US, allies wage economic war on Iran

The havoc hitting Iran’s national finances should leave no-one under any illusions. The country is facing economic warfare from the US and its European allies. In financial terms, it is equivalent to attacking the country with a weapon of mass destruction.

The disruption and hardship being inflicted on Iranian citizens is criminal and unspeakably callous. But let’s make no mistake: the suffering of Iranian people is the direct result of conscious decisions being made in Washington, London and Brussels. These sanctions on Iran’s oil and banking industries are outrageous acts of aggression based on specious and malicious claims about the country’s legally entitled civilian nuclear development. The sanctions are unwarranted, criminal acts of war and crimes against humanity, initiated by Washington and its Western lackey governments.

It is important to understand the source of aggression. Recently, some commentators and analysts have overplayed the rift between Washington and Israel with regard to Iran. Some have taken delight at the rebuffs issued to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the White House. When US President Barack Obama declined to grant Netanyahu a personal meeting at the White House during the UN summit last week, some commentators interpreted this as another slap from Washington to Israel over its belligerence towards Iran. There was even a hint of hope that the White House is as last coming to its senses about Netanyahu’s nuttiness.

Other commentators have lamented the supposed excessive influence of Tel Aviv on American government foreign policy. In this view, the reason why America is so hated around the world is because of Zionists hijacking Washington’s foreign policy in general and towards Iran in particular.

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Last Western Detainee at Gitmo?

...Returns to Canada

Published on Sep 29, 2012 by AssociatedPress : The last Western detainee held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay returned to Canada Saturday after a decade in custody following his capture in Afghanistan at age 15 after being wounded in a firefight with U.S. soldiers, officials said.

A British Guy still there : Who am I - Do You Know Me?

Published on Jul 29, 2012 by SaveShaker : Shaker Aamer, The Last Londoner in Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Cleared for release in 2007 but still held without trial.

Rumours of Aafia Siddiqui death unfounded

Rumours of the death of Aafia Siddiqui, for now, are not true but how long before rumours become reality?

Disturbing rumours circulated  recently suggesting that Dr Aafia Siddiqui (picture) has died are mercifully not true. However, the family are asking supporters of Aafia, despite the pain and relief they have felt over the past few days, to use this opportunity to remember their sister and daughter.

Aafia's sister Fawzia Siddiqui told CagePrisoners' Yvonne Ridley:

"The rumours have been very distressing and my mother heard about it before we could verify that Aafia was unharmed. She has been unwell but now that the prison has confirmed that she is alive we've asked for a direct telephone call to at least speak with her.

 "The rumours began in the UK and I would ask people not to spread anymore rumours about Aafia. If they hear something they should contact us through the family website first. But hopefully they will use this opportunity to download our Independence Day postcard and mail it to her now."

 * Details of the family's postcard campaign can be found here.

The address to write to Aafia is:

 

AAFIA SIDDIQUI # 90279-054

FMC CARSWELL

FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTER

P.O. BOX 27137

FORT WORTH, TX 76127

U.S.A

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Palestinian Loss of Land 1946 to 2011:

Legal expert counts 469 (illegal) settlements in occupied West Bank and Jerusalem

A Palestinian expert in international law has revealed that the number of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is now 469, of which 29 are in Jerusalem. The settlements outside the Holy City house more than 500,000 Jewish settlers. All settlements in occupied territory are regarded as illegal under international law.

Dr. Hanna Issa pointed out that about 9,500 Jews have settled in the Jordan Valley, putting pressure on the 65,000 Palestinians who are the rightful owners of the land. The valley represents 29 per cent of the West Bank, with an area of almost 6,000 square kilometres. “Israel is investing four and a half billion dollars a year in the occupied Jordan Valley,” he revealed.

The number of Israeli settlements in occupied Jerusalem is now 29, he added, which are inhabited by 350,000 illegal settlers. Sixteen of these settlements have been annexed unilaterally by Israel in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians Authority considers to be the capital of a future State of Palestine within the borders of June 1967.

“Settlements are spreading everywhere, threatening the Palestinian presence,” said Issa. “They split Palestinian territory into cantons.”

Ongoing settlement activity has accelerated under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Palestinian Authority insists on a total freeze of settlement building before peace negotiations can resume.

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Gitmo : A Decade of Injustice - UK

Published on Sep 10, 2012 by journeymanpictures : Shaker Aamer has been held in Guantanamo Bay since 2002. He's a legal UK resident, married to a British national, with four children. He's also yet to face trial or be charged. So why is he still behind bars?

Through conversations with activists and former detainees, this film paints a picture of Aamer and his extraordinary situation; from the injustices he has endured to what his life has involved for the last decade. From Bagram to Guantanamo Bay, his story illustrates the "unlawful" measures that the US and UK governments continue to use to justify their War on Terror, "ignoring international law, Geneva conventions, and their own Constitution."

Guantanamo inmate dies at US-run military detention facility

File photo shows a detainee with guards at the US-run prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The US military has announced that a detainee at the Guantanamo Bay military prison has died over the weekend.

The US Southern Command, in a statement issued on Monday, said that the inmate was found "unconscious and unresponsive" by guards on Saturday during a routine check, AFP reported. 

It added, “After extensive lifesaving measures had been performed, the detainee was pronounced dead by a physician." 

The Southern Command, however, did not disclose the name and nationality of the prisoner. 

It noted that the detainee's remains will be brought home once an autopsy is complete. 

“As is standard procedure, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has initiated an investigation of the incident to determine the cause and manner surrounding the death,” the command said. 

The US detainment facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was established in 2002 by the Bush administration. Almost 800 detainees have been brought to the prison camp since October 7, 2001, when Washington began the war on Afghanistan. 

A total of 1,100 US army and navy personnel are reportedly engaged in guarding the detainees held in nine separate camps at Guantanamo. 

International Red Cross inspectors and released detainees alike have described various acts of torture, including extensive use of waterboarding, sleep deprivation, beatings and confinement in small, cold cells. 

One of the allegations of abuse at the US camp is the abuse of the religion of the detainees. 

According to Amnesty International, of the 173 men held at Guantanamo Bay only three had been convicted under a military commission system, "which failed to meet international fair trial standards." 

"Military commission proceedings were conducted in a handful of cases, and the only Guantanamo detainee so far transferred to the US mainland for prosecution in a federal court was tried and convicted,” the international non-governmental organization pointed out. 

Upon taking office, Obama signed an executive order to stop military commissions in order to close down the facility by 2010. However, this has not happened yet. 

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Libya: Former intelligence chief must be surrendered immediately to ICC

Abdullah al-Senussi, military intelligence chief for Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi, should have been surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of crimes against humanity, Amnesty International said today amid reports that Mauritanian authorities had extradited him to Libya. 

In June 2011, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for al-Senussi, as well as Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, on two counts of crimes against humanity – murder and persecution – allegedly committed in the eastern Libyan port city of Benghazi in February 2011.

Al-Senussi had been in Mauritanian custody since March 2012, when he was arrested at the airport in Mauritania’s capital Nouakchott.

In July, Mauritania’s Minister of Justice asserted to Amnesty International that al-Senussi had entered the country illegally and was being held in good conditions. He added that the Mauritanian government was considering extradition requests made by Libya and France and the surrender request by the ICC. It has not been possible to determine whether he has had access to a lawyer, an independent doctor of his own choice and ICC staff.

“Instead of extraditing Abdullah al-Senussi back to Libya, where he faces an unfair trial and the death penalty for ordinary crimes under national law, Mauritania should have given precedence to the ICC’s surrender request – he should face the charges of crimes against humanity against him in fair proceedings,” said Marek Marczyński, International Justice Research, Policy and Campaign Manager at Amnesty International.

“If the extradition reports are confirmed, the decision to send him to Libya – with its weak justice system and inadequate fair-trial guarantees – will inevitably delay justice for victims and could lead to violations of al-Senussi's rights to a fair trial.

“The ICC arrest warrant for al-Senussi remains in force and Libya has an obligation to surrender him without delay to The Hague.” 

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America's deadly leftovers?

Female bomb clearance teams created in Laos

Published on Sep 2, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish : During the Vietnam War, the US dropped millions of cluster bombs on Laos.Forty years on, an estimated 80 million remain buried and unexploded - posing a risk to anyone who goes near them.

Now, 50 women have joined teams of the Mine Action Group, MAG, to clear as many as they can.The decision to have three of its 14 teams led entirely by women is also a financial one, as the work helps elevate the women's position in society.

Code Pink Challenges John Brennan on US Drone Warfare

Published on May 1, 2012 by TheUncannyNSP : Code Pink Activist Medea Benjamin speaks out against civilian causalties and human rights violations before John Brennan,Obama's chief counter terrorism advisor.

U.S. Justice Department Has Failed to Hold CIA Accountable for Torture in Detention

Contact: Suzanne Trimel, strimel@aiusa.org, 212-633-4150, @strimel

(New York) – Amnesty International USA Executive Director Suzanne Nossel made the following comments today in response to the Justice Department’s announcement that it closed the investigation into the CIA’s torture and abuse of detainees, without bringing charges.

“The continued failure to hold accountable all of those responsible for well documented cases of torture and other abuses is now a stain on two administrations -- and itself a crime. Those responsible must be punished. The failure to do so is a striking blow against justice and human rights. The Attorney General noted that the decision to close the investigation ‘was not intended to, and does not resolve, broader questions regarding the propriety of the examined conduct.’

But when will those ‘broader questions’ be addressed? And when will the U.S. government meet its international human rights obligations to ensure accountability for torture and other crimes under international law? There must be a full and impartial investigation, prosecutions where warranted, and remedy and redress for victims. Failure to ensure accountability for torture and other crimes is itself a violation of international law."

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

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Rachel Corrie (pic) Among First in Long Line of Foreign Rights Activists Murdered, Maimed by IDF

Source: Richard Silverstein

 The list belowwas compiled by the Institute for Middle East Understanding and lists foreign peace activists brutally maimed or murdered by the IDF over the past nine years.  It’s a list of ignominy.  It should also be noted that hundreds of Palestinian activists have been similarly maimed or murdered in the same period under similar circumstances at anti-Occupation protest rallies throughout the West Bank:

May 15, 2011 – 22-year-old Palestinian-American student Munib Masri is shot in the back with live ammunition by Israeli soldiers along the Lebanon border while he participates in a march to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Nakba, the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes during the establishment of Israel. The bullet destroys Masri’s left kidney and spleen and broke apart in his spine. He remains in a wheelchair.

May 1, 2011 – 60-year-old American citizen Sandra Quintano suffers two broken wrists and a laceration to her head after being assaulted by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank village of Izbet al-Tabib during a peaceful demonstration against the construction of Israel’s wall, which will cut off villagers’ access to their land.

June 2010 - At a demonstration at the Qalandiya checkpoint in the occupied West Bank in 2010, 21-year-old American artist and student Emily Henochowicz is hit in the face by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli border police. The force of the impact fractures her jaw and orbital bone and causes the loss of her left eye.

May 2010 – American citizen Furkan Dogan is shot and killed by Israeli commandos who forcibly commandeer the boat he’s traveling on in international waters as part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Dogan is shot multiple times in his leg, foot, back, and twice to the head. A United Nations investigation concludes that he and five of the other victims have been shot “execution-style” at close range, finding that Furkan had been shot in the face after “lying on the deck in a conscious or semi-conscious, state for some time.”

March 2009 – Oakland native and nonviolent International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist Tristan Anderson is shot in the face with a high-velocity tear-gas canister by Israeli forces while participating in a demonstration against a section of the wall Israel is building on land belonging to the town of Ni’lin in the occupied West Bank. Anderson suffers multiple fractures to his skull, a severe injury to the frontal lobe of his brain, and a collapsed eye socket, causing him to lose sight in his right eye. He spends more than a year in a Tel Aviv hospital recovering before returning to the US, where he continues to suffer the effects of his injury and is confined to a wheelchair.

May 2003 – British cameraman James Miller is shot and killed by Israeli troops while filming in Gaza. According to witnesses, there is no other shooting or violent activity in the area at the time Miller is killed. 

April 11, 2003 – A week after American ISM member Brian Avery is shot in the face and seriously wounded by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, British ISM member Tom Hurndall is shot in the head by Israeli soldiers in Gaza while he attempts to help a group of Palestinian children to safety after Israeli soldiers began shooting in the vicinity. After nearly a year in a coma, Hurndall dies in January 2004. Following pressure from the British government and Hurndall’s family, the Israeli army laid charges of manslaughter against a soldier who confessed to the shooting. However critics says the soldier, who is a Bedouin Arab, is a scapegoat for a series of violent attacks on foreign activists by Israeli soldiers. 

April 5, 2003 – American citizen and ISM volunteer Brian Avery is shot in the face by Israeli soldiers in the city of Jenin in the West Bank. Lucky to survive, Avery undergoes a series of facial reconstruction surgeries and suffers severe facial scarring. After initially refusing to investigate the incident, the Israeli government subsequently agrees to an out of court settlement paying Avery $175,000. 

March 16, 2003 – 23-year-old Washington State native and ISM volunteerRachel Corrie is run over and killed by an Israeli military bulldozer while trying to prevent the destruction of Palestinian homes in the town of Rafah in Gaza.

The Occupation is unsustainable.  It must end.  These individuals and all who protest it, especially under the brutal watch of the Israeli security forces, are heroes. The IDF (and Border Police) are murderers.  They kill civilians.  Unarmed civilians.  Who protest for justice and human rights.  This is not a defensive army as its name implies, but an army that defends theft and dispossession.  Shame.

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France opens Arafat murder investigation

Published on Aug 28, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish : The death of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is now the subject of a murder investigation.

It follows an Al Jazeera documentary which revealed high levels of Polonium-210 on his clothing, the same radioactive element that killed former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko. Arafat died in a military hospital near Paris in 2004, aged 75.

French prosecutors opened the investigation after a complaint lodged by Arafat's widow Suha.

STD experiment victims to appeal lawsuit

Published on Aug 19, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish : Guatemalan victims of medical experiments conducted by American researchers have said they will appeal against a recent decision to dismiss their lawsuit. More than 1,300 people were infected with sexually transmitted diseases in the 1940s without their knowledge.

Families of Iran's murdered nuclear scientists sue Israel, US and Britain

Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, one of five Iranian nuclear scientists murdered since 2010, with his son Alireza. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The families of murdered Iranian nuclear scientists have filed a lawsuit against Israel, the US and the UK, accusing them of involvement in assassination.

Rahim Ahmadi Roshan, whose son, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility,was killed in a bomb attack in January, told a press conference in Tehran that the families had asked Iran's judiciary to pursue their complaint through international bodies and bring those behind the killings to justice.

"We've filed an indictment against the Zionist regime and the arrogant powers," Roshan said. The judiciary "is to pursue this case with the relevant international bodies", he added.

Iran's state television broadcast purported confessions this month by 14 suspects in connection with the killing of five nuclear scientists since 2010. The channel showed pictures from a military barracks which it said was a training camp outside Tel Aviv in Israel where the suspects took courses, including on how to place magnetic bombs on cars – the method used in the killing of the scientists.

The suspects also acknowledged in the purported confessions that they received training in Israel.

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US move with impunity in Somalia?

Los Angeles Times: US behind Somalia fighting

Published on Aug 3, 2012 by PressTVGlobalNews : The Los Angeles Times in a report published earlier this week said that the US administration is the driving force behind the fighting in Somalia.