US General Wesley Clark discovered ten days after 9/11/2001 that plans were already in motion for US military invasions of Iraq, Afghanistan, Seria, Lebanon, Lybia, Somalia, Sudan, and finishing off with Iran with no justifying intelligence except "We have a good military and can take down nations".

 By Salim Nazzal 31 August, 2011

 Countercurrents.org As Palestinians now plan to ask the UN to endorse their independence, to ask the Security Council, whose decisions are legally binding, for approval as a full member of the world body, we need to remind Europe of its historical responsibilities and moral obligations. And even if the Us will use its veto (as always to protect the Israeli murder and occupation) to deprive Palestine one of the oldest nations on earth of its right to become a member of the Un Europe must takes responsibility and vote for Palestine.

Europe needs to vote for the membership of Palestine not because Europe is a Mecca for human rights, but rather because Europe created the Zionist Jewish terror in Palestine. And so it became directly and indirectly responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Arabs and the ongoing suffering of Palestinians. Europe has deceived Palestinians who in 1917 trusted the good will of the Great Britain and Europe. Palestine was (given) to Britain as a trustee until Palestinians were able to govern themselves, which created the ground of what was called the mandatory system. As we saw in past history, Great Britain was no more than a state of deception without morals, with no respect to its own commitment and the international agreements.

What did Britain do as trustee? It allowed the transportation of hundreds of thousands of murderous Zionist Jews to whom the term mercy is a foreign. They kill pregnant woman and children uprooting a whole nation and have demonstrated an unprecedented appetite for murdering babies and innocent Palestinians to the extent that the terms Jew or Zionist or Israeli have literally become in the Palestinian mindset synonymous to ruthlessness and murder.

 Over the past 60 years Europe has supported the murdering of Palestinians who struggle to live in peace and freedom in their home country. Palestinian people would not have been murdered and occupied without the support and the consent of Europe, and that of the U.S. which later continued these heinous actions. And Palestinian land would not have been stolen and Judaized without the support of Europe and then the United States which afterwards continued the ugly job but to more disgusting degree.

Europe needs to understand that Arabs have changed and are still changing. The Arab leaders that have been at their beck and call, followed their orders via telephone are now on the run or sitting in cages waiting justice. Arabs have nothing to owe Europe in terms of the struggle for democracy. They are creating their own methods to fight the tyrannical Arab regimes which were friendly to Europe, which is another example of the European hypocrisy on the highest levels.

Arabs are proud of what they are. They are proud of their culture despite all the Zionist and right wing propaganda which aimed to damage the Arab image. Young Arab men and young Arab woman are now facing death for the sake of freedom. And their struggle for freedom will succeed sooner or later without Europe and without the united states. And the intervention of the US and Europe is linked more to their interest than to the Arab struggle for democracy. Meanwhile the enmity of the state of Israel which Europe has planted in the heart of the Arab world is producing a fundamental religious system that makes even the ferocity, the threat of Al Qaida pale.

Voting for Palestine from the European side is only a very small step towards repairing the European crimes towards the small nation of Palestine. But it is an occasion for Europe to show Arabs that Europe is breaking with its hypocrisy, its double standard course which has characterized its policy for more than half a century.

Not voting for UN recognition of Palestine would give Israel a message that it is still acceptable that Israel stand above all laws, immune from sanction and with the blessing of all Europe. This would also signal to Israel that it can go further in its occupation, continue to steal the Palestinian land of the Palestinian people without punishment. And more importantly Europe would send Arabs a message that hypocrisy and double standards have become an incurable disease of the European policy.

 Dr Salim Nazzal is a Palestinian-Norwegian historian in the Middle East, who has written extensively on social and political issues in the region. His writing has been published in various publications around the world and translated into more than 15 languages

Islamophobia: Made in the USA

By Ismail Salami

The recent in-depth investigation into Islamophobia carried out by the Center for American Progress in the United States can be described as a catastrophic tragedy in the rotten US policies.

Dubbed as Fear, Inc. The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America, the report sheds light on the collective efforts of the Zionist groups funded by the United States in pedaling a hatred for and a fear of Islam in the form of books, reports, websites, blogs, and carefully crafted talking points. According to the report, these wealthy donors and foundations also provide direct funding to anti-Islam grassroots groups.

The project of Islamophobia which has cost more than $40 million over the past ten years has been funded by seven foundations in the United States: 1. Richard Mellon Scaife Foundation; 2. Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation; 3. Newton and Rochelle Becker; 4. Foundation and Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust; 5. Russell Berrie Foundation, Anchorage Charitable Fund and William Rosenwald; 6. Family Fund; 7. Fairbrook Foundation.

According to the report, there are five misinformation experts who have contributed to the spread of Islamophobia in spearheading this project through the effective vehicle of media partners and grassroots organizing. These notorious people include 1. Frank Gaffney at the Center for Security Policy; 2. David Yerushalmi at the Society of Americans for National Existence; 3. Daniel Pipes at the Middle East Forum; 4. Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch and Stop Islamization of America and 5. Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism.

The league of the despicable hate-mongers

These experts travel far and wide and inculcate the idea that most of the mosques in the United States harbor terrorists and sympathizers.

One of the major figures active in disseminating anti-Islamic sentiments in the United States is Walid Shoebat. A purported Palestinian Liberation Organization member, he claims he once bombed an Israeli site and spent some time in Israeli prisons. A Christian convert, Shoebat was born of an American mother and a Palestinian father and seems to be nothing more than a blatant liar and traitor to the Muslim community. Financially supported by anti-Islamic groups, he believes that “terrorism and Islam are inseparable” and that “All Islamic organizations in America should be the No. 1 enemy. All of them."

Daniel Pipes is another notorious Muslim hater who spares no effort in tarnishing the image of Islam in America. During his career, Pipes has displayed "a disturbing hostility to contemporary Muslims...he professes respect for Muslims but is frequently contemptuous of them" (The Washington Post).

Apart from his strong hatred for Islam, he also shows racial disrespect for Muslim immigrants who "wish to import the customs of the Middle East and South Asia" (Los Angeles Times). In 1990, he stated, "Western European societies are unprepared for the massive immigration of brown-skinned peoples cooking strange foods and maintaining different standards of hygiene...All immigrants bring exotic customs and attitudes, but Muslim customs are more troublesome than most" (National Review).

A barefaced liar and traducer, he vehemently extends his hatred to the person of the Holy Prophet of Islam and refutes the notion of the Night Journey, and the Holy Qur'an, and casts doubt even on the existence of the Holy Prophet of Islam.

To the gang of the haters also belongs Robert Spencer, the director of Jihad Watch. He is the author of eleven monographs and well over three hundred articles on jihad and 'Islamic terrorism'. While expressing intense animosity and hatred for Islam, he finds himself incapable of testifying to the many attractive qualities of Islam.

Asked once why so many people embrace Islam, he admitted against his will that “there are many attractive elements of the religion.” He even admitted that the amorality in the western world is one of the reasons why many embrace the glorious faith. It is interesting to note that he has been widely acclaimed by his cronies. Daniel Pipes calls him 'A top American analyst of Islam'. Frank Gaffney, Center for Security Policy describes him as 'a national treasure...The acclaimed scholar of Islam.'

David Yerushalmi, the founder of the think tank the Society of Americans for National Existence, is another influential Islamophobe. Without proper training in Islamic law, he claims to be an expert in the field. Yerushalmi introduces Islam as an inherent threat to the West because of its doctrinal goal of world rule via 'a caliphate that will impose Sharia law on all its subjects' (Forward.com). To this accusation, Mark Cohen, a professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University replied that historically, even in the areas where Muslims ruled, they did not seek to impose Sharia law on non-Muslims.

“Jews and Christians were granted communal autonomy, including the right to live according to their respective legal systems and to adjudicate in their own courts of law,” he said

One of David Yerushalmi's famous quotes is, “Muslim civilization is at war with Judeo-Christian civilization…the Muslim peoples, those committed to Islam as we know it today, are our enemies.” To sum up, he is a hate-mongering figure who has been described as 'anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-black.'

Also behind Islamophobia in the US is Frank Gaffney, the director of the hardline neoconservative Center for Security Policy (CSP), who advocates for controversial weapons programs and an expansive "war on terror" targeting "Islamofascists" (a term Gaffney frequently uses in reference to the Muslims). His bizarre ideas about Islam and the Muslims have placed him among the leading Islamophobes in the United States.

As Richard Allen Smith says, “Whenever there is an issue of bigotry directed at Muslims in America, it's a safe bet that you can find Frank Gaffney behind it.” Last year's opposition to the Ground Zero Mosque was actually organized by Frank Gaffney. With a mind contaminated by western teachings against Islam, Gaffney has memorized some verses from the Holy Quran and recites and interprets them in the flickering light of his crooked perceptions of the Holy Book.

Last but not least is smearcaster and defamer Steven Emerson, one of the leading Islamophobes who serves as the Executive Director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism. His specialty lies in linking any terrorist attacks to the Muslims in the US. This expertise can well serve the interests of the western media who seek to lay any blame on the Muslims in case of a terrorist attack.

He erroneously blamed the Oklahoma City bombing on Muslims. Speaking on CBS Evening News, he said, "This was done with the attempt to inflict as many casualties as possible. That is a Middle Eastern trait… it was a bomb that brought down TWA Flight 800." This clearly indicates a mind set at analyzing events and putting the blame on the Muslim society.

It is evident that these bloggers and think tanks work closely together and make concerted endeavors to promote their anti-Islamic campaign. Their outlandish ideas have unfortunately influenced some in the United States and in Europe as well. Just some time ago, the tragedy that took Norway by surprise and made Western media jump to the conclusion that the terrorist act was the work of the Muslims is a product of this flow of misinformation in the West.

Anders Behring Breivik who was responsible for the killing of 62 people was a byproduct of this macabre mis-teaching penetrating the European community as well. Breivik's 1,467-page document containing gruesome details of his terrorist act reveals that he was inspired by the network of Islamophobia in the United States as well as his links with the extremist neo-Nazi British EDL who share similar ideas concerning Islam.

Islamophobia practically started with 9/11. Although the main motive and the real identity of those responsible for the attacks have remained a secret since then, the US government has from the outset shifted the blame on the Muslim extremists. This provided a plentiful excuse for the US government to mount wars in Afghanistan and Iraq under the pretext of combating terrorism. The wars have incurred inconceivable human loss, and irretrievable destruction of infrastructures in the two countries. Besides, the US government has suffered billions of dollars in the military adventures it has pursued in the region. This crooked policy of the US government has augmented an anti-Islamic sentiment in the US and in the West. To crown it all, the US has been effectively conducive to the emergence of Islamophobia by funneling millions of dollars to Zionist groups and organizations in the US, thereby entangling it in the web it has woven. The US is now stuck in an economic and military quagmire which can eventually terminate in the collapse of the Empire.

The massive conspiracy project to defame Islam and all Muslims is but another source of shame for and another black stain on the history of US policies.

Please read Qaddafi's Green Book. Download link:

http://911-truth.net/other-books/Muammar-Qaddafi-Green-Book-Eng.pdf

If that link fails to work, the Green Book can also be downloaded from

http://furtherleft.net/Qaddafi.pdf

The hostility persists in Tripoli and the Libyan rebels continue the search for Gaddafi, but who is leading the rebels? Who are the beneficiaries of the fall of Gaddafi? What will the blowback be for those in Libya and across the globe? The always perceptive Pepe Escobar, a correspondent for Asia Times, gives us some surprise answers to these questions.

Recognizing Libyan Coup

The African Union will not yet recognize Libyan rebels as the new government of Libya, South African President Jacob Zuma said Friday, rejecting calls for recognition from Libyan rebel leaders.

Instead, African Union (AU) Libya committee chairman, South African Foreign Minister Jacob Zuma has re-iterated the 5-month constant call of the African Union for an immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of NATO forces from African territory.

Zuma confirmed the Libyan capital of Tripoli was not yet under full rebel control. The vast majority of Tripoli still remains out of control of rebels who are facing stiff resistance from the armed population, who bear arms to protect themselves from the invading forces.

He spoke as AU leaders met in the Ethiopian capital to discuss the next action they should take regarding Libya, having already condemned the NATO attacks and the UN for violating its own charter and laws. Some African States have received inducements to recognize the TNC but the majority refuse to recognize the rebels.

“Fighting is still going on. That is the reality,” said Zuma, who chairs the AU committee on Libya. “We can't say this is a legitimate (government) now.”

Today it was revealed that the military commander of the rebels in Tripoli who have been on the rampage and failed to secure the city from the democratic Jamahiriya government is an Al-Qaida asset. This will cause consternation in western capitals as it is yet again shown that they are supporting Al-Qaida in Libya.

Popular Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and other analysts including Mathaba Libya Analysts have long pointed out that Al-Qaida, which was firmly under control in Libya and with its fighters locked up in prison, had been released as part of a CIA plan to destabilize Libya, which was known as the "Switzerland" of Africa.

Before the western-led attempt to seize control of Libyan wealth in alliance with an unstable alliance of disparate rebels including Al-Qaida, united mainly by their hatred of Qaddafi and the popular democratic Jamahiriya government, the country enjoyed some of the highest standards of living in the world.

Thanks to the nationalization of resource assets the citizens of Libya enjoyed free unlimited world-wide health care and education, free housing and free electricity, a payment of $60,000 on getting married, and an additional $500 monthly into their bank accounts, from sharing the revenue of the nation among its population.

According to Associated Press (AP) reports, the American news agency quoted Zuma as saying that the AU did not rule out pro- or anti-Gaddafi forces from taking part in a future Libyan government.

African countries like Ethiopia and Nigeria that already recognised the rebels were free to do so and also support the AU position, AP reporting him as saying.

The same AP report however printed two monstrous lies in one sentence, one that the rebels control the majority of the country which Mathaba reporters on the ground absolutely verify is untrue, and "have already been recognised as the legitimate authority by most of the world."

Most of the world, according to western media including AP, the BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera and others, appears to mean just 40 countries out of a total of 192.

Earlier in the day, Mahmoud Jibril, the head of the rebel National Transitional Council, called for recognition from the AU and the urgent release of frozen Libyan assets, saying the government could face a “legitimacy crisis” if the Libyan people's demands are not met, according to AP.

Now the opposition says it urgently needs at least $5 billion in frozen assets to pay state salaries and maintain services in Libya, including areas still under Gaddafi control. Funds are also needed for an army and a police force to restore order and confiscate arms, he said.

“If the services expected by the citizens are not met, we may be faced with a legitimacy crisis,” Jibril said at a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Jibril was in Turkey to attend a meeting of the so-called “Contact Group” of some 30 countries leading efforts to occupy Libya, led by Libya's ancient colonizer nations, England, France, Italy and Turkey.

The U.S. bribed South Africa to accept a deal Thursday that will release $1.5 billion in Libyan assets in American banks which the U.S. is earmarking for the cash-strapped rebels.

Mathaba Analysts estimate that as much as $150 billion of Libya's money is frozen in banks worldwide under orders from the banking cartel of Europe and America. This includes $32 billion paid by Libya of a total $42 billion set-up budget for an African Monetary Fund and African Central Bank to lift International Monetary Fund and World Bank control over Africa.

The African Central Bank, African Monetary Fund and African Investment Bank were to be launched this September as the major corner stones of an African project supported by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi to free Africa from the clutches of foreign private central banks and other economic predators.

Several European nations, including Britain, France and Italy, are releasing some hundreds of millions, i.e. less than one thousandth of the Libyan money stolen by the western banks, and giving those funds to the rebels while retaining the rest to fill the empty coffers of western banks and pay for the imperial invasion of Africa.

“The waving of the new flag, international recognition and financial support are the three pillars for a sovereign Libya,” Turkish minister Davutoglu said.

However, people world wide have taken up the pure green flag of the Libyan Jamahiriya and adopted it as their own, after a call from the revolutionary leader explaining that the green flag is the property of all the people of the world, unlike the flags of governments which oppress them.

His call has been taken up by people around the world and in particular in Serbia, where the Qaddafi is popular as he supported the Serbians morally during the NATO aggression on the former Yugoslavia several years ago. Serbian volunteer fighters have also gathered in Libya to fight for Qaddafi against the rebels.

Serbians have also set up the most popular out of many thousands of Facebook support pages for Qaddafi, "Support For Muammar Qaddafi From The People of Serbia". Muammar Qaddafi has not opened a Facebook account due to it being a "CIA spying platform" although it is the most popular social media network.

Countries Have Recognized Palestinian Independence

By Saed Bannoura, 28 August 2011

A total of 124 countries, out of 193 UN member countries, have officially declared recognition of Palestine, and the Palestinian UN move this September, to seek recognition of statehood and a full UN membership.

Nine of the 124 countries are among the top ten most populated countries in the World, the Maan News Agency reported.

Palestinian sources reported that Palestine is gaining momentum is international recognition, and the UN move, especially after the Spanish Foreign Minister, Trinidad Jimenez, recently called on the European Countries to support the Palestinian move. Israel was angered by the recent statement, and considered it alarming.

Recently, both Spanish and Belgium Parliaments declared support to the Palestinian UN move.

Maan News stated that Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad Al-Maliki, is currently on a tour in several African countries, after he concluded a tour in a number of countries in South and Central America, to garner their support.

Several envoys, dispatched by President Mahmoud Abbas, toured a number of countries that could play an essential role in aiding the Palestinians at the United Nations.

Yet, the United States is following the lead of Israel in opposing the Palestinian move, and is waving its veto power to topple it.

The US claims statehood can only be achieved through negotiations, but the ongoing Israeli violations, construction and expansion of settlements, especially in Jerusalem, and its rejection to recognize the legitimate Palestine rights to liberation and independence, cast legitimate doubts on Israel’s intention to achieve a just and a comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Israel is trying to seek full normalization with the Arab world before a final peace agreement is reached with Israel.

In 2002, the Arab League held a summit in Beirut, headed by then Crown Prince, current King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, and presented the Arab Peace Initiative. The same initiative was endorsed, one again, during the Riyadh Summit of the Arab League in 2007.

The initiative offered full normalization between the entire Arab World and Israel, in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian and Arab territories occupied by Israel in 1967; this includes occupied East Jerusalem, the capital of the future Palestinian State.

The last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has been named the International Quds Day, an occasion when millions of people worldwide rally in support of Palestinians.

Press TV has interviewed Mark Glenn, author and political commentator from Idaho, on the significance of this day.

The video offers the opinions of two additional guests, Dovid Feldman and Alison Weir.

The following is the text of the interview:

Press TV: To what extent is Israel, in terms of its oppression, feels the pinch, due to the fall of some of the pro-US and pro-Israeli dictatorships in the region? Let's not lose sight of the fact that Israel is facing its own internal crisis of a huge protest movement.

Glenn: I don't think Israel is feeling the pinch at all, I think that she is perfectly pleased with the downfall of these formerly pro-Israel, pro-US leaders. I think at least the initial reports coming out of Israel saying that Israel is worried about who might replace them is just an act on the part of Israel that she is perfectly content with the current instability that is reigning throughout the region and even if they lost the support of some of these countries, it is not a big deal; she still maintains the fourth largest military in the world and that there isn't an Arab country or even an association of an Arab country that could effectively stand up against it, so I don't think Israel is feeling the pinch at all.

I would like to mention the fact that the Quds Day, which is celebrated on the last Friday of Ramadan, is mainly an Islamic community. The Christians around the world need to start paying attention to this as well because Palestinians are not just Muslims; we have many Christians as well who are suffering just as badly and I think this is something that Islamic community is promoting, particularly Iran and your very honorable President Ahmadinejad.

But they need to reach out to the Christian world and make them understand that the Palestinian issue is not just an Islamic issue, and that there are many Christians there who are suffering as well and the Christians have a vested interest in it because it is not just de-Islamification and the de-Palestinazation of the region that is taking place.

When Israel feels confident enough that it no longer has to rely on the economic and military support from the West, principally from America, she would begin the process of moving these Christian shrines out of Israel as well; it is not just the destruction of these Islamic centers, it will be Christian sites as well, so all of these Christians, particularly in the US, who gave their blind support to this racist genocidal entity in the Middle East and who believe that this is part of God's plan and Israel is supposed to behave basically like a mad dog, as the former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, described Israel.

They don't realize that they are actually undermining the very foundation of their own faith because, as I said, when Israel feels confident, she will begin bulldozing Christian Churches and Christian shrines in addition to the Islamic ones.

Press TV: The 2008 Gaza war, Mavi Marmara attack and just recently the largest number of settlement construction to occur mainly in al-Quds (Jerusalem), the siege on the Gaza Strip and the attacks, not to mention occupation of Palestinian lands. How would you evaluate international response, which has not prevented Israel from stopping these illegal activities?

Glenn: There is no international response, there is an international reaction and it is very half-hearted because nobody wants to get on Israel's bad side, it is no mystery that Israel holds its very vicious dogs on this lease and the US, and now in Libya, NATO as well, nobody wants to get on Israel's bad side because no one wants to get on the bad side of Israel because, as the former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan said, Israel is a mad dog.

The response is nothing. There is more concern for the suffering of the people in Darfur, which is completely justified, but you see more mobilization on the part of the world community in dealing with the suffering that is taking place in Darfur and Somalia than you see for the Palestinians. It is one of the things that historians will one day look back on and they will say to them, “What was the world thinking?” They just sat by. All of the lessons and lecturing that we have gotten since the end of World War II about Holocaust, how could people just sit by and watch things happen and do nothing. This will be applied to the situation in the Middle East and especially to the Palestinians.

Historians will sit and scratch their head in puzzlement, what were these people thinking? They allowed this genocide to continue not just for a few short years that took place under Adolf Hitler but literally for generations. So, the response on the part of the world has been nothing and it is completely understandable; we are dealing with an outlawed regime, a group of organized gangsters and they play rough and anybody who has any questions about that needs only to look at Iraq and Afghanistan and now Libya because these countries happened to get on the bad side of Israel and Israel loosened its vicious attack dogs on them.

Press TV: How important is the issue of Palestine and al-Quds (Jerusalem) as their capital for achieving peace in the Middle East?

Glenn: Not just achieving peace in the Middle East but throughout the entire world. Palestine is the issue, this is the place where the problems all began and this is the place where problems will end. Once Israel is reined in the region, we will see no more wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria or Iran or anywhere else. Once Israel is chained up and put in a cage where she belongs, to where she cannot harm anyone and do any more damage to the world peace and to world order, then you will see the world repairing itself.

So, Palestine is the issue, it always was, and it always will be the issue. I welcome the day that Christians will begin to realize that they have a vested interest in solving the problem if they truly want to live peacefully.

USA Coup, 9/11 Hoax, False War

One million chanting "The people united will never be defeated"

These are the awe inspiring scenes of mass mobilisation in Chile. The acute trigger is the privatisation of the education system, the underlying trigger is relentless and ever widening social and financial inequality. If the population of any country in the world knows about neoliberal poilicies it is the Chileans. Indeed probably the most influential critique of capitalism of our generation; Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine essentially rewrites the history of neoliberalism and it began not with Thatcher and Reagan but rather with Friedman, the Chicago boys and economic shock therapy and Chile. The most brutal and murderous of regimes was required in order to repress the people from uprising against the loss of their hopes and freedoms. The model was a success for the cold heart of capital accumulation and 'free' markets. Appropriately weighted corporate media, the IMF, CIA led embedding of dictatorships, autocrats or just right wing imperial friendly governments, both overtly and covertly became the apparatus that enabled the neoliberal march to global domination.

In Chile it is clear that enough is enough and amongst many others a new leader is born. Camila Vallejo Dowling a 23 year old, geography student at the University of Chile and president of the Student Federation has as one reporter writes "... has become the most popular and inspiring leader of the current and massive student movement that have brought to its knees, for the last 3 months, Sebastián Piñera’s right wing government. Even opinion polls carried out by media supporters of the current government can’t ignore the truth; Camilla is the most popular activist/politician in Chile with nearly 70% approval. Clearly she is not the only leader that fights for the cause of education in Chile, as it is really a whole generation of eloquent, savvy and dedicated youth, but Camila has become the most visible face of this, thus far, peaceful rebellion"

Camila is daughter of Communist Party members who fought against Pinochet;s repressive regime, the regime that the CIA installed after murdering Salvador Allende, the first democratically elected socialist leader in Latin America. Allende intended to address inequality and redistribute wealth and opportunity by nationalizing industries and actioning land and agricultural reforms with many small and cooperatively owned farms.

Camila has risen to the fore and as one writer reports: "attracted international media attention for her youth, her beauty and eloquence, but more importantly for the clarity and accessibility of her policy proposals and the strong resistance to the counter proposals driven by the government that have failed to illicit support from the public" and "Her voice and attitude reveals a measured, unhurried and very charismatic personality that has a deep understanding, unlike many of her elders, of the power of the media and social networks, Camilla seems undeterred even in the face of repeated death threats received, some even clumsily sent via Twitter and issued by government officials aligned with the Piñera government"

In an attempt to discredit Camila, other prominent activists and the protests in general, Chile's corporate media seem only to be fanning the flames as the above video showing the most remarkable scenes of solidarity demonstrates. The AlJazeera report below reveals that the protesters are not interested in compromise, and government officials will have to find real solutions if they want to restore relative calm. In the face of ongoing hunger strikes and a call by the largest worker’s group in the country for a general strike it seems fitting that with the neoliberalism that was first imposed in Chile, that it is these great people that are now bravely showing the rest of us the meaning of people power and with all sincerity and hope that together we can change the system, the system that after all is meant to represent us all and not the interests of the wealthy few. It is also clear that president Allende's final words have been far from forgotten and as he himself has said that his 'sacrifice will not be in vain'

Salvador Allende's Last Words to the Nation

My friends,

Surely this will be the last opportunity for me to address you. The Air Force has bombed the towers of Radio Portales and Radio Corporación.

My words do not have bitterness but disappointment. May they be a moral punishment for those who have betrayed their oath: soldiers of Chile, titular commanders in chief, Admiral Merino, who has designated himself Commander of the Navy, and Mr. Mendoza, the despicable general who only yesterday pledged his fidelity and loyalty to the Government, and who also has appointed himself Chief of the Carabineros [national police].

Given these facts, the only thing left for me is to say to workers: I am not going to resign!

Placed in a historic transition, I will pay for loyalty to the people with my life. And I say to them that I am certain that the seed which we have planted in the good conscience of thousands and thousands of Chileans will not be shriveled forever.

They have strength and will be able to dominate us, but social processes can be arrested neither by crime nor force. History is ours, and people make history.

Workers of my country: I want to thank you for the loyalty that you always had, the confidence that you deposited in a man who was only an interpreter of great yearnings for justice, who gave his word that he would respect the Constitution and the law and did just that. At this definitive moment, the last moment when I can address you, I wish you to take advantage of the lesson: foreign capital, imperialism, together with the reaction, created the climate in which the Armed Forces broke their tradition, the tradition taught by General Schneider and reaffirmed by Commander Araya, victims of the same social sector which will today be in their homes hoping, with foreign assistance, to retake power to continue defending their profits and their privileges.

I address, above all, the modest woman of our land, the campesina who believed in us, the worker who labored more, the mother who knew our concern for children. I address professionals of Chile, patriotic professionals, those who days ago continued working against the sedition sponsored by professional associations, class-based associations that also defended the advantages which a capitalist society grants to a few.

I address the youth, those who sang and gave us their joy and their spirit of struggle. I address the man of Chile, the worker, the farmer, the intellectual, those who will be persecuted, because in our country fascism has been already present for many hours -- in terrorist attacks, blowing up the bridges, cutting the railroad tracks, destroying the oil and gas pipelines, in the face of the silence of those who had the obligation to protect them. They were committed. History will judge them.

Surely Radio Magallanes will be silenced, and the calm metal instrument of my voice will no longer reach you. It does not matter. You will continue hearing it. I will always be next to you. At least my memory will be that of a man of dignity who was loyal to [inaudible] the workers.

The people must defend themselves, but they must not sacrifice themselves. The people must not let themselves be destroyed or riddled with bullets, but they cannot be humiliated either.

Workers of my country, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to prevail. Go forward knowing that, sooner rather than later, the great avenues will open again where free men will walk to build a better society.

Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!

These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain, I am certain that, at the very least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice, and treason.

Santiago de Chile, 11 September 1973

You Can Help Analyze

On 24 August 2011 Wikileaks released 55 thousand cables from the U.S. embassies in Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, Russia, and Venezuela, among others. Through their official channels they asked for citizen participation in analyzing them. They also asked that they post their finds by sending them to @wikileaks on Twitter under the hashtag #wlfind. You can take a look at the cables yourself by visiting either of these links

http://wikileaks.org/tag/TU_0.html

or

http://www.cablegatesearch.net/search.php.

The flow of the twitter hashtag #wlfind can be watched without a twitter account at

http://wlcentral.org/node/2193.

As a consequence of this release, Wikileak's Californian DNS hoster, Dynadot, "has received a PATRIOT act production order for information on Julian Assange", according to their website. It also mentioned that it had been complied and that "the production order seeks all available information on Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, for the US grand jury in Alexandria, Washington."

Chavez: Libya's tragedy begins with Gadhafi's fall

Hugo Chavez gestures during a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister

Wed 24 August 2011, 8:20 pm UTC

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that Libya's crisis is just beginning with the fall of Moammar Gadhafi's government.

Chavez has been a staunch defender of Gadhafi throughout the conflict, and he condemned NATO airstrikes and killings of civilians.

"The drama of Libya isn't ending with the fall of Gadhafi's government. It's beginning," Chavez said. "The tragedy in Libya is just beginning."

Libyans hunting Moammar Gadhafi offered a $2 million bounty on Gadhafi's head and amnesty for anyone who kills or captures him as rebels battled Wednesday to clear the last pockets of resistance from the capital, Tripoli.

Asked about such efforts to hunt for Gadhafi, Chavez said they reflect a "madness let loose."

"What the Yankee empire and the European powers ... want is Libya's oil," Chavez said.

Chavez said his country's embassy in Libya was looted, but the Venezuelan ambassador to Tripoli later corrected that account saying his official residence was looted by "armed groups" who stole belongings and vehicles.

"They didn't leave anything in the house and fired some shots into the air," Venezuelan Ambassador Afif Tajeldine told the Caracas-based TV channel Telesur. He called it a violation of international law by armed groups supported by NATO, and therefore by NATO itself.

Chavez said Tuesday that Venezuela would continue to recognize Gadhafi as Libya's leader and would refuse to recognize a rebel-led interim government.

On Wednesday, he denounced the U.S. role in the conflict, saying it represents "the madness of an empire."

"They've destroyed a country and they continue destroying it," Chavez said. "How many Libyan children have died?"

He made the remarks in response to questions from reporters after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"Now they're aiming against Syria," said Chavez, referring to another ally of Venezuela.

Colonel Gaddafi's glamorous lawyer daughter and Goodwill Ambassador battling AIDS and violence against women plus losing her infant daughter killed in US led bombing, spoke to the press first time since U.S. atrocities on Libyans escalated, pointing a finger at U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama, blaming the West for interfering in Libya when it was soon to unveil its constitution in its democratic reform, and threatening the United States for its continued illegal war on her oil-rich country.

According to the Daily Mail, one of Gaddafi's eight children, Aisha Gaddafi, 36, demonstrated defiance against Hillary Clinton, the woman who advised in March that, no matter what Congress said or how it voted, she was defending the Obama regime's continued assaults on the people of Libya.

Laughingly, Ms. Gaddafi, who specializes in violence against women issues, asked Hillary Clinton, "Why didn’t you leave the White House when you found out about the cheating of your husband?"

Ms. Gaddafi, described as the "Claudia Schiffer of North Africa" by Arabic press, "could have easily graced the pages of Vogue magazine, but she opted for a role to further her father's cause," International Business Times has reported.

Ms. Gaddafi, slated as Libya's next beloved leader and hailed as a major present leader in the people's struggle as seen in Tripoli on April 14.

She has been the Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations Development Program (UNDP) since 2009. She has worked as an emissary in Africa's battle against HIV, and also violence against women.

The Independent reported that the UN relieved her from her duties after the war on Libya began, calling it a "bloody repression of a revolt against her father in Libya."

Ms. Gadaffi said that rebels fighting for independence from her father's regime were 'terrorists' according to the Daily Mail.

Alex Newman, a journalist for The New American, wrote in April that many of the rebels fighting the Libyan dictatorship are affiliated with known terrorist organizations including al-Qaeda. Of course, some of them are also apparently part of the establishment, too, as evidenced by the rebel council’s seemingly odd decision to set up a new central bank amidst the chaos.

Ms Gaddafi warned America, "The opposition in Iraq told the West that when you come to Iraq, they will greet you with roses. Almost ten years later, they are receiving the Americans with bullets." ... Believe me, the situation in Libya will be much worse" she added.

Ms. Gaddafi sued NATO for bombing the building in Gaddafi's compound that allegedly killed her brother, Saif al-Arab Muammar al-Gaddafi, and her own infant daughter, plus two other grandchildren of her father.

On August 22, "Libyan rebels" stormed Ms. Gaddafi's home, and for months after, it was unclear what had became of her.

Hillary Clinton's unwavering support of lawlessness and human rights abuses

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "told a classified congressional hearing that the Obama regime would ignore Congress if it tried to rein in the unconstitutional war in Libya, but that the administration would send press releases to lawmakers, according to news reports," reported Alex Newman in the New American on April 1, 2011.

"When Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) asked Clinton during the briefing what the regime’s response would be to Congress exercising its constitutional authority over war, the Secretary said Obama would proceed with the war anyway, according to a senior Republican lawmaker in attendance cited by Talking Points Memo.

Aisha Gaddafi Sues Nato For War Crimes After Airstrike Kills Her 4 Month Old Daughter

By Kim Willsher 07

Aisha Gaddafi with supporters of her father in Tripoli in March. Aisha Gaddafi claims air strike that killed four members of her family, including her daughter, constitutes a war crime

The daughter of Muammar Gaddafi has launched a lawsuit for murder following the death in April of four members of her family during a Nato air strike.

Legal papers were submitted to the prosecutor's office in Brussels on Tuesday by the French lawyer for Aisha Gaddafi.

During the bombing raid on 30 April the Libyan leader's son Saif el-Arab, 29, as well as three of his grandchildren were killed. Ms Gaddafi's four-month-old daughter Mastoura was one of those who died.

She argues the coalition forces that carried out the attack are guilty of "war crimes", stating the air strike did not target a command and control post held by troops loyal to her father, but was a private residence in Tripoli where members of his family were living.

She has demanded investigators "discover, identify and punish those responsible for the murders and their accomplices".

The papers were lodged by Luc Brossollet. His office confirmed that he had travelled to the Belgian capital to begin legal proceedings.

"The target was a civil building inhabited by civilians and was neither a command post nor a military control [centre] of the Libyan regime," the legal papers state

Journalist Threatened By Allies
Do Not Go Against Nato Propaganda Or Be Killed

International mandate to "protect" civilians is and always was a complete hoax

Steve Watson, Aug 22, 2011

Video: Global Research journalist Mahdi Nazemroaya says he fears for his life and is being threatened for "not going by what NATO is presenting" as news out of Libya. He says he believes that some of the journalists covering events are "not real journalists", but are instead working for security services.

As some quarters of the mainstream media are still reporting that the battle for the Libyan capitol Tripoli is part of a popular uprising, Senior US and NATO officials confirmed today that the intensification of fighting was initiated by NATO, as it candidly presided over rebel forces.

The New York Times today quotes an anonymous senior diplomat who states that over recent weeks NATO has been directly coordinating rebel groups, despite the fact that its UN endorsed mandate did not extend beyond "protecting" Libyan civilians and specifically outlined that NATO should not seek to influence the outcome of the conflict.

The source also stated that a significant step up in US ariel surveillance around Tripoli played a pivotal role in aiding rebel forces to erode military forces loyal to the Libyan government.

The Times report states: NATO's targeting grew increasingly precise, one senior NATO diplomat said, as the United States established around-the-clock surveillance over the dwindling areas that Libyan military forces still controlled, using armed Predator drones to detect, track and occasionally fire at those forces.

The report also states openly that other NATO members including Britain and France sent in more special forces troops on the ground to train and arm the rebels. "We always knew there would be a point where the effectiveness of the government forces would decline to the point where they could not effectively command and control their forces," said the diplomat, who was granted anonymity to discuss confidential details of the battle inside Tripoli. "At the same time," the diplomat said, "the learning curve for the rebels, with training and equipping, was increasing. What we've seen in the past two or three weeks is these two curves have crossed."

Once again these testimonies provide evidence that NATO forces are wilfully breaking their own legal justification for involvement in Libya, and in the process arming and supporting Al-Qaeda terrorists.

For months now we have been reporting that NATO and the US have been arming Libyan rebels via Egypt.

We have also consistently covered the fact that special forces troops have been on the ground in Libya even prior to the conflict flaring up in early March.

President Obama has refused to admit this is the case, instead claiming over and over that there would be "absolutely" no boots on the ground.

Precisely as we predicted last month, NATO forces and their Al-Qaeda backed rebels have launched a massive assault on Tripoli in order to wrap up the looting and conquest of Libya in time for crucial talks at the UN on Palestinian statehood set to begin in less than two weeks.

Now leading globalists such as Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haas are pouring out of the woodwork, calling for an all out occupation of Libya, exactly as was planned from the very beginning.

Anyone who still maintains that this is a humanitarian mission to "liberate" the country, and not one of aggressive foreign occupation is either willfully ignorant or seeking to deliberately distort reality.

Thousands of British and American troops on standby to head off potential Gaddafi counter-attack

By Paul Watson in Global Research, August 23, 2011


Preparing to head off any potential counter-attack by Gaddafi forces, NATO powers are readying a “humanitarian” occupation of Libya with thousands of British and American soldiers, risking the possibility that troops could be sent into yet another quagmire to rival Afghanistan and Iraq.

Eager to control the country’s vast oil resources and its 144 tons of gold bullion, a plan to send in troops would represent a complete violation of the UN’s own resolution authorizing military intervention, unless of course the soldiers were labeled “peacekeepers” and inserted under humanitarian cover.
Recall that the EU ground invasion force that was proposed back in April was similarly couched in humanitarian rhetoric and yet would have been empowered to “secure sea and land corridors inside the country,” a transparent military objective.

“Hundreds of British soldiers could be sent to Libya to serve as peacekeepers if the country descends into chaos, Downing Street indicated last night,” reports the Daily Mail.

“The troops have been on standby for Libya since the start of July. All their kit is packed and they are just waiting to get the call to go,” said one source.

Similarly, a U.S. occupation force has also been on standby for several months.

As Infowars reported back in June, military sources indicated that 30,000 troops from the 1st Calvary Division (heavy armor) and III Corps at Ft. Hood were being readied for deployment to Libya by October.

As we highlighted before the NATO attack on Libya even began, hundreds of British, American and French Special Forces were sent to Libya at the end of February to train and command the Al-Qaeda led rebel army. These Special Forces troops were later caught on camera fraternizing with rebels by an Al-Jazeera film crew.

Launching an occupation under humanitarian cover would be an echo of how NATO was able to manufacture a pretext for intervention in the first place, by having the establishment media spin a civil war as a brutal Gaddafi crackdown, characterizing rebels who seized fighter jets, tanks and Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers as “protesters,” before enforcing a “no fly zone” that turned into a bloody bombardment overnight.

Also desperate to prey on the spoils of war is the World Bank, which yesterday announced its desire to “help” Libya’s recovery, no doubt by repeating its routine trick of indebting countries with crippling loans that can never be paid back while swallowing up real assets in return.

Once Gaddafi’s authority completely collapses in Tripoli, and that is by no means a certainty, Libya will likely descend into a turf war fought by rival tribes. With British and American forces already stretched in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with the economies of both countries teetering on the brink of a double-dip recession, committing to a third quagmire by intervening further in a civil war is beyond insane.

While an occupying NATO army is by no means a given, there’s no doubt that it has been built into the timetable as a precaution should Gaddafi’s forces mount a successful counter-attack. Reports today suggest that might be occurring, after claims that Gaddafi’s son Saif Al-Islam was arrested turned out to be completely false. Al-Islam later appeared in Tripoli and vowed to “break the will” of rebels who he said had been trapped in the city as part of a deliberate military ploy by Gaddafi’s regime.

We were able to divulge NATO’s plan to launch a massive bombardment on Tripoli to end the conflict before the start of September back in early July. Like the September deadline, NATO will also be working to a cut off point when, if necessary, it will send in an occupying army under the pretext of humanitarian assistance to ensure all remnants of Gaddafi’s regime are swept away for good.

By Chris Dates August 22nd, 2011

The resistance is growing. The revolution taking place between the ears is beginning to swallow up more of the market share. Millions of humans have begun to shake off the sheep of their Statist slumbers, and more wake up by the minute. They are beginning to see Politicians for who they are; paper tigers who point to pieces of parchment as proof of their perverse powers. They are beginning to see governments for what they are; nothing more than dens full of these pitiful, petty paper tigers who promise peace, prosperity, and progress, but only deliver debt, destruction, and death. For these reasons the light of liberty is blinding for such starving eyes, and too bright for some, but there are those who stand ready to usher in this dawn long overdue.

Ideas have been the weapon of choice in the struggle for freedom, but the common man has stumbled upon something else to compliment his weapon; the Internet. Now, information is passed around in the cyber world faster than ammo was passed around to those brainwashed boys in the Government trenches of any given needless war. The Pandora’s Box that used to harbor the ideas of freedom and liberty has been flung open like so many double doors on the last day of school. It is too late to stop the virtual stampede. Governments around the world now find themselves in a catch-22. If the internet is shutdown, governments risk immediate revolution. If the free flow of information is allowed to continue unfettered, revolution will eventually come. Humans have gotten a taste of the truth, and they seem to like it.

The stranglehold that was placed on truth and information is slipping away. State propaganda and disinformation is being rendered useless. Tyrants are like children who hold clay in their hands, the harder they squeeze, the more they lose. This is what every government has failed to understand throughout their tragic and horrible 10,000 year history. Pure tyranny brings with it pure liberty. As awful as it sounds, my desire is that the grip of tyranny continues. Coercive, violent governments have proven to be the best recruiting tool for those who long for liberty, and if liberty is what lies on the other side of this tyranny, the juice is definitely worth the squeeze.

I write this partially for my friends who live in Northern California, who I know will read this. You are already living like there is no government; you live like you are free. You stand on the edge of mental emancipation, all you need to do is take that last step. I know thinking about Anarchy is frightening at first, but this is only your mental falling back on the years of indoctrination that was spoon fed to you in government school. We were all taught that Anarchy is chaos, and only government can deliver law and order. The fear is always the same; the other guy will turn into a monster. Just stop for a second and examine what YOU would do. Stop worrying about what the other guy would do. This is the source of your mental slavery. The government has us so scared of our neighbors, that we now are to the point where we beg for coercive government. Ask yourself this question; would you turn into a murderer without the State? Try this one; would your mother be a whore without the State? Government has robbed us of our humanity, and if there is one thing this wretched institution has been successful at it’s pitting neighbor against neighbor.

Centralized power is the midwife of chaos. If this body dies wrapped in chains and shackles, my mind will not.

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.”
~Bob Marley

The Empire

A book by Chalmers Johnson

Chalmers Johnson is professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. Chalmers Johnson minces no words on his concerns with a U.S. overemphasis on the military. "The failure to begin to deal with our bloated military establishment and the profligate use of it in missions for which it is hopelessly inappropriate will . . . condemn the U.S. to . . . imperial overstretch, perpetual war, and insolvency, leading to a likely collapse similar to that of the former Soviet Union."

The 2008 Pentagon inventory includes 190,000 troops in 46 nations and territories, and 865 facilities in more than 40 countries and overseas U.S. territories. In just Japan, we have 99,295 connected to U.S. forces living there. The only purpose is to provide control over as many nations as possible. Britain, Germany, France, The Netherlands, and Japan have given up their empires, and we should too. Per Nick Turse ('The Complex: How the Military Invades our Everyday Lives') we could net $2.6 billion selling our base assets at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and another $2.2 billion for Guantanamo Bay - just two of those facilities. The Pentagon also has 234 golf courses around the world, 70 Lear Jet airplanes for generals and admirals, a ski resort in the Bavarian Alps.

Meanwhile, we continue trying to pacify Afghanistan, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Britain and the Soviet Union previously failed. Even Pakistan cannot command the Pashtun tribes in its own area; worse yet, its army trains Taliban fighters in suicide attacks and orders them to fight American and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, while extorting huge amounts of money from Saudi Arabia, Persian Gulf emirates, and the U.S. to train 'freedom fighters.' Our linkage, however, with anti-Muslim Israel and India makes full Pakistani commitment impossible.

Another problem is that our overseas troops often bring sexual violence against local women and girls, 83% of which were not punished between 2001-08 in Japan. Our uniformed 18-24 year-olds have become 'ugly ambassadors' for the U.S. around the globe. As for U.S. military females, 90% of the rapes are never reported.

Johnson asks "What harm would befall the U.S. if we closed those bases that we garrison around the world?" Our prior predictions of disaster (falling Asian dominoes) proved false after the Vietnam War, and it was Vietnam, not the U.S. that put an end to the murderous reign of Pol Pot in neighboring Cambodia. Imagining that China would want to start a war with the U.S., even over Taiwan, would mean a dramatic change of personality for that country. The author believes that no evidence exists to suggest U.S. efforts advance global peace - in fact, we make it less likely (eg. Iraq), and our weapons and tactics (eg. cluster bombs, 10 million unexploded mines in Afghanistan, and 'surgical strikes') enrage locals. As for why few of the world's billion+ Muslims like the U.S. - estimates range from 500,000 to 1 million Iraqi children were killed as an outgrowth of U.S. sanctions. Johnson also goes on to document U.S. blocking contracts to improve Iraqi water and other utilities just prior to our invasion. Then there are the matters of torture and secret renditions - how did these acts reduce terrorism?

Statistics compiled by the Federation of American Scientists analyzed by Gore Vidal show 201 military operations initiated by the U.S. against others between the end of WWII and 9/11 - none of which directly resulted in the creation of a democracy. These included Iran (1953, 1979), Guatemala (1954), Cuba (1959-present), Congo (1960), Brazil (1964), Indonesia (1965), Vietnam (1961-73), Laos (1961-73), Cambodia (1969-73), Greece (1967-73), Chile (1973), Afghanistan (1979-present), El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua (1980s), Iraq (1991-present), Panama (1989), Grenada (1983). (The Korean War is a notable positive exception.)

Another example - instead of radical demobilization after the Soviet Union's demise, we attempted to shore up Cold War structures in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and repeatedly irritated both Russia and China. Space has become militarized. Per Johnson, Carter's national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and former CIA director Gates made it clear that U.S. aid to the mujaheddin began six months prior to the Soviet invasion, and helped provoke it.

The author recommends cutting the number of dependents, mercenaries, and civilians stationed overseas, along with their expensive facilities, stop being the world's largest exporter of arms and munitions and educating Third World militaries in torture and coups, abolish ROTC (militarizes campuses) and the CIA (history of dismal intelligence and operational failures), and bring our troops home.

Though not included in "Dismantling the Empire," a recent 'Newsweek' article also pointed out waste in the Pentagon - Secretary Gates estimates there are 30 levels between himself and line officers, and expects by 2020 for the U.S. to have 'only' 20X China's number of advanced stealth fighters; other researchers recently found 530 deputy assistant secretaries of defense, compared to 78 in 1960.

Bottom-Line: Chalmers Johnson wishes he could be more optimistic about the future; unfortunately, he believes it is time to lower the flag on the 'American Century' (actually only 70 years - 1940-2010). I would also suggest we stop supporting Israel's genocidal colonialism and apparent assist in turning the Meditaranian into an Israeli lake - an enormous burden that has led to the Arab Oil Embargo, 9/11, and our current never-ending War on Terror in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Syria and endless Homeland Security often bufoonish efforts to accomplish the impossible - 'terrorist-proof' America.

From Global Research, August 21, 2011

Tripoli, Libya, Aug. 22, 2011, 1 AM CET– On Saturday evening, at 8pm, when the hour of Iftar marked the breaking of the Ramadan fast, the NATO command launched its “Operation Mermaid Dawn” against Libya.

The Sirens were the loudspeakers of the mosques, which were used to launch Al Qaeda’s call to revolt against the Qaddafi government. Immediately the sleeper cells of the Benghazi rebels went into action. These were small groups with great mobility, which carried out multiple attacks. The overnight fighting caused 350 deaths and 3,000 wounded.

The situation calmed somewhat on Sunday during the course of the day.

Then, a NATO warship sailed up and anchored just off the shore at Tripoli, delivering heavy weapons and debarking Al Qaeda jihadi forces, which were led by NATO officers.

Fighting stared again during the night. There were intense firefights. NATO drones and aircraft kept bombing in all directions. NATO helicopters strafed civilians in the streets with machine guns to open the way for the jihadis.

In the evening, a motorcade of official cars carrying top government figures came under attack. The convoy fled to the Hotel Rixos, where the foreign press is based. NATO did not dare to bomb the hotel because they wanted to avoid killing the journalists. Nevertheless the hotel, which is where I am staying, is now under heavy fire.

At 11:30pm, the Health Minister had to announce that the hospitals were full to overflowing. On Sunday evening, there had been 1300 additional dead and 5,000 wounded.

NATO had been charged by the UN Security Council with protecting civilians in Libya. In reality, France and Great Britain have just re-started their colonial massacres.

At 1am, Khamis Qaddafi came to the Rixos Hotel personally to deliver weapons for the defense of the hotel. He then left. There is now heavy fighting all around the hotel.

Midnight August 21 Carnage in Tripoli - The Word on The Street

1300 innocent civilians killed in Tripoli in the last 11 hours + 5000 injured. Nonstop bombings and 3 Apache gunship firing their mini-cannons constantly are the real killers. The gangs of Al Qaida are burning houses, looting shops and kidnapping every woman in sight. Any prominent supporter of Ghadafi was targeted and their houses attacked first. The number of gangs have been increasing because they are coming in from the sea in small NATO craft directed by the Special Forces of all the aggressor nations.

Hugo Chavez Nationalizes Venezuelan Gold Industry, Demands 211 Tons Be Returned From Abroad - JPMorgan, Bank Of England & Etfs Scramble For Physical Metal

The Daily Bail, 17 August 2011

This is the biggest story of the late day with implications for Jamie Dimon, precious metal ETFs, and central banks worldwide. We'll start at the beginning.

Anyone holding gold miner Rusoro stock is panicking.

DETAILS FROM REUTERS

Toronto-listed Rusoro, owned by Russia's Agapov family, is the only large gold miner operating in Venezuela. It produced 100,000 ounces last year.

The gold industry will be just the latest part of the economy to be put under state control by the socialist leader, who said he would issue the necessary decree in the coming days and called on the military to help control the sector.

"I have here the laws allowing the state to exploit gold and all related activities ... we are going to nationalize the gold and we are going to convert it, among other things, into international reserves because gold continues to increase in value," Chavez said in a phone call to state television.

---

WSJ

CARACAS—Venezuela plans to transfer billions of dollars in cash reserves from abroad to banks in Russia, China and Brazil and tons of gold from European banks to its central bank vaults, according to documents reviewed Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal.

The planned moves would include transferring $6.3 billion in cash reserves, most of which Venezuela now keeps in banks such as the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, and Barclays Bank in London to unnamed Russian, Chinese and Brazilian banks, one document said.

Venezuela also plans to move 211 tons of gold it keeps abroad.

---

The problem for Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan is that they hold only 10.6 tonnes of gold, and all of it belongs to Venezuela, though they have pledged approximately 100 times that amount in various paper markets.

ETF NEWS

While Venezuela is a relatively minor player on the world stage, this could be a big game changer here in the United States because one of the banks that holds 10.6 tons of Venezuela’s gold is none other than JP Morgan. In a recent audit of JP Morgan’s holdings it was reported that they held 338,303 ounces of gold or roughly 10.6 tons. While this is a modest size deposit it is sure to cause some jitters at JP Morgan as they scramble to find the replacement gold which has already been pledged about 100 times across various paper markets to ETF’s like the SPDR Gold ETF (NYSE:GLD).

---

BLOOMBERG

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered his government to repatriate $11 billion in gold held in banks abroad to safeguard the country from the economic crisis and said he’ll nationalize the local gold industry.

Venezuela has about 211 tons of its 365 tons of gold reserves held abroad at institutions including the Bank of England, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Barclays Plc (BARC), Standard Chartered Plc (STAN)and the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), according to a government document.

“We’ve held 99 tons of gold at the Bank of England since 1980. I agree with bringing that home,” Chavez said today on state television. “It’s a healthy decision.”

Chavez, who has said he wants to eliminate the “dictatorship” of the U.S. dollar, has called on Venezuela’s central bank to diversify its $28.7 billion in reserves away from U.S. institutions. Some cash reserves, which total $6.3 billion, will be shifted into currencies from emerging markets including China, Russia, Brazil and India, central bank President Nelson Merentes said today at a news conference.

As Honduran-Canadian Trade Agreement Moves Forward

By Annie Bird and Karen Spring, 19 August 2011

On August 14, one campesino and five Dinant security guards were killed in the Panama farm. On August 15, five more people were massacred in a pick-up truck that left the Honduran National Agrarian Institute headquarters, where hundreds of campesino farmers currently live in temporary huts, after being illegally evicted from their homes and lands. The August 15th shooting occurred in front of a palm plantation controlled by the Dinant Corporation, and security guards had been seen at the location moments before the massacre.

These incidents are part of an on-going and growing wave of violence and State repression in the region stemming from historic land conflicts. The violence and repression appear to be related to militarization, the demand for palm oil and to drug trafficking activities that have increased markedly in the region since the June 28, 2009 military coup that ousted the elected government of President Zelaya - a coup that was backed directly and indirectly by the USA and Canada.

Since the coup, campesino organizations attribute at least 45 killings in the Aguan region alone to private security forces working for the wealthy producers of African palm oil, who often act jointly with State police and military forces.

After the coup, advances that had been made toward the resolution of historic and underlying campesino land claims came to a crashing halt. Campesinos in the Lower Aguan region had spent over 15 years attempting to have their land rights recognized through legal processes and political dialog, all of which were ended with the coup, pitting campesinos against an apparent alliance between military, police, mercenaries, large scale African palm oil planters and drug traffickers.

REPRESSION & "FREE" TRADE AGREEMENTS

This most recent surge in violence and State violence occurred days after Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, signed a "free" trade agreement with Honduras, and as Lisa Kubiske is poised to take office as the new US Ambassador to Honduras. Much of Kubiske's career has focused on the promotion of biofuel investment (that African palm oil is used for) and the passing of so-called "free" trade agreements.

BACKGROUND

Over two days, Sunday August 14 and Monday August 15, eleven people were killed in two different incidents in the Lower Aguan region of Honduras. In response between 600 and 1,000 troops are being deployed to the region; violence and State repression in that region have spiked since the June 2009 military coup and notably since the region was militarily occupied in March of 2010.

Since late 2009, a group of 100s of private security guards, that acts as a local paramilitary force, has been established and works for a series of African palm oil plantations (producing for the diesel bio-fuel trade), though this force also has carried out acts of repression against local campesino communities on behalf of drug traffickers.

In July, campesino and human rights organizations attributed 44 assassinations of campesinos to private security guards, mercenaries, police and/or military forces since the coup. In 2010, in the Aguan region alone, twenty one assassinations were documented in just two of many campesino organizations in the area.

SIX KILLED ON DINANT OIL PALM PLANTATION

Early in the morning, Sunday August 14, campesinos from the Movimiento Campesino Colonia Nueva Vida de Rigores (MCCNVR) occupied the Finca Panama, ten minutes from the community of Rigores in Trujillo, Colon. This peaceful action was part of their on-going efforts to claim lands they feel they have legal, legitimate claim to.

According to local sources, the campesinos were quickly surrounded by approximately 120 soldiers from the 15th Army Battalion and approximately 40 security guards from the Orion Security Company employed by Dinant palm oil corporation. The security forces opened fire, killing 17 year old campesino Javier Melgar and also five security guards!

Campesinos believe the soldiers confused the security guards and the campesinos, as some security guards were dressed as civilians and, also, the security guard uniform is difficult to distinguish from civilian clothing. Local informants report that all of the victims were killed by shots fired from military issued RPG-15 rifles.

"BLAME THE VICTIMS" - Soldiers were transported in a Ford F350. A number of Ford F350s were reportedly donated to Honduran Military by the US Military in late 2010. Honduran press reports, unquestioningly citing a Dinant Corporation press release, described this incident as an armed attack by campesinos against security guards, completely distorting the events.

FIVE MASSACRED IN PEPSI DELIVERY TRUCK

The property and buildings of the National Agrarian Institute (INA), in Sinaloa, Tocoa, are closely identified with the Honduran campesino movement, frequently hosting educational events of campesino organizations. Currently a tract of land behind the INA is being converted into a town for hundreds of families who have been illegally and forcibly displaced from the cooperatives of La Aurora and La Confianza after Honduras' largest land-owner, Miguel Facusse, agreed to terms of sale for these two farms in an agreement signed June 15, 2011 which specified the terms of sale for 7 out of 14 farms Facusse had agreed to sell to campesinos in April of 2010.

On August 15 at approximately 2pm, an unmarked truck belonging to a Pepsi distributer pulled out of the INA installations, where employees were distributing publicity materials. Local informants report that a blue pick-up opened fire on the Pepsi truck, killing all five occupants. The shooting took place close to a private security guard post, on the road that separates INA headquarters from the San Isidro farm, a palm plantation controlled by the Dinant corporation. Sources who were in INA installations at the time report that palm plantation security guards had been seen in the area shortly before the massacre.

The majority of campesinos assassinated in the Aguan have been killed by passing pick up trucks, as campesinos walked, rode bicycles or drove automobiles. In many cases, witness report recognizing the occupants of the assault vehicles to be palm plantation security guards.

MASSACRES ON PLANTATIONS ILLEGALLY OBTAINED BY MIGUEL FACUSSE

The Finca Panama and the Finca San Isidro are just two of many large farms in the possession of the Dinant Corporation, the largest African palm oil corporation in Honduras, owned by Miguel Facusse - one of the wealthiest men in the country, and known to be one of the intellectual and material authors of the June 2009 military coup.

The African palm plantations were originally established under the Honduran agrarian reform program when they were property of the Empresa Campesina Paso Aguan and the Cooperative San Isidro, respectively. In 1992, the Land Modernization Law was established, which allowed cooperatives to resell land they had acquired through the agrarian reform program.

Within a few years, out of the 53 cooperatives that existed in the Lower Aguan at the time of the land 'modernization' laws, 35 had been allegedly sold, principally to three wealthy, powerful African palm oil businessmen - Rene Morales, Reynaldo Canales and Miguel Facusse. These "sales" generally occurred through a combination of fraud, corruption, violence and intimidation. Many of the campesino cooperatives quickly began legally challenging the sales, legal and political struggles which continue to this day but are paralyzed within the extremely corrupt Honduran justice system.

VIOLENCE & BURNING OF RIGORES COMMUNITY LINKED TO FINCA PANAMA

The Finca Panama borders lands of the Movimiento Campesino de Rigores (MCR), lands to which another powerful landholder Eric Rivera claims to hold rights. Campesinos recount that in the year 2000, Rivera's father had coordinated with campesinos at the time they settled on the farm, planning to use the agrarian reform program's mechanism to provide a loan to farmers to buy the land from Rivera. Years passed without accessing the needed loan for the land purchase.

Since 2005, eviction orders had been requested by Eric Rivera but all had been suspended by courts. Rivera, widely described to be a drug trafficker in the area, is reported to surround himself with a personal security contingent of approximately 20 heavily armed guards at all times. In addition, Dinant Corporation security forces have been an active force in intimidating and attacking the MCR.

On May 15, 2011 Francisco Pascual Lopez, a farmer from the MCR was tending his cattle when, according to an eye witness, security guards working for Miguel Facusse shot Pascual in his land, and then dragged him into the Finca Panama. The witness ran for help, and even though community members found a trail of blood leading onto the Finca Panama, police refused to enter the Finca Panama to locate the wounded man.

On June 24, 2011, the community of Rigores was violently evicted and over 100 homes burned by State police and private security forces that also work for African palm plantations. On July 1, the same forces, again with no eviction order, again attacked the Rigores community, burning homes that families were attempting to rebuild - however, that day the presence of an international observation delegation deterred further violence.

Again, on August 2, police and private security forces perpetrated an armed attack on the Rigores community wounding a man from a neighboring community, Ariel Lara.

INCREASED MILITARIZATION IN THE REGION ENDANGERS THE LIVES OF CAMPESINOS

In response to the Finca Panama incidents on August 14 and 15, 2011, Minister of Security Oscar Alvarez announced the re-militarization of the Aguan in response to the killings on Finca Panama, sending a further 600 to 1,000 troops from the 4th Infantry Battalion in La Ceiba and the 14th Battalion, among others. These troops will add to an already very large armed presence in the area.

Witnesses report that hundreds of private security forces are being trained by the Honduran military in the 15th Battalion in Rio Claro, Trujillo, Colon, and inside the plantations controlled by African palm oil magnates Rene Morales and Reynaldo Morales. Witnesses also report that police, particularly from the station in Tocoa, Colon, and military particularly from the Rio Claro base as well as the 4th Batallion in La Ceiba, participate in joint operations with the private security forces.

Operations undertaken jointly (State forces and private para-military groups) range from roadside checkpoints to armed attacks on communities, drive by shootings and kidnappings. Military, police and private security forces are reported to exchange uniforms depending on the context, to mobilize jointly both in police patrol cars and automobiles that belong to private security companies employed by the African palm planters.

There are also widespread yet unconfirmed reports that Colombian paramilitary forces and US Army Rangers train the African palm companies' private security forces both in the 15th Battalion and on palm plantations. On September 12, 2009 the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported that Honduran palm planters were recruiting former AUC paramilitaries, and in October 2009 the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries reported that 40 Colombian paramilitaries had been recruited by Honduran property owners for security activities.

MILITARY, POLICE, MERCENARY AND DRUG TRAFFICKER ALLIED AGAINST CAMPESINOS

The relationship between the military, police and the private security guards clearly demonstrates that the security guards are acting as paramilitary forces, a situation extremely complex in the Aguan as drug trafficking activities have also grown tremendously since the June 28, 2009 military coup.

Throughout the region there is a heavy presence of armed security forces working for the drug traffickers, and community members report that these security forces maintain connections to police, military and the private security forces maintained by palm planters. Small landing strips are situated inside palm plantations.

Multiple newspaper articles make reference to drug planes and boats being located on palm plantations; several on plantations controlled by Miguel Facusse, such as the Farallones farm in Limon, Colon.

The presence of weapons in the region has also grown tremendously; as illegal arms shipments enter the region and military issue weapons are placed in the hands of paramilitary or organized crime networks.

Campesino farmers, in need of a means of survival and of reclaiming possession of lands illegally taken from them, are forced into conflict not only with police, military and paramilitary forces, but also organized crime networks who reportedly maintain close collaboration with the police, military, and private security forces.

Honduran campesinos are defenseless, faced with corrupted political, justice and security systems at the service of large landholders, be they drug traffickers, African palm planters or both.