contributions

By TERESA HAMPTON
Editor, Capitol Hill Blue
The Iraqi war that has so divided Americans is also causing a rift in the family of President George W. Bush.
The President’s father, George H.W. Bush – 41st President of the United States – disagrees with his son’s decisions in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, which is why the former President has not commented in public on the war.
“The President and I discuss the war privately,” the elder Bush said in an interview earlier this year. (…)

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany have suffered humiliating defeats in the European elections but each has pledged to stand firm and push ahead with their policies.
From Prague to London, parties opposed to the European Union integration process made considerable gains in the first EU-wide polls since the bloc’s historic expansion to take in states once behind the Iron Curtain.
Voters in Britain punished Prime Minister Tony Blair for waging war in Iraq and vented their (…)

By Neil Mackay Investigations Editor
BRITAIN is now a leading exporter of components of weapons of mass destruction.
The UK has sold the components for chemical weapons to 40 countries including North Korea and Iran, both deemed part of the so-called “axis of evil”.
Libya, which has only recently come in from the cold after decades of being labelled a “state-sponsor of terrorism”, also bought chemical weapons technology from the UK.
Britain is also selling chemical weapons (…)

by Andrea Noll
The largest transnational election ever held was a public relations desaster. Of the 345 million European voters a lousy 44,2% went to the ballots (in Poland the turnout was 20%!). The ruling German Socialdemocrats (SPD) faced a disasterous result while the German Socialist opposition (PDS) was doing fine. I’m especially pleased that Tobias Pflüger - an independent candidate on the PDS list and dedicated anti-war activist, standing trial for “inciting desertion” (Iraq war) - (…)

By Julian Coman in Washington
New evidence that the physical abuse of detainees in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay was authorised at the top of the Bush administration will emerge in Washington this week, adding further to pressure on the White House.
The Telegraph understands that four confidential Red Cross documents implicating senior Pentagon civilians in the Abu Ghraib scandal have been passed to an American television network, which is preparing to make them public shortly.
According (…)

...2 useful addresses if you want to get more involved in the debate about the ESF
there is a list for people who are involved in the process of building for a
ESF in UK and are trying to democratise it to subscribe send an email to democratise_the_esf(AT)lists.riseup.net and a website www.ESF2004.net
ciao going to Berlin!!!!!

flotilla2004.com
There are currently boats travelling 4,000 kilometres to Australia’s internment camp on Nauru. This is the most recent culmination of a series of protests against successive Australian governments’ policies of interning undocumented migrants. The boats are presently at the halfway mark and, weather permitting, expected to reach Nauru by June 20. The crews have been threatened with imprisonment for crossing borders without the proper papers. The importance of the (…)

Chinese people:
Once again the western moguls are positioning themselves to begin the rape and pillage of a new country trying to accept and learn Capitalism and Democracy. The one edge that the Chinese people will have will be their innate ability to see threw the looking glass. Learning the English language is one thing to be able to master the inflections and non-verbal will be a test. Also keep in mind that the western society believes that telling lies is strength and a way to get (…)

By Jeremy Lovell
Britain is to court martial four soldiers from the Royal Fusiliers for abuse of Iraqi detainees, the Attorney-General has said.
"The charges against the four include assault, indecent assault which apparently involves making victims engage in sexual activity between themselves, and a military charge of prejudicing good order and military discipline," Lord Goldsmith said in a statement on Monday.
It said the abuse allegedly took place while the civilians were (…)

By Madeline Chambers
Tony Blair will try to convince worried Labour Party members he is the best man to lead them into the next election after suffering historic losses in European and local polls.
Voters punished Blair for waging war in Iraq and vented their anti-European sentiment, pushing Labour to its lowest level in a nationwide election since World War One in the European poll.
"It was a disappointing vote for us, there’s no question about that," Labour Health Secretary John Reid (…)