The United States is constantly seeking new conflicts around the world in order to sell weapons and keep its economy afloat, political activist Ralph Schoenman says.
“The US economy has entirely been dependent on arms production ... since the mid-1930s, since the Great Depression,” Schoenman told Press TV on Thursday.
“Arms economy requires permanent wars,” he added.
Schoenman accused “US imperialist capitalists” for waging wars around the globe and using poor African-Americans, immigrants and working class youngsters as “their cannon fodder.”
Schoenman also noted that the Pentagon receives huge financial support from the US government in terms of subsidies.
“They (the Pentagon) have received...ten trillion dollars in the space of four decades. Well that is more than the entire production of everything put together in the US taken together,” he said.
“The terrible genocidal weapons...that are inflected on the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan and of the region, affect the US soldiers as well," the political analyst said.
“Go to the website for the Iraq Veterans Against the War and the Afghanistan Veterans Against the War and look at the statistics of how many soldiers have been maimed, permanently harmed neurologically and systemically by these foolish weapons,” he added.
On Wednesday, the US Congress introduced a resolution that would give the US president wide latitude of powers to wage war on other countries as part of the "war on terror."
The fiscal 2012 Defense Authorization bill, sponsored by chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Howard P. “Buck” McKeon will expand the legal basis for the war on terror, and is moving through Congress amid harsh criticism from civil liberties groups.
The American Civil Liberties Union says the proposed bill is problematic as it does not specify an end date to the so-called war on terror, adding that the legislation is widely viewed as a frantic attempt to find and end to the escalating conflicts and abuses of power in the name of fighting terrorism.
MN/HGH/MMN
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/179688.html
Friday, May 13, 2011
Bin Laden videos fail to prove US claims
Videos released by the Pentagon to allay uncertainty about circumstances of Osama bin Laden's death, fails to support US claim that the al-Qaeda leader was killed in Pakistan last week. US President Barack Obama claimed that bin Laden was killed by US forces on May 1 in a hiding compound in Pakistan, resisting while unarmed.
Washington claims that during US raid last Monday, five videos were seized at the secret compound in Pakistan where bin Laden was hiding.
On Saturday the Pentagon released some of the videos in an attempt to quell doubts about bin Landen's death.
In the first home videos reportedly filmed in October or November 2010, bin Laden who is wearing a white skullcap and white robes, speaks to the camera in the style of his previous video messages.
There is no audio on the film, but Pentagon officials claim it was a message to the US.
In another video, bin Laden is seen watching a program about himself on Arabic language television.
There are no indications in the videos to prove that they were filmed in the secret compound where bin Laden was killed. The footages also fail to prove that the notorious al-Qaeda leader was alive until May 1.
Following Obama's announcement, a US official said that bin Laden's body was abruptly buried at sea, falsely boasting that his hasty burial was in accordance with the Islamic law, requiring burial within 24 hours of death.
However, burial at sea is not an Islamic practice and Islam does not specify a timeframe for burial.
US officials also claimed that their decision to give bin Laden a sea burial was made because no country would accept his remains, without elaborating on which countries were actually contacted on the matter.
Analysts, however, have raised serious questions as to why US officials did not allow for the application of a DNA test to officially confirm the identity of the corpse before the quick sea burial. Although officials claimed that DNA obtained from the body confirmed that he was actually Osama bin Laden.
MYA/HGH/MMN
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178754.html
Uganda police clash with opposition
Security forces used teargas, water cannons and batons to disperse the protesters on Thursday, as President Yoweri Museveni was being sworn in for a fourth term, Reuters reported.
The demonstrators were welcoming back Besigye as he returned to Kampala. Thousands lined the streets as Besigye and his wife Winnie Byanyima drove home from the airport.
He had gone to Nairobi to receive medical treatment from injuries sustained after being brutally arrested by police during an opposition protest two weeks ago.
Since April, Besigye has lead opposition demonstrations against rising fuel and food costs, leading to his arrest four times. He has led "walk to work" protests to demonstrate against the rising prices and government corruption.
At least nine people have been shot and killed by government forces since the protests began, according to Human Rights Watch.
Meanwhile, Museveni has declared that he would stamp out any "disrupting schemes" made by the opposition during his inaugural ceremony. He has blamed the rising prices on drought and increasing global crude oil prices.
Museveni also announced a plan to buy fuel in bulk and that Uganda would be supplying domestic oil within three years.
Museveni has been in power for the past 25 years.
Besigye has contested the last elections, saying that both he and Museveni received less than 50 percent of the vote, requiring a run-off.
LF/MGH
Egyptians stage anti-Israeli rallies
Thousands of Egyptian activists have taken to the streets of the capital, Cairo, and other major cities to voice their support for the Palestinian cause.Egyptians gathered at Cairo's Liberation Square -- the epicenter of the Egyptian revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak's regime.
The Cairo rally -- named a million-man march -- coincides with the anniversary of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories in 1948.
Activists have called for a march to neighboring Gaza, which is under Israel's siege.
Meanwhile, several thousand also held protest outside the Israeli consulate in Alexandria, calling for an end to Cairo's relations with Tel Aviv.
They demanded their military rulers to abandon Israel and lift the blockade on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Protesters have threatened to continue massive protest rallies if the current government does not move to cut off ties with the Israeli regime.
Egypt's political parties say the Gaza blockade serves the interests of Israel and the US and threatens regional stability and independence.
Under the US-backed Mubarak regime, Egypt consistently served Tel Aviv's objectives in the region by helping to impose a crippling blockade on the impoverished Strip after the democratically-elected Hamas government took control of the territory in 2007.
The huge gathering also dubbed as national unity rally comes in the wake of the recent fatal sectarian unrest in Egypt.
Sectarian clashes between Salafis and Coptic Christians in Cairo left at least 12 people dead and hundreds of others wounded last week.
The protesters also want their unmet demands to be fulfilled.
The demonstrators want Mubarak to be tried and the figures affiliated with his regime to be sacked.
JR/HGH/MMN
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/179734.html
Syrian security forces open fire on thousands at protest; at least 6 killed
By Zeina Karam, The Associated Press
BEIRUT — Syrian security forces opened fire on thousands of protesters Friday, killing at least six people as soldiers tried to head off demonstrations by occupying mosques and blocking public squares, human rights activists said.
A leading activist told The Associated Press that three people were killed in Homs, two in Damascus and one in a village outside Daraa, the southern city where the nationwide uprising began in March. He asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisals by the government.
In Damascus, the capital, three rallies were held - the largest number of protests held at one time in the city during the two-month revolt against President Bashar Assad.
Thousands in Syria have persevered with the demonstrations, turning up in huge numbers on Fridays - the Islamic day of prayer - only to be met with bullets, tear gas and batons by security forces.
One activist in Homs, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said security forces dressed in black and shadowly pro-regime gunmen known as "shabiha" were doing the shooting. He said the regime forces first fired in the air, then shot directly into the crowd as protesters continued their way.
Human rights groups say that between 700 and 850 people have been killed since the start of the revolt against Assad's repressive regime.
In Damascus, security forces fired tear gas in the Zahra neighbourhood, forcing scores of people to disperse. In nearby Mazzeh, protesters ran away when security forces arrived. In Muhajereen, security forces used batons to scatter dozens of people, activists said.
Assad has come under scathing criticism for the crackdown, with the United States and Europe imposing sanctions.
On Friday, Britain summoned Syria's ambassador to warn that new sanctions will target the regime's hierarchy if Assad does not halt the country's violent crackdown on protesters.
Syrian Ambassador Sami Khiyami was called in for talks with political director Geoffrey Adams - the second time in recent weeks he had been ordered to explain his government's actions.
In several volatile areas of Syria, residents said soldiers occupied mosques and blocked off major public areas Friday to prevent people from leaving their homes.
"The army has transformed major mosques in the city into military barracks where soldiers sleep, eat and drink," said a resident in the coastal town of Banias. "They've put up barriers and sandbags around the mosques."
Up to 1,200 security forces have deployed in the public square in the centre of town, and soldiers and armed thugs have broken into shops, offices and homes to intimidate people.
There is a media blackout in Syria, making it impossible to confirm witness accounts independently. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for their personal safety.
Other protests were around the northeastern city of Qamishli, where about 5,000 people marched in the streets chanting "Freedom!" and "Freedom to political prisoners!" said rights activist Mustafa Osso.
Thousands also were demonstrating in the nearby towns of Amouda and Derbasiyeh, he said.
The government's crackdown has increased in intensity in recent days. On Wednesday, the army shelled residential areas in central and southern Syria, killing 19 people, a human rights group said.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton slammed the Syrian government's assault on demonstrators and said the violence indicates that Assad is weak, though she stopped short of saying he must quit.
"Treating one's own people in this way is in fact a sign of remarkable weakness," Clinton said during a trip to Greenland.
The revolt was touched off in mid-March by the arrest of teenagers who scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall. Since then, the protests have spread nationwide and the death toll already has exceeded those seen during the uprisings in Yemen and Tunisia.
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m77673&hd=&size=1&l=e
BEIRUT — Syrian security forces opened fire on thousands of protesters Friday, killing at least six people as soldiers tried to head off demonstrations by occupying mosques and blocking public squares, human rights activists said.
A leading activist told The Associated Press that three people were killed in Homs, two in Damascus and one in a village outside Daraa, the southern city where the nationwide uprising began in March. He asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisals by the government.
In Damascus, the capital, three rallies were held - the largest number of protests held at one time in the city during the two-month revolt against President Bashar Assad.
Thousands in Syria have persevered with the demonstrations, turning up in huge numbers on Fridays - the Islamic day of prayer - only to be met with bullets, tear gas and batons by security forces.
One activist in Homs, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said security forces dressed in black and shadowly pro-regime gunmen known as "shabiha" were doing the shooting. He said the regime forces first fired in the air, then shot directly into the crowd as protesters continued their way.
Human rights groups say that between 700 and 850 people have been killed since the start of the revolt against Assad's repressive regime.
In Damascus, security forces fired tear gas in the Zahra neighbourhood, forcing scores of people to disperse. In nearby Mazzeh, protesters ran away when security forces arrived. In Muhajereen, security forces used batons to scatter dozens of people, activists said.
Assad has come under scathing criticism for the crackdown, with the United States and Europe imposing sanctions.
On Friday, Britain summoned Syria's ambassador to warn that new sanctions will target the regime's hierarchy if Assad does not halt the country's violent crackdown on protesters.
Syrian Ambassador Sami Khiyami was called in for talks with political director Geoffrey Adams - the second time in recent weeks he had been ordered to explain his government's actions.
In several volatile areas of Syria, residents said soldiers occupied mosques and blocked off major public areas Friday to prevent people from leaving their homes.
"The army has transformed major mosques in the city into military barracks where soldiers sleep, eat and drink," said a resident in the coastal town of Banias. "They've put up barriers and sandbags around the mosques."
Up to 1,200 security forces have deployed in the public square in the centre of town, and soldiers and armed thugs have broken into shops, offices and homes to intimidate people.
There is a media blackout in Syria, making it impossible to confirm witness accounts independently. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for their personal safety.
Other protests were around the northeastern city of Qamishli, where about 5,000 people marched in the streets chanting "Freedom!" and "Freedom to political prisoners!" said rights activist Mustafa Osso.
Thousands also were demonstrating in the nearby towns of Amouda and Derbasiyeh, he said.
The government's crackdown has increased in intensity in recent days. On Wednesday, the army shelled residential areas in central and southern Syria, killing 19 people, a human rights group said.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton slammed the Syrian government's assault on demonstrators and said the violence indicates that Assad is weak, though she stopped short of saying he must quit.
"Treating one's own people in this way is in fact a sign of remarkable weakness," Clinton said during a trip to Greenland.
The revolt was touched off in mid-March by the arrest of teenagers who scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall. Since then, the protests have spread nationwide and the death toll already has exceeded those seen during the uprisings in Yemen and Tunisia.
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m77673&hd=&size=1&l=e
Inside Story - Who is winning the Libyan conflict?
In recent days, rebel groups have been hit hard by pro-Gaddafi forces. The situation on the ground remains uncertain, but latest reports suggest those loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the Libya leader, have recaptured Azzawiya - 30 km to the west of Tripoli. The frontline is now moving towards the east. Just who is winning this conflict? And are hopes that the Libyan leader would be ousted proving premature?
63 Nakba: Protests Erupt throughout Palestine
Editor Palestine Monitor
Today protests ignited throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, jumpstarting the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba on 15 May. 63 years ago, approximately 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes to make way for the creation of the state of Israel with a Jewish majority.
JPG - 173.8 kb
Clashes on Al Quds Street right before Qalandiya checkpoint.
Qalandiya, Ramallah
At Qalandiya checkpoint, youth from the Qalandiya refugee camp entered the Al Quds Street after Friday prayer finished. Setting tires on fire and flinging rocks at the mammoth Qalandiya checkpoint, which separates Qalandiya from Occupied Jerusalem, the young men engaged in clashes with the Israeli Border Police until nightfall, at around 8:30 pm. The checkpoint was closed to cars coming from Ramallah from the early afternoon onwards.
“We will be here today, tomorrow and on Sunday,” one boy said.
Yaher Fayyad, 20, who was working at a sweet-shop during the clashes told the Palestine Monitor that he would be in the streets on Sunday, for the Nakba, “We hope there is something big on Sunday, to change it all to something good, not to something bad.”
Thaera Awwed, 22, who was working with Yaher said, “63 years we are trying, but nothing changed. We will have our change, inshahallah.”
Silwan/Ras el-Amoud, Jerusalem
Also this afternoon, clashes erupted in the besieged city of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, silwanic.net, reported that a 16-year-old from the Ras el-Amoud neighborhood was shot with live ammunition in the stomach. Silwanic.net details that the bullet entered his stomach and exited through his back. The young boy, Morad Ayyash, reached the Muqassed hospital in critical condition, with no pulse.
Also in Ras el-Amoud, Silwanic.net has reported that an additional three Palestinians were injured with rubber bullets.
According to a report by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, 19 protesters were injured in clashes between residents of Silwan and Israeli forces and a total of 11 were arrested.
As the night fell, Jerusalem police began raiding Silwan houses detaining residents.
Nabi Saleh, Ramallah
Nabi Saleh, whose weekly Friday demonstrations have become the target of escalated Israeli military aggression, also erupted in violence after the protest came to a close. According to eye-witnesses, the protest had been relatively calm before the Border Police officers clashed with villagers and protesters. According to PSCC’s report, the Israeli Border Police began dispersing the peaceful demonstration by shooting ample tear gas and beating protesters with batons.
PSCC reported that approximately 25 protesters were injured. One Palestinian woman in her fifties was beaten by the Police to the point of hospitalization; her condition was critical enough that she was moved from the Salfeet Hospital to the better equipped Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus.
In addition, a 25-year-old American protester endured a serious head injury and one Israeli activist suffered two open fractures in his hand. All injuries were caused by the Border Police shooting tear-gas projectiles from short-frange, directly at the demonstrators, in direct contravention of the IDF’s open fire regulations.
The PSCC is also reporting that four protesters were arrested.
Nabi Saleh, a village outside of Ramallah, holds non-violent weekly demonstrations in protest of the Apartheid Wall’s confiscation of its land.
Elsewhere in the West Bank
According to PSCC, Ma’asara, a village south of Bethlehem Israeli forces shot tear-gas into a peaceful demonstration, arresting two protesters, including a member of the village’s popular committee.
http://palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1808
Today protests ignited throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, jumpstarting the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba on 15 May. 63 years ago, approximately 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes to make way for the creation of the state of Israel with a Jewish majority.
JPG - 173.8 kb
Clashes on Al Quds Street right before Qalandiya checkpoint.
Qalandiya, Ramallah
At Qalandiya checkpoint, youth from the Qalandiya refugee camp entered the Al Quds Street after Friday prayer finished. Setting tires on fire and flinging rocks at the mammoth Qalandiya checkpoint, which separates Qalandiya from Occupied Jerusalem, the young men engaged in clashes with the Israeli Border Police until nightfall, at around 8:30 pm. The checkpoint was closed to cars coming from Ramallah from the early afternoon onwards.
“We will be here today, tomorrow and on Sunday,” one boy said.
Yaher Fayyad, 20, who was working at a sweet-shop during the clashes told the Palestine Monitor that he would be in the streets on Sunday, for the Nakba, “We hope there is something big on Sunday, to change it all to something good, not to something bad.”
Thaera Awwed, 22, who was working with Yaher said, “63 years we are trying, but nothing changed. We will have our change, inshahallah.”
Silwan/Ras el-Amoud, Jerusalem
Also this afternoon, clashes erupted in the besieged city of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, silwanic.net, reported that a 16-year-old from the Ras el-Amoud neighborhood was shot with live ammunition in the stomach. Silwanic.net details that the bullet entered his stomach and exited through his back. The young boy, Morad Ayyash, reached the Muqassed hospital in critical condition, with no pulse.
Also in Ras el-Amoud, Silwanic.net has reported that an additional three Palestinians were injured with rubber bullets.
According to a report by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, 19 protesters were injured in clashes between residents of Silwan and Israeli forces and a total of 11 were arrested.
As the night fell, Jerusalem police began raiding Silwan houses detaining residents.
Nabi Saleh, Ramallah
Nabi Saleh, whose weekly Friday demonstrations have become the target of escalated Israeli military aggression, also erupted in violence after the protest came to a close. According to eye-witnesses, the protest had been relatively calm before the Border Police officers clashed with villagers and protesters. According to PSCC’s report, the Israeli Border Police began dispersing the peaceful demonstration by shooting ample tear gas and beating protesters with batons.
PSCC reported that approximately 25 protesters were injured. One Palestinian woman in her fifties was beaten by the Police to the point of hospitalization; her condition was critical enough that she was moved from the Salfeet Hospital to the better equipped Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus.
In addition, a 25-year-old American protester endured a serious head injury and one Israeli activist suffered two open fractures in his hand. All injuries were caused by the Border Police shooting tear-gas projectiles from short-frange, directly at the demonstrators, in direct contravention of the IDF’s open fire regulations.
The PSCC is also reporting that four protesters were arrested.
Nabi Saleh, a village outside of Ramallah, holds non-violent weekly demonstrations in protest of the Apartheid Wall’s confiscation of its land.
Elsewhere in the West Bank
According to PSCC, Ma’asara, a village south of Bethlehem Israeli forces shot tear-gas into a peaceful demonstration, arresting two protesters, including a member of the village’s popular committee.
http://palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1808
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)