Living with the genie
Julie Flint
August 4, 2006 11:13 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/julie_flint/2006/08/julie_flint.html
It's no joke. In addition to being bombed with bombs - bombs that go
bang, big-time - the Lebanese are being bombed with cartoons. The aim
is poor, and so are the cartoons - the work, according to the Israeli
newspaper Ha'aretz, of a 20-year-old civilian "with a punk hairstyle"
who is the "secret weapon" of one of Israel's military intelligence
departments.
Let's hope she improves with age.
Nice one, George
Terry Jones
August 4, 2006 09:54 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/terry_jones/2006/08/armageddonists_of_t=
he_world_un.html
Those of us who have long been supporters of Armageddon have naturally
been greatly cheered by way the president of the United States has been
embracing our cause. Our desire to bring chaos, death and destruction
to a greater swathe of humanity has, in the past, often been frustrated
by peacemakers and do-gooders of all shades of the political spectrum.
For too long, our aspirations have been derided and criticised. In
fact, to be blunt, for more than two millennia we have had to put up
with opprobrium and vilification, but now all that will be a thing of
the past, for in George Bush we have found an ally - indeed, we have
found a leader. A man who is prepared to place himself at the head of
the forces of destruction and misery, and who is unafraid of the
opinion of the rest of the world.
We must not fail Lebanon
John Williams
August 3, 2006 04:24 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/john_williams/2006/08/post_283.html
The whole international community - in fact, the very idea of an
international community - is facing a critical test now that, at last,
agreement is emerging on a way to end the carnage in Lebanon.
If this test is failed, we might as well abandon the principle that we
have a duty to intervene where sovereign nations can't or won't provide
citizens with "the right to life, liberty and security of person", as
the United Nations's Universal Declaration of Human Rights puts it.
Steadying the chip of state
Agnes Poirier
August 3, 2006 03:56 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/agnes_poirier/2006/08/war_of_words_from=
_french_fries.html
What's in a name? A whole world, it seems, a world of misunderstandings
and translation tricks. When French fries were banned from American
eateries three ago because of France's stance on Iraq, and were
consequently rebaptised freedom fries, the news made headlines all over
the world. "Iraq today, France next!" shouted the crazed American
neocons.
Clearly, the two historical allies were now at war. How did the French
react to such an affront?
End the embargo
Duncan Campbell
August 3, 2006 03:37 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/duncan_campbell/2006/08/castro.html
In 1968, I went on a bus trip holiday to Moscow. Fellow-travellers - on
the bus, that is - included an Australian trade unionist and an English
vicar. As we arrived in Moscow, we saw a bunch of women working on the
roads with drills and shovels and wheelbarrows. Marvellous, said the
trade unionist, looking out of the window, women have complete equality
here. Shocking, said the vicar, women have to do heavy labour to
survive here.
I was reminded of this arriving in Havana a couple of weeks ago. We all
carry baggage with us when we arrive in a foreign country and Fidel
Castro's Cuba can provide both its detractors and its admirers with
plenty of material. Now that Castro himself is ailing, everyone is
looking out of the bus window and seeing what they wish to see.
Realist, Baghdad
Ewen MacAskill
August 3, 2006 01:33 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ewen_macaskill/2006/08/realist_baghdad.=
html
The leaked memo of William Patey, British ambassador to Iraq, provides
a useful insight into what the British government thinks
behind-the-scenes about the future of Iraq. While Margaret Beckett, the
foreign secretary, and John Reid, when he was defence secretary, talk
up the prospects for Iraq and insist it is doing better than constant
media reports of violence suggest, Patey's memo offers a more realistic
take.
Patey, an outspoken Scotsman, ended a one-year tour of duty in Baghdad
last week and sent the valedictory memo to Tony Blair and Ms Beckett.
It was circulated throughout Whitehall, so the chances of finding the
leaker are remote. The memo is more pessimistic than optimistic,
suggesting the prospect of "a low-intensity civil war and de facto
division of Iraq is probably more likely at this stage than a
successful and substantial transition to a stable democracy."
How can the human race ensure its survival?
Open Thread
August 3, 2006 01:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/open_thread/2006/08/how_can_the_human_r=
ace_ensure.html
Last month, Stephen Hawking posed an open question on Yahoo Answers,
asking how humanity can sustain itself over the next 100 years "in a
world that is chaos politically, socially and environmentally". He got
25,000 responses, ranging from the functional ("keep eating, breathing,
and having sex") to the defeatist ("let other life forms flourish - we
suck").
Arab despots, not Israel, are now under a greater threat
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1837078,00.html
Hizbullah's resistance to the region's military superpower will cause
tremors in Egypt and Jordan - and even Syria
Jonathan Steele in Tyre
Friday August 4, 2006
The Guardian
Unlike good children, Israel's drones are heard but not seen.
Officially called unmanned aerial vehicles, these "eyes in the sky"
circle south Lebanon day and night. Between six and 12 feet long, they
are little more than cameras and a motor.
They usually fly too high to be spotted, but they make a noise so loud
you cannot forget it, like a swarm of wasps on a summer afternoon.
Their engines give the impression of being souped up, both as a warning
to any Hizbullah rocket-launcher that Big Brother has you in his sights
but also as a device to intimidate and madden an entire population -
what torturers call "white noise".
Tony Blair means only one thing when he talks about his values
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1836807,00.html
He claims his aim is to spread democracy and the rule of law, but his
true commitment is to the global market
Peter Wilby
Friday August 4, 2006
The Guardian
So now we know. The purpose of intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan was
not regime change, Tony Blair explained in Los Angeles on Monday, but
"values change". By bombing and shooting their way into Baghdad and
Kabul, he and President Bush wanted to convince the benighted locals of
the benefits of democracy, free markets and the rule of law.
They think Israel can achieve the same ends by pulverising Lebanon, and
thus dealing a blow to the "arc of extremism", successor to the still
undefeated "axis of evil". And the reason extremism appears to be
growing is that, in reality, we are winning. Iraqis, Afghans,
Palestinians, Lebanese - they're all embracing democracy, and
presumably voting for Hamas and Hizbullah only because of what the
Marxists used to call false consciousness. The terrorists - who are all
"the same thing" whether they are in Gaza, Baghdad, Kashmir, Indonesia,
Africa, Madrid or London - are becoming more and more desperate because
"reactionary Islam" now faces "existential battles" for its survival.
Our meddling is accelerating this descent into civil war
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1836821,00.html
The US occupation did not create the sectarian tensions that disfigure
Iraq - but its policies entrenched the divisions
Mark Lattimer
Friday August 4, 2006
The Guardian
The leaked report from Britain's outgoing ambassador in Iraq, warning
that "civil war and a de facto division of Iraq" are now a likelihood,
elicited a studied silence from Downing Street and Whitehall yesterday;
but William Patey's fears could not have come as a surprise.
The toll of sectarian killings has increased inexorably over the past
few months since the destruction of the al-Askari shrine in Samarra,
and the violently reworked geography of Baghdad and other mixed cities
is beginning to resemble nothing so much as the mono-ethnic enclaves
that 15 years of civil war imposed on Beirut. When I bumped into the
former Iraqi defence minister last week, on the day that preparatory
talks on national reconciliation broke up without agreement, he had the
dead-tired eyes and relentless pessimism of a man losing a war.
Ch=E1vez ends world tour with pledge to poor
http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,,1837099,00.html
Associated Press in Cotonou
Friday August 4, 2006
The Guardian
Venezuela's president, Hugo Ch=E1vez, was on his way home yesterday
after his two-week world tour ended with a brief visit to Benin, one of
the world's poorest countries, where he pledged investments. Mr Ch=E1vez
signed an agreement with Benin's president, Yayi Boni, promising $2.9m
(=A31.5m) for subsidised housing and micro-finance programmes, Benin's
government said in a statement.
In return, Mr Ch=E1vez asked for Benin's support in his country's bid
for a rotating United Nations security council seat. The two presidents
also called for reform in the UN to address the needs of developing
nations.
Hizbullah and Israel threaten to escalate war
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1837041,00.html
Preparations for attack on Beirut met with promise to fire on Tel Aviv
Rory McCarthy in Tel Aviv, Oliver Burkeman in New York and Ewen
MacAskill
Friday August 4, 2006
The Guardian
The protagonists in the three-week Middle East conflict last night
threatened to intensify their bombing campaigns after a day of clashes
along the Israel-Lebanon border and as attempts to secure a diplomatic
solution continued to prove elusive.
The Hizbullah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, warned in a taped
television speech that rockets would be fired at Tel Aviv if the centre
of Beirut was attacked. "If you bomb our capital Beirut, we will bomb
the capital of your usurping entity ... We will bomb Tel Aviv," he
said.
World must race to develop green energy, urges Rees
http://www.guardian.co.uk/renewable/Story/0,,1836905,00.html
=B7 Research drive 'must rival the Apollo moon project'
=B7 Royal Society president warns of climate disaster
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Friday August 4, 2006
The Guardian
An urgent project on the scale of the Apollo moon landings is needed to
boost research into green energy sources and save the planet from
environmental disaster, according to Britain's top scientist.
Writing in the US journal Science today, Sir Martin Rees, president of
Britain's most prestigious scientific institute, the Royal Society,
expresses dismay at G8 leaders' "worrisome lack of determination" to
accelerate development of new energy sources, given the expected 50%
rise in the world's energy needs - and carbon dioxide emissions - in
the next 25 years.
Blair admits to cabinet splits over his support for Bush on Israel
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article1212769.ece
By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor
Published: 04 August 2006
Battered by criticism, Tony Blair last night prepared for a holiday,
leaving behind a cabinet torn by dissent, a party in turmoil, and a
country dismayed by his handling of the Middle East crisis.
The Prime Minister robustly defended his decision to stand
shoulder-to-shoulder with President George Bush in refusing to call for
a ceasefire while Lebanon burns. His defence came amid claims in the
New Statesman that there was a conspiracy between the US, Israel and
Britain to launch a war on Lebanon.
Civilian deaths 'should be seen as war crime'
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1212770.ece
By Leonard Doyle, Foreign Editor
Published: 04 August 2006
Israel's defence forces were yesterday condemned for systematically and
deliberately targeting civilians in Lebanon, acts which the respected
New York organisation Human Rights Watch described as "serious
violations of international law" or war crimes.
The number of Lebanese killed in the 23-day conflict is now close to
900, the vast majority of them civilians, and a quarter of Lebanon's
population is in flight. Although the Israeli government claims it is
taking all possible measures to minimise civilian harm, Human Rights
Watch said their detailed investigations revealed "a systematic failure
by the Israeli Defence Forces to distinguish between combatants and
civilians". The 50-page report flatly accuses Israeli forces of
launching artillery and air attacks "with limited or dubious military
gain but excessive civilian cost".
Freeing Prisoners Key Goal in Fight Against Israel
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/04/world/middleeast/04prisoners.html?ref=3Dm=
iddleeast&pagewanted=3Dall
By CRAIG S. SMITH
The question of prisoners held by Israel is the subtext of the current
crisis for both Hezbollah and the Palestinians.
Muslims Warn of Surge in Terrorism
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/04/world/middleeast/04iran.html?ref=3Dasia
By THOMAS FULLER
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, suggested that the solution to
the crisis was to eliminate Israel.
Cuba Perks Up as Venezuelan Foils Embargo
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/04/world/americas/04cuba.html?ref=3Dworldbus=
iness&pagewanted=3Dall
By JUAN FORERO
Cuba's economy is strong because Venezuela has been using its oil
reserves to prop up the Castro government.
Timeless Tales With a Modern Twist in 'ShakespeaRe-Told'
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/04/arts/television/04shak.html?ref=3Darts
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
The BBC series manages to overcome a mathematical impossibility:
finding a fresh approach to the retelling of Shakespeare.
Israel Suffers Highest Toll Yet
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR200608030=
0305_pf.html
8 Civilians, 4 Troops Killed; Planes Blast Beirut Sites Again
By Jonathan Finer and Molly Moore
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, August 4, 2006; A01
AVIVIM, Israel, Aug. 3 -- A new wave of Hezbollah rockets killed eight
Israeli civilians Thursday, and four soldiers died in ground combat in
southern Lebanon, Israel's highest daily death toll in the
three-week-old war. Israeli jets blasted targets in Beirut for the
first time in almost a week.
Israeli forces appeared to be struggling in efforts to control villages
and towns across the Lebanese border and push deeper into the country,
according to U.N. observers in Lebanon. Most of the day's fighting took
place within two miles of the frontier and sometimes only a few hundred
yards from it.
The End Of the Right?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR200608030=
1259_pf.html
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, August 4, 2006; Page A17
Is conservatism finished?
What might have seemed an absurd question less than two years ago is
now one of the most important issues in American politics. The question
is being asked -- mostly quietly but occasionally publicly -- by
conservatives themselves as they survey the wreckage of their hopes,
and as their champions in the Republican Party use any means necessary
to survive this fall's elections.
Countless Rockets, Limited Options
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR200608030=
1764_pf.html
Even With Border Town Under Attack, Some Israelis See No Choice but to
Remain
By Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, August 4, 2006; A01
KIRYAT SHEMONA, Israel, Aug. 3 -- "We are surviving, that is all,"
explained Anastasia Friedman, as yet another warning siren blared
through this shellshocked northern town.
Just beyond her ground-floor window, shattered two days ago, sat a
half-dozen abandoned cars, their roofs caved in, their doors pierced by
hundreds of small metal balls. Blowing piles of trash covered the
sidewalks, some collected in telltale craters.
Lamont Leads Lieberman by 13 Points in New Poll
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR200608030=
0597_pf.html
Democratic Senator Shifts Strategy for Tuesday's Primary as Antiwar Foe
Soars
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 4, 2006; A05
HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 3 -- Democratic challenger Ned Lamont, riding
strong antiwar sentiment, has surged to a significant lead over
embattled Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) heading into Tuesday's
Senate primary, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released here
Thursday.
The poll showed Lamont ahead of Lieberman by 54 percent to 41 percent,
underscoring the challenger's clear advantage.
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