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POPSIn defense of William Ayers But to call Ayers a "terrorist" and throw him in the Osama bin Laden pile is a reach for the moral high ground by the very people and political establishment that secretly carpet bombed Cambodia, murdering hundreds of thousands of civilians. ...Ayers is no martyr, and he's no role model. But he doesn't deserve to be the punching bag of the moral cretins who still celebrate lying wars of aggression and the pointless slaughter of untold thousands.
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POPSBush admin considering allying with Iraqi Shiites Laura Rozen reports on a secret mission where Stephen Hadley advocated the US drop its posture as a "neutral referee" in the Iraqi civil war and align with the Shiites to crush Sunni insurgents. This strikes me as a very, very bad idea. Via Kevin Drum
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POPSMedia focus on Hamas Mouse, neglect occupation As many of you are aware, the news (and Clipmarks) have been deluged with stories about a children's show produced by Hamas that features a Mickey Mouse-type character who allegedly espouses hatred toward Jews. Tom Wallace points out that the media have been ignoring the reality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
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POPS3rd marine cleared of Haditha charges Officials close to the Haditha case said they think prosecutors dismissed the charges in order to pursue Wuterich aggressively at trial. The cases against three of the Marines accused of shooting civilians have fallen apart, and Wuterich remains the only one left for prosecutors to target for accountability. Wuterich led the Marine squad and allegedly told his troops, as they approached a group of civilian homes that day, to shoot first and ask questions later.
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POPSParalyzed for Life Gideon Levy's editorial about the Aman family, some of whom were killed, others maimed by an Israeli targeted assassination two weeks ago. The 3-year old girl, Maria, is paralyzed for life. A couple of points: * As Levy says, "An army that fires missiles at busy streets and tank shells at a beach cannot claim there was no intent to harm innocent civilians." * The IDF/IAF has done pretty much nothing about this family. No investigations. NO APOLOGIES GIVEN. The Israeli hopsital was set to discharge Maria and her uncle home to Gaza, where they would die of their injuries, were it not for the activities of Physicians for Human Rights who demanded the Israel approve & cover their hospitalization in the country.
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POPSUS corporations accused of hiring death squads in Colombia Via Max Sawicky Fruit giant Chiquita agreed in March to pay $25 million to settle with the U.S. Department of Justice after acknowledging that its Colombian subsidiary, Banadex, secretly funneled $1.7 million to the death squads operating in zones where it had banana plantations. In 2001, a Banadex ship was used to unload 3,000 rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition for the paramilitaries. At the time, the paramilitaries were consolidating control of the Uraba banana region through massacres and assassinations. Chiquita later sold Banadex but still buys Colombian bananas. Cincinnati-based Chiquita says it was a victim of paramilitary extortion. In a statement it said its payments to the militias "were always motivated by our good faith concern for the safety of our employees."
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POPSCzech resistance to Communism cast as heroes and as murderers The current Czech prime minister, Mirek Topolanek, a liberal, decided in March to honor the three survivors as heroes, no doubt expecting some controversy in a nation still grappling with its Communist past. But the government was not prepared for a searing debate that encapsulated all the ambivalence associated with the country’s recent history. A minority of Czechs lauded the award as a fitting tribute to freedom fighters who had dared to stand up to a repressive government, but nearly half of the population viewed the men as criminals, according to a poll conducted for Czech Television.
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POPSYesha Rabbinical Council: During time of war, enemy has no innocents I believe the Yesha Rabbinical Council is just the council for rabbis who serve the settlements in the Occupied Territories. It goes without saying that this council should not be understood as speaking for all rabbis, Israelis, Jews, etc. In fact I would imagine most Israelis and Jews would abhor this viewpoint.
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POPSThe most unsuccessful war It is frightening to think that those who decided to embark on the present war did not even dream of its outcome and its destructive consequences in almost every possible realm, of the political and psychological damage, the serious blow to the government's credibility, and yes -- the killing of children in vain.
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POPSHow a journalist broke the Haditha story This episode shows that the military dismissed a journalist's questions about Haditha out of hand by calling him biased and a sympathizer to Sunni insurgents. I sometimes see this attitude here at Clipmarks--don't question our military, don't question our leaders, etc. But in fact, we do need to question the conduct of our leaders and our military all the time. Because if we don't, there will undoubtedly be more Hadithas. (in fact, more Hadithas are probably inevitable if we continue to occupy Iraq, as von Zielbauer points out later in the interview).
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