America Stands Should to Shoulder With Georgian Murderer

Dick Cheney has been vociferous in his support for Georgia during his visit to the country. In a press conference alongside Saakashvili, the American vice-president said:

"After your nation won its freedom in the Rose Revolution, America came to the aid of this courageous young democracy.

"We are doing so again as you work to overcome an invasion of your sovereign territory and an illegitimate unilateral attempt to change your country's borders by force that has been universally condemned by the free world."

Well, not universally condemned by the free world. Universally condemned by those subjected to Western propaganda, but I digress. Let's remind ourselves of what this 'courageous young democracy' stands for shall we?

• During a peaceful anti-government demonstration in the capital city, the state authorities sent in special military forces armed with machine guns to violently disperse the crowds. Twenty-five people were arrested, including five opposition politicians.
  

• In November last year, 50,000 people took to the streets to demonstrate against 'government corruption'. Tear gas, rubber bullets and water canons were used to once more break up the demonstration. Furthermore, men dressed in black (apparently working for the government) were sent in to attack protestors. As a result, over 500 people were admitted to hospital.

• And, just last month, Georgian forces were sent into South Ossetia to assert Georgian authority in the region. Churches were burnt down, 15 Russian peacekeepers were murdered, 30,000 South Ossetians fled to the north and a further 1,500 civilians were murdered by Georgian forces.

Yes, this is what the 'free world' stands by. Repression, corruption, murder and violence. All this wrapped up in American friendly neo-liberalism. This is what Cheney stands by. This is what America stands by. Another nail in the coffin of the free world.

Cheney Authorised Torture

Presumably he has also ordered for the Statue of Liberty to be torn down:

The US vice-president approved the use of waterboarding against al-Qaeda suspects, US media reports have said.

Dick Cheney and other senior Bush administration officials attended meetings to approve harsh interrogation techniques, which took place after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, ABC news and The Associated Press reported.

The officials took care to insulate George Bush, the US president, from the meetings, where waterboarding - simulating drowning and feelings of suffocation by causing reflexive choking and gagging - sleep deprivation and slaps and pushes were approved, according to the reports.

Participants were said to be members of a National Security Council's Principals Committee, a senior group of advisors to the president Bush.

Condoleezza Rice, formerly national security adviser now US secretary of state, Donald Rumsfeld, the former US defence secretary, Colin Powell, who was secretary of state, George Tenet, the former CIA director and John Ashcroft, the former US attorney-general also reportedly attended the meetings.

All in the name of freedom and democracy. Don't it make ya proud?

Tesco - Every Little Helps

Capitalists often tend to claim that capitalism and democracy go hand in hand. That for people to be free from state tyranny, the best option is to reduce the power of the state and put public industry in the hands of capitalists who are free from the constraints of government bureaucracy. This would then, according to Milton Friedman's acolytes, lead to greater economic stability and prosperity. However, as we have seen in countries such as Chile over the years, in order for capitalism to truly thrive, civil liberties must be curtailed and a new authoritarianism must rise up. It is in this context that we see the latest efforts by the corporate world to replace state tyranny with corporate tyranny.

Tesco's operation in Thailand (Tesco Lotus) has taken the rather dangerous step of attempting to shut down the right to free speech in regard to it's operations in the country. According to reports:

Tesco Lotus, one of the biggest retailers in Thailand, has filed two staggering defamation cases against a Thai columnist and a former member of Parliament, sending a strong message to civil society and the press to tread carefully before criticising the retailing giant in Thailand.

Tesco Lotus is suing columnist/academic Kamol Kamoltrakul and former Thai National Legislative Assembly (NLA) member Jit Siratranont for 100 million baht and one billion baht, respectively, after they criticised and questioned the aggressive expansion strategies of Tesco Lotus in Thailand.

Put aside for one moment, the laughable concept that to defend against allegations of aggression, one must act aggressively. What exactly did they say that caused such offence?

Siratranont, currently the secretary general of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, was quoted by British newspaper "The Observer" as saying in a speech to 150 activists: "The large-scale expansion of the big retailers must be exercised with great care – not too aggressively and too rapidly - to reduce the potential tension, which could lead to serious conflict. There is also the need for the small retail traders to adjust to changes. Tesco Lotus must take all of this into account."

Kamol was sued for an article published in the Thai-language "KrungThepTurakit" (BangkokBizNews), which expressed generally the same concerns about Tesco Lotus' aggressiveness, and also what the columnist suggested was the retailing giant's weak social responsibility in Thailand.

Hardly worthy of a defamation case. Slowly but surely, across the globe, a new style of tyranny is spreading. This tyranny protects the rights of the rich whilst destroying civil liberties. Oh yes, they may tempt you with 'competitive prices' and the illusion of 'choice', but they simply want you to buy their goods and shut up. Totalitarianism is back, and we're the ones paying for it.

Taiwan - China's Other Problem

"We are also determined to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world."

President G W Bush 8th March 2005

Whilst the media has been focused on the ongoing situation in Tibet and its struggle for freedom, the situation in Taiwan has been generally overlooked, and yet it exposes the double standard at the heart of US/UK foreign policy.

Taiwan first applied for UN membership in July of last year. The Chinese government, however, saw this as a threat to the unity of China and gave very clear warnings to Taiwan should they continue to proceed along these lines, threatening to use force if it continues to pursue a course of independence. Despite these continued threats, the Taiwanese government decided to press forward with a referendum on UN membership which was scheduled to take place today. What is particularly interesting about this fight for freedom and democracy, is the stance taken by the United States and the United Kingdom.

In the light of the Bush administration's 'commitment to democracy' (as opposed for their lust to control the earth's resources), one would expect there to be noises of encouragement emanating from the White House - no such luck. Instead, the United States government has been echoing similar sentiments to that of the Chinese government - this is not a welcome development. When discussing the proposed Taiwanese referendum towards the end of last year, Condoleeza Rice said the following:

"We think that Taiwan's referendum to apply to the United Nations under the name 'Taiwan' is a provocative policy.

"It unnecessarily raises tensions in the Taiwan Strait, and it promises no real benefits for the people of Taiwan on the international stage."

'
Provocative'? 'No real benefit?'. Unusual terms to describe the desire of the Taiwanese people to be free, an ideal that the Bush administration apparently believed in. How quickly these high ideals are abandoned when faced with a more serious foe than the pathetic offering of the Iraqi army. Could it be that the US only supports democracy when it knows it can defeat the enemies of this high ideal? When it could lead to a conflict they would likely lose, suddenly democracy doesn't seem that important anymore. And yet, Bush claims to 'support the growth of democratic movements' across the world.

It now appears that the movement towards independence has been nothing more than a blip in the recent history of Taiwan. Reports suggest that Ma Ying-jeou, of the Kuomintang party, has won the election by 17%. Ma has committed himself to even stronger ties with China and has proposed a formal peace treaty with Beijing. Although it is difficult to say how much impact the reaction to the referendum from Beijing and Washington has had on the poll (the referendum did not garner enough votes to be valid), the threat of military invasion from China would have done much to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of the Taiwanese. Furthermore, Ma has been particularly clever in his campaigning. Understanding that there was growing concern regarding the situation in Tibet, Ma criticised the authorities in Beijing to ease fears at home whilst also claiming he would not push the issue with China (thus preserving the facade of independence and pleasing both his masters in Beijing and Taiwan).

The real winners in this election has been the capitalists, who have been pushing for closer ties with China for some time. China has been a major source of business for Taiwanese capitalists in recent years, as one Taiwanese resident pointed out:

"Nowadays Taiwanese capitalists hire at least ten million workers in China and almost all Taiwan’s top 50 manufacturing companies have subsidiaries there. The mainland’s abundant cheap labour, cheap land, tax-breaks and subsidies for foreign companies, mean that China has actually become the main source of profit for Taiwanese capitalism".

Even in communist China's sphere of influence capitalism rules, no wonder the US was keen to turn a blind eye to the calls for democracy in Taiwan. As a result of which, it appears that the flame of democracy has been extinguished in Taiwan, and both China and the US have conspired to snuff it out.

Free Men in a Hierarchical Structure

I had to share this barking mad comment from my 'About' page:

In league with the stones... Every September, I recall that is more than half a century (62 years) since I landed at Nagasaki with the 2nd Marine Division in the original occupation of Japan following World War II. This time every year, I have watched and listened to the light-hearted "peaceniks" and their light-headed symbolism-without-substance of ringing bells, flying pigeons, floating candles, and sonorous chanting and I recall again that "Peace is not a cause - it is an effect."

In July, 1945, my fellow 8th RCT Marines [I was a BARman] and I returned to Saipan following the successful conclusion of the Battle of Okinawa. We were issued new equipment and replacements joined each outfit in preparation for our coming amphibious assault on the home islands of Japan.

B-29 bombing had leveled the major cities of Japan, including Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama, Yokosuka, and Tokyo.

We were informed we would land three Marine divisions and six Army divisions, perhaps abreast, with large reserves following us in. It was estimated that it would cost half a million casualties to subdue the Japanese homeland.

In August, the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima but the Japanese government refused to surrender. Three days later a second A-bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The Imperial Japanese government finally surrendered.

Following the 1941 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese admiral said, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant..." Indeed, they had. Not surprisingly, the atomic bomb was produced by a free people functioning in a free environment. Not surprisingly because the creative process is a natural human choice-making process and inventiveness occurs most readily where choice-making opportunities abound. America!

Tamper with a giant, indeed! Tyrants, beware: Free men are nature's pit bulls of Liberty! The Japanese learned the hard way what tyrants of any generation should know: Never start a war with a free people - you never know what they may invent!

As a newly assigned member of a U.S. Marine intelligence section, I had a unique opportunity to visit many major cities of Japan, including Tokyo and Hiroshima, within weeks of their destruction. For a full year I observed the beaches, weapons, and troops we would have assaulted had the A-bombs not been dropped. Yes, it would have been very destructive for all, but especially for the people of Japan.

When we landed in Japan, for what came to be the finest and most humane occupation of a defeated enemy in recorded history, it was with great appreciation, thanksgiving, and praise for the atomic bomb team, including the aircrew of the Enola Gay. A half million American homes had been spared the Gold Star flag, including, I'm sure, my own.

Whenever I hear the apologists expressing guilt and shame for A-bombing and ending the war Japan had started (they ignore the cause-effect relation between Pearl Harbor and Nagasaki), I have noted that neither the effete critics nor the puff-adder politicians are among us in the assault landing-craft or the stinking rice paddies of their suggested alternative, "conventional" warfare. Stammering reluctance is obvious and continuous, but they do love to pontificate about the Rights that others, and the Bomb, have bought and preserved for them.

The vanities of ignorance and camouflaged cowardice abound as license for the assertion of virtuous "rights" purchased by the blood of others - those others who have borne the burden and physical expense of Rights whining apologists so casually and self-righteously claim.

At best, these fakers manifest a profound and cryptic ignorance of causal relations, myopic perception, and dull I.Q. At worst, there is a word and description in The Constitution defining those who love the enemy more than they love their own countrymen and their own posterity. Every Yankee Doodle Dandy knows what that word is.

In 1945, America was the only nation in the world with the Bomb and it behaved responsibly and respectfully. It remained so until two among us betrayed it to the Kremlin. Still, this American weapon system has been the prime deterrent to earth's latest model world- tyranny: Seventy years of Soviet collectivist definition, coercion, and domination of individual human beings.

The message is this: Trust Freedom. Remember, tyrants never learn. The restriction of Freedom is the limitation of human choice, and choice is the fulcrum-point of the creative process in human affairs. As earth's choicemaker, it is our human identity on nature's beautiful blue planet and the natural premise of man's free institutions, environments, and respectful relations with one another. Made in the image of our Creator, free men choose, create, and progress - or die.

Free men should not fear the moon-god-crowd oppressor nor choose any of his ways. Recall with a confident Job and a victorious David, "Know ye not that you are in league with the stones of the field?"
Semper Fidelis Jim Baxter Sgt. USMC WW II and Korean War
Job 5:23 Proverbs 3:31 I Samuel 17:40 See: http://www.choicemaker.net/

Do you see what he did there?? Freedom repeated countless times, followed by references to the Bible. Poor soul cannot see the contradiction. As for America behaving responsibly, perhaps it is best not to rake over 60 years of American imperialism.

Stop & Question By Default

Even Before Reid's craptastic Stop & Question powers the Met have shown they are already using existing anti-terrorism searches to their extreme:

Police are using Draconian anti-terror stop and search powers for day-to-day duties. The powers, supposed to be kept for extreme circumstances only, have quietly been introduced into Scotland Yard's "safer neighbourhoods" programme which targets anti-social behaviour.
The widespread use of anti-terror powers was revealed in papers for a Metropolitan Police Authority meeting.
At present, under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, officers have the power to stop and search members of the public or vehicles, even if they have no grounds for suspicion.
However, suspects must be walking or driving in an area designated as being at risk of a terrorist attack.
But the MPA report says Section 44 is being used more widely in the "Safer Neighbourhood programme", which targets antisocial behaviour, criminal damage and graffiti.
Gareth Crossman, policy director of civil rights group Liberty, said: "They are admitting using exceptional powers, which the legislation says are specifically for terroristrelated activity. It flies in the face of the legislation."

London has been for a while a de-facto stop & question zone:

In February London police came under fire from their watchdog, the Metropolitan Police Authority, in a major report into the effect of counter-terrorism policing on the capital. The watchdog found that the force's use of special anti-terror stop and search powers were doing "untold harm" to communities in the capital, in particularly Muslims.

Under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, police officers may randomly stop someone without reasonable suspicion, providing the area has been designated a likely target for an attack. The power is currently in force across the whole of London.

Here is a handy cut out and keep guide to Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000-

DURING SECTION 44 SEARCHES

The police can only give you a pat down, remove outer clothes (eg - jacket, hat) search your bags, and have you empty your pockets

You do not have to give your name or address

You do not have to explain why you are there

You are not allowed to flee the search, but you are not required to be actively compliant. You are allowed to "go limp" as passive resistance during the search if you do not wish to comply.

There is no permission to collect DNA data during the search

You do not have to comply with any attempt to photograph or record you.

Women can not be touched by male police during these searches.

Make notes about the officers searching you - name, number, and police force.

Note the time and the events preceding the search.

Note the specific wording used by the police to explain their authority to search you.

Ask police for the reason that they are searching you. Specifically, are they searching for terrorists or are they simply trying to deter, delay, or inconvenience you?

Brown Refuses to Block Secrecy Bill

The names change, but the policies stay the same.

Thursday 17th May 2007:

"To those who feel that the political system doesn't listen and doesn't care, to those who somehow feel powerless and have lost faith, to those who feel Westminster is a distant place and politics all too often a spectator sport, I will strive to earn your trust - to earn your trust not just in foreign policy, but in our schools and our hospitals and our public services and to respond to your concerns."

Friday 18th May 2007:

Gordon Brown has rejected calls to block a controversial move by MPs to get out of freedom of information laws.

MPs pushed the plan closer to becoming law earlier in what critics called a "shameful day for Parliament".

The MPs say they want to protect private letters from constituents - but critics say the move would also allow them to keep their expenses secret.

Mr Brown, who takes over as Labour leader and prime minister next month, has pledged more "open" politics.

Well, I guess we know what we are in for (as if we hadn't already guessed).

The Next Stage in 'War on Terror'?

Remember all the tough talk about the 'war on terror'? Remember when Bush said this:

"Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

This signified a shift in American foreign policy. From now on, any state that works with terrorists will be forced to face the consequences. Well, there is one state that, according to the CIA, has strong ties with terrorist organisations and has been involved in countless human rights abuses. I'm not talking about Iran, I'm talking about Colombia.

In the latest in a long line of revelations about the Colombian government, it has emerged that the CIA has 'obtained intelligence alleging that the head of Colombia's U.S.-backed army collaborated extensively with right-wing militias that Washington considers terrorist organizations'. According to the Los Angeles Times:

The intelligence about Montoya is contained in a report recently circulated within the CIA. It says that Montoya and a paramilitary group jointly planned and conducted a military operation in 2002 to eliminate Marxist guerrillas from poor areas around Medellin.

At least 14 people were killed during the operation, and opponents of Uribe allege that dozens more disappeared in its aftermath.

The intelligence report includes information from another Western intelligence service and indicates that U.S. officials have received similar reports from other reliable sources.

What complicates this matter further is that the US, alongside the UK, gives a vast amount of aid to Colombia ($700 million in the case of the US). In short, the American government is funding a terrorist organisation. A terrorist organisation that effectively runs Colombia. A terrorist organisation responsible for the deaths of thousands of Colombians. All the time receiving financial support by the American government, financial support that is unlikely to be cut off.

It would seem that under the authority of the Bush Doctrine only one course of action is possible. If those who support terrorists must be confronted, alongside the terrorists themselves, it would appear that there is only one logical conclusion to this situation. A 'coalition of the willing' must be assembled to invade Colombia and install democracy free from the influence of terrorists that threaten the stability of the region. Once that has been achieved, it is time to promote regime change in the states that continue to support the terrorists. A new kind of freedom, freedom from tyrannical regimes, can then spread across the globe. Now, all we need is someone to lead this 'coalition of the willing'. Anyone have any suggestions?