Saturday, June 6, 2009

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US: Insurgents Using Teens To Stage Iraq Attacks Top
BAGHDAD — Teenagers armed with grenades and suicide vests are the latest recruits for Sunni insurgents trying to find new ways to outwit heightened security measures and attack American and Iraqi forces, the U.S. military said Saturday. The use of boys also serves a propaganda purpose _ the soldiers face criticism for harming children if they fire back. Insurgents first turned to women to carry out suicide bombings, causing U.S. and Iraqi troops to step up recruiting and training of female searchers at checkpoints to seek explosives easily hidden under women's billowing black robes. Now they appear to be using youths and weapons that are easier to hide like grenades as they face omnipresent checkpoints and convoys aimed at bolstering security gains that have caused the level of violence to plummet nationwide. "With grenade attacks, insurgents hope to capitalize on reports of civilian injuries blamed on a coalition response to the attack," said Maj. Derrick Cheng, a spokesman for U.S. forces in northern Iraq. "However, the reality is that the grenade explosion itself causes the majority of civilian casualties." The military has said in the past it believes al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent groups are recruiting children because of their ability to avoid scrutiny. But a statement issued Saturday was the first to provide detailed allegations of teenage suspects in what the military called "a growing trend of children carrying out attacks on Iraqi security and U.S. forces." Cheng stressed roadside bombs are still the main mode of attack against U.S. forces but said grenades are often the weapon of choice in urban areas where it is harder to plant explosives without being seen. Young men can quickly throw the grenades then fade into the crowd, depriving the soldiers of the chance to fight back amid fears that they'll hit innocent civilians. The tactic has been used in fighting before but takes on added significance as the Americans have been trying to improve relations with the Iraqi public in a bid to stem support for the insurgency. Army Col. Gary Volesky, who commands U.S. troops in northern Iraq's Ninevah province, said grenade attacks are on the rise but a "more disturbing trend" was the recruiting of children to throw them. On May 9, U.S. soldiers killed a 12-year-old boy who the military said was believed to be involved in a grenade attack in the northern city of Mosul. Local residents said he was an innocent civilian. But the military said the boy was found with 10,000 dinars, or about $9, in his hand, which they said suggested he had been paid by insurgents. At least five other youths between the ages of 14 and 19 have been involved in grenade and suicide attacks in recent weeks in northern Iraq, it said. Those included a 15-year-old boy who was captured Monday after lobbing a grenade at a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol in Hawijah, west of the disputed northern city of Kirkuk. Another teenage boy threw a grenade at a U.S.-Iraqi patrol in the same area on Thursday, then fled the scene when it failed to detonate, the military said. Nobody was harmed in those attacks. Two U.S. soldiers were killed in separate grenade attacks elsewhere in the area on Thursday, although it was not known who was responsible for the incidents. A boy between the ages of 14 and 16 threw a grenade at a joint convoy of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police in Hawijah on May 26, but no injuries or damage were reported, according to the statement. The military also said a boy as young as 14 was the driver in a suicide car bombing that killed five Iraqi policemen in Kirkuk on May 12, while a 19-year-old man was arrested while trying to detonate a suicide vest at a Shiite mosque in the city on May 1, the statement said. Four alleged members of a group known to recruit children were arrested on April 14, the military said. Insurgent groups are trying to take advantage of the fact "that children do not draw as much attention and soldiers do not want to harm them," the U.S. said in the statement. The United Nations also has expressed concern that rising numbers of Iraqi youths have been recruited into militias and insurgent groups. The U.S. military released several videos last year seized from suspected al-Qaida in Iraq hideouts that showed militants training children who appeared as young as 10 to kidnap and kill. Children have also been used as decoys in Iraq. ___ Associated Press Writer Chelsea J. Carter in Mosul contributed to this report.
 
Avital Binshtock: How to Green Your Spiritual Life Top
Most people who consider themselves at least somewhat spiritual, regardless of their religion or set of beliefs, have realized that caring for the earth is imperative to their spirituality. Here are four for aligning your inner life with your green life. 1) Green Your Place of Worship: The places where people pray, meditate, or simply stop to have moments of peace vary vastly - but you can make sure that your place of worship isn't causing environmental damage. If you go to a church, temple, mosque, or other organized place, ask your congregation's leaders to emplace green measures like reducing energy use , water use , and waste . You can even volunteer to head recycling efforts or organize carpools . If a corner of your home is your place, make sure that room is as planet-preserving as possible . If where you connect to the spiritual realm is outdoors, remember the "leave no trace" commandments . 2) Read What's Written: The deep connection between spirituality and the environment is all in the scripture: Christians and Jews can refer, among other passages , to Genesis 1:1 : "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The Buddhist Sutta Nipata instructs: "Within yourself let grow a boundless love for all creatures." Hindus reading the Dakshinamurti Upanishad pray: "Let there be peace in my environment." Muslims are instructed by the Qur'an (2:60): "Do not commit abuse on the earth." The Wiccan Rede says, "Heed the flower, bush, and tree." Atheists, many of whom revere Darwin's writings , hold that humans should refrain from destroying the earth of their own accord. For more about religion and the environment, read these books . 3) Green Your Holidays: Religious holidays are some of the most memorable times of the year, but they can also be some of the most environmentally degrading. Check out our tips about how to green your Christmas , Hanukkah , Easter , and Lent . Whether you celebrate these holidays or others, try to keep consumption to a minimum (experiences, lessons , or homemade items as gifts, are always most memorable anyway), to choose simple and natural decorations , and to remember the charities closest to your heart . 4) Be an Evangelist: Many religions have always been about spreading the good word, and the environment could use that same type of help. If you passionately believe in preserving the planet, tell the world ! It's best to refrain from being too preachy, but a few well-targeted comments and messages could make the difference. A few ideas: Don't be afraid to apply a bit of peer pressure with someone who doesn't, say, recycle or turn off lights. Slap a bumper sticker on your car, or throw on a shirt that broadcasts your faith in saving the environment. And sign up for -- and tell your friends about -- the Green Life blog's daily green tips . Share your tips: How have you connected your spiritual life to preserving the environment? More on Green Living
 
Teresa Rodriguez Williamson: Mexico is Ready for Primetime Part II Top
Los Cabos, Mexico Part II In the center of the quaint town of San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico, there is a small church where the locals go to baptize their newborns and confess their sins. The church itself is not that striking, but the most noted element on the facade is a tiled painting, set in the 1730s, of Pericu Indians slaying a Jesuit priest who tried to convert them to Catholicism. Much hasn't changes since then really. Even now, the locals fiercely protect their culture from outside influences that would dilute the beauty of their little village. Subsequently, there aren't any mega shopping malls or Starbucks on every corner, which means you're more likely to find a taco stand than a coffee shop. After enjoying the irony of the tiled church painting, I picked up a map of the historic district of San Jose Del Cabo where every Thursday the local galleries host an art and wine walk. Maps of the participating venues are as easy to find as a margarita in this town - just ask and you'll get one handed to you. With map in hand, I walked up Calle Zaragoza, where I popped into the famed restaurant La panga (http://lapanga.com) for a little nourishment before my self-guided art and wine walk. The chef and co-owner Jacobo Turquie, besides being easy on the eyes, is an award-wining chef and a graduate from The Culinary Institute of America in New York. His delicious dishes include specialties like tuna & avocado timbale with jalapeno-soy sauce and seared sea scallops with dry chili oil over risotto with asparagus tips and aged ramonetti cheese from Northern Baja. After a satisfying visit to La panga, my tour began. The collections of galleries in the historic district are quite impressive for such a tiny town. You'll find everything from traditional Mexican artwork to over-the-top bronze sculptures and neon-colored Lady of Guadalupe paintings. One of my favorite galleries was galleria de ida Victoria located at 1128 V. Guerrero. There, they showcase artists from around the world in a gorgeous three-story building overlooking a lush courtyard. Just around the corner, was Corisca Galeria De Arte on Alvaro Obregon 10. Surprisingly, this space is comparable to any high-end gallery you would find in the US or Europe. While I was admiring a bronze winged sculpture by Jorge Marin, a couple from New York was finalizing a purchase of a piece of art worth $15,000. Nice to know that not all have lost their money to crazy Ponzi schemes. I met up with one of the art walk volunteers and he boasted that San Jose Del Cabo had the highest ratio of millionaires per capita in Mexico. I could not find any evidence to support his claim, but I must admit that if a city's cadre of high-end art galleries is a realistic indicator of wealth, then San Jose Del Cabo just might be filled with the mega rich. After the art walk, I headed over to Las Ventanas Al Pariso , which is around a 15-minute drive from downtown San Jose Del Cabo. Las Ventanas Al Pariso has long been considered the most exclusive resorts in Baja. With only 71 suites on the property, they are known for their exceptional service and respect for privacy (aka, great place to bring your clandestine lover). If you are not staying at Las Ventanas, the only way you'll get to visit the property is by dining at one of their four restaurants or taking a culinary class. I took a cooking class taught by two of the resort's chefs. Over the course of an hour, I learned how to prepare beet and heirloom tomato salad with orange essence and red snapper news of the day - which is a fresh fillet of red snapper wrapped in your favorite newspaper and baked. The best part was that after we learned how to cook the food, we got to eat it. The one-hour classes are USD $110 per person (plus tax and service) and are held in the open-air demonstration kitchen located in the fragrant herb garden - where many of the vegetables and herbs used in the cooking class were grown. The night ended with live guitar music and fresh churos dipped in caramel sauce. Pleasantly full, I arrived back at Marquis Los Cabos, opened the patio doors overlooking the Sea of Cortez and was lulled to sleep by the sound of the crashing waves. I find it amazing that all these incredible cultural delights and world-class resorts are a mere 2-hour flight from LAX. But you know, once the swine flu is forgotten and the bad press about Mexico's border towns disappears, the prices and the tourists are all going to increase in Los Cabos. So, if you have an inkling for some first-class treatment on a quiet fishing coast, perhaps this is the time to steal away to Los Cabos and forget about the headlines for a few days. Details: Vist Los Cabos website http://visitloscabos.travel La panga Antigua restaurant Zaragoza #20 Col. Centro San Jose Del Cabo www.lapanga.com Las Ventanas Al Paraiso KM 19.5 Carratera Transpenisular Cabo San Lucas 52-624-144-2800 www.roasewoodhotels.com For more of my travel blogs, visit www.tangodiva.com
 
Daniel James Murray, Man Sought For Threatening Obama, Arrested Top
SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities have arrested a man who allegedly told bank tellers while cleaning out his savings account in Utah that he was on a mission to kill President Barack Obama, a federal prosecutor Saturday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Bearnson said Daniel James Murray was arrested in Laughlin, Nev., by the U.S. Secret Service and Las Vegas metropolitan police. The 36-year-old man was charged Thursday with conveying threats while talking to tellers last month at Zions First National Bank in St. George, Utah. Bearnson said Murray was arrested Friday and was in federal custody in Nevada. She said he likely will get a court date there Monday. Murray is originally from Rexford, N.Y. He was described by his father and former neighbors in Rexford as troubled but not dangerous, known for strolling down a street wearing a cape while talking to himself. "He's sick. He's been sick for about 10 years," Michael Murray, his father, told the Times Union of Albany, N.Y. "I hope they find him." In charging documents filed Thursday, the Secret Service said Daniel Murray made bizarre statements while opening _ and then closing within weeks _ an $85,000 savings account. First, he demanded to know if Zions First National Bank was solvent, saying, "I'm sure if citizens happen to lose their money, they will rise up and we could see killing and deaths," bank tellers told a Secret Service agent. On May 27, as a teller counted out bills no larger than $50, Murray delivered a rambling discourse on the probability of economic and social disorder, ending with "We are on a mission to kill the president of the United States," a bank employee told the Secret Service.
 
Gordon Brown "Obama Beach" Gaffe: British PM Misspeaks At D-Day Ceremony (VIDEO) Top
Maybe the stress is getting to him. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who spent Friday pushing back against calls for his resignation, made a somewhat embarrassing mistake while speaking Saturday during the ceremonies honoring the 65th anniversary of D-Day at Omaha Beach In France. As Brown spoke somberly about the US and Britain's cooperation during the invasion of Normandy he said, "Next to Obama Beach, we join President Obama in paying particular tribute to the spectacular bravery of American soldiers who gave their lives." The phonetically similar words nearly tripped up Brown again before he seemed to become aware of his mistake and say the name correctly.
 
Justice Dept. Lawyers Agreed On Legality Of Harsh Interrogations Top
When Justice Department lawyers engaged in a sharp internal debate in 2005 over brutal interrogation techniques, even some who believed that using tough tactics was a serious mistake agreed on a basic point: the methods themselves were legal.
 
Ilana Teitelbaum: Obama in Cairo: One View From Jerusalem Top
An American friend emailed me to ask "What's Israel's/your take on Obama's remarks in Cairo?" I had to smile, because if there is one thing that has held true throughout my years in Israel, it is that there are as many opinions here as there are people. I can't speak for all of Israel, nor is there one unified reaction in Israel vis a vis President Obama's speech. But I can share what my reactions were, from this busy corner of downtown Jerusalem. When Obama was elected, I felt a combination of hope and dread that I think was typical of many liberal people living here. Hope, because a rational and intelligent man had been elected; dread, because the familiar cycle of disappointment and disillusionment that so many of us have felt with American presidents might now begin again. Speaking for myself, it's immensely frustrating to hold liberal views on all manner of topics, but still be derided for not subscribing to a specific, wholly negative view of Israel. It creates an odd cognitive dissonance when our allies around the world--on issues relating to everything from the environment to health care to gay rights--suddenly evaporate if we put forward a view of Israel that does not lockstep with their perception of a vast, rapacious empire. That the picture might be more nuanced is an idea that apparently cannot be countenanced even for a moment. I mention this because I so dreaded seeing Obama join that list of allies. It would have been saddening on a personal level. In the course of the U.S. elections I joined my fellow Americans overseas in the excitement and anticipation of a new and better vision for America. Some of my fellow Jews have complained about the speech. Some of them are even right in their points. Yes, it's true that Israel does not exist solely because of persecution and the Holocaust, so to say that "the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history" might reinforce the common propaganda that Israel is a European colony, created without preamble in 1948. How many people realize that a large proportion of Israel's Jews are in fact descended from Yemenites, Iraqis, and Moroccans? How many realize that Jews were living in Jerusalem for hundreds of years before there was any talk of establishing a State--and that some, for religious reasons, opposed it? My own ancestors, though from eastern Europe, lived in Jerusalem for many generations before the creation of the State of Israel, and are a famous family among the old-timers of the city. My grandfather was legally a Palestinian, with a Palestinian passport. He immigrated temporarily to the U.S. in search of work, married my grandmother, and passed away very young before he could fulfill his dream to return to his beloved homeland. However. It is important to see the speech in context. In a climate of pervasive anti-semitism and Holocaust denial--in Cairo , where "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and "Mein Kampf" are strong sellers--Obama spoke unequivocally against anti-semitism and Holocaust denial. He validated the necessity of a Jewish homeland. The reasons for that homeland's right to exist are almost an afterthought, in that context. Considering that the main purpose of the speech was to reach out to the world's Muslim population, it was a tremendously brave stance to take. And after the outpouring of hatred against Jews that took place at rallies throughout the world during the Gaza war , it was especially meaningful, to me, to hear these words. It was also deeply meaningful to me that Obama recognizes that violence and terrorism are an insurmountable obstacle to coexistence. They are the only reason that I, personally, oppose making territorial concessions at this time. I oppose it because what happened after the disengagement from Gaza seems a clear indication of what will happen again: Rockets will be lobbed in our direction from the new, closer borders. And what does that solve? Many of us are willing to make concessions if there is an atmosphere of cooperation. So I appreciate that Obama made this point even as he instructed us to stop building in the settlements. I am glad that he understands that he ought not issue this directive to us unless he is also in support of a safer future for us and our children. Many of us will live contentedly with smaller borders, if it means that we can move on from the senseless horror of this conflict, and stop raising our boys to face an eternal war. More on Gaza War
 
Magda Abu-Fadil: Lebanese Media Freedom Declines, Management "Opaque" on Operations on Election Eve Top
Lebanese media, long considered the Arab world's trailblazers, have declined in terms of freedom and balanced coverage, with management reluctant to reveal details about inner workings and operations -- a marked setback on the eve of a key legislative election. According to the National Observatory of the Freedom of Opinion and Expression 's 2008 report, many Lebanese journalists feel objectivity is a rarity, freedom is in short supply, and harassment they face on and off the job is increasing, for lack of union protection. The report, spearheaded by the Maharat (Skills) Foundation ( http://www.maharatfoundation.org ) and supported by UNESCO , also accused the media of fomenting conflicts and sedition in line with their political paymasters' desires, a charge repeatedly leveled in recent months during a highly incendiary parliamentary campaign. Maharat logo "As such, the media outlets have become part of the propaganda and military machine of the political forces," said the report, adding that these organizations had turned into promotional tools and abandoned their raison d'ĂȘtre of broadcasting news, criticizing, and educating people. Candidates vying for parliamentary seats, including several prominent journalists from opposing camps, have blamed newspapers, broadcast outlets and websites for stoking the coals of discord and becoming platforms for hysterical mudslinging matches between adversaries. The election on Sunday for Lebanon's 128 unicameral parliament seats has pitted contenders from the "March 14" forces that hold the current majority and are backed by the U.S., many Western countries and Arab "moderates" against a coalition of opposition groups dubbed "March 8" supported by Iran and Syria, with an undetermined number of independents possibly holding sway. Hezbollah's Al Manar TV sides with March 8 opposition faction (Asharq Al-Awsat) The nomenclature refers to dates in 2005 when pro-Syrian partisans flexed their muscles in a massive downtown Beirut rally March 8 only to be countered days later by anti-Syrian forces eager to shed 30 years of Syrian tutelage, a month after the car bombing of former prime minister Rafic Hariri , whose assassination caused a political earthquake. Among the March 14 activists who called for withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon was An-Nahar newspaper publisher-cum-legislator Gebran Tueni , who was also blown up in his car nine months later. Gebran Tueni slams Syria at March 14 rally (An-Nahar) Picking up his media and political mantle has been Tueni's 26-year-old daughter Nayla, whose determined streak of following in the footsteps of three newspaper generations, led her to seek her father's parliamentary seat, kept warm by her grandfather in the interim. Newspaper heiress and parliamentary contender Nayla Tueni (Abu-Fadil) Since 2005, Lebanese media have been on the warpath, supporting the causes of one political group or another. Since 2005, several vocal pro-March 14 journalists have been killed, injured, maimed, threatened and pressured. Journalists surveyed by Maharat have criticized their work situations and complained about the lack of freedom in their organizations. The beef was coupled by fear of retribution if they covered unsavory news ruffling certain parties' feathers. Such fears had led to increased self-censorship, it said. Other concerns included abysmal pay and benefits as well as lack of protection or support by the two main trade associations, the Press Federation and Journalists Union , run by repeatedly re-elected octogenarians clinging to power and derisively referred to by detractors as Jurassic Park. Journalists Union president Melhem Karam (Abu-Fadil) Press Federation president Mohammad Baalbaki (Rodriguez) Adding to the journalists' woes are print laws dating to the 1960s that hamper their work, leading Maharat to conclude the media were "partially free" and fell between its "free" and "not free" categories. Moreover, broadcast laws last amended in the 1990s reflect the country's political/religious divisions, and shrinking advertising revenues have forced media to seek funding from political benefactors with noted agendas. Lebanon's media have neglected their role and responsibility as spaces for freedom, instead becoming "the first tool of conflict among the political, religious, military, and financial forces," the report said. It noted that existing regulations also meant censorship of foreign media, jail terms for certain print crimes, the absence of freedom of information laws and a skewed process for appointment of the National Audiovisual Media Council's members, chosen mainly along sectarian lines. Separately, another report entitled "Behind the Scenes: Transparency in Lebanese Media Business Practices 2009" found certain outlets quite modern and well equipped, but few that had policies outlining business goals. Pro-March 14 cutting-edge Future TV News channel owned by slain premier Rafic Hariri's family (Abu-Fadil) Many media suffer from poor human resources, no written job descriptions, no organizational policies, no regular performance appraisals, and, rely heavily on part-timers, it said. Forty percent of Beirut-based media had no mission statement or organizational chart, claimed the report funded by Internews Network (www.internews.org) through a U.S. State Department grant. While about 45% of the organizations surveyed had over half their staffs made up of women, notably in broadcast media, few of the women were admitted into the male-dominated areas of political journalism. Interestingly, 29% of the organizations did not employ women. Politicians made up to a third of many media boards of directors and often used these outlets as tools to promote their platforms, influence public opinion and seek public support, it said. Of the outlets surveyed, 55% had marketing departments and 69% had sales divisions, but few adopted clear marketing strategies. In the preface, the report said most of the larger Lebanese media "proved to be very opaque and resistant towards revealing information about their internal operations and management." LBC's newsroom (Abu-Fadil) It singled out the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) , the country's leading TV company, partly owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed bin Talal , as being particularly secretive about its modus operandi. Prince Al Waleed bin Talal (Asharq Al-Awsat) The report's authors called for greater transparency, the introduction of proper management systems, and equal opportunities for women that lead to their promotion and ensure gender balance within media outlets. They further recommended the development of marketing departments, and establishment of company-wide intranet systems, where mostly none existed, "to enable better communication among employees and open access to needed information." More on Saudi Arabia
 
Stephen Zunes: Telling the Lebanese How to Vote Top
In recent visits to Lebanon, both Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made clear that the United States would react negatively if the March 8th Alliance -- a broad coalition of Islamist, Maronite, leftist, nationalist, and pan-Arabist parties -- won the upcoming parliamentary elections. These not-so-subtle threats have led to charges of U.S. interference in Lebanon's domestic affairs. What prompts U.S. concerns is that the largest member of this coalition is Hezbollah, the populist Shiite party which the United States considers to be a terrorist organization. As senators, both Biden and Clinton insisted that this diverse coalition was somehow controlled by Iran and/or Syria. In reality, there is little evidence to suggest that Syrian and Iranian influence on the populist Shia party and its allies is any greater than U.S. influence on some of Lebanon's other political factions. While the Iranians played a key role in the early development of Hezbollah's militia back in the early 1980s when it was fighting the Israeli occupation of the southern part of their country, the party has subsequently emerged as an independent and popular -- albeit in many respects fundamentalist and reactionary -- force and the only major party not tied to the elite families which have dominated Lebanese politics for generations. Such interference by top Obama administration officials has not been well-received by the Lebanese. Both Biden and Clinton were outspoken supporters of Israel's devastating 2006 military offensive in Lebanon, which took the lives of up to 800 civilians and caused billions of dollars of damage to the country's civilian infrastructure. Much of Israel's massive bombardments struck areas many miles from any Hezbollah military activities and ended up strengthening popular support for this extremist group beyond its base in the Shia community. Despite exhaustive empirical studies by Human Rights Watch and other groups which found no evidence that any of the civilian deaths were caused by Hezbollah using civilians as "human shields," both Clinton and Biden -- without providing any contradictory evidence -- have insisted that they did and have refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing by the Israeli government. Even moderate and secular Lebanese, who strongly opposed Hezbollah's provocative actions (used by the Israelis and their American supporters to launch the offensive), still harbor enormous resentment towards the Bush administration and those in Congress who supported this devastating war against their country. There is particular anger at Biden over his support for Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, which led to the deaths of up to 17,000 civilians, as well as his defense of the Israeli occupation of the southern part of that country and the shelling of nearby Lebanese towns and cities, which lasted until May of 2000. Many Lebanese -- including some of Hezbollah's bitterest opponents -- wonder why those like Clinton and Biden, who have defended foreign forces wreaking such death and destruction on their country, have any right to tell them how to vote. In addition, the United States has had a rather fickle history in its support of various factions in Lebanon's notoriously fratricidal politics. Indeed, the United States has a history of switching sides in terms of who it views as the bad guys and the good guys. For example, during the 1970s and 1980s, the United States backed right-wing, predominantly Maronite militias such as the Phalangists against the predominantly Druze Progressive Socialist Party. During the 1982-84 U.S. intervention in Lebanon, U.S. forces fought the Socialists directly, including launching heavy air and sea bombardments against Druze villages in the Shouf Mountains. Now, however, the U.S. supports the Socialists, who currently ally themselves with the pro-Western May 14th Alliance. Similarly, the United States supported the Shia Amal militia in 1985-86 when it was fighting armed Palestinian groups as well as in 1988 when Amal was fighting Hezbollah forces. Today, however, the United States is strongly opposed to Amal, now part of the March 8th alliance, acting as if they are one with Hezbollah. The United States supported Syria's initial military intervention in Lebanon back in 1976 as a means of suppressing leftist forces and their Palestinian allies. Similarly, the U.S. supported the bloody Syrian-instigated coup in late 1990 that consolidated Syria's political control of the country. Subsequently, however, the United States became a leading critic of Syria's domineering role of the country's government, which continued until a popular nonviolent uprising during the spring of 2005 forced a Syrian withdrawal from the country. In a more recent example, as part of a U.S. policy to support hard-line Sunni fundamentalist groups as a counter-weight to the growth of radical Shia movements in Iraq and Lebanon, the U.S. encouraged Lebanese parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri to provide amnesty for radical Salafi militants, who were released from jail. As such militants began causing problems in the northern city of Tripoli in 2006 from a base in a Palestinian refugee camp, however, the U.S. then backed a bloody Lebanese army crackdown. One of the most bizarre switches in U.S. allegiances involves former Lebanese Army General Michel Aoun, a Maronite, and his Free Patriotic Movement, the most popular Christian-led political group in the country. As an ally to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 1990, the United States gave a green light to the Syrians to have Aoun overthrown as interim Lebanese prime minister in a violent coup. Not long afterward, however, the United States then switched sides to support Aoun and oppose the Syrians and their supporters. As recently as 2003, Aoun was feted by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies - a neo-conservative group with close ties with the Bush administration, which includes among its leaders Newt Gingrich, James Woolsey, Jack Kemp, and Richard Perle, as well as Democratic Senators Charles Schumer and Joseph Lieberman. The group declared him a champion of freedom and democracy. Aoun won similar praise from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress when he testified that year before the House International Relations Committee. Soon after his return to Lebanon from exile, however, Aoun became one of the most outspoken opponents of the U.S.-backed political leaders and parties which dominate the current Lebanese government and he and his movement are now allied with Hezbollah in the March 8th Alliance. Not surprisingly, he is now considered once again to be one of the bad guys. If history has proven anything, the United States has little to gain and much to potentially lose in taking sides in Lebanon. It would behoove President Barack Obama to keep hawks like Clinton and Biden on a short leash and allow the Lebanese people to determine their own destiny. More on Barack Obama
 
Jim Luce: In Sri Lanka: A Poem of Commemoration Top
Colombo. The 26-year conflict between the Sri Lankan government and terrorist forces known as the Tamil Tigers has just ended ten days ago in Sri Lanka's Northern Province. Already there is art being created about its dramatic conclusion. Below is a poem printed in the last few days in the Colombo press: Into This Water, Let Us Sow Last week, across the lagoon, waded the sea of innocents; Blood-spattered, salt-drenched, in fragments of flaming saris, shards of red-splotched sarongs. Now, as the black smoke rises in the distance from silent guns, On this water, lulling in the wind, float scraps of A history of death and twenty-six years of hatred, Bits of shattered ideology, blasted bone. Into this water, let us sow. We will search every inch of this island For the seeds of a different lotus; Find it where thin rays of forgetfulness and magnanimity Have coaxed fragile sprouts, glistening, sun green. Into this water, let us sow. And these seeds will weather this salt lagoon bed Still the risen soil, clear the red waves And spread their hollow tubers and grow. To bloom and bloom, this many-petalled lotus, So easily made rotten with bigotry Crushed by the burden of association, We will make anew, this salinated home. Into this water, let us sow. May this lagoon fill with thousands of flowers swaying, Lilting and gasping for light and air, covering the table, Turning it into a different alter - rewriting its own purpose. Into this water, let us sow. Let us sow and hold our breath. - Ramya Chamalie Hirasinghe, May 19, 2009 Close to 100,000 people died in this three-decade long battle. May the healing begin through reconciliation, and may the arts play a large role in the recovery.
 
Richard Schiff: SAG - Just Say No? Top
I am far away from the fray. In London working for beans on toast and about to take another film here. As I contemplate the upcoming SAG contract vote I can't help but see the irony that this next film's subject is the 1968 women's strike for equal pay at the Dagenham Ford Motor plant. This movement began as just a job grade increase request whereby the women wanted to be deemed as skilled workers so they would get the relative pay increase accompanying such a classification. It snowballed into the first job action and strike for women's equal pay and led to a fundamental shift in the way women were treated in the work place world-wide. England at the time was an economic disaster waiting to happen. Millions of workers went on strike every year trying to pound out a living wage and the environment was growing increasingly anti labor. So why was this women's strike effective? Because no one could deny the fundamental fairness of the women's position. Even as Ford shut down all production so as to incite the men to corral their female counterparts, the movement garnered its strength from the undeniable reality that they were on the right side of morality. That's not to say that the gains were easily won; that unity was a foregone conclusion; that fellow union rank and filers weren't antagonistic and combative; that fear of lost jobs and broken intra-union marriages weren't colossal obstacles. These women united in force through and despite the army of opposition and the clamors for common sense and reasonable capitulation for the sake of the plant, the industry and the country. SAG members are hearing these same arguments as we contemplate this new albeit regressive contract. "The industry can't afford another strike." "The fall off for all other unions and support industries would be devastating to the local economy." And most significantly: "This is no time to strike; we all can't afford it." What was the devastating effect on the Ford Dagenham plant strike? The plant is still there 40 years later and has thrived as one of Ford's most successful operations overseas or anywhere. Ford has been able to hold to solid share of the European market as a result and continues to be the most innovative of the American car companies recently creating a 70MPG diesel engine for the European Ford Fiesta (developed at Dagenham.) It is the only major American car company not beholden to tax payers for their survival and is the strongest amongst them looking forward. The Dagenham plant is the only industrial plant left in London proper. What a disaster! There isn't a producer in Hollywood or an actor in SAG supportive of this contract who can look you in the eye and keep a straight face while telling you this contract is fair and right. It isn't. But it's up to SAG members to go on the website and read for themselves and judge accordingly. I dare you to do that and then conclude that it is fair to give away our future in new media; to compromise our marketability with product placement enforcement; to let our hard work go wasted with erosion of residuals for past work; and on and on. SAG members supportive of the contract accuse their opponents of wanting a strike. That is similar to the tactic of the so-called pro-lifers who have named their opponents "pro abortion." There is no such thing as pro abortion. No one wants an abortion to ever have to happen -- it is a last resort that some believe should be the sole right of the woman to decide. There is no such thing as a pro striker. No one wants to have anyone suffer through the sacrifices and stress of a strike for themselves or all the collateral damage caused by it. But it is basic negotiation 101 that a union cannot negotiate with confidence without a unified rank and file. Schisms and splits have cursed our union for too long. The supporters of this contract have been undermining unity, from what I noticed personally at meetings, starting six months prior to the beginning of the negotiation process. Union members will remember an email campaign and subsequent meetings that called for disenfranchising thousands of SAG members because they didn't meet what was basically an arbitrary standard for "being a real actor." I went to one of these meetings and asked what the standard should be. Their reply would have relegated me without a vote for half of my career. Mind you, I see the validity in their argument on principle and I think "staked members" as they called them may be at an unfair advantage when votes are counted because issues are different for the various tiers (for lack of a better word) of membership. So let's address that sometime down the road. But engaging in a viral campaign that splits the union right before the onset of negotiations for the most important contract of our time? Really? No wonder Nick Counter and the producers were so easy and smug in their dismissals of reasonable demands. All they had to do was read the emails to know that the union was hopelessly paralyzed and split. Ford Dagenham's auto workers were also violently split yet the right path emerged from the infighting and a unified front resulted in victory. So the argument comes down to: "Is this really the right time?" "Can the industry survive?" It is only at times of economic stress that union action can be effective. In our country the economically depressed 1930's proved to be the most fruitful for the emergence of unions and a subsequent growth of the middle class. The entertainment industry has been bought out and taken over by goliath corporations. Oddly, these entertainment subsidiaries are likely to be the only aspect of these giants to be in profit at this time. Corporations can't afford another shut down -- even two years ago I don't think that was true since all other parts of the giant were more healthy and profitable and a shutdown in Hollywood had no great effect on their bigger bottom line. Not so anymore! Now, at last and at least, the playing field is even. Both sides cannot afford a strike. So it comes down to who is more courageous and who is willing to fight for a right cause. If this were a western, we'd win the gunfight. If this was an intelligent western -- the bad guy would walk away knowing he can't possibly draw first. And who knows, perhaps in the aftermath the industry will stop destroying itself and maybe 40 years hence we will be as lucky as the Ford Motor Company in Dagenham, England.
 
Stephen Zunes: The U.S. and the Afghan Tragedy Top
In making what administration officials themselves have acknowledged will be profoundly difficult choices about Afghanistan in the coming years, it will be important to understand how that country -- and, by extension, the United States -- has found itself in this difficult situation of a weak and corrupt central government, a resurgent Taliban, and increasing violence and chaos in the countryside. Many Americans are profoundly ignorant of history, even regarding distant countries where the United States finds itself at war. One need not know much about Afghanistan's rich and ancient history, however, to learn some important lessons regarding the tragic failures of U.S. policy toward that country during the past three decades. The Soviet Union invaded in December 1979, after the Afghan people rose up against two successive communist regimes that seized power in violent coup d'etats in 1978 and 1979. The devastating aerial bombing and counterinsurgency operations led to more than six million Afghans fleeing into exile, most of them settling into refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan. The United States, with the assistance of Pakistan's Islamist military dictatorship, found their allies in some of the more hard-line resistance movements, at the expense of some very rational enlightened Afghans from different fields and aspect of life. The United States sent more than $8 billion to Pakistani military dictator Zia al-Huq, who dramatically increased the size of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) to help support Afghan mujahedeen in their battle against the Soviets and their puppet government. Their goal, according to the late Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was "to radicalize the influence of religious factions within Afghanistan." The ISI helped channel this American money, and billions more from oil-rich American allies, from the Gulf region to extremists within the Afghan resistance movement. Extremist Education The Reagan administration sensed the most hard-line elements of the resistance were less likely to reach negotiated settlements, but the goal was to cripple the Soviet Union, not free the Afghan people. Recognizing the historically strong role of Islam in Afghan society, they tried to exploit it to advance U.S. policy goals. Religious studies along militaristic lines were given more importance than conventional education in the school system for Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The number of religious schools (madrassas) educating Afghans rose from 2,500 in 1980 at the start of Afghan resistance to over 39,000. The United States encouraged the Saudis to recruit Wahhabist ideologues to come join the resistance and teach in refugee institutes. While willing to contribute billions to the war effort, the United States was far less generous in providing refugees with funding for education and other basic needs, which was essentially outsourced to the Saudis and the ISI. Outside of some Western non-governmental organizations like the International Rescue Committee, secular education was all but unavailable for the millions of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. None of these projects could match the impact the generous funding for religious education and scholarships to Islamic schools in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. As a result, the only education that became available was religious indoctrination, primarily of the hard-line Wahhabi tradition. The generous funding of religious institutions during wartime made it the main attraction of free education, clothing, and boarding for poor refugee children. Out of these madrassas came the talibs (students), who later became the Taliban. This was no accident. It seemed that such policies were intentionally initiated that way to drag young Afghans towards extremism and war, and to be well prepared not only to fight a war of liberation, but to fight the foes and rivals of foreigners at the expense of Afghan destruction and blood. And the indoctrination and resulting radicalization of Afghan youth that later formed the core of the Taliban wasn't simply from outsourcing but was directly supported by the U.S. government as well, such as through textbooks issued by the U.S. Agency for International Development for refugee children between 1986 and 1992, which were designed to encourage such militancy. Often mathematics and other basic subjects were sacrificed altogether in favor of full-time religious and indoctrination. Sardar Ghulam Nabi, an elementary school teacher in a Peshawar refugee camp, stated that he was discouraged by the school administration to teach Afghan history to Afghan refugee children, since most of the concentration and emphasis was placed on religious studies rather than other subjects. This focus on a rigid religious indoctrination at the expense of other education is particularly ironic since, while the Afghans have tended to be devout and rather conservative Muslims, they hadn't previously been inclined to embrace the kind of fanatic Wahhabi-influenced fundamentalism that dominated Islamic studies in the camps. It seemed during the Afghan wars that no one cared and valued Afghan lives. Afghans became the subject of struggle between different rival and competing ideologies. The foreign backers of Afghanistan didn't care about the impact and consequences of their policies for the future of Afghanistan. Milt Bearden, the former CIA station chief in Islamabad, Pakistan during the Afghan-Soviet war, commented that "the United States was fighting the Soviets to the last Afghan." According to Sonali Kolhatkar, in her book Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence , some in the United States saw the Soviet invasion as a "gift." Zbigniew Brzezinski, former President Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor, even claimed that the United States helped provoke the Soviet invasion by arming the mujahideen beforehand, noting how "we did not push the Russians to intervene but we knowingly increased the probability that they would." Once they did, he wrote to Carter, "We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam War." Professor Hassan Kakar, a renowned Afghan historian formerly of Kabul University now exiled in California after spending time in a Afghan prison during the communist era, notes in his book how the competition between the Afghan left and right had been previously confined to a verbal debate, comparable to those taking place in intellectual and other politicized circles in other developing countries during the late Cold War period. With the invasion of Soviet troops and the U.S. backing of the mujaheddin, however, it took the shape of direct armed conflict. The conflict evolved into open confrontation backed by the two Cold War rivals and other regional powers. Afghanistan was split and divided into different ideological groups, resulting in bloodshed, killing, destruction, suffering, and hatred among Afghans. A whole generation of Afghan children grew up knowing nothing of life but bombings that destroyed their homes, killed their loved ones, and drove them to seek refuge over the borders. As a result, they became easy prey to those willing to raise them to hate and to fight. These children, caught in the midst of competing extremist ideologies from all sides, learned to kill each other and destroy their country for the interests of others. Most Afghans with clear vision and strategic insight were deliberately marginalized by outside supporters of the Afghan radicalization process. Members of the Afghan intelligentsia who maintained their Afghan character in face of foreign ideologies and were therefore difficult to manipulate were threatened, eliminated, and in some cases forced into exile. One was Professor Sayed Bahauddin Majrooh, a renowned Afghan writer, poet, and visionary. Another was Aziz-ur-Rahman Ulfat, the author of Political Games , a book that criticized the politics of the U.S.-backed Afghan resistance movements based in Pakistan. Both were among the many who were assassinated as part of the effort to silence voices of reason and logic. The Hezb-e-Islami faction, a relatively small group among the resistance to the Soviets and their Afghan allies, received at least 80% of U.S. aid. According to Professor Barnett Rubin's testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, the militia -- led by the notorious Gulbuddin Hekmatyar -- conducted a "reign of terror against insufficiently Islamic intellectuals" in the refugee camps of Pakistan. Despite all this, Rubin further noted how "both the ISI and CIA considered him a useful tool for shaping the future of Central Asia." Assassinations of Afghan intellectuals deprived Afghan refugees of enlightened visionaries who would have represented the balanced Afghan character of religious faith, cultural traditions, and modern education. What these early victims of extremist violence had in common was opposition to the radicalization and hijacking of the Afghan struggle for purposes other than Afghan self-determination. The Afghan resistance to the Soviets was a nationalist uprising that included intellectuals, students, farmers, bureaucrats, and shopkeepers as well as people from all the country's diverse ethnic groups. Their purpose was the liberation of their country, not the subjugation and radicalization of their society by bloodthirsty fanatics. Some Afghan field commanders with clear conscience and strategic insight also took a different approach than radical Afghan leaders supported by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia who -- with U.S. acquiescence -- sought to replace hard-line communist puppets with hard-line Islamist puppets. Abdul Haq Among these was the legendary Afghan resistance leader Abdul Haq. He realized that the Afghans' legitimate struggle for their independence and self-determination was being intentionally dragged towards fanatical indoctrination for the interests of others. In a letter to The New York Times he wrote , "We started our struggle with the full support and determination of our people and will continue regardless of the wishes or commands of others. We don't want to be an American or Soviet puppet...I would like you to be with us as a friend, not as somebody pulling the strings. The struggle of our nation is for the establishment of a system that assures human rights, social justice and peace. This system does not threaten any nation." Haq openly criticized the United States and its allies' support for extremists among the resistance through the Pakistani government, warning U.S. officials of the dire consequences of such support for the radicalization of Afghan society through the support for extremists. In a 1994 interview with the Times , he warned that terrorists from all over the world were finding shelter in his increasingly chaotic country and that Afghanistan "is turning into poison and not only for us but for all others in the world. Maybe one day the Americans will have to send hundreds of thousands of troops to deal with it." Noting that Afghanistan had been a graveyard for both the British and Russians, he expressed concerns that soon American soldiers could be flying home in body bags due to Washington's support for extremists during the Afghan-Soviet War during the 1980s and then abandoning the country following the Communist government's overthrow in 1992. Preference for Extremists In a 2006 interview on the PBS documentary "The Return of the Taliban," U.S. Special Envoy to the Afghan Resistance Peter Tomsen observed how the leadership of the Pakistani army " wanted to favor Gulbuddin Hekmatyar with seventy percent of the American weapons coming into the country, but the ISI and army leadership's game plan was to put Hekmatyar top down in Kabul, even though he was viewed by the great majority of Afghans -- it probably exceeded 90 percent -- of being a Pakistani puppet, as unacceptable as the Soviet puppets that were sitting in Kabul during the communist period. However, that was what the [Pakistani] generals wanted to create: a strategic Islamic [ally] with a pro-Pakistani Afghan in charge in Kabul." Hekmatyar was extremely useful to Pakistan not only because he was rabidly anticommunist, but also because -- unlike most other mujahideen leaders less favored by Washington -- he wasn't an Afghan nationalist, and was willing to support the agenda of hard-line Pakistani military and intelligence leaders. Pakistan's support for radical Muslim domination has been in part for keeping the long-running territorial dispute with Afghanistan over Pashtun areas suppressed. Islamist radicals like Hekmatyar, Burhanuddin Rabbani, and later the Taliban mullahs tended to de-emphasize state borders in favor of uniting with the Muslim Umma (community of believers) wherever it may be -- in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir, the Middle East, or Central Asia. Many State Department officials were wary of U.S. support for Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Kelly was quoted as saying that Hekmatyar "is a person who has vehemently attacked the United States on a number of issues.... I think he is a person with whom we do not need to have or should not have much trust." However, even when the State Department -- over CIA objections -- succeeded in cutting back on U.S. support for Hezb-e-Islami, U.S. ally Saudi Arabia would then increase its aid and, with CIA assistance, recruited thousands of Arab volunteers to join the fight, including a young Saudi businessman named Osama bin Laden. The renowned journalist Ahmed Rashid stated in his book the Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia that "CIA chief William Casey committed CIA support to a long-standing ISI initiative to recruit radical Muslims from around the world to come to Pakistan and fight with the Afghan Mujahideen. The ISI had encouraged this since 1982 and by now all the other players had their reasons for supporting the idea. President Zia aimed to cement Islamic unity, turn Pakistan into the leader of the Muslim world and foster an Islamic opposition in Central Asia. Washington wanted to demonstrate that the entire Muslim world was fighting the Soviets Union alongside the Afghans and their American benefactors. And the Saudis saw an opportunity both to promote Wahabbism and get rid of its disgruntled radicals...which would eventually turn their hatred against the Soviets on their own regimes and the Americans." After having their country largely destroyed and its social fabric torn apart as pawns in a Cold War rivalry, the Soviets were finally forced out in 1989 and the communist regime was overthrown two years later. While Hizb-e-Islami and other U.S. and Pakistani-backed groups weren't truly representative of the Afghan people, they had become the best-armed as a result of their foreign support. Wanting power for themselves, they soon turned the capital city of Kabul into rubble as the remaining infrastructure surviving from the Soviet-Afghan war was destroyed by a senseless civil war. Afghanistan became a failed state. In the three years following the fall of the Communist regime, at least 25,000 civilians were killed in Kabul by indiscriminate shelling by Hezb-e-Islami and other factions. There was no proper functioning government. Educational institutions, from elementary schools to university buildings, weren't spared in the violence. Most of the teachers and students again joined refugees in the neighboring countries. The chaos and suffering created
 
Mad Avenue Blues (VIDEO) Top
It's not just Wall Street that's been hit hard by the economic collapse, Madison Avenue is also in trouble. Sung to Don McLean's "American Pie," this 19 stanza song explores the "year the media died." WATCH:
 
Specter Draws Cheers, Hecklers At Labor Rally Top
PITTSBURGH — Sen. Arlen Specter told Pennsylvania's Democratic leaders Saturday he's "pleased and proud" to be back in the party he left shortly after launching his political career more than four decades ago. "I'm no longer a Republican in name only. I'm again a Democrat," the fifth term senator said in an introductory speech to the Democratic State Committee at a downtown hotel. Specter's speech capped two days of speechmaking and socializing in which the atmosphere of party unity that Gov. Ed Rendell and state party Chairman T.J. Rooney sought was clouded only by a small union rally and low-key campaigning by prospective Specter challengers in the 2010 primary. Specter said his immigrant parents were FDR Democrats, and that he was a JFK Democrat who stayed in the party until after he was elected won his first elective office _ Philadelphia district attorney _ on the Republican ticket in 1965. He said he enrolled in the GOP after the general election. In a speech punctuated frequently by applause, he ticked off a list of issues _ increases in the minimum wage, abortion rights, environmental protection, stem-cell research _ on which he has voted with the Democrats even though he was a Republican. "It is really my independence that has made me strong, made me better able to represent Pennsylvania, to deliver for Pennsylvania and strong enough to come back to the party," he said. At a Friday night dinner honoring the late Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, Rendell said Specter "has voted and acted to support the constituencies that we care about" during his 29 years in the Senate. He said the senator showed courage in casting one of three GOP votes for the $787 economic stimulus package. "He cast the vote knowing that it would put his political career in peril," the governor said. At an AFL-CIO rally outside the hotel Saturday morning, Specter drew cheers and scattered catcalls when he told the crowd of more than 200 people that he is working with organized labor to try to reach a compromise on a bill that would make it easier for workers to form unions. "I'm committed to find an answer which will satisfy you," he told the crowd. Specter had publicly opposed the measure before switching to the Democratic Party in April. Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Bill George reminded the demonstrators that Specter has often been on their side on many issues important to labor. "Over the years we've had our ups and downs with Arlen Specter, but I have to tell you, on a lot of bread and butter issues (important) to organized labor ... he was there," George said. More on Arlen Specter
 

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