Thursday, March 20, 2008

EXXON SNUBBED CNBC: "A British judge has lifted a $12 billion freeze on Venezuelan assets awarded to U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil in a spat over a seized oil project. An English court had frozen the assets of Venezuela's state oil company in January so cash would be available if Exxon won arbitration over an oil project which was lost in President Hugo Chavez's nationalization drive." 11:01:40 AM

BARBARISM A small demonstration of ten Tibetans in say Seattle gets loads of attention in the media. When thousands and thousands of people protest against the war in Iraq, you won't find much on the mainstream media in the US or the neocon Netherlands. FAIR: "Dozens of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars gathered in Silver Spring, Maryland last weekend for the Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan hearings (3/13/08-3/16/08), where they offered harrowing testimony about atrocities they had witnessed or participated in directly. The BBC predicted that the event, organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War, 'could be dominating the headlines around the world this week' (3/7/08). The hearings were covered as far afield as the U.K. (Guardian, 3/17/08), Australia (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 3/14/08), Croatia (Javno, 3/16/08), and Iran (Press TV, 3/14/08). Yet there has been an almost complete media blackout on this historic news event in the U.S. corporate media." Iraq veterans against the war. Guardian: "If George Bush and Tony Blair had presided as CEOs over deceptive and fraudulent practices in the City comparable to those they are guilty of with regard to Iraq, they would have been immediately and unceremoniously sacked. Five years on, the legacy of the Iraq war is now clear. Let us look at the balance sheet. Based on an extrapolation from the figures of the Lancet study, more than 1 million Iraqi civilians have died - a figure that might even eclipse the genocide in Rwanda. In terms of casualties, 3979 US soldiers have died to date, and almost 30,000 have been seriously wounded. Four million refugees have been created. Two million of these have fled the country altogether; 2 million have been internally displaced." Ah well, Tony Bliar is probably having a cigar and reading one of his Wodehouse books, about the 'splendid idyll' that was, don't you know. And George, well, George actually doesn't read very much. WallStreetJournal: "America's decision to topple Saddam Hussein has left Iraqis a people uprooted. Iraq's Ministry of Health estimates that 180,000 Iraqis have been killed; other estimates put the numbers much higher. An estimated four million Iraqis - over 14% of the country's population - have been displaced inside Iraq or to neighboring countries, largely due to the chaotic aftermath of the American-led invasion that began on March 19, 2003." IHT: "British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a letter published Monday that the U.K. will hold an inquiry into the Iraq war - but not soon." Gordon has first to finish one of his Wodehouse books first, probably. Right Ho, Jeeves! But the disgruntlement among soldiers (the real ones, not the toy-boys like Harry) and veterans is growing. ON: "It's an old story in America. During the civil war the weapons corporations delivered inferior rifles to the soldiers of the Union army and they maximized their profits. We see the same thing happening today in Iraq and Afghanistan." AlterNet: "Not so long ago in the United States, presidentially sanctioned assassinations abroad were illegal. But that was then, this is so now. Nonetheless, it's a fact that the 'right' to missile, bomb, shell, 'decapitate', or assassinate those we declare to be our enemies, without regard to borders or sovereignty, is based on nothing more than the power to do it. This is simply the 'right' of force (and of technology). If the tables were turned, any American would recognize such acts for the barbarism they represent." 10:53:29 AM

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