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Joe Biden has earned the title by ordering the destruction of Europe’s energy infrastructure, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin claims
Speaker of the Russian parliament Vyacheslav Volodin has branded US President Joe Biden a “terrorist” after a report by iconic American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh blamed Washington for sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines last year.
Volodin said on Thursday that Biden’s State of the Union address, in which he claimed that the US was “a nation that stands as a beacon to the world,” reminded him of “statements by the leaders of the Third Reich.”
The ramifications of this “ideology of exceptionalism” were uncovered in the investigation by Hersh, the Russian MP wrote in a post on Telegram.
The State Duma speaker was referring to a report published by the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist on Wednesday, in which he claimed that the US was behind the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines last September. According to an informed source who talked to Hersh, explosives were planted at the key pipelines in the Baltic Sea back in June 2022 by US Navy divers under the guise of a NATO exercise. They were later detonated remotely.
Nord Stream 1 and 2 had been important routes for the delivery of Russian gas to Europe through Germany.
“If [Harry S.] Truman became a criminal, who used nuclear weapons against civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, then Biden became a terrorist, who ordered the destruction of the energy infrastructure of his strategic partners: Germany, France, the Netherlands,” Volodin said.
The sabotage of the pipelines by the Americans was “an act of intimidation of its vassals, who decided to develop their economy in the interests of their own citizens,” he wrote.
The revelations by Hersh should be grounds for an international investigation to “bring Biden and his accomplices to justice,” and to make sure that the nations affected by this “terrorist attack” are paid compensation, Volodin added.
The Biden administration has denied the report by Hersh, with the National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson calling it “utterly false and complete fiction.”
The Russian authorities have for months been pointing to the fact that the only side that benefited from Nord Stream being rendered inoperable was the US, which saw its supplies of liquified natural gas to Europe increase massively following the sabotage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Egyptians are furious over reports about the designation of
the US former ambassador to Syria Robert S. Ford as the next American envoy as
he allegedly ran “death squads” in Iraq.
Global Research, a Canadian website has claimed that Ford ran “death squads” in
Iraq when he was political counsellor at the embassy there from 2004-2006. The
story has gone on Twitter and been reported by Egyptian media, irritating
Egyptian authorities and people about the move to appoint Ford to the job.
Hashtags such as #NoToRobertFord in English and in Arabic, “We refuse the
American ambassador to Egypt,” appeared on the microblogging site after media
reports said Ford has been considered by the White House as the next US envoy
in Egypt.
“The new sponsor of terrorism in Egypt,” tweeted one user, referring to the US
career diplomat. Another warned, “Watch out Ford, if you come to Cairo... You
won't be an ambassador... You will b a target”.
Ford was appointed US Ambassador to Syria in late January 2011, more than a
month before the crisis started in the Arab country.
Wayne Madsen, an American investigative journalist saidin September
2011 that Ford “has been responsible for recruiting Arab "death
squads" from al-Qaeda-affiliated units in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, and
Chechnya to fight against Syrian military and police forces in embattled
Syria.”
With growing anti-American sentiments in Egypt, the US would face huge
obstacles in rebuilding its lost reputation, an analyst says.
“It is a very difficult task,” Mohamed Elmenshawy, director at the Middle East
Institute in Washington, told FoxNews.com. “Given the level of anti-American
sentiment from all Egyptian political players, Ford has serious challenges
ahead of him. It will take serious initiatives by the U.S. to recover its
reputation in Egypt in order to make the mission of the new ambassador easier.
Turkey has been protesting for over a week now, thousands
have gathered in huge numbers in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Mugla, Antalya, and
many other cities and towns.
According to initial media reports the protests were in reaction to a planned
demolition of Gezi Park, a traditional gathering point for rallies and
demonstrations, the park is also a popular tourist destination and Istanbul’s
last green public space.
The number of protesters has only increased with each passing day and
Istanbul’s Taksim Square has become the center of protests. What started as a
peaceful sit-in protest soon turned violent when the police force; under direct
orders from the government, started using violence to disperse the protesters.
Amnesty International observers at the protests witnessed the use of water
cannon and tear gas against peaceful protestors. Later in the week, two major
trade union members with a huge strength of 600,000 went on a strike to express
their support for the protesters facing police brutality.
Testimonies of protesters, lawyers, civil society observers and medical
professionals at the scene and video evidence confirm the use of widespread
brutal tactics employed by the police at demonstrations continuing across
central Istanbul.
Reports suggest that thousands of protesters have been injured and at least
three have succumbed to their injuries. According to a press release by Amnesty
International on 3 June 2013, “The Turkish Medical Association has said that as
many as 4,100 people injured during the police response to protests have been
treated in hospitals across Istanbul over the past two days. Two of them had
life threatening injuries and five remain in intensive care as a result of
injuries sustained at demonstrations in the city.”
For what are the people protesting?
At the face value the protests look like a reaction to save the last green
public space in Istanbul, however the causes are more than what meets the eye.
According to reports in the Turkish media, the demolition of Gezi Park is to
pave way for a Mega Shopping Mall and the Mayor of Turkey, Kadir Topbas from
the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), is the owner of a retail chain
that will have an important presence in the mall. Moreover, Erdogan’s
son-in-law, Berat Albayrak is believed to have bagged the contract for the
development of the mall. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), is
severely criticized for widespread cronyism and support for those who fund
their electoral campaigns. The rising politician-businessman nexus in Turkey
has eroded the people’s trust in the government.
Additionally, Ankara’s economy has witnessed a steep fall for the last two
years. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Turkey's rate of economic
growth slowed sharply to 2.2% in 2012, as weak domestic demand and spillover
from the European debt crisis took its toll after two years of rapid expansion
that rivaled China.”
Turkish economy’s meteoric fall has brought along with it the perils of
inflation, unemployment and a troubled market. The very economy that was hailed
for its pace of growth is now experiencing a downward slump, thanks to the
spillover of the European debt crisis.
Suppression of journalists and rights activists
Another important factor that has resulted in widespread discontent is the
blatant suppression of journalists, human rights activists and lawyers. Turkey
tops the list of countries known for brutal suppression of freedom of press and
is the first country in the world that has the largest number of journalists
imprisoned.
Hundreds of Turkish journalists are languishing in jails and more than a
thousand face charges of supporting terrorists and other unspecified charges.
Any journalistic activity that criticizes the government, its policy, scandals,
etc. is dealt with an iron fist. Several journalists had to leave their jobs or
got fired because of pressure from the Turkish government. One of Turkey’s
famous journalists, Ertugrul Mavioglu, once said: “You can write anything, but
only under constant threats of unemployment, fines, arrest or worse.”
Erdogan’s mischief in Syria backfires
Erdogan’s lust for power and position has blinded him to atrocities towards his
own people and the neighboring Syrians. Despite his claims of supporting the
Syrians, his real intentions in Syria are not a secret anymore.
One of the biggest allies of the Western-led, Arab-funded and Israel-directed
sabotage and regime change operation in Syria is the Erdogan-led Turkish
government. Since the beginning of the bloody terrorist insurgency in Syria,
the Turkish authorities have done their level best to support terrorism and
sabotage across the border.
Ankara has taken the lead in providing training, logistical support and a safe
transit way to the terrorists fighting against Damascus. Furthermore, Ankara
has hosted numerous conferences in support of the so-called Syrian opposition
groups. Naturally, the Turks are opposed to their government’s role in the
merciless bloodshed across the border. According to opinion polls, “some 70.8
percent of respondents think the AKP’s policy on Syria is wrong.”
Erdogan’s policy towards Syria has backfired on him in the
worst possible way; today he seems to be falling in the same grave that he’s
been digging for Assad. He dreams of becoming the most powerful leader in the
Middle East but given the current situations in Turkey it looks like he is soon
going to fall off his bed very soon…
It may be too early to predict Erdogan’s fall, but a careful observation of the
recent events in the Middle East makes one wonder whether Taksim Square will
turn out to be another Tahrir Square.
I wish Erdogan and others like him learn from Egypt’s Mubarak, Yemen’s Saleh
and Tunisia’s Zine Al-Abedine before they end up like Libya’s Gaddafi…
An Israeli diplomat says the Tel Aviv regime’s ongoing
aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip was pre-planned.
In an interview with France 24 TV channel on Tuesday, Freddy Eytan said the
Israeli regime had long been preparing for the attack on Gaza, but was waiting
for an opportunity to enforce the plan.
Assassinating the senior commanders of the Palestinian
resistance movement Hamas was also part of the Israeli mission, the diplomat
stated.
Eytan also said that a ground operation against the Gaza Strip would be
possible if the desired goals of the Israeli regime were not achieved.
Tel Aviv has intensified its deadly attacks on Gaza despite Egyptian President
Mohamed Morsi’s expression of hope for a ceasefire.
On Wednesday, Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz said Tel
Aviv will continue its attacks on Gaza despite ongoing truce talks.
Meanwhile, Gilad Sharon, son of former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, has
said that the regime should “flatten Gaza” in the same manner as the United
States ruined Hiroshima in its nuclear bombing of the Japanese city in 1945.
“We need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza. The
Americans didn’t stop with Hiroshima - the Japanese weren’t surrendering fast
enough, so they hit Nagasaki, too.”
Over 135 Gazans, including women and children, have been killed and more than
1,100 others have been injured in over 1,450 Israeli attacks on the besieged
Palestinian territory since November 14.
Left - Gilad Sharon, the son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon -
Right - A Palestinian man carries the dead body of a child out from
rubble after an Israeli missile struck a house killing at least seven members
of the same family in Gaza City, November 18, 2012.
The son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says
the Tel Aviv regime should “flatten Gaza” in the same manner as the United
States ruined Hiroshima in its nuclear bombing of the Japanese city in 1945.
In an article for the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post, Gilad Sharon
said that the Israeli military should annihilate or re-occupy the besieged Gaza
Strip.
“There should be no electricity in Gaza, no gasoline or
moving vehicles, nothing. Then they’d really call for a ceasefire,” wrote
Sharon.
“We need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza. The
Americans didn’t stop with Hiroshima - the Japanese weren’t surrendering fast
enough, so they hit Nagasaki, too.”
He also said that the Palestinians living in the besieged territory “are not
innocent” and that the true innocents are Israelis living in occupied
territories.
Sharon then called on Tel Aviv to step up its aggressive tactics against the
Palestinians in the coastal territory, “Otherwise there will be no decisive
victory. And we’re running out of time.”
Over 135 Gazans, including women and children, have been killed and more than
1,100 others have been injured in over 1,450 Israeli attacks on the besieged
Palestinian territory since November 14.
Israel PM says ready to expand Gaza operation after
Hamas resumed fire
Israel is ready to “significantly expand” Gaza operation,
stated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Hamas militants fired at least
nine rockets into Israel as the fifth day of Israel’s Pillar of Defense began.
Out of the nine rockets launched, three hit Israel and
another four were successfully shot down by Israel's Iron Dome air shield,
including the two rockets that targeted Tel Aviv. Two more were unaccounted
for.
One of the rockets hit the roof of a four-story building
in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, slightly injuring one person. Four
others were in need of psychological help after the incident, according to
Israeli medics.
It was also earlier reported that Hamas’ Qassam Brigades
fired a “107 Rocket” at an Israeli warship, according to Al Arabiya.
On Saturday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
stated that he would agree to a ceasefire if Hamas agrees to stop rocket fire
from Gaza. And during the night, Hamas has sharply decreased the number of
attacks on Israel.
Sunday morning Israel has continued to attack Gaza for
the fifth day of its Pillar of Defense operation and took out a media compound
with a targeted airstrike. At least six journalists were injured during the
incident, Palestinian medical authorities reported.
Among the outlets damaged are local, Italian, German,
Lebanese and Kuwaiti channels. An IDF report of the strike described the target
as “a communications antenna used by Hamas to carry out terror activity against
the State of Israel.” Israel sees al-Quds TV as a Hamas propaganda branch.
Later, reports that an 18-month-old Palestinian boy has
been killed in new Israeli airstrike on Gaza came to light. And earlier, it was
said that a total of three children have been killed since midnight in Gaza by
Israeli shelling, according to the Twitter feed of Reuters correspondent Noah
Browning in Palestine/Israel.
After these attacks on Gaza, the IDF reported that
rockets were fired from Gaza.
Armed rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad are directly supplied with weapons by some regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, confirmed the US Senator John McCain. He wants the US to follow the lead.
“I’m glad that some of the nations in the Gulf, the Saudis, are providing some weapons [to the Syrian opposition],” the former conservative presidential candidate told CNN in an interview on Sunday.
McCain was arguing that the US should help the Syrian opposition with arms regardless of concerns over the presence of extremist forces among the anti-Assad groups, and that Washington would not be able to prevent them from laying their hands on arms.
The American senator also lashed out at Russia, which sells arms to the Assad government, implying that it is used in the crackdown on the opposition. The accusation comes just days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that the arms Moscow supplied to Damascus are air defense systems and other hardware, which can be used only in a war with a regular army using aircraft and other advanced weapons.
The US provides support to the Syrian opposition trying to organize them into a unified force. But so far it refrained from giving them American weapons, supplying non-lethal material only. McCain is a strong proponent of more direct military involvement into Syria.
Syrian rebel groups are receiving funding from the Gulf monarchies, according to numerous media reports. The money is used to pay salaries to fighters as well as to buy weapons on the black market. Meanwhile Turkey is suspected of indirectly supporting the Syrian opposition by allowing its fighters refuge in its territory.
The violence in Syria renewed after a short-lived UN-brokered ceasefire. Some opposition sources said they used the break in the fighting to receive more and better weapons. At the moment clashes between the warring parties happen every day.
There is no clear vision among leading world nations on how to tackle the issue. Some western countries are calling for a military intervention in Syria, but Russia and China are opposing such a move and advocate a political solution.
Moscow says foreign diplomatic and financial support of the opposition forces in Syria encourages them to continue fighting rather than agree to negotiate with the government. It says it would not oppose the resignation of Bashar Assad, if such a decision is taken by the Syrian president willingly without external pressure and would help stop the violence.
The UN estimates that the 15-month conflict has claimed at least 10,000 lives, while some opposition groups put the number as high as 14,000.
A French judge has said that President Nicolas Sarkozy personally received cash handouts from L'Oreal cosmetics heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 election campaign, Press TV reports.
Judge Isabelle Prevost-Desprez, who first investigated the matter, made the charges in a book titled Sarko m'a tuer" (Sarko Killed Me) by two investigative journalists with Le Monde newspaper that is scheduled to go on sale Thursday.
French President Sarkozy has, however, dismissed the allegations.
"These allegations are scandalous, unfounded and untruthful," said a spokesperson for Sarkozy on Wednesday.
The authors of the book, who have covered the Sarkozy administration, quoted Judge Prevost-Desprez as saying that the personal nurse of Lilliane Bettencourt claimed to have watched Bettencourt directly hand cash directly to Sarkozy.
Members of Sarkozy's UMP party questioned the timing of publicizing the allegations while Socialist leaders called for a full investigation of the new claims.
The allegations could threaten Sarkozy's presidential re-election chances that already appear dim due to his low approval ratings.
In 2010, French prosecutors started a probe into allegations that Sarkozy received illegal funding for his election campaigns in 2007.
The prosecutor's office in Paris launched its investigations after receiving a report by a former accountant to Bettencourt, France's wealthiest woman, which claimed that the billionaire gave EUR 150,000 (USD 188,000) in secret cash to the treasurer for President Sarkozy's UMP party, Eric Woerth.
Anti monarchists have greeted Prince William and his wife Catherine with cries of "Down with the monarchy" during the Quebec leg of their Canadian tour.
Protestors who had gathered outside a children's hospital in Montreal as the royal couple visited the building, chanted “we will never bend, Willy go home”, “French Quebec” and “parasite go home”.
This comes as the royal couple is expected to face more protests by the Quebec nationalist group RPQ during their tour of Quebec city on Sunday. The group has called for a rude welcome to the couple.
Quebec is home to several nationalist groups that hate British monarchy as it took over the area, which was a French colony, in 1763, though the region has preserved the dominant French culture and language over the centuries.
Mario Beaulieu, the president of the group that organized the protest, told AFP that the royal visit has to do with “the linguistic purging of Quebec, in which the Canadian government is complicit".
Beaulieu also slammed the British monarchy for its continuing hold on the Canadian province saying the monarchy "is an obsolete institution, anti-democratic and sexist, and Quebec wants none of it".
This comes as a study by Angus Reid polling company found before William and Catherine's visit that three in five people in Quebec where just 10 percent of the population speak English are against the royal visit.
The same survey showed that one in three Canadians want their country to cut ties with the British monarchy.
The deputy commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has taken charge of NATO's operations in Libya for enforcing a no-fly zone.
Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard is also responsible for enforcing an arms embargo on Libya sanctioned by the UN Security Council two weeks ago.
NATO members, on Thursday, agreed to take control of the military operation in Libya.
Moreover, NATO foreign ministers will meet in London on Tuesday to further discuss the role the alliance may play in the operation against the forces of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Gen. Bouchard was involved in military operations in Iraq, and is currently based at the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy.
This is while Western-led forces have carried out a seventh day of airstrikes against forces loyal to Gaddafi.
Libyan state TV said on Friday "long-range missiles have hit civilian and military sites in the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Tajura."
The Pentagon said 12 countries are involved in the Libya war seeking to enforce the no-fly zone -- including two Arab nations, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
A senior US official said the UAE had contributed 12 aircraft.
Germany has already announced that it has pulled out of NATO operations in the Mediterranean and Italy said it would review the use of its bases for attacks on Libyan regime forces unless NATO leads the operations.
Russia, China and India as well as several other countries have also opposed the military campaign in Libya.
Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has received a vote of no-confidence over "abuse of power" allegations, leading to the collapse of the government.
The opposition parties managed to gather 156 votes in favor of the motion versus 145 for the government's survival on Friday.
The main opposition, Liberal Party, along with the separatist Bloc Quebecois and leftist New Democrats supported the motion.
Before the vote, the leader of the main official opposition Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff, said "After five years of Conservative government, it is time to say enough is enough."
Earlier this week, a parliamentary committee hit another blow to the government as it announced that the conservatives had hidden the full costs of a spending program from parliament and people.
"A government that breaks the rules and conceals facts from the Canadian people does not deserve to remain in office," Ignatieff noted.
The Liberals vowed to scrap $6.1 billion in corporate tax cuts and end extravagant multibillion-dollar plans to buy new fighter jets and build prison cells.
Canada's budget deficit hit a record high of C$55.6 billion last year. The Canadian joblessness is 7.8 percent.
The Canadian premier has to go to the governor-general and ask to officially dissolve parliament and hold an election, which is slated for early May.
Human rights activists have pledged to be hot on the heels of former US President George W. Bush wherever he makes a trip to.
"The reach of the Convention Against Torture is wide -- this case is prepared and will be waiting for him wherever he travels next," AFP quoted Katherine Gallagher, an attorney and vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), as saying on Monday.
Rights groups state that criminal complaints against Bush over alleged torture have been lodged in Geneva, Switzerland.
The former US president reportedly had to call off his trip to Switzerland because of the risk that he could be taken in to be questioned for war crimes and torture.
"Swiss law requires the presence of the torturer on Swiss soil before a preliminary investigation can be opened," said the Paris-based FIDH along with the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights and the Centre for Constitutional Rights.
A statement issued by the rights groups pointed out that "When Bush cancelled his trip to avoid prosecution, the human rights groups who prepared the complaints made (them) public and announced that the Bush torture indictment would be waiting wherever he travels next."
New York-based Human Rights Watch has said that US officials themselves should file criminal charges against Bush.
"The US government should take the lead to investigate former US President George W. Bush and other senior officials for authorizing torture of terrorism suspects rather than leaving prosecutions to other countries," the NGO said.
Waterboarding is one of the so-called harsh interrogation techniques approved during Bush's presidency to be used against prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as those held at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Human rights groups maintain that waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning, is illegal under the Geneva Conventions.
Governmental documents indicate that former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, among other US officials, played a role in the torture policies in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
In his new autobiography, Rumsfeld says Abu Ghraib's prisoner abuse was perpetrated by rogue soldiers, despite governmental documents hinting at pro-torture policies issued by senior US officials, such as Rumsfeld, himself.
"There were decisions made by Secretary Rumsfeld, himself, and by other members of the Bush cabinet to endorse torture to allow the use of interrogation methods that in the past, the United States had regarded as war crimes," Hameel Jaffer told Press TV's US Desk in an interview.
As a result of these policies, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and other worldwide US-run detention facilities have used severe torture techniques, previously regarded as war crimes in the United States.
Since 2004, numerous accounts of “systematic and illegal abuses of detainees” have been reported. Cases including rape, torture, and murder have been among those reported.
An estimated 1,300,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, while about 4.7 million have been displaced since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003.
During these seven years, 4,436 US troops have been reported as being killed.
A US rights group has filed a lawsuit charging former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with involvement in torturing former prisoners in American prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) catapulted the torture case into prominence on Thursday after it lodged an appeal to a court in the District of Columbia, alleging that Rumsfeld and some senior US military officials were quite aware of a torture case involving nine detainees between 2002 and 2004 in American prisons in the two countries, AFP reported.
The case initially was brought forth in December 2006, but later on was withdrawn by a federal court in March 2007 on the grounds that the ex-defense secretary and other top American military officials were immune from prosecution.
The US-based human rights group stated that under the Constitution and international law, torture is strictly prohibited and commanders are obliged to act when they know or should have known of such abuses.
The ACLU argued that the 78-year-old Rumsfeld and other military officials were repeatedly notified of abuse and torture at detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan by the International Red Cross and other reports as well as complaints by human rights organizations, thus they are directly responsible for the abuses.
The group further touched upon a case involving a prisoner identified as Ali.V, adding that prisoners, who were later released without charge, “were beaten, tortured, and sexually abused.”
Meanwhile, three judges at an appeals court in the District of Columbia said the case has a little chance to succeed.
The remarks came as a group of activists, each wearing black hoods and orange jumpsuits representing the prisoners at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay staged a rally in front of the court room on Thursday to protest against negligence over the torture case.
Rumsfeld is currently putting finishing touches on the release of his memoire book titled “Known and unknown”, which is due to hit bookshelves in the US on 8 February.
Senior US government lawyers of the Bush administration schemed to circumvent the Geneva Conventions in order to torture the Guantanamo detainees more aggressively, a certified Queen's Counsel says.
In an interview with Press TV, Philip Sands, the author of Torture Team, blamed lawyers close to former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for marginalizing international laws to sanction the torture of detainees at US-run prisons.
Sands cited a memo that Rumsfeld signed on December 2, 2002 as proof of the US officials' crime. The memo sought to help the US government coerce imprisoned suspected terrorists into revealing intelligence.
The memo authorized the use of controversial practices that were later employed at prisons in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
Many human rights activists have criticized these techniques, saying they are in violation of international definitions of torture such as Common Article 3 of the 1941 Geneva Conventions.
In 2006, the US Supreme Court ruled that President George W. Bush's decision to waive the Geneva Conventions was wrong and illegal.
UK lawmakers have reacted angrily to remarks by Israeli President Shimon Peres accusing the Britons of being anti-Semitic.
In an interview published last week on the Tablet website, Peres alleged that the English people and their government were "deeply pro-Arab and anti-Israeli".
His comments came days after British Prime Minister David Cameron referred to the Gaza Strip as a "prison camp" during a state visit to Turkey.
Israel imposed a full blockade on the impoverished territory after Ismail Haniya became the democratically-elected Palestinian prime minister in July 2007.
Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford, said, "I'm sad that he has made these wholly inaccurate comments, which do not accord at all with my experience of British views on Israel and people of Jewish faith."
Brian Iddon, a Labour member of the All-Party Parliamentary Britain-Palestine Group, said, "We are always being accused of anti-Semitism. The Israeli government is coming in for more and more criticism, and because of that more and more people are being described as anti-Semitic. "
Peres said in the interview that Britain's attitude towards the Jews was Israel's "next big problem."
"There is in England a saying that an anti-Semite is someone who hates the Jews more than is necessary," he noted.
The British prime minister, meanwhile, happens to be a member of a powerful lobby in the House of Commons called the Conservative Friends of Israel, which firmly advocates support and protection of Israel's interests.
Israeli President Shimon Peres has received a chilly welcome in South Korea from dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters denouncing the visit by the "killer."
The activists gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Seoul on Thursday to protest Israel's fatal attack on a Gaza aid convoy on May 31, which left 20 international volunteers onboard the ships killed and more than 40 others wounded.
The protesters shouted slogans against Israel and defaced an Israeli flag with palm prints stained in the color of blood. They also carried banners reading, "Shimon Peres the Killer," and urging, "Lift the siege on Gaza immediately."
Israeli media said Peres had to curtail his Asian tour in the wake of massive protests worldwide against Israel's attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, downgrading his trip as a "working" visit and pushing him to delay the second leg of his trip, to Vietnam.
Amid condemnations hurled at Seoul officials for welcoming Peres, a ceremony originally planned for Wednesday at the prestigious Korea University to award the Israeli leader an honorary doctorate was cancelled.
Peres's office, however, said the Israeli delegation had cancelled his participation in the planned ceremony more than a week ago, due to a scheduling conflict.
South Korea also tried to shake off reports of a downgrade visit. A Seoul presidential spokesman also said Peres and his Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak did not discuss the attack on the flotilla at their 45-minute meeting.
A US federal judge has refrained from accepting a government motion asking for dropping a civil law suit that charges the former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was involved in torturing two former American contractors in Iraq.
The former contractors Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel were given the go ahead on Friday by District Judge Wayne R. Andersen to follow the civil case on torture, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.
Vance and Ertel who were employed in Iraq by Shield Group Security (SGS), alleged in 2006, one year after their arrival in Iraq, that their employer bribed Iraqi Sheiks and trafficked in weapons, activities they worried were illegal.
Upon reporting to authorities in the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and officials at the US embassy in Baghdad, they were denied their identification cards and hence from entering to the Green Zone by SGS, and were finally arrested by the "United States forces" and ended up in US "Getmo-ized" detention facility near Baghdad.
The two men claim that while in solitary confinement, they were subjected to sleep deprivation, long hours of interrogation, blasting music, threats, hunger and a practice known as "walling," in which subjects are blindfolded and walked into walls, all "tantamount to torture" according to the suit.
Ertel was released after a month and Vance after two months, the suit said.
"This is the first time where a court has recognized that the facts were sufficient to potentially hold a secretary of defense personally liable for authorizing torture," said Mike Kanovitz, a Chicago attorney who represents the plaintiffs.
District Judge Andersen said his decision "represents a recognition that federal officials may not strip citizens of well settled constitutional protections against mistreatment simply because they are located in a tumultuous foreign setting."
"The allegations, if true, would substantiate plaintiffs' claim that Rumsfeld was aware of the direct impact that his newly-approved treatment methods were having on detainees in Iraq," Andersen wrote . He went on to add that "a court might plausibly determine that the conditions of confinement were torturous."
The two men are seeking unspecified damages. The next hearing is set for March 25.
George W. Bush, President of the United States, says with conviction, that he is a man of God...Really? He claims that the war in Iraq was "a just War"...what does that mean, "A Just War"?...and that the American Government did all it could to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina....Really? After 5 days of inaction?
I say, that a man who believes in God would not deceive the World, and start a War based on fabricated information planned by his own bloody cabinet. Nor would a man of God turn his back on the victims of Hurricane Katrina for five days and then look for scapegoats...A true leader, and a true man of God, would have been on top of the situation and taken immediate action to help the people of New Orleans. A true man of God would not start a War for corporate profits and murder one million people.
If you the reader were in the position of authority as ole Bush wacker boy george here, wouldn’t you have investigated unproven accusations before declaring war on another nation?...and wouldn’t you send help right away to your fellow citizens in their hour of need? Wouldn’t a man of God “act” rather than give excuse for his inaction...?
Who is responsible for inaction after Katrina? Who is responsible for starting a war? Is it the people? Is it the Republican Party or the Democrats?...or is it the responsibility of the President?
Let us revisit the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell speech as President of the United States in January 1961.
I believe that the words spoken by Eisenhower, expressed not only his morals and values as a man but also his responsibility as a leader and belief in the American people.
Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address – (Jan. 17th, 1961)
The words of praise and caution by Dwight D. Eisenhower shows the character of a true leader and represents the pillars of what the American people believe their country stands for.
It's not fair to blame the tragedies of Iraq and Katrina on one man, as it is the responsibility of all those in power and behind the scenes to share the blame.
In other words, it was the responsibility and authority of every individual in the Republican and Democratic Parties to put the brakes on an administration that is lost or out of control. Where is the integrity and credibility of the United States of America? Waging war is a crime!
The Fallout
Throughout the world today, the United States is looked upon as an unwanted bully, a bringer of evils, an untrustworthy nation with aims of conquering and removing anyone that opposes them. The “Military Industrial Complex” that President Eisenhower warned us of is real. The blame belongs to members of both the Republican and Democratic political parties who do the bidding of a small group of American Oligarchs...
The New World Order that was conceived, created, propagated, and put into action by these men has the World in a death grip today. Corporate Profits outweigh the individual rights and freedoms of the people. War is waged by US Corporations to acquire the wealth of other nations. War is big business, and war business owns the politicians. They all own a slice of the earth and will not be satisfied until they have it all...
It's disheartening for me to see such suffering going on all over the World...especially in areas ravaged by western wars...as a westerner I feel shame towards my own government's silence towards the injustice.
When I watch online news and see the body of a dead child or a child crying from wounds received by American weapons, I can't help but see my children looking back at me through their eyes...I am both grieved and outraged at the same time because I feel I can't do anything about it. What would your reaction be if you saw your children suffering by the wrath of war? I mean, what would you do if it was your child?
The past present and future of our World is in the hands of profiteers and madmen. In Iraq, a million people lost their lives, and ten million are still displaced because the American people did nothing to stop their government from leading them to war…
The cries of the innocent after hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf coast, sent chills throughout the World, but in Washington DC, the only concern was how to minimize losses for corporate shareholders. That took 5 days to decide what to do and the only solution they could come up with was a plan for mass relocation...What about the mass rebuilding of homes?
The World put aside their political differences and lined up to help when Katrina hit, even Cuba, a nation stricken with poverty induced by American Policy, offered assistance of medical help. (2000 doctors and medicine)...what did the Bush administration do? They snubbed Cuba's offer and accused them of having evil ulterior motives. In fact, the US governments response to the World was, “We can handle this on our own”..."we don't need your help"...I think that if the US government had of let every nation help, then everyone affected by the Hurricane would have been able to rebuild...but that didn't seem to be the plan of the US government...maybe big real estate had something to do with it...how to get rid of everyone and make a lot of money on their misery...Who was it that did nothing? Who showed a lack of empathy?
Oh, and contrary to your ridiculous statement of "you are either with us or you're with the terrorists", the right thing to do is put insane war mongers in jail! There's no such thing as a good war because it's all about economics ...
Bringing the troops back home from Iraq is not betraying the Men and Woman of the military but setting the stage to right a wrong. It is not enough however, just to bring the soldiers home. The United States must prosecute those that gained profit from the War in Iraq. It must also declare “War Crimes” and “Crimes Against Humanity” on those responsible for this outrageous War committed in the name of Freedom and democracy! The USA must give a formal apology to the Iraqi people and help them rebuild their lives and their country.
A man is judged by his action or inaction in life. When a man achieves a position of great authority, much is expected of him because many entrust him with their life.
George W. Bush betrayed the American People. He used his family influence and corporate financial backing to gain the US Presidency and then proceeded to commit War Crimes. No American President is above the law...and how far does this crime reach within the Republican Party? How far does it reach into the Democratic Party? Which Industrialist’s pushed for capital gains over human life?
The American people cannot let these Evil Criminals walk away free. It is up to the Citizens of the U.S.A. to prosecute the Bush administration and those who are financially tied to the decision to go to war...
There are few nations in our world today that would venture to lay charges against the USA because George W. Bush has declared that, “if you are not with us you are against us!”
There is only one nation that will not fear the USA, and that is the USA itself.
Empathy shows compassion, listening is the art of communication and action shows you are willing to back up your words. Honesty, Integrity, Compassion, and Respect must return to men of power...so it will be up to the “American People” to set the United States back on the path of honour and trust.
Hold your politicians feet to the fire and open a War Crimes trial in the name of humanity. If the criminals are not brought to justice, then I'm afraid the World will continue to turn its back on you...don't let that happen, because we will all meet with a greater tragedy down the road...
South Africa's Closing Argument Against Israel for Genocide at the ICJ
Freedom
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I'm not in phase with what mainstream mediums have to offer, nor do I like being lied to. So I decided to build my own World where creativity, music, and truth prevail. Therefore I’m a photographer, Writer, Video Producer, News Reporter, Music Promoter, Radio DJ, Poet, Activist, Critical Thinker, and Problem Solver. Be sure to visit all my websites linked below for more of my world.
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