News and views from around the web posted to the Wonderland Wire:
- Is Murder the New Torture? by David Swanson | MWC 8 April 2010 — ‘Both tools, murder and torture, produce exactly the same amount of useful intelligence. Both tools scare the hell out of people abroad and at home. Both tools serve to teach a domestic audience that certain types of people are not fully people and cannot be dealt with humanely. Both tools help to advance the further stripping away of civil liberties through fear and terror.’
- The WikiLeaks Video and Terrorist Blowback by Jacob G. Hornberger 7 April 2010 — ‘What will be the reaction of the relatives of those two Iraqi children, who lost their father in the attack? Surely, even the most ardent pro-war advocates would not deny the obvious: the relatives will be filled with anger and rage.’
- US-led soldiers kill five children in Afghanistan | Press TV 7 April 2010 — ‘Missile strikes by French forces have reportedly killed at least five school children and injured three others in eastern Afghanistan, a local official says.’
- Attorney in Wiretapping Case Says Obama Admin as Bad or Worse than Bush on State Secrets | DN! 7 April 2010 — ‘A federal judge ruled last week that the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program was illegal and in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Both the Bush and Obama administrations had tried to dismiss the suit, claiming a trial could result in the release of state secrets. The ruling marks the strongest legal repudiation to date of the Bush administration’s spy program since it was first publicly revealed in 2005. We speak with attorney Steven Goldberg, who represents the Islamic charity Al-Haramain in the case.’
- Lucrative KBR Contracts Unaffected by Iraq Troop Drawdown by Sananda Sahoo | Antiwar.com 8 April 2010 — ‘All told the company has billed the Pentagon in excess of 30 billion dollars under a global contract called the Logistical Contingency Augmentation Program that was awarded in December 2001 for work in war zones from Afghanistan in Central Asia to Djibouti in Africa and the former Soviet republic of Georgia.’
- Kyrgyzstan Revolution Threatens Afghanistan War’s Premier Air Hub by Mohammed A. Salih | Antiwar.com 8 April 2010 — ‘Kyrgyzstan has entered a phase of uncertainty with a new opposition-led government in place following two days of street clashes between police and anti-government protestors. Some opposition leaders have called for the closure of a U.S. airbase in the country that is a supply link for its operations in Afghanistan.’
- True News? The Aerial Attack on Iraqis 7 April 2010 — Stefan Molyneux’s comment on the WikiLeaks video of the New Baghdad Massacre
- In rare letter to shareholders, Goldman denies double-dealing | McClatchy 8 April 2010 — ‘Goldman Sachs’ top officers denied in a letter to shareholders made public Wednesday that the company bet against investors who bought its subprime mortgage securities in 2006 and 2007 as the firm readied itself for a sharp drop in the U.S. housing market.’
- Pakistani MPs curb Zardari’s powers | AJ English 8 April 2010 — ‘The amendments, crafted by parliamentarians from both ruling and opposition groups, will turn Zardari into a ceremonial head of state passed unanimously.’
- Iraq War Vet: ‘We Were Told to Just Shoot People, and the Officers Would Take Care of Us’ by Dahr Jamail | Little Alex in Wonderland 8 April 2010 — ‘Dahr Jamail on how the WikiLeaks video of the New Baghdad Massacre “is not uncommon” by “several soldiers who shared equally horrific stories of the slaughtering of innocent Iraqis by U.S. occupation forces”.’
- U.S.-Backed Kyrgyzstan Government Steps Down Following Massive Disobedience | Little Alex in Wonderland 7 April 2010 — ‘Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has left the country after thousands of protests calling for him to step down has resulted in a disputed amount of deaths. The opposition movement claims the Parliament has been dissolved and over 100 are dead at the hands of Kyrgyz police. The government claims the amount is around 40. Reportedly, the main cause for the opposition is the corrupt, dictatorial government’s high taxation blocking the marketplace and skyrocketing utility bills.’
- ‘Iranians spend $2bn a year on cosmetics’ | Press TV 8 April 2010
- Hamas imposes new Gaza taxes to pay for burgeoning bureaucracy | Guardian 8 April 2010
- Roza Otunbayeva: profile of Kyrgyzstan’s interim leader | Telegraph 8 April 2010
- Kyrgyz Govt Ousted, Opposition Vows ‘People’s Government’ | Antiwar.com 8 April 2010
- Congressman Grayson: Lot Of People On Capital Hill Don’t Understand How Federal Reserve Works 8 April 2010
- Small army to protect Toronto during G20 summit | The Globe and Mail 7 April 2010
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