Daily Briefing—27th April 2010

News and views from around the web posted to the Wonderland Wire:

Arundhati Roy: ‘What is Peace? We Need Resistance and Not Just on the Weekends’ (Video)

Indian author and dissident Arundhati Roy calls democracy “the biggest scam on Earth” in a climate where so-called ‘democracies’ are the driving forces of war, poverty and disenfranchisement. She provides harsh, educated critiques of the American Empire and India’s U.S.-enabled occupation of Kashmir and oppression within in an interview with Amy Goodman and Anjali Kamat at Democracy Now!

Chomsky’s Lectern: The Unipolar Moment and the Culture of Imperialism (Video)

Prof. Chomsky delivers the 5th Annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture at Columbia University School for International Affairs for the Heyman Center for the Humanities. After paying homage to Edward Said stressing imperialism as central to our culture, Prof. Chomsky builds his case with telling quotes of American leaders rationalizing and denying genocide of indigenous ‘new worlders’ through U.S. terrorism in Latin America—Chile, Brazil, El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia—and the Middle East (1:03:46):

Strong Suspicions Israel Kidnaps Young Palestinians for Their Organs

Donald Boström reported last week that Israel Defensive Forces (I.D.F) kidnaps and kills Palestinians to steal their organs at Sweden’s largest daily newspaper, Aftonbladet.

Blackwater: Bush’s (Now Obama’s) Shadow Army in Iraq (Video)

I was honored to see Jeremy Scahill speak here at “Socialism 2007” conference in my hometown of Chicago, IL in 2007, months after the release of his monumental Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, for the first time. In light of Mr. Scahill’s breaking story of former Blackwater employees alleging its founder is a murderer in sworn statements, that Blackwater (now operating under the name “Xe”) continues to operate under the Obama Administration, and my analysis of the affidavits, the question of many is: What is Blackwater?

Jeremy Scahill – “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army” – 16 June 07 (47:23):

Daily Briefing — 30th-31st July 2009

Clinton is threatening U.K. if doesn’t continue to bury evidence of C.I.A. torture; Eric Holder shouldn’t have passed his first semester of law school; C.P.D. backtracking on its “deadly force” policy announcement; “Land reform” is a global heist with more guns than any other; Senior U.S. military adviser: Get out of Iraq; H.R. 1207 up to 271 co-sponsors; and more…

What the Hell, Obama?! Genocide is Genocide!

Genocide is only genocide when it suits the president’s ambition and it isn’t when it doesn’t suit his majesty.

AIG, Madoff and Thrown Shoes

Freedomain Radio host Stefan Molyneux: The AIG bonuses aren’t a big deal, Bernie Madoff isn’t any different from the State, and the non-prosecution of Bush.

Obama: Holocaust Never Happened

Obama backs off campaign promise to recognize Armenian Holocaust — where 1 to 1.5 million were directly slaughtered, including Assyrians and Greeks — in fear of ‘alienating Turkey’.

Sudan President Holds More Than 2 Million ‘Hostage’

Amnesty Int’l response to Sudan expelling NGOs following the ICC’s warrant for Pres. al-Bashir.

9/11 is the Wrong Case to Try

Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio, on the prosecution of state crimes, in particular 9/11.

UN Special Coordinator: Address Israel’s ‘Occupation’, ‘Excessive Response’ and ‘the Creation of a Palestinian State’

al Jazeera – “Gazan Father Mourns Death of Baby” – 05 Jan 09 (1:27):

After ten days of Israeli attack, the water and sewage systems are “collapsing”, 89 women and 30 children are among the over 540 Palestinans dead, and more than 2,450 are wounded. As shortages for basic living needs increase and temperatures drop, Israel continues to block electricity and the Red Cross:

Israeli government officials say they are not targeting civilians, but only seeking to halt rocket fire from the Palestinian Hamas movement governing Gaza.

There are also fears that the humanitarian situation will further deteriorate as the strip, home to 1.5 million people, is suffering from acute shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies.

Iyad Nasr of the Red Cross in Gaza City said that the military operation has worsened the hardships created by the Israeli blockade over the last 18 months.

“The size of the operations and the size of the misery we are seeing here on the ground is just overwhelming,” he said.

“We are trying our best to support the infrastructure that has been depleted … and prevent the total collapse of the medical systems….

“The ICRC has to contact the Israeli authorities for each single wounded to be evacuated with an ambulance,” he said.

Al Jazeera’s Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Gaza City, said that many other Gazans have fled their homes taking refuge in schools converted into temporary shelters by UN agencies.

“The United Nations says 13,000 people, over 2,000 families, have now been internally displaced because of the fighting, and that is just in the north of the strip,” he said….

Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, has said that there is no crisis and that aid is getting through, but Christopher Gunness, the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) spokesman, said her denials were absurd.

“The organisation for which I work – Unrwa – has approximately 9,000 to 10,000 workers on the ground. They are speaking with the ordinary civilians in Gaza… People are suffering,” he said.

“A quarter of all those being killed now are civilians. So when I hear people say we’re doing our best to avoid civilian casualties that rings very hollow indeed.”

About 250,000 people in the northern part of Gaza are also reported to be without electricity. The main power plant has been shut down for lack of fuel due to Israel’s blockade.

The British-based Save The Children charity on Monday warned that newborn babies in the Gaza strip were at risk of hypothermia because of the power cuts and freezing winter temperatures.

“We need to deliver more food and blankets to ensure that children do not die of hunger and cold,” Dominic Nutt, a spokesman for the group, said.

“People also must be able to move freely and safely so they can provide for their families when food does become available.”

UN press conference by Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Roberty Serry – 5 Jan 09:

The protection of civilians, the fabric of Gaza, the future of the peace process and regional stability were all trapped between the irresponsibility of rocket attacks by Hamas and the excessiveness of Israel’s response, the United Nations Special Coordinator said today.…

While an immediate cessation of hostilities was absolutely vital, it was clear that new conditions must be created on the ground to prevent a repeat of the conflict, he said, emphasizing that a simple return to the status quo ante would not be enough. After a ceasefire, further arrangements must be found to solidify it. To that end, certain elements that had previously not been on the table should be discussed, including the reopening of border crossings on an uninterrupted basis. “Of course, this will require commitments from Hamas that all rocket attacks and weapons smuggling will end.” It would also require bringing Gaza back into the fold of the Palestinian Authority. The international community must now be prepared to put structures on the ground to make that happen.

Both the Security Council and the wider United Nations had an important role to play in that regard, he said. “It is now more vital than ever that Israeli-Palestinian peace is achieved. The underlying issues must be addressed: end of conflict; end of occupation; and the creation of a Palestinian State alongside a secure Israel.”…

Asked if he could agree with the term “genocide”, since the United Nations had been blaming Hamas alone for the crisis, he said the Organization was very deeply concerned and working around the clock, both at the political level and on the ground. The United Nations was clear in its position: the Secretary-General condemned the indiscriminate and irresponsible firing by Hamas of rockets into Israel, and had been clear and unequivocal about the excessive and irresponsible ongoing Israeli military attacks.

Responding to questions about fatalities and the number of civilians killed, the Special Coordinator said he did not have the latest figures, but the number was “astounding enough”. There had been far more than 300 people killed, among them a very significant number of civilians, including women and children.…

The US blocked a UN Security [sic] Council proposal for a cease-fire in an emergency meeting Saturday night.

From our YouTube playlist, “Israel Attacks Gaza” – Phyllis Bennis, fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., specializing in Middle East and United Nations issues, discusses the US coddling of Israel on Democracy Now! (transcript):

Gaza’s population density traps the civilians, giving them little options for safety. Amira Haas, reporting from Gaza for Israel’s Daily Ha’aretz, tells the story of a family laying bloody for twenty hours and two young boys killed by an Israel missle strike while building a fire to heat their homes due to the lack of electricity and gas:

Three hours after the Israel Defense Forces began their ground operation in the Gaza Strip, at about 10:30 P.M. Saturday night, a shell or missile hit the house owned by Hussein al A’aiedy and his brothers. Twenty-one people live in the isolated house, located in an agricultural area east of Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood. Five of them were wounded in the strike: Two women in their eighties (his mother and aunt), his 14-year-old son, his 13-year-old niece and his 10-year-old nephew.

Twenty hours later, the wounded were still bleeding in a shed in the courtyard of the house. There was no electricity, no heat, no water. Their relatives were with them, but every time they tried to leave the courtyard to fetch water, the army shot at them.

Al A’aiedy tried to summon help on his cell phone, but Gaza’s cell phone network is collapsing. Shells have hit transponders, there is no electricity and no diesel fuel to run the generators. Every time the telephone works, it is a minor miracle.

At about noon Sunday, Al A’aiedy finally managed to reach S., who called me. There was nothing else that S., who lives nearby, could do.

I had known Al A’aiedy for eight years, and I called Physicians for Human Rights. They called the IDF’s liaison office to ask it to arrange to have the wounded evacuated. That was shortly after noon – and as of press time, the liaison office had still not called PHR back.

Meanwhile, someone else had managed to reach the Red Crescent Society. It called the Red Cross and asked it to coordinate the evacuation of the wounded with the IDF. That was at 10:30 A.M. – and as of press time Sunday night, the Red Cross had still not been able to do so.

While I was on the phone with PHR, at about noon, H. called. He just wanted to report: Two children, Ahmed Sabih and Mohammed al-Mashharawi, aged 10 and 11, had gone up on the roof of their Gaza City house to heat water over a fire. There is no electricity or gas, so fire is all that remains.…

An IDF missile hit the two boys, killing Ahmed and seriously wounding Mohammed. Later Sunday, an Internet news site reported that both had died. But H.’s cell phone was not answering, so I could not verify that report.

Democracy Now! – “Palestinian Journalist Sameh Habeeb on Gaza Under Siege” – 5 Jan 09 (6:32):

AJE: UN Must Arrest Sudanese President Bashir

Al Jazeera English: “UN ‘must’ support Bashir arrest”:

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has warned the UN it “must be prepared” for the possible arrest of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, president of Sudan, on genocide charges over
the Darfur conflict.

Louis Moreno-Campo told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that if the court decided to issue a warrant for al-Bashir’s arrest there should be “united and consistent action” to ensure its execution.

Moreno-Ocampo also accused Bashir of promising ceasefires then ordering bombing raids in Darfur, of denying that mass rapes were taking place and of promising justice while witnesses were being tortured.…

Moreno-Ocampo also said al-Bashir has been “inciting violence” over the genocide charges by threatening civilians and African Union-UN peacekeepers operating under the council’s authority.

The court last year issued arrest warrants for a Sudanese government minister and for a commander in the government-backed Janjawid group, blamed for many of the atrocities in Darfur.

But Khartoum does not recognise the court and has consistently refused to hand over suspects.

Several African and Arab states have criticised Moreno-Ocampo’s attempt to bring Bashir before the ICC and suggested the Security Council should delay any proceedings.

There has been some support among China, Russia, African and Arab nations for invoking the council’s power to defer Moreno-Ocampo’s prosecution for at least a year, out of fear that an attempt to arrest al-Bashir could cause further chaos in the nation.

Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey at the UN in New York says there is concern at the organisation that a warrant could make the situation on the ground in Darfur even more difficult for peacekeepers and aid workers.

Bashir announced a unilateral ceasefire by government forces in the country’s western Darfur region earlier in November but anti-government groups dismissed the move as “insincere”.

UN officials say up to 300,000 people have been killed since the Darfur conflict erupted five years ago and that around 2.7 million have been driven from their homes.

However, Sudan says 10,000 people have died in the conflict.

(10,000? That’s not even a good lie.)

This article presents one of the great flaws of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that makes the UNSC’s perceived authority as illegitimate: that the Big Five have veto power — even when one of those States has a clear conflict of interest in the outcome of a vote.

It’s no secret that Russia and China (PRC) have violated the Darfur Arms Embargo. A study showing 30 States to have violated the UN 2004 embargo in its first two years. The 30 States are reported in two categories. Russia and the PRC were among the twelve in Category 1. (The other three Big Five States — the US, UK, and France — were all in Category 2.)

As for the African and Arab nations, a lot of the nations in the African Union buys cheap arms from Russia and the PRC while many Arab nations are receiving nuclear materials to shift to nuclear power grids and have Russia/PRC looking over their shoulder (basically, on behalf of the world community and to display some integrity with their dealings).

Russia/PRC have a lot of these African and Arab nations by the balls, not to mention that they heavily profit from Sudanese violence.

The UNSC is nothing more than a think tank where five States (arbitrarily) pick angels and demons around the world.

The UNSC is a joke.