News and views from around the web posted to the Wonderland Wire:
- 61 KILLED AS PAKISTAN BOMBS SCHOOLS, MOSQUE | AntiWar News 25 Mar 2010 — ‘Pakistani warplanes attacked a number of sites in the Orakzai Agency today, including a mosque, a school, and a religious seminary, killing 61. Security officials initially labeled all 61 “suspected militants,” though locals later conceded that a great many of them were actually innocent civilians.’
- What would Goldman Lobbyists Hate About the Financial Reform Bill? | Rortybomb 25 March 2010 — Final Verdict: They’re fine with it being passed.
- A curious history of the C.I.A.’s secret interrogation program by Jane Mayer | The New Yorker 25 March 2010 — ‘Marc Thiessen is better at conveying fear than at relaying the facts.’
- Visa denial was reversed for terrorism suspect in 2004 | WaPo 25 March 2010 — ‘A U.S. consular official originally denied terrorism suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab a visa to enter the United States in 2004 after finding false information on his application, but that official was overruled by a supervisor, according to senior government sources.’
- Chomsky: US-Israel spat is over Netanyahu’s ‘insulting manner, not settlements’ | Raw Story 25 March 2010 — ‘Israel’s construction of new permanent settlements in East Jerusalem has set off a series of public rebukes from the United States. But according to Noam Chomsky, America’s primary concern lies with the Israeli leader’s hawkish demeanor, not his actions.’
- UN rights body censures Israel, US opposes | AJEnglish 24 March 2010 — ‘The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed three resolutions condemning Israel over its policies in occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories.’
- Poll: 73% of Russians view US as aggressor 24 March 2010 — ‘Almost three-quarters of Russians view the US as an “aggressor” seeking world domination, according to an opinion poll released by Levada Center polling agency.’
- Break Up the NSA! by Noah Shachtman | Wired 24 March 2010 — ‘The agency’s intelligence arm has a long and ugly history of mass surveillance on American citizens. So when Google teams up with the Puzzle Palace, everyone watching sees it as a package deal. The company wants geeks; the rest of us worry about the spies rummaging through our Gmail.’
- Liberian Justice, Brought to You by Lockheed—By Ken Silverstein | Harper’s Magazine 24 March 2010 — ‘The U.S. government has hired the defense contractor to test an emerging tenet of its security policy. Called “smart power,” it blends military might with nation-building activities, in hopes of boosting political stability and American influence in far-flung corners such as Liberia.’
- Compulsory Insurance & More Conservative Doublethink by Marc Stevens 25 March 2010 — ‘If Mr. Williams, Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck et al., really believe it’s wrong/immoral to forcibly use one person to serve the purposes of others, then they’ll apply that principal to the concept of government itself and call for the immediate abolition of all governments. They are the ones who love the phrase “intellectually honest”, why not be “intellectually honest” and be consistent in their thought? If it’s wrong to forcibly use one person to serve the purposes of others, then the concept of government itself is wrong.’
- Saudi Arabia arrests 113 al-Qaida suspects accused of planning attacks on oil installations | Chicago Tribune 24 March 2010 — Obviously, militants hate Saudi Arabia for its overwhelming freedom.
- The 17 Most Unintentionally Hilarious Propaganda Posters | Cracked 24 March 2010 — ‘Your government thinks you’re stupid, and when faced with unreasonable expectations, some people will lose their shit in hilarious ways.’
- Insurgent Faction Presents Afghan Peace Plan | NYTimes 24 March 2010 — ‘Representatives of a major insurgent faction have presented a formal 15-point peace plan to the Afghan government, the first concrete proposal to end hostilities since President Hamid Karzai said he would make reconciliation a priority after his re-election last year.’
- Journalist Allan Nairn Facing Possible Arrest in Indonesia for Exposing US-Backed Forces Assassinated Civilians | DN! 24 March 2010 — ‘In Indonesia, investigative journalist Allan Nairn is facing possible arrest for exposing that US-backed Indonesian armed forces assassinated a series of civilian activists last year. Since Allan Nairn broke the news of the assassination program on Democracy Now! on Friday, the Indonesian press has been buzzing with the allegations. A military spokesman told the Jakarta Globe that the military is considering legal action against Nairn. Earlier today, Nairn issued a public challenge to the Indonesian military to arrest him so that he could face off with the military in open court.’
- Bin Laden Warns U.S. Over Fate of Qaeda Figure | NYTimes 25 March 2010 — al-Qa’ida leader threatens all Americans in captivity will be executed if the U.S. executes Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
- ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | Wired 25 March 2010 — The United States is nudging the international community to develop protocols to suspend the internet connections of customers caught downloading copyrighted works, according to a leaked draft of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
- Chomsky’s Lectern: Fighting Terrorism Never Part of the ‘War of Terror’ (Video) « Little Alex in Wonderland 25 March 2010
- U.S. Interest in Perpetual War as Leading Global Arms Supplier (Video) « Little Alex in Wonderland 24 March 2010
- “They’re Cops; They’re Going to Beat You.” by Will Grigg 25 March 2010
- Civilians in Somalia face ongoing human rights violations | Amnesty International 25 March 2010
- SRI LANKA: First Political Manifesto for Women Gets Good Reviews | IPS 25 March 2010
- RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Indigenous Groups Still Say No to Gov’t ‘Help’ | IPS 25 March 2010
- Resist the G20 in Toronto – June 25-27, 2010 | Infoshop News 25 March 2010
- Bloody Sunday: It’s time for the truth to be told | Socialist Worker 25 March 2010
- The Miracle of Chicago by Thomas Schmidt 25 March 2010
- Iran: New Coordinated Attack on Human Rights Groups | Human Rights Watch 25 March 2010
- Dubai World gets $9.5bn government backing | BBC 25 March 2010
- Obama backtracking on detainee rights, critics say | LA Times 25 March 2010
- Supreme Court stops execution of convicted killer in Texas | LA Times 25 March 2010
- The U.N. Food Programme’s Rampant Corruption | Newsweek 25 March 2010
- Pope Spared American Priest Who Molested Hundreds of Deaf Boys | JONATHAN TURLEY 25 March 2010
- US Pledges to Speed Up Arms Delivery to Pakistan | Antiwar.com 25 March 2010
- The CNT’s Expropriators—An Excerpt from Anarchism and the City | The AK Press Blog 24 March 2010
- From 300,000 to 100: record amnesty plan stepped down | RT 24 March 2010
- When Death Came For the Archbishop by Christopher Dickey | Newsweek 24 March 2010
- Christiane Amanpour: Too Brunette, Persian For TV? | Gawker 24 March 2010
- DNA identifies new ancient human | BBC 24 March 2010
- Wednesday: 12 Iraqis Killed, 21 Wounded 24 March 2010
- James K. Galbraith: An Economic Illiterate Like His Father | LewRockwell.com Blog 24 March 2010
- Uighur detainees leave Guantanamo for Switzerland, Republic of Georgia | McClatchy 24 March 2010
- Sales of New U.S. Homes Dropped in February to Lowest on Record | Bloomberg 24 March 2010
- Recession takes toll on jobless Americans | FT 24 March 2010
- US and NATO’s efforts strengthen Afghan drug industry – lecturer | RT 24 March 2010
- In First, Private Guards Kill Somali Pirate | NYTimes 24 March 2010
