"I think there are going to be more assassinations"

Robert Fisk

I don't think there's going to be democracy in the Middle East and I don't really think we want democracy. One of the problems of democracy in the Middle East is that, if it really exists, the Arabs may not do what we want them to do, and it's much more easy to have dictators, generals, businessmen running countries on our behalf. Continue.

Real Video and Transcript
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9228.htm

http://snipurl.com/frmz

What happens when you draw attention to the possibility that Israel has an undue influence on American foreign policy.

The Democrats Sign on with Anti-Semites:
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18474

http://snipurl.com/frnr

Mexico Arrests Suspected 9/11 Group Member:

Mexico said it has detained a man believed linked to the groups that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
http://snipurl.com/frob



Mexico Soldiers Become Cartel Hit Men :

Residents and law enforcement officials say the men are the feared Zetas, former members of a military intelligence battalion sent to the border to fight drug trafficking. Instead, they joined the Gulf Cartel, one of Mexico's top drug gangs.
http://snipurl.com/froc



Mexican drug commandos expand ops in 6 U.S. states:

Feds say violent, elite paramilitary units establish narcotics routes north of border
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44899

http://snipurl.com/frod



G8 'still sells arms to regimes' :

Countries from the G8 group of wealthy nations have been accused of continuing to sell arms to regimes using them to abuse human rights.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4117854.stm

http://snipurl.com/froe



Tariq Ali: "They think God runs the IMF." :

Latin America is today in revolt against social engineers of the IMF and other US subsidiaries.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9227.htm

http://snipurl.com/frof



Bitter Harvest: How EU sugar subsidies devastate Africa:

"One is an English aristocrat worth £35m with 9,000 acres and an 18th century manor house; the other earns less than £300 a year cutting sugar cane for 12 hours a day in rural Mozambique to support his parents and four brothers.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/enviro...sp?story=648740

http://snipurl.com/frog



Jeremy Rifkin: Capitalism's future on trial :

The European Union's crisis has obscured the fact that it has come closest to balancing market dynamism and social protection.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9229.htm

http://snipurl.com/froj

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...22-104941-4626r

Analysis: Arabs cool to Rice visit

Car Bombs Kill Dozens in Baghdad

By Andy Mosher

BAGHDAD, June 23 -- Seven car bombs killed more than three dozen people in Shiite Muslim neighborhoods of Baghdad over a 10-hour span on Wednesday night and Thursday morning in what appeared to be a new attempt to inflame Iraq's sectarian divisions.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

Evangelicals Building a Base in Iraq

By Caryle Murphy

BAGHDAD -- With arms outstretched, the congregation at National Evangelical Baptist Church belted out a praise hymn backed up by drums, electric guitar and keyboard. In the corner, slide images of Jesus filled a large screen. A simple white cross of wood adorned the stage, and worshipers sprinkled...

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GF24Ak03.html

Iraq, the New Afghanistan
Pepe Escobar

UN experts say accounts detail Guantanamo torture:

U.N. human rights experts said Thursday they have reliable accounts of detainees being tortured at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9245.htm

http://snipurl.com/fsjs



U.N. Expert Says U.S. Stalling on Request to Visit Guantanamo Detainees:

Manfred Nowak, the U.N. special investigator on torture, said that he and three other experts would use a news conference later Thursday to voice their complaints that Washington has not responded to their mid-April request to check on the conditions of the detainees.
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB0IPKTAAE.html

http://snipurl.com/fsju

UK backs oil firm despite bribery inquiry :

The controversial oil firm Halliburton has been awarded new British government backing, despite being at the centre of a bribery investigation
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/economics/s...1510898,00.html

http://snipurl.com/fsjx

U.S. Spy Plane Pilot Dies in South West Asia "Crash":

U.S. Central Command said the crash occurred in ``southwest Asia,'' a term that can be a substitute for the Middle East.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...5091786,00.html

http://snipurl.com/fsjy

Terror suspect freed in Mexico:

Mexico on Wednesday cleared a Lebanese-born, British citizen of wrongdoing, setting him free mere days after his arrest because of suspected links to September 11 terror groups.
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,...1725795,00.html

http://snipurl.com/fsk9



Showdown: Washington Threatens Ecuador, Demands Immunity for U.S. Troops: :

Ecuador's President Alfredo Palacio has decided not to sign an immunity treaty for U.S. military and civilian officials before the World Court. Washington is now trying to blackmail Ecuador's new (60-days-old) President, Alfredo Palacio with threats of cutting aid.
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/6/23/1446/60713

http://snipurl.com/fskb



John Pilger: Power is accountable to the people, not to the "free market":

Africa's imperial plunder and tragedy have been turned into a circus for the benefit of the so-called G8 leaders due in Scotland next month and those of us willing to be distracted by the barkers of the circus: the establishment media and their "celebrities".
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9254.htm

http://snipurl.com/fskc

UN Team Accuses US of Stalling on Request to Visit Detainees New York Times
A team of four United Nations human rights experts accused the United States today of stalling on requests over the last three years to visit detainees at Guantánamo Bay and said it would now begin its own investigation without American assistance. "Such requests were based on information from reliable sources of serious allegations of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees, arbitrary detention, violations of their right to health and their due process rights," the four, all independent authorities who report to the United Nations on rights abuses, said in a statement issued in Geneva. One of them, Manfred Nowak of Austria, a professor of constitutional law and director of a human rights institute at the University of Vienna, said that mounting an unassisted investigation was "standard procedure" when countries resisted cooperating. In a telephone interview from Geneva, he said the investigation would take six months, and he warned of the consequences of noncooperation. "At a certain point if we have no opportunity to make independent assessments, you have to take well-founded allegations as proven in the absence of a clear explanation by the government concerned," he said. The Pentagon says it is holding 540 foreign terror suspects in Guantánamo, most of whom were detained in Afghanistan. The statement was accompanied by a chronology of requests since January, 2002, in which the United States initially turned aside the notion of a visit to Guantánamo Bay and then, in the past year, agreed to meetings to discuss the possibility. Mr. Nowak said that he had emerged from a session in Geneva on April 4 with Pierre-Richard Prosper, the United States ambassador for war crimes issues, thinking that the chances of a positive American response had markedly improved. He said the team was told that its request was "being considered at the highest levels." On April 21, according to the four experts' statement, the team sent requested details to Washington, and on May 20 received a response saying the visit was "still under serious consideration." On May 31, the four asked that some decision be made by June 15 because of their need to report to a meeting scheduled in Geneva this week. When they heard nothing back, Mr. Nowak said, they decided to issue their statement. "The lack of a definitive answer despite repeated requests suggests that the United States is not willing to cooperate with the United Nations human rights machinery on this issue," the statement said. It also noted that the United States, in making proposals to overhaul the Human Rights Commission, had argued that country visit requests by rights experts should be granted in a timely fashion. Mr. Prosper, reached by telephone in San Francisco, said the United States had been unable to meet the June 15 deadline but intended to keep the matter open. "This is an issue that we continue to examine," he said. "There are various complexities, and we hope to give them a conclusive response to their request."
UN Experts Seek Hands-On Investigation of US Guantanamo CRI
UN's Guantanamo visit requests ignored ABC Online
Scotsman - Winnipeg Sun - ISN - Special Broadcasting Service - all 235 related »

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...23-114949-7076r

Analysis: Koreas agree on reconciliation

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...23-114721-7097r

Analysis: Blair takes fight to Brussels

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...23-030246-1016r

Rice challenges Syria over Iraqi border

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...23-122129-4227r

Analysis: Russia's touchy WTO bid

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...23-114145-8822r

Politics and Policies: Kuwait OKs women vote

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...23-095106-5703r

US tells Khartoum to take lead in Darfur

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/24/politics...i=5070&emc=eta1

Poll Shows Modest Changes in Levels of Anti-US Mood

http://amconmag.com/2005_06_06/article2.html

PR Problems
Proportional representation creates dysfunctional democracies
Jon Basil Utley

http://www.antiwar.com/jamail/?articleid=6425

Censoring the Carnage
Dahr Jamail

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/24/internat...i=5070&emc=eta1

US Sees Consensus That Syria Foments Strife in Lebanon and Iraq
Steven Weisman

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../i111028D01.DTL

Nuke Talks Stance Divides Iran Candidates
Ali Akbar Dareini

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/668aefbe-e383-11d...000e2511c8.html

Rafsanjani uncertain of run-off victory

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Iranians Voting on Future of Islamic Power
--------------------

By John Daniszewski
Times Staff Writer

June 24 2005, 7:37 AM PDT

TEHRAN, Iran -- Voters split by class and ideology surged to the polls in a desperate battle for Iran's future today, with many poor favoring a fundamentalist who has vowed to end corruption and bring back revolutionary fervor, while the more affluent and liberal put their hope on a centrist ex-president as the last and only chance for reforms.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...-home-headlines

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Iran Shows Off Controversial Nuclear Plant
--------------------

Today's election may determine the future of development efforts. Journalists get a rare glimpse inside a key facility near completion.

By John Daniszewski
Times Staff Writer

June 24 2005

BUSHEHR, Iran; Along a long, dusty road that heads south from this Persian Gulf port, past shops and green fields, rises an emblem of Iran's differences with the United States: the nearly finished Bushehr nuclear power plant.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...l=la-home-world

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Iraqis Fear Era of Relentless Chaos, Cruelty
--------------------

The mood darkens among residents as a wave of bombings swells the death toll. The new violence quiets talk of success against rebels.

By Patrick J. McDonnell and Ashraf Khalil
Times Staff Writers

June 24 2005

BAGHDAD; The explosions Thursday came not long after dawn, just hours after a triple bombing had torn through Baghdad's Shula neighborhood the previous evening.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

Italy Judge Orders Arrest of 13 CIA Agents :

The agents are suspected in the seizure of an Egyptian-born imam identified as Abu Omar on the streets of Milan in February 2003, according to the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9261.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftbs



Government admits Australian left to languish in US prison in Iraq :

In question time Greens Senator Kerry Nettle raised the plight of Australian and Adelaide resident Ahmed Aziz Rafiq who has been imprisoned without charge by US forces in Iraq for over a year.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9263.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftbt



Karen Kwiatkowski: Neoconservatives Speechless!:

Neoconservatives from the left, right and middle, including George W. Bush, believe that they create their own reality, live in their own world, and make their own history.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski115.html

http://snipurl.com/ftbu



Neocons Have Their Gazes Fixed on Syria:

Neocons and their influential Israeli spouses, now tell us that Iraq will make a nice base from which to launch that Pentagon plan, described by former US general and presidential candidate Wesley Clark in his book, as “Seven Middle East countries in Five Years.”
http://snipurl.com/ftbw



Israeli killed in drive-by attack :

Palestinian militants have killed an Israeli in a drive-by shooting outside the West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli army and rescue service officials say.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4619899.stm

http://snipurl.com/ftbx



Israeli Spy Affair: AIPAC Can Place You by the Elbow of the President :

AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee is not an organization to be trifled with. Everybody in Washington understands that this Likudnik lobby can make and break politicians.
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/June05/Amr0623.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftbz



Video: Mosaic: World News Reports from Middle East TV For 06/23/05:

The nation's only uncensored compilation of daily television news reports from more than 15 countries in the Middle East. QuickTime Video.
http://snipurl.com/ftc0



Taliban rebels kill Afghan election candidate:

Taliban rebels have killed a candidate for Afghanistan's provincial council elections and two of his bodyguards.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7598_14...00500020005.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftc1



Congress Mulls Support For Anti- Iranian "Terrorist" Group:

Congress has been examining the prospect of granting U.S. support to an Iranian opposition group on the State Department's terrorist list.
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2005/june/06_24_1.html

http://snipurl.com/ftc2



"Chechen" militants have tried to steal nuclear weapons twice, says Russian security chief:

There are some 60 warehouses scattered across the country, containing some 1,000 strategic nuclear warheads, and just under 5,000 tactical nuclear weapons, including portable warheads known as "nuclear briefcases".
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=649228

http://snipurl.com/ftc3



Survivors of Uzbekistan massacre may be sent home to torture, UN warns:

At least 29 people who escaped the massacre in Andijan will be sent back to their home country within a week, Kyrgyzstan's top prosecutor said yesterday, defying international pressure to protect the survivors.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9262.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftc4



U.N. failed in Milosevic genocide case, experts say:

When U.N. prosecutors opened their case against Slobodan Milosevic two years ago, they set out to get him convicted of genocide. The consensus today is, they failed.
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/02/29/Worldand..._Milosevi.shtml

http://snipurl.com/ftc5



China more popular than U.S. :

The United States’ image is so tattered overseas two years after the Iraq invasion that China, which is ruled by a communist dictatorship, is viewed more favorably than the U.S. in many countries, an international poll found.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8324290/



Gwynne Dyer: US in dangerous game over India:

The Bush Administration is trying to woo New Delhi into a close military and strategic relationship.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10332349

http://snipurl.com/ftc6



Ecuador: Colombia drug plan has gone bad:

Ecuador's interior minister criticized Colombia's U.S.-sponsored drug eradication program saying it bred violence and corruption.
http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20050623-113417-2065r.htm

http://snipurl.com/ftc7



Plan Colombia up for a vote:

Take the opportunity to say no to a forgotten, senseless war
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=19251

http://snipurl.com/ftc8

The Economist: The Global Housing Boom :

"The worldwide rise in house prices is the biggest bubble in history. Prepare for the economic pain when it pops "
http://snipurl.com/ftcg

Hard-Line Tehran Mayor Wins Iranian Presidency

By Karl Vick

TEHRAN, June 25 -- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the hard-line mayor of Tehran who has invoked Iran's 1979 revolution and expressed doubts about rapprochement with the United States, won a runoff election Friday and was elected president of the Islamic republic in a landslide, the Interior Ministry announced...

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/25/internat...059&partner=AOL

Thirteen With the CIA Sought by Italy in a Kidnapping

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/25/internat...059&partner=AOL

Victory is Seen for Hard-Liner in Iranian Vote

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/25/internat...059&partner=AOL

Palestinian Gunmen Open Fire New Hebron, Killing Israeli, 17

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/612...4995728A5DA.htm

Ahmadinejad elected president of Iran

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...24-030232-1289r

Commentary: Hollow ring for democracy
Arnaud de Borchgrave

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...24-025410-1473r

Outside View: Between Oz, Mess-o-potamia
William Danvers

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...24-012711-7618r

Analysis: Profiling Putin's successor

http://www.antiwar.com/orig/zunes.php?articleid=6438

US Support for Repression in Uzbekistan Belies Pro Democracy Rhetoric
Stephen Zunes

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President-Elect Wants Modern, Islamic Iran
--------------------

By BRIAN MURPHY
Associated Press Writer

June 25 2005, 4:19 AM PDT

TEHRAN, Iran -- The winner of Iran's presidential election, whose landslide victory dealt a setback to reformers, said Saturday he seeks to make his country a "modern, advanced, powerful, and Islamic" model for the world.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wi...pnews-headlines

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle...bcontinent&col=

Fighting in Afghanistan leaves 76 more rebels dead: defence ministry
(AP)

25 June 2005

MIANA SHIEN, Afghanistan - Afghan forces scouring mountains in southern Afghanistan after some of the deadliest fighting since the fall of the Taleban in 2001 have found the bodies of another 76 rebels, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday.


The new fatalities bring the death toll to 178 from fighting in the Miana Shien district of Kandahar province since Tuesday, ministry spokesman Zahir Marad said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/internat...059&partner=AOL

Victory by Hard Liner in Iran Could Widen Rift With US

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/internat...059&partner=AOL

In Italy, Anger at US Tactics Colors Spy Case

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/internat...059&partner=AOL

Unlikely Hero in Europe's Spat: The 'Polish Plumber'

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/c...an_elections_72

Iran's president-elect wants a 'powerful and Islamic' model for the world

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GF25Ak04.html



The first, not the last throes
Pepe Escobar

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GF25Ak03.html

What the US wants from Iran
Ehsan Ahrari

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U.S. Plans Expansion of Crowded Iraq Prisons
--------------------

By Ashraf Khalil and Patrick J. McDonnell
Times Staff Writers

June 26 2005

BAGHDAD; Faced with a ballooning prison population, U.S. commanders in Iraq are building new detention facilities at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison and Camp Bucca near the Kuwaiti border and are developing a third major prison, in northern Iraq.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...-home-headlines

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Sense of Urgency at U.N. Over Nuclear Trade
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Its watchdog agency is developing new ways to thwart a black market in weapons technology. The U.S. pushes to give monitors a larger role.

By Doug Frantz and Sonni Efron
Times Staff Writers

June 26 2005

VIENNA; Concerned that efforts to halt nuclear proliferation have proved inadequate, the international community is developing new strategies to fight the illicit spread of atomic weapons technology by private smuggling networks.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

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CIA Said to Leave Trail in Abduction
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Agents sought by Italy in alleged 'rendition' of a terrorism suspect apparently checked into flashy hotels and gave out account numbers.

By Tracy Wilkinson
Times Staff Writer

June 26 2005

MILAN, Italy; They ran up tabs of thousands of dollars at some of Milan's best hotels and restaurants. They chatted easily on their cellular telephones and gave out passport, frequent-flier and driver's license numbers when booking flights or renting cars.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...-home-headlines

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Iran President-Elect Vows to Pursue Nukes
--------------------

By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press Writer

June 26 2005, 6:21 AM PDT

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Sunday to pursue a peaceful nuclear program -- an effort the United States maintains is really a cover for trying to build atomic bombs.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wi...0,1033970.story