contributions

by Alison Dellit
"Not to give Mr Howard too much credit but he at least appears to have half a brain. Half, I said. Half. I’m being generous. But what is he doing with George W. Bush? It’s really disgraceful", documentary film-maker Michael Moore told a Washington press conference on July 7.
Referring to his latest film, Fahrenheit 9/11, Moore added: "I hope that Australians that see this film will say to themselves ’We need some regime change here in our country’." Moore has made no (…)

Comandante
A film by Oliver Stone
The documentary meeting with Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, which US networks refused to show
Sat July 24, 7:30pm
Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, King St (opposite Station)
Recommended donation $12/8 concession.
Bookings essential: Ph 9690 1977, 0439 694 505
Email briannap@greenleft.org.au
Organised by Friends of Green Left Weekly

by Naomi Klein
There is a remarkable scene in Fahrenheit 9/11 when Lila Lipscomb talks with an anti-war activist outside the White House about the death of her 26-year-old son in Iraq. A pro-war passerby doesn’t like what she overhears and announces, "This is all staged!"
Ms. Lipscomb turns to the woman, her voice shaking with rage, and says: "My son is not a stage. He was killed in Karbala, April 2. It is not a stage. My son is dead." Then she walks away and wails, "I need my son." (…)

by TED RALL
NEW YORK—A haunted young man whose face bears too many lines for his years, jetlagged and limping from a wound sustained in the defense of his country half a world away, emerges from a jetway at San Francisco International Airport. A woman about the same age awaits in the terminal. A peace-sign necklace hanging above a loose floral-print dress billowing about her unshaven legs, the hippie chick scornfully scans his uniform, spits in his face and screams: "Baby killer!" The (…)

Lobbyists, aides to senior officials and others encouraged invasion and now help firms pursue contracts. They see no conflict.
By Walter F. Roche Jr. and Ken Silverstein
WASHINGTON - In the months and years leading up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, they marched together in the vanguard of those who advocated war.
As lobbyists, public relations counselors and confidential advisors to senior federal officials, they warned against Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, praised exiled (…)

By Alexander Casella
GENEVA - The handover of Saddam Hussein to the Interim Government of Iraq (IGI) and his concurrent loss of prisoner of war (PoW) status throws the status of the deposed dictator into uncertainty.
When captured by United States forces late last year, he was recognized as a PoW in his capacity as former supreme commander of the Iraqi army. As is the case with all PoWs, he had the obligation to communicate to his captors his full name, date of birth, grade and identity (…)

Car bombs have taken a heavy human toll over the past year
At least 15 people are dead and 40 injured after a bomb exploded outside the main entrance to Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Aljazeera’s correspondent in Baghdad said that the toll from Wednesday’s blast is likely to rise .../...
– http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exe...

By Linda S. Heard
Islamophobia is alive and well in the US, starting with the authorities down to individuals such as radio talk show host Jay Severin who, according to the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR,) claimed that Muslims want to take over America even if it takes centuries, adding "I’ve got an idea. Let’s all kill Muslims." Amazingly Severin is still in his job, although he has been forced to apologize on air.
CAIR has also filed complaints over an (…)

By Ahmed Janabi
The head of Saddam Hussein’s defence team has told Aljazeera.net that the Iraqi interim government is pressuring Jordan to hinder its mission.
"[The] Iraqi interim government has contacted the Jordanian government in order to pressure us and prevent us from going to Iraq to defend the legitimate president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein," chief lawyer Muhammad al-Rashdan said.
"But Jordan’s government has never interfered in our work, it never tried to prevent us from (…)

Conn Hallinan
Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh’s recent revelations that the Israeli government is encouraging Kurdish separatism in Iraq, Iran, and Syria should ring a bell for anyone who has followed the long history of English imperial ambitions.
It is no surprise that the Israelis should be using the tactic of "divide and conquer," the cornerstone policy of an empire that dominated virtually every continent on the globe save South America. The Jewish population of (…)