Reprehensor's blog

The Muslim Problem

(This may seem off topic, but stigmatizing Muslims generally, and perpetuating that stigmatization is indeed a cultural phenomenon that ebbs and flows in the wake of 9/11. -r.)

The Muslim Problem

by Nafeez Ahmed

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Muslims, it seems, are a problem. No, I should rephrase that. Muslims, it seems, are perhaps the problem of our times. Or at least one might be forgiven for believing that after the last few weeks and months. We've just had Jack Straw, the Leader of the House of Commons, and former Foreign and Home Secretary, tell us that Muslim women who cover the face with a veil or niqab make community relations "more difficult." And this is because, he says, concealing the face is "a visible statement of separation and difference."

So what is Straw saying? He's not just saying that he finds it "uncomfortable" to talk to a Muslim woman whose face he can't see. He's saying that the fact that some Muslim women choose to cover their face is a direct cause of communal tension, and a confirmation from Muslim women themselves that they indeed are different, and do not wish to engage in society.

Straw later went on to elaborate that he'd rather those Muslim women who wear the veil simply don't do so at all.

Straw's little outburst comes hot on the heels of a series of remarks, observations and political maneuverings consistently pointing at the various problems that Muslim pose to British, and western, society. In August, we had the 'liquid bomb' plot which both former and active military and intelligence experts have found to be either impossible or barely existing.

"Cold War Shivers": War Preparations in the Middle East and Central Asia

"Cold War Shivers": War Preparations in the Middle East and Central Asia

by Michel Chossudovsky

October 6, 2006
GlobalResearch.ca

It is essential that people across America and around the World take cognizance of the dangers of a Middle East war directed at Iran and act decisively to challenge the US military agenda and reverse the tide of war.

The World is at the crossroads of the most serious crisis in modern history. The US has embarked on a military adventure, "a long war", which threatens the future of humanity.

This article documents recent developments, focusing on military deployment and preparations in the event of a US led war on Iran. This text follows a number of earlier reports published by Global Research pertaining to the War on Iran

Background

The entire Middle East Central Asian region is on a war footing.

US-NATO naval deployment is taking place in two distinct theaters: the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The naval armada in the Persian Gulf is largely under US command, with the participation of Canada. Both the USS Enterprise and Eisenhower Strike groups have been dispatched to the Persian Gulf. in a a massive display of US military might.

Turns out Kristol got off easy.

Kristol should be happy. The Minuteman Project got rushed off stage!

http://www.bwog.net/index.php?page=post&article_id=2265

Who benefits from the Afghan Opium Trade?

Who benefits from the Afghan Opium Trade?

by Michel Chossudovsky

September 21, 2006

The United Nations has announced that opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has soared and is expected to increase by 59% in 2006. The production of opium is estimated to have increased by 49% in relation to 2005.

The Western media in chorus blame the Taliban and the warlords. The Bush administration is said to be committed to curbing the Afghan drug trade: "The US is the main backer of a huge drive to rid Afghanistan of opium... "

Yet in a bitter irony, US military presence has served to restore rather than eradicate the drug trade.

What the reports fail to acknowledge is that the Taliban government was instrumental in implementing a successful drug eradication program, with the support and collaboration of the UN.

Implemented in 2000-2001, the Taliban's drug eradication program led to a 94 percent decline in opium cultivation. In 2001, according to UN figures, opium production had fallen to 185 tons. Immediately following the October 2001 US led invasion, production increased dramatically, regaining its historical levels.

'US paying Pak $70-80 million a month'

'US paying Pak $70-80 million a month'

Chidanand Rajghatta
[ 29 Sep, 2006 0251hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

WASHINGTON: A British analyst has stirred a hornet's nest by revealing that the United States is bankrolling Pakistan's military ruler Pervez Musharraf to the extent of $70-80 million a month, adding fuel to the dictator's incendiary visit to the West this month.

The unnamed analyst has made the disclosure in a British ministry of defence think-tank paper that has subsequently been disowned by London as "not representing the views of the MoD or the government."

While much attention has been drawn to the analyst's contention that Pakistan's spy agency ISI is supporting terrorism, the portion about the payola for Musharraf, as reported by BBC, has embarrassed Washington, which is already chafing from Musharraf's own disclosure that the US paid bounty money to the Pakistan government for handing over wanted Al Qaida terrorists.

"Musharraf knows that time is running out for him...at some point the US is likely to withdraw funding (and possibly even protection) of him estimated at $70-80 million a month," the analyst wrote, adding, "Without US funding his position will become increasingly tenuous."

Nafeez Ahmed's Uncle Assassinated in Bangladesh

Biting Mangos... and Bullets: from Bradford to Bangladesh -- a Tribute to my Uncle

"...We got back from Bradford on Sunday evening. I had forgotten my mobile at home, and had a backlog of messages, one from my Dad, so I called him back. He had very bad news.

My uncle in Bangladesh had been shot on Saturday morning while I was speaking on my panel in Bradford. A nationally-respected professor of political science at Dhaka University, Dr. Aftab Ahmed, had been attacked in his own home on the university premises by unidentified gun-men, who had pushed their way into the apartment and shot him four times at close range in the upper body, in the presence of his wife (my aunt) and 9-year old disabled daughter (my cousin).

This evening, at around 8 pm, my Dad called to let me know that my uncle passed away earlier this morning. He had been recently demoted from a government-appointed post as Vice-Chancellor at Bangladesh's National University. In that position, he had tackled entrenched issues of political corruption and bribery, the legacy of the previous Allawi League government, when hundreds of university staff had been systematically recruited solely for their political support of the govt, as opposed to their merits as teachers. In a politically explosive and unpopular move, he had fired all staff recruited on the basis of corruption and moved to revitalize academic standards in university recruitment.

This wasn't the first time my uncle had made enemies. He was well-known as a Marxist dissident, and had often been imprisoned by previous governments for his loud opposition and participation in demonstrations and strikes. In 1995, he co-authored a powerful critique of the lack of accountability Bangladesh's purportedly democratic institutions, warning of "the intransigent attitude of the bureaucracy" and highlighting "the lack of willingness and ability ofMPs to seriously enquire into government policies and operations."

In another notorious episode, my uncle had made a few off-hand televised remarks suggesting the Bangladeshi national anthem be amended for a new time, and to give new impetus to the people. He was harshly criticized by hardline nationalists in a concerted campaign that almost lost him his job. But such things never bothered him.

My uncle was a courageous academic who stuck by his principles, and spoke what he believed. For unswervingly doing what he was convinced was just, he was murdered in a brutal assassination, unprecedented in the history of Bangladesh. As the world turns and the newsbites chatter, I pray for uncle's soul, and hope that his legacy of political activism on behalf of freedom and, always, against oppression and corruption, will be carried forward in Bangladesh, this beleaguered icon of Third World devastation from which I am descended. To those out there who believe, please pray with me..."

Ahmed's post continued...

------------------------------------------------------------------

911blogger regulars,

Instead of clogging Ahmed's inbox and blogger account with messages, please feel free to post your condolences in the comments thread below, and I'll make sure Ahmed sees this.

Looks like that dissident bone runs in the family.

My deepest sympathy to you and your family, Nafeez. I hope that justice is served on the assassins.

------------------------------------------------------------------

In case you want to send something more tactile, here is an address to send cards, etc.;

Institute for Policy Research & Development
Suite 301, 20 Harewood Avenue
London, England
NW1 6JX

Peter Dale Scott: The 9/11 Report and Ali Mohamed, Al Qaeda's Chief Terrorism Trainer

(From www.PeterDaleScott.net - thanks for posting the PDF, Sitting-Bull.)

The 9/11 Report and Ali Mohamed, Al Qaeda's Chief Terrorism Trainer

Peter Dale Scott Talk September 24, 2006, Berkeley, "9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out"

I want to talk tonight about using the 9/11 Report as evidence - evidence of what is being suppressed. We can use it in this way because some parts of the Report are accurate and reliable. This base line of reliability helps define other parts of the Report which are misleading, and in a few places I believe dead wrong. These relevant omissions and deceptions should be taken as clues as to what is being suppressed, and where the hidden truth lies.

I shall talk of the Report's occasional resistance to the truth. Let me give an easy and incontrovertible analogy from the Warren Report. The Warren Report got many things right; but it also minimized the links between Jack Ruby and organized crime.[1] This resistance was a clue that Ruby in fact was crime-related and that this was important. The House Select Committee on Assassinations, even though they got many things wrong, amply confirmed the importance of Ruby's crime links.

We find similar symptomatic resistance in the 9/11 Report.

9/11 and American Empire Vol. I - a review.

9/11 and American Empire Vol. I: Intellectuals Speak Out
Olive Branch Press (2006)
http://www.interlinkbooks.com

And so the Great War of Democracy ended - not with the catastrophic bang that so many had feared but with the imperceptible hum of a technological revolution. “We tried to give the Muslim world a political upgrade,” said U.S. President Jimmy McCain, son of the former Senator and a veteran of the Iraq war, on the 30th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. “I guess we failed. So instead we gave ourselves an economic upgrade. I guess we succeeded.” - Niall Ferguson (1)

This epoch of Neoconservative belligerence ushered in on 9/11/2001 will not be looked upon favorably by future historians, no matter how warmly Niall Ferguson reassures us. While Ferguson dabbles in speculative fantasy, the uncomfortable task of dissecting the horror-show of 9/11 falls to those with the intestinal fortitude and perceptive knack to get the job done.

Truthout.org call for donations.

Truthout.org keeps bugging me for money.

"You no post 9/11 Truth, you no get dollah."

The Bush-Cheney Drug Empire

Here's one from the archives...

The Bush-Cheney Drug Empire

The Bush family's involvement in drug-running is an open secret, but Dick Cheney's direct link to a global drug pipeline through a US construction company is less well known.

© 2000-2001 by Michael C. Ruppert

FROM MEDELLIN TO MOSCOW WITH BROWN & ROOT

Halliburton Corporation's Brown & Root is one of the major components of the Bush-Cheney Drug Empire. The success of Bush Vice-Presidential running mate Richard Cheney at leading Halliburton, Inc. to a five-year, US$3.8 billion "pig-out" on federal contracts and taxpayer-insured loans is only a partial indicator of what may happen, now that the Bush ticket has won the US presidential election.

A closer look at available research, including an August 2, 2000 report by the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) (www.public-i.org), suggests that drug money has played a role in the successes achieved by Halliburton under Cheney's tenure as CEO from 1995 to 2000. This is especially true for Halliburton's most famous subsidiary, heavy construction and oil giant Brown & Root. A deeper look into history reveals that Brown & Root's past - as well as the past of Dick Cheney himself - connects to the international drug trade on more than one occasion and in more than one way.

Mike Malloy slips in stealth blog entry on Air America site

Invasion of the Talk Show Snatchers

by Mike Malloy on September 18, 2006 - 6:42pm.

Hi. Malloy here. It’s Monday, September 18, 2006. Well, it’s been almost three weeks since we were fired by the really, really strange pod-people who have temporarily taken over Air America. Tonight’s program will be hosted by my good friend Peter Werbe. Not sure what he’s talking about tonight, but do tune in. If you’re wondering how we’re writing and posting this mini-blog it’s simply because the airheads in Air America’s executive suites – the pod-people mentioned above – are too, um, stupid to figure out how to handle their own website access. The door’s wide open. So we dashed in just for the hell of it to post this “howdy, how is everyone?”

Frankly, we think the suits are too stupid to stop us so we’ll probably do this every day and also post a longer blog inside the site where we used to. Until they figure out what we’re doing and stop our fun. Bastards. Just mean ol’ right-wing bastard pod-people running our Air America. Well, eventually their bodies will start to react to Earth atmosphere and they’ll have to leave. Meantime, Mike and Kathy here saying, stay tuned!

Poetry

(Excerpt from "Words on a page" blog)

Believe me my friends we are in trouble.

The plane evaporated, but they found Al-Queda's passports in the rubble?

In the quest for domination, all empires crumble.

I know, I know. I can hear you laughing.

The Pentagon envisioned the attack, a year before it happened.

Have your doubts still?

FEMA was in New York, on Sep 10th, for a "Bio-Terrorism Drill"

Its time for us all to take the Red Pill.

Its hard to conceive, but history is chilling.

In 1962, the U.S Government planned to fly our own planes into our own buildings

and blame Cuba for the killings.

It was to be a national disaster, to rally support for the overthrow of Castro.

The 3 buildings that collapsed on 9/11 due to "fire"

Were purchased by Larry Silverstein 6 weeks prior.

What is my point, then?

Larry Silverstein was not in his office in the North Tower on 9/11.

The New Air America Radio lineup.

5am-6am The Mark Riley Show
6am-9am The Young Turks (Cenk Uygur, Ben Mankiewicz, Jill Pike)
9am-12noon The Sam Seder Show
12noon-3pm The Al Franken Show
3pm-6pm The Randi Rhodes Show
6pm-8pm The Rachel Maddow Show
8pm-9pm “Politically Direct” w/ David Bender
9pm-10pm “Ecotalk” w/ Betsy Rosenberg

http://www.buzzflash.com/index.php?story=Story

BCCI: the Nexus

BCCI, The CIA and Foreign Intelligence (CIA)
http://www.totse.com/en/politics/central_intelligence_agency/161758.html

The Press on the BCCI-bin Mahfouz-bin Laden Intelligence Nexus (Saudia Arabia)
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~pdscott/q4c.html

Silent Partners: Bush, bin Laden and the 9/11 Commission (George H. W. Bush)
http://empireburlesquenow.blogspot.com/2005/03/silent-partners-bush-bin-laden-and-911.html

The Bush-Bin Laden Money Connection (George W. Bush)
http://www.bushwatch.com/bushmoney.htm

BCCI And Georgia Politicians (Jimmy Carter)
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/16ga.htm

Arkansas Connections (Bill Clinton)
http://prorev.com/connex.htm

Pakistan investigates BCCI role in sale of nuclear knowhow
http://www.pakistan-facts.com/article.php?story=20040204181106258

From BCCI to ISI: The Saga of Entrapment Continues (BCCI and ISI as patsies)
http://icssa.org/bcci.html

Palast, Pascarella Face Homeland Security Charges

http://gregpalast.com/section/articles

Palast, Pascarella Face Homeland Security Charges

Published by Greg Palast September 7th, 2006 in Articles

by Zach Roberts

Yes, the rumor’s true. Greg Palast is facing a criminal complaint from the Department of Homeland Security stemming from his filming the Hurricane Katrina investigation for Link TV and Democracy Now. The film’s producer, Matt Pascarella, is also facing the legal wrath of Big Brother.

It appears the complaint is about filming a sensitive national security site owned by Exxon petroleum. It seems that photographing major Bush donors is now a federal offense.

Reached at an undisclosed location, Palast says, “Let’s not get over-excited. They haven’t measured us for our orange suits yet.”

During questioning by Homeland Security, Palast asked, “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be looking for Osama? Or for guys with exploding shoes? … We’re journalists.” At Palast’s request, Homeland Security confirmed that Louisiana is, indeed, still part of the USA but did not respond when asked if the First Amendment applies there.

Watch part one and part two of Palast/Pascarella’s film. (In associat

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