of paying any taxes
at all! Then a law was passed to stop that. Now you got the House to agree
to give all these corporations back ALL the minimum taxes they have paid
since 1986!! That's $140 billion of givebacks ($1.4 billion to IBM, a
billion to Ford, $800 million to GM, etc.). And you got this passed, all
under the guise of "September 11th!" How do you get away with this without
the American public whoopin' your behind? Man, you are THE MAN!
Hey, and tell your top sheriff, Big John Ashcroft, that his refusal to let
the FBI look at the files of gun background checks that the Justice
Department keeps -- to see if any of the terrorists or suspected terrorists
have purchased weapons in the past two years -- took some balls! Even though
checking those files might turn up information that could protect us in
possible future attacks, Ashcroft was more concerned with not upsetting the
NRA than in helping his own FBI catch the bad guys. Now that's what I call
getting your priorities straight. Big John may have lost his Senate seat
last year to a dead guy, but he sure as heck ain't gonna lose me as a huge
admirer!
Well, I better go before someone from the Office of Homeland Security
mistakes me for someone who needs to be "interviewed!" Rest assured I'm
doing my part for the country by shopping my sorry ass off in this week
before Christmas. Buy! Buy! Buy! Tora! Tora! Tora! Bora!
Whoo-hoo, Prince O' Peace!! Fight Team Fight! Go get 'em, George, Jr. --
we're counting on you to kill all evildoers!
Yours,
Michael Moore
Third in Line to the King of Afghanistan www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com
P.S. You'll beat that Enron rap, just like you beat your other raps!
Chin up!
Who needs "energy traders" anyway? I never saw that job on the list from my
high school counselor!!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* TO SIGN UP AS A NEW SUBSCRIBER, GO HERE:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/Note_re_Topica.html
*****
Non-Konformist, Contradictions of Konformist 12/19/0
Hakan Karaca
karaca23@hotmail.com
Hi there,
First of all, the only reason I am writing this mail is the itch to express
my thoughts and ideas and knowledge in a more elaborative and integrated
way. However, I should thank you for your urge to discuss and share the very
intuitive and genuine ideas, although I don't know what is behind this urge.
I mean, "Why did you think that cloning is an apocalypse and end of the days
is getting closer".
The followings will be more of intuition by knowledge and less of
"extraction throughout experience". I will try touch to each and every
subject in our brainstorming. The language is not a matter of discussion.
I am aware of the progress and experience, and I use my free will, I think
and I do exist and I am aware of this feeling. I do have the ability to
differentiate the good and evil and I have the full freedom of choice to
reject and accept any ideas. I am a human.J Give me any material, I'll give
it a form, function and utilize it for my use. I will play with nature,
matter, and creation, life itself… Distort it… Bend it…Play with it…. And my
very basic reason to exist… I will appreciate the creation….
Unfortunately nature didn't give any of the above to any other live physical
entity although some of them might be very much sophisticated physically and
further complicated in the evolution sequence.J
THE CLONING and the CONCEPT OF CREATION
In our brainstorming, I think both of us were on the same ground in
believing "Allah" as the creator of everything out of nothingness. You were
defending the idea that, the cloning is against the God's authority, even in
the abusive hands an act to replace the God as a creator or to continue to
create from where God left (?). It is not only you who are thinking (?) the
cloning just because it is a sin, a blasphemy, not only because it is
against the nature's course.
Don't worry; I'll cut it short… The main differentiation today was not the
cloning and its consequences but the definition of creation… The main point
I was trying to tell you was, the difference between the famous "Be":
creating from nothingness and, the so called "distorting, bending" the
already created for the benefit or whatever"…You might still call the
designer and builder of a house, the creator itself although he is a mere
copier, imitator, ruler and formgiver but not a creator under any
circumstances... You know what, the religious gives your argument to prove
the God's existence… They say, "If there is a builder, "a creatorJ" for a
house, there has to be a creator for this universe… I don't see a very sound
and reasonable analogy in that... As I said this is my own intuitive idea….
HUMAN AS A "CONDITIONALLY" FREE CREATION
In our talk, one of the powerful and "difficult to question", arguments was
the spiritual side of human beings. Or more precisely the function of
executing the thinking, and exercising the free will and deciding the good
and evil, and accumulating the experience, and progressing and passing to
the following generations… As I said you could master the entire physical
universe but tell me how you will master the unknown, unseen and
untouchable…so can you say how much percentage of the creation you have
control over, even if you have the total control of human reproduction...
Note: "I put "conditionally free" at top, I am sure Panky knows the Hindu
names the earth as a prison for the soul…How can you be free , if you are in
a prison? Hehehehehe..
To be continued in a moment
THE BUILT-IN FUNCTION OF FEAR, CURIOSITY etc…
In a very famous debate of Medieval Islam, "for me of all time", in
Andalusia…Ibn Rusd
raised an issue by claiming that a human being is able to feel, understand
and conclude that there is a creature of the things even he's utterly
isolated… In that case, Hayy Bin Yekzan was our Robinson Crusoe, in an
isolated island…Anyway the fear and curiosity might be named as the very
basic drives towards religion and science…The fear of nothingness and death
and no reason for existence, the curiosity of the meaning and reason for
existence, the desire for the solution of the problem, question…why…? why?
If human cannot find an answer to a crucial question, he dies of
curiosity…God is the answer for anything and the curiosity is satisfied…
Who built the universe? There was a big bang. Who did it…mmm..Ok..Ok I
admit. GOD. The problem is solved till any other theory replaces it… and
tries to push the God out of frame. As it happened in Theory of Evolution of
Darwin, Constant Universe of Einstein, Mechanistic View of Atomic Theory
finally crushed by Quantum and Uncertainty and Chaos, which puts God on the
wheel of everything in the universe... You said "There are a lot of
unbelievers around and science itself is Godless" so if there is any
built-in mechanism in humans, how come we have this people around…
THE UNBELIEVER,
There might be a number of reasons not to believe any creator, it might be
totally reaction or an action of arrogance and fulfillment of the built-in
feeling of greatness that can never be reached or a genuine act of
unbelieving etc…
As I said GOD is the answer and fulfillment for questions and needs.
You might see the believers are generally of the oppressed and poor… If you
are urban, encircled by the world of artificial and no exposure to the
nature and created by the very first hand, probably you wont need a GOD
ordering you to sacrifice your life for the next one!
The mainstream of the history will remark this age as highly urbanized age
with scientific discoveries and tech advancement.
etc..a friend of mine came I'll continue if you want to..
This much is enough for now... I'd like to see the response before I invest
my time…
*****
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011220/wl/argentina_dc.html
Thursday December 20 10:33 AM ET
Argentine Riot Death Toll Rises to 16
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Sixteen people have died in rioting and looting
across Argentina, police said Thursday as the government declared a state of
emergency to contain the unrest driven by a staggering economy.
Half of the deaths were in the suburbs of the capital, said police, who
estimated 20,000 people took part in the looting and thousands of others
demanded food handouts at grocery stores. Some were shot dead by shopkeepers
defending their shops.
On Wednesday, police said at least four people had died as thousands of
looters sacked supermarkets in Buenos Aires, its suburbs and several
provinces in rage against deepening austerity and poverty spurred famished
slum dwellers to take matters into their own hands.
Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to scatter the looters.
Some 1,210 people were arrested for looting in the outskirts of Buenos
Aires, provincial police said.
Protests overnight in front of the presidential palace and Congress were
dispersed by police who fired tear gas at crowds of mainly peaceful
demonstrators. A dozen banks and restaurants as well as the Israeli Embassy
in the city's center were vandalized during the overnight violence, police
added.
``Everything is a mess. There's no work and the situation is deteriorating.
I was here protesting peacefully last night and they tear gassed us,'' one
protester said at Plaza de Mayo in front of the presidential palace.
Demonstrators returned to the presidential palace by mid-morning on Thursday
and riot police armed with truncheons arrested dozens of protesters who
yelled insults or demanded that President Fernando de la Rua resign.
Police managed to clear the square but cars driving around the presidential
palace blared horns and drummed pots and pans.
Many supermarkets in the heavily populated suburbs of Buenos Aires remained
closed.
*****
Formal Estimates Of Civilian Afghan Dead At Least 3,767 By Seumas Milne
The Guardian - London
12-20-1
The price in blood that has already been paid for America's war against
terror is only now starting to become clear. Not by Britain or the US, nor
even so far by the al-Qaida and Taliban leaders held responsible for the
September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
It has instead been paid by ordinary Afghans, who had nothing whatever to do
with the atrocities, didn't elect the Taliban theocrats who ruled over them
and had no say in the decision to give house room to Bin Laden and his
friends.
The Pentagon has been characteristically coy about how many people it
believes have died under the missiles it has showered on Afghanistan.
Acutely sensitive to the impact on international support for the war,
spokespeople have usually batted away reports of civilian casualties with a
casual "these cannot be independently confirmed", or sometimes simply denied
the deaths occurred at all. The US media have been particularly helpful.
Seven weeks into the bombing campaign, the Los Angeles Times only felt able
to hazard the guess that "at least dozens of civilians" had been killed.
Now, for the first time, a systematic independent study has been carried out
into civilian casualties in Afghanistan by Marc Herold, a US economics
professor at the University of New Hampshire. Based on corroborated reports
from aid agencies, the UN, eyewitnesses, TV stations, newspapers and news
agencies around the world, Herold estimates that at least 3,767 civilians
were killed by US bombs between October 7 and December 10. That is an
average of 62 innocent deaths a day - and an even higher figure than the
3,234 now thought to have been killed in New York and Washington on
September 11.
Of course, Herold's total is only an estimate. But what is impressive about
his work is not only the meticulous cross-checking, but the conservative
assumptions he applies to each reported incident. The figure does not
include those who died later of bomb injuries; nor those killed in the past
10 days; nor those who have died from cold and hunger because of the
interruption of aid supplies or because they were forced to become refugees
by the bombardment. It does not include military deaths (estimated by some
analysts, partly on the basis of previous experience of the effects of
carpet-bombing, to be upwards of 10,000), or those prisoners who were
slaughtered in Mazar- i-Sharif, Qala-i-Janghi, Kandahar airport and elsewhere.
Champions of the war insist that such casualties are an unfortunate, but
necessary, byproduct of a just campaign to root out global terror networks.
They are a world apart, they argue, from the civilian victims of the attacks
on the World Trade Centre because, in the case of the Afghan civilians, the
US did not intend to kill them.
In fact, the moral distinction is far fuzzier, to put it at its most
generous. As Herold argues, the high Afghan civilian death rate flows
directly from US (and British) tactics and targeting. The decision to rely
heavily on high-altitude air power, target urban infrastructure and
repeatedly attack heavily populated towns and villages has reflected a
deliberate trade-off of the lives of American pilots and soldiers, not with
those of their declared Taliban enemies, but with Afghan civilians.
Thousands of innocents have died over the past two months, not mainly as an
accidental byproduct of the decision to overthrow the Taliban regime, but
because of the low value put on Afghan civilian lives by US military planners.
Raids on targets such as the Kajakai dam power station, Kabul's telephone
exchange, the al-Jazeera TV station office, lorries and buses filled with
refugees and civilian fuel trucks were not mistakes. Nor were the deaths
that they caused. The same goes for the use of anti-personnel cluster bombs
in urban areas. But western public opinion has become increasingly
desensitised to what has been done in its name. After US AC-130 gunships
strafed the farming village of Chowkar-Karez in October, killing at least 93
civilians, a Pentagon official felt able to remark: "the people there are
dead because we wanted them dead", while US defence secretary Donald
Rumsfeld commented: "I cannot deal with that particular village."
Yesterday, Rumsfeld inadvertently conceded what little impact the Afghan
campaign (yet to achieve its primary aim of bringing Bin Laden and the
al-Qaida leadership to justice) has had on the terrorist threat, by
speculating about ever more cataclysmic attacks, including on London. There
will be no official two-minute silence for the Afghan dead, no newspaper
obituaries or memorial services attended by the prime minister, as there
were for the victims of the twin towers.
But what has been cruelly demonstrated is that the US and its camp followers
are prepared to sacrifice thousands of innocents in a coward's war.
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