Israeli general denies Iran is nuclear threat

Surprisingly from the Sunday Times, comments from the "former director-general of Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission":


"A general who was once in charge of Israel’s nuclear weapons has claimed that Iran is a “very, very, very long way from building a nuclear capability”.

Brigadier-General Uzi Eilam, 75, a war hero and pillar of the defence establishment, believes it will probably take Iran seven years to make nuclear weapons."

That is, if they wanted to...and anyone who says anything different has an agenda.

Who will pay for Amazon's 'Chernobyl'?

From the Independent:

"Crude tells a story more complex than even that, and it began when Steve Donziger, a lawyer acting for the Ecuadorians, arrived at the film-maker's office. "The story the lawyer told me was indeed shocking," said Berlinger.

In the words of the film's producers, the claim was "that from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s, Texaco (now Chevron) dumped 18 billion gallons of toxic waste and formation water directly into streams, rivers, and the jungle floor; that nearly 18 millions of crude oil was spilled and leaked from pipelines, that more than 235 billion cubic feet of natural gas was burned into the atmosphere, and that nearly 1,000 unlined toxic waste pits were built throughout the region."

"War is a challenge to law, and the law must adjust"

Does this statement come from Nazi Germany, asks Chris Floyd? No, this "quoted opinion" from Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the United States Court of Appeals - District of Columbia Circuit "was part of a sweeping ruling that greatly magnified the powers of the government to seize foreigners and hold them indefinitely without charges or legal appeal"

Floyd reminds us that "It is often forgotten how "legal" the Nazi regime in Germany really was. It did not take power in a violent revolution, but entered government through the entirely "legal" procedures of the time. The "legal" vote of the "legally" elected Reichstag gave Adolf Hitler the powers to rule by decree, thus imparting strict "legality" to the actions of his government. " 

He has also dug up a US Supreme Court ruling from "December 1866 -- more than 140 years ago: Ex Parte Milligan. In this ruling, which grew out of the wartime excesses of the Lincoln Administration, the Court -- dominated by five Lincoln appointees -- was unequivocal:

Constitutional protections not only apply "equally in war and peace" but also – in a dramatic extension of this legal shield – to "all classes of men, at all times, and under all circumstances." No emergency – not even open civil war – warrants their suspension. Even in wartime, the President's powers, though expanded, are still restrained: "he is controlled by law, and has his appropriate sphere of duty, which is to execute, not to make, the laws."

Read the whole thing here.

The Weight Of Chains | Trailer

Check the trailer out for a new documentary which "will deal with tough issues concerning the breakup of Yugoslavia and the consequences of a decade of instability and war." The Weight of Chains.

This was by the same director, Boris Malagurski, who did  "Kosovo: Can You Imagine?".

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

CIA takes revenge with missile strikes in Pakistan

That's the WSWS' take.

"In an apparent campaign of revenge at least 20 people have died in drone missile attacks in Pakistan since the December 30 suicide bombing that killed seven CIA operatives and a Jordanian intelligence agent.

The most deadly of the strikes by the CIA’s Predator drone aircraft took place Wednesday in the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan, near the Afghanistan border.
Citing unnamed intelligence oficials, the Associated Press reported that one of the pilotless drones fired two missiles into a house, killing seven people. This was followed more than an hour later by another missile, launched as local villagers struggled to rescue survivors and pull bodies from the rubble. This second strike killed at least another five people. Some Pakistani media put the total death toll from the two missile strikes at 15."

Why is "one of the greatest medical scandals of the century" under the radar of the MSM?

Why has the media been almost completely silent about what Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, "the chair of the Health Committee in The European Council" called "one of the greatest medical scandals of the century”?

According to the online Pharma Times:

"The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is to hold an emergency debate and inquiry this month into the “influence” exerted by drugmakers on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) global H1N1 flu campaign.

The text of the resolution approved by the Assembly calling for the debate and inquiry states that: “in order to promote their patented drugs and vaccines against flu, pharmaceutical companies influenced scientists and official agencies responsible for public health standards to alarm governments worldwide and make them squander tight health resources for inefficient vaccine strategies, and needlessly expose millions of healthy people to the risk of an unknown amount of side-effects of insufficiently tested vaccines.”

The WHO’s “false pandemic” flu campaign is “one of the greatest medicine scandals of the century,” according to Dr Wolfgang Wodarg, chairman the PACE Health Committee, who introduced the parliamentary motion. “The definition of an alarming pandemic must not be under the influence of drug-sellers,” he adds. 

Dr Wodarg, a doctor and former SPD member of the German Bundestag, says that the “false pandemic” campaign began last May in Mexico City, when a hundred or so “normal” reported influenza cases were declared to be the beginning of a threatening new pandemic, although there was little scientific evidence for this. Nevertheless the WHO, “in cooperation with some big pharmaceutical companies and their scientists, re-defined pandemics,” removing the statement that “an enormous amount of people have contracted the illness or died” from its existing definition and replacing it by stating simply that there has to be a virus, spreading beyond borders and to which people have no immunity.

These new standards forced politicians in most states to react immediately and sign marketing commitments for additional and new vaccines against swine flu, through “sealed contracts” under which orders are secured in advance and governments take almost all responsibility. “In this way, the producers of vaccines are sure of enormous gains without having any financial risks. So they just wait until WHO says ‘pandemic’ and activate the contracts,” says Dr Wodarg.

“In January, we will arrange an emergency debate about the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on the WHO, and 47 parliaments all over Europe are going to be informed. Following this, we will initiate an investigation and hearings involving those responsible for the pandemic emergency. The aim is that none of the pharmaceutical companies under any circumstances must be allowed to make their influence felt on pandemic emergencies,” he went on."

No where in the MSM has there been any coverage of this at all. BBC, Guardian, Times, Telegraph have nothing. The only mention came in the Independent. It was well-hidden in the Business News section under the heading "Novartis launches $40bn Alcon buyout", allowing the Independent to say, if challenged,  that they had indeed reported on it:

"Swine flu swindle? Calls for EU debate

A key European Union body is considering an investigation into the role of drug companies in the World Health Organisation's swine flu campaign. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace) has had a request to hold an emergency debate this month on the "influence" of pharmaceutical groups on the WHO's efforts to inform governments on the dangers of an H1N1 pandemic.

The WHO's "false pandemic" flu campaign is "one of the greatest medicine scandals of the century," claimed Dr Wolfgang Wodarg, chairman of the PACE Health Committee. A number of drugs companies have made hundreds of millions of pounds after governments across the globe submitted orders for millions of doses of specialist vaccine and treatments. The number of swine flu deaths is dramatically lower than initial predictions had forecast."

That's 138 words in the whole of the British press about "one of the greatest medicine scandals of the century,"

And that's another scandal!

F. William Engdahl was the first one to break this here.

UPDATE: 08 JAN 2010

The Independent has done it again. The same story (this time only 95 words) is tagged on to the bottom of an article "Germany cancels part of GSK swine flu vaccine order",

UPDATE: 12 JANUARY 2010

Thanks to MikeD over at the Media Lens Message Board for posting a link to this Aljazeera report, and see this in the coments below:

The Daily Mail took up the story here yesterday:

The 'false' pandemic: Drug firms cashed in on scare over swine flu, claims Euro health chief

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242147/The-false-pandemic-Drug-firms-cashed-scare-swine-flu-claims-Euro-health-chief.html#ixzz0Ny0kfkCS

Kamm's Scamm and the Times' Nuclear Trigger Hoax Pt II

Kamm's Scamm and the Times' nuclear trigger hoax is gradually unravelling, ironically and amusingly thanks to David Albright, Kamm's would-be nuclear expert.

Here's my first comment sent to Kamm's blog:

"Well thanks for pointing us to Albright's article, as it shows the scale of both your own and the Times' deceit.
I remind readers that The Times, in the original article, referred to 'Iran's nuclear trigger: document in full' and  'Iran's secret nuclear trigger document: full translation ', mentioning nowhere that what they published as a pdf file was NOT the original document.
Kamm finally was forced to admit, only after being challenged on the authenticity of the document, that "It was in fact a retyped version of the relevant parts of that original document. The original document contained a lot of classified information. The Times did not publish the original document, because of the danger that it would alert the Iranian authorities to the source of the leak. The full version of the document is in the hands of the IAEA."
However, the inference was that the Times had been in possession of the original document at one time or had at least seen the original document.
Albright's article reveals the truth:
"the Times’ source removed headings from the original Farsi-language document and retyped the text in order to protect intelligence-sensitive information. The source made it clear that it had taken these steps to protect its sources and methods and made no attempt to conceal such steps from the Times...ISIS understood that the source provided the document to relevant governments and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a different form....Nevertheless, the lack of an original document obviously complicates public assessments of the authenticity of the document...thorough vetting of the document should continue."
Consequently, The Times or David Albright have never seen the original document, and can therefore not vouch for its authenticity."

Here's the second comment:

"Kamm writes: "no one with diplomatic and scientific expertise has challenged their authenticity or what they reveal about Iran's nuclear deceit"

Hmmm. So exactly who is Norman Dombey? Oh that's right, he's Professor Emeritus of Theoretical Physics at Sussex University. I would assume that would mean he had some 'scientific expertise'...

And what did he write?

"I have read nothing in the documents published by the Times to be able to conclude that they are describing an initiator for a nuclear weapon."

Kamm's reliance on Albright is desperate. see Scott Ritter's article "The Nuclear Expert Who Never Was" and especially the comments by Alexander DeVolpi:

"ALBRIGHT. Having been acquainted with David Albright since the early 1980s on the Washington NGO scene, I regrettably must second Scott Ritter's outing of Dave's overworked credentials.   My official role at Argonne National Laboratory in arms-control and verification technology led me to relevant contracts with the Defense Nuclear Agency well before the beginning of formalized on-site inspection, including OSIA, as well as interactions with all the DOE weapons labs, with DOD, and at overseas laboratories.  My volunteer activities allowed contribution of technical expertise to various NGO groups with which I collaborated, such as the FAS, NRDC, ACA, CDI, and others.  My professional activities at Argonne (and other laboratories) involved nearly 40 years of lab, field, and analytical activities in instrumentation, nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, reactor safety, radioisotopes, experiments, verification technology, and arms control.  I have technical papers, review articles, and patents to back this up.
  Besides being a technical consultant to the joint FAS/NRDC (Federation of American Scientists/Natural Resources Defense Council) verification project, I worked with European arms-control projects involving Soviet and Eastern European counterparts before the Cold War came to an end (http://www.NuclearShadowboxing.Info).  Despite a half-century close involvement, I don't recall Dave's (or anyone else's) position as a 'Senior Staff Scientist' for the FAS (although they could use some professional help nowadays on nuclear issues).

  Aside from Albright's book compilation on fissile materials, there are some other useful contributions he has made to arms control and non-proliferation, such as his interpretation of country-specific proliferation activities.  Dave's a friendly guy, but I always found him shallow on experience, and now realizing that he was once on the research staff of Princeton University’s Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, I have a better understanding of his predisposition and educational preparation.  With no substantive foundation he has expressed himself as philosophically opposed to nuclear power.  This is not uncommon, particularly with academics associated with Princeton who evince no hands-on or other practical field experience regarding nuclear-weapons, nuclear-reactor technology, or verification methodology."

Gareth Porter has more evidence here, and there's this comment of his:



"A document that had been both edited and retyped could obviously have been doctored by adding material on a neutron initiator.
The reason for such editing could not have been to excise "classified information," because, if the document were genuine, the Iranian government would already have the information.
Furthermore, there would have been ways of avoiding disclosure of the source of the leak that would not have required the release of an expurgated version of the document. The number of the copy of the document could have been blacked out, for example."

I have just received the following e-mail from Kamm:

"Dear Mr Sketchley,


Thank you, as ever, for writing with your views, which you are always welcome to post at TimesOnline. You've used our comments facilities without hindrance or amendment to describe me as a Holocaust denier and a supporter of genocide, but I'm afraid that I'm not willing to provide you with a platform to accuse Times journalists of fraud. As you're aware, I'm following the policy of the editors of Media Lens in that regard, who deleted similar comments from you.


Sincerely,"

My reply:

"Dear Mr Kamm,


Thank you for your mail. It's your prerogative to censor comments on your own blog for whatever trumped up reason you like, but please don't pretend to be a defender of free speech. I have not accused anyone of fraud. Fraud is the intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to part with something of value or to surrender a legal right. In my comment I accused both you and the Times of deceipt, which is causing to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.


Further, fyi I have made an official complaint to the PCC under clause 1 of their Editor's Code of Practice:


"The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures."


The evidence that The Times has misled its readers was manifest from the moment you wrote that the document published was in fact a retyped document of parts of the original document, and after reading Albright's comments even more so. Where in Philp's original article is there any mention of the document they published being a 'transcript'?


The Times whole treatment of this has been misleading from the start.


Yours Sincerely,"

Respuesta a Fernando Reinoso en El Pais ¿Qué ocurre con Al Qaeda en Yemen?

¿Qué ocurre con Al Qaeda en Yemen? Es que Reinoso quiere hacernos creer que todo lo que pasa en Yemen tiene que ver con Al Qaeda.

En primer lugar, Reinoso debería habernos dicho que el Presidente de Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, es dictador militar en el poder desde 1978, apoyado por los EEUU, con un historial de graves violaciones de derechos humanos y corrupción rampante, bastante similar al regimen de corruptos en Saudi Arabia, y que los yihadistas de AQAP se dedicaban a reemplazar las 2 dictaduras con un gobierno islamista.

Segundo, Sr. Reinoso, dice que AQAP/AQPA "ha incrementado significativamente tanto sus recursos materiales y humanos" ¿Cuantos militantes de AQAP hay en Yemen, Sr. Reinoso? Según otros analistas, no hay más que 100.El propio gobierno yemení descarta la amenaza específica de Al Qaeda como ""exagerada".

Tercero, Sr. Reinoso dice "las principales corrientes salafistas en Yemen, (son) aparentemente respetuosas con la autoridad establecida y críticas con Al Qaeda" pero no nos habla de las 2 guerras civiles (la rebelión shiita de los Houthis y la guerra seperatista en el sur - rico en petróleo) ni de las facciones Shiitas y Sunnitas que también están enfrentados entre si,  además es bastante insidioso intentar explicar todo eso como si fuera solo Al Qaeda. Los tribus yemeníes odian cualquier autoridad exterior, incluido su propio gobierno.

Cuarto, Sr Reinoso  no nos informa que fuerzas especiales estado-unidenses, cazas de las fuerzas aereas y aviones no tripulados han estado activos en Yemen desde 2001, asesinando a militantes y lideres tribales anti-gobernamentales. Recientemente, los saudies (suníes), apoyados por aviones americanos, la CIA y fuezas especiales atacaban al tribu shiita de los Houthi y justo antes de Navidad, cazas americanas habían matado a  entre 50-100 'militantes' tribales pero que incluían a 45 mujeres y niños y mas de 1.000 animales. Sólo era una cuestión de tiempo antes de que los yemeníes respondieran.

Quinto, Sr Reinoso dice "A corto plazo, el Gobierno yemení necesita de ayuda externa para adecuar agencias e instrumentos contraterroristas," el discurso americano, mientras Saeed al-Jemhi, autor del libro "AlQaeda en Yemen" escribe que "una intervención occidental, en particular estado-unidense provocará una reacción violenta" de yemeníes normales, recelosos de lo que consideran un Occidente agresivo, esta estrategia "solo puede obrar en favor de AlQaeda". Oficiales yemeníes, conciente de esto, están intentando quitar importancia
a la asociación con EEUU.

Otro factor a tener en cuenta es la pobreza. ¿Que hace el gobierno de Sana con todo la riqueza de su petróleo? No lo reparte entre su población, de hecho la economía del país está en apuros. En el horizonte se vislumbran sequía y sobrepoblación y voces más sanas que la de Reinoso piden, no más del mismo autoritarismo, pero como dice Brian Whittaker en The Guardian: "developing the economy, controlling population growth, conserving water and, above all, establishing a stronger and more effective state.
Building a stronger state does not mean more authoritarian rule (Yemen has already had plenty of that) but less. The need is for a state that has people's support and confidence – one that is seen to serve the interests of the nation rather than a clique, one that can provide services efficiently and is capable of equitably enforcing the rule of law throughout the country, equitably."

Kamm the Scamm and the Nuclear Trigger Hoax

Justin Raimondo over at Antiwar.com on pseudo-intellectual, genocide-denier and cluster bomb supporter Oliver Kamm today. This comes after Phil Giraldi and Gareth Porter exposed the Times hoax of a document purporting to prove Iran's work on a nuclear trigger, and George Maschke,  a legal translator in The Hague and Doctor in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA, confirmed the fake.

(By the way at the Times original article note how Murdoch media support each other. We have Murdoch's Times journalist being interviewed on Murdoch's Sky News journalist.)

I say hoax because the Times described the document they posted as "Iran's nuclear trigger: document in full". They also have a link to a translation of the document: Iran's secret nuclear trigger document: full translation.

So here we have the word 'full' twice. Once to refer to the Farsi document, and the other to refer to the translation.

Yet according to Kamm  its "your mistake in assuming that the document that you read online was the document in its original form. It was in fact a retyped version of the relevant parts of that original document. The original document contained a lot of classified information. The Times did not publish the original document, because of the danger that it would alert the Iranian authorities to the source of the leak. The full version of the document is in the hands of the IAEA."

Nowhere do the Times forewarn that this is the case, that the document they posted online is a fake.

The propaganda is steadily being piled on Iran. Gone are the bungled efforts of the Bush administration. Now we have 'smart power' in the White House -  far more accomplished at building cases for war just look at Kosovo.

"We must use what has been called smart power — the full range of tools at our disposal — diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural — picking the right tool, or combination of tools, for each situation. With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy." Hillary Clinton, Senate Confirmation Hearing for the position of Secretary of State 13 January 2009.

Its not very smart using the Times and Kamm though. A definite own goal.

New Year

A Happy Peaceful New Year to all. It won't be, but who can stop us wishing?