Newswires: NATO

Good Riddance, Uncle Ted

So ends a political era. The Alaskan senator Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history and a force on Capitol Hill for decades, yesterday finally conceded the re-election race to his Democratic rival, Mayor Mark Begich. This brings us to the end of the “Uncle Ted” era in Alaska, when billions of  Stevens’s “pork-barrel” money [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Good Riddance, Uncle Ted", url: "http://priceofoil.org/2008/11/20/good-riddance-uncle-ted/" }); more >>

What Obama Can and Should Do to Stop Telecom Immunity

Yesterday, the New York Times ran the story "Early Test for Obama on Domestic Spying Views", describing the national security-related issues facing the incoming Obama Administration. Chief among them is the issue of immunity for telecoms that illegally assisted in the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program: In perhaps the most critical test, civil liberties groups that are suing major phone companies that took part in the N.S.A. program are waiting to find out whether a federal judge will throw out the lawsuits based on immunity granted by Congress in June. The Justice Department has already moved to take advantage of the immunity provision by certifying in court that the phone companies were complying with a presidential order. But the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group that has taken the lead in the lawsuit, maintains that Congress acted beyond its powers. A hearing is set for Dec. 2. Cindy Cohn, legal director for the foundation, said that as the case moved forward the new administration could act to withdraw the immunity certification made by the Bush Justice Department. “Nothing will be over by Jan. 20,” when Mr. Obama is inaugurated, Ms. Cohn said. As President, it will be up to Obama whether or not the Administration wants to continue seeking dismissal of the lawsuits against AT&T and other telecoms based on the immunity provisions of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA). Specifically, President Obama can end the immunity process. Consistent with his previous opposition to immunity — then-Senator Obama voted in favor of Senator Dodd's amendment to strip the immunity provisions out of the FAA altogether — Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to withdraw the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuits based on the immunity statute. Or, President Obama can temporarily freeze the immunity process until he has learned all the details about the NSA program. Consistent with his support of Senator Bingaman's proposed FAA amendment to delay implementation of the immunity provisions, Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to ask the court for a temporary stay of the immunity proceedings. That would give the Administration time to review the classified details of the NSA program as well as the FAA-mandated reports about the program that are expected by this July from the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice, the NSA, and other agencies involved in the program. After having reviewed all the facts, the new administration can then re-evaluate whether it wants to continue to press for immunity in court, or drop its motion to dismiss and let the cases against the telecoms continue. Or, President Obama can choose not to appeal if the immunity statute is found unconstitutional. If, after the hearing on December 2nd, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the federal Northern District of California agrees with EFF that the immunity statute is unconstitutional and denies the government's motion to dismiss, Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to not appeal that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. All of these are things Obama could do — on his own and without any help from Congress — to stop the implementation of the immunity scheme that he repeatedly opposed during his presidential campaign. These recommendations aren't EFF's alone: as part of the transition roadmap published yesterday by a broad coalition of groups including EFF, seventeen different civil liberties organizations signed onto national security surveillance recommendations that included the proposition that President Obama should "[d]irect the Attorney General to withdraw the government’s motion to dismiss pending privacy litigation brought against telecommunications carriers for assisting with unlawful warrantless surveillance, or seek a stay of those proceedings until such time as the Attorney General, based on review of the Inspectors’ General reports required by the FISA Amendments Act, determines that a grant of immunity is appropriate." read more more >>

MORE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS AHEAD FOR BNP MEMBERS

null BNP "Security" - A word in your shell-like lads - You're SHIT!! As dawn broke today, Wednesday 19th November, we imagine there are an awful lot of bleary-eyed BNP activists, lacking sleep for worrying about precisely what will happen to them next. After Antifa obtained the BNP’’Security Manual’ (see issue 1 of the Antifa newsletter No Pasaran!) we warned BNP members: “If you are relying on the BNP’security apparatus to protect you from antifascists, you have backed a loser.” After the entire BNP membership list was published online - including the names, addresses, phone numbers, and personal details of party members - we imagine there are some who wished they’d listened, and many more who curse the day they’d ever heard of Nick Griffin. The BNP membership list was placed on the internet last weekend, and as word got out, panic quickly began to spread in BNP circles, with near hysterical postings on fascist internet blogs and forums. As usual, feuding fascists also began to post up each others names and addresses. While Searchlight-affiliated antifascist groups reported the story, they failed to divulge the list or disclose the internet link allowing access to it. It was left to militant antifascists to openly publicise the material, despite the belated efforts of the BNP leadership to prevent this (somewhat like trying to close the stable gate after the horse, or in this case around 10,000 of them, has long since bolted we think.) Antifascists are already having a field day with the information obtained, and look set to do so for the foreseeable future. It not only contains the personal details of the BNP rank and file (the Nazi Next Door so to speak), but those of leading BNP activists, the BNP ‘security’ team, and even those of Nick Griffin himself. Incorporated in the list are the employment details of many members, including a number of cops, teachers, screws, social workers, and members of the armed forces, who could very well now be sacked for being members of this discriminatory racist party. According to the list, a Mrs Yvette Bettley of Prenton, Merseyside, has “employment concerns” as she is a serving copper. We imagine you’re considerably more concerned today Yvette. Other personal information is also given. We are, for example, told that Mr Ian Underwood of Gillingham will not be renewing his membership because he objects to being told he can no longer wear a bomber jacket! As well as that Mr Paul Shaddick of Glastonbury may be a potential embarrassment to the party as he is a practicing witch! Antifa imagines that the BNP are considerably more embarrassed after being so careless with their entire membership list. If Nick Griffin is to stop his members resigning in droves he’ll certainly have a lot of work to do over the coming months. Nothing however, compared to the amount of work BT are going to have to do changing the phone numbers of angry BNP members. Nor compared to the work that glaziers, painters and decorators, and car re-sprayers may well be called upon to do around the country. It will be a long time before the fascists of the British National Party sleep soundly in their beds again. https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/413211.html?c=on#c207728 more >>

Budapest "Nabucco Summit" to turn pipedream into reality

With U.S. and EU participation, a vital meeting in the Hungarian capital next January will seal commitments for the long-contemplated Turkey-Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria (Nabucco) gas pipeline. Opposition from Russia’s mighty Gazprom, uncertainty surrounding relations with Iran, and the roiling world economic turmoil cast doubt on the project’s future. read more more >>

U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe: “There Is No Way of Knowing,” Where Paulson Transferred Bailout Money

Via: Tulsa World: U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said Saturday that Congress was not told the truth about the bailout of the nation’s financial system and should take back what is left of the $700 billion “blank check” it gave the Bush administration. “It is just outrageous that the American people don’t know that Congress doesn’t know how [...] Related posts:

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In Strikes on U.S. in Afghanistan, Taliban Reveals New Potency

By David Montero - Christian Science Monitor More U.S. and NATO troops have died this year in Afghanistan than any other year since the 2001 U.S. invasion, in part because Taliban militants are launching increasingly complex and deadly attacks. read more more >>

ISAF convoy kills minor girl in Balkh

PAN: Convoy of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) run over a ten-years-old girl in northern Afghanistan. The minor girl received injuries in the mishap but succumbed to her injuries later in the hospital, he worried. The dead body of the girl was handed over to her family, he added. more >>

Dikmen Valley: A Story of Resistance from Turkey

Dikmen Valley in Ankara, Turkey was originally Dikmen Village. The village goes back to the 1950s, but it wasn't settled in the form of a squatter [gecekondu in Turkish] neighborhood till around 1968. The valley has five etapes. The first and second etapes were settled the earliest while the fourth and fifth etapes were first settled in the late 1970s. Before that, the area was used by the villagers for agriculture and grazing. During the same period, an intense wave of migration from the rural parts of inner Anatolia to big cities took place. Housing was a serious problem for these rural-to-urban migrants. A handful of early migrants to Ankara were involved in leftist political and revolutionary activities. According to the spokesperson of the resistance to "urban transformation," these migrants came together to discuss what could be done to solve their housing problems. After some research they discovered Dikmen Village and decided that this might be a solution. The valley belonged to the state, and when the migrants saw that the villagers were using the land to their liking, they decided to settle there. After having done so, they began redistributing the land to other rural migrants, especially those who, in the words of the resistance's spokesperson, were "cheap labor, who had come to the city in search of work but who had the consciousness to participate in the struggle against capital and who were at least social-democrats." Migrants to Ankara in general and Dikmen Valley in particular came from all parts of Turkey, creating a mosaic of different ethnic cultures and religious beliefs. read more more >>

Unite against Nato expansion and war

With conflict spreading across the globe, April’s protest in Strasbourg will be a key focus for the anti-war movement, writes Chris Nineham The European anti-war movement is calling for mass protests at next year’s Nato summit in Strasbourg, France, including an international demonstration and a counter-summit. This is a key opportunity for the anti-war movement. The reason is [...] more >>

Obama's connection with Hindu extremists

Ms. Sonal Shah joines the Obama-Biden transition project's advisory board The Obama-Biden transition project has appointed Ms. Sonal Shah as a member of their advisory board. Ms. Shah is a member of the VHP of America and one of its national coordinators. The VHP is directly responsible for the recent mass murder of Christians in the Indian state of Orissa and the pogroms against Muslims in the Indian state of Gujarat. more >>

The Obama Presidency: Foreign Policy Continuities in East Asia

Senator Obama’s election to the Presidency was premised on a critique of the Bush Administration’s fore... more >>

Left of Hannity, Right of…?

According to Atrios (via), when Senator Barack Obama appears on her show Thursday, MSNBC pundit Rachel Maddow will likely challenge him from the left. Maddow will assist in marketing Obama’s muscular humanitarian interventionist credentials. She will not produce a challenge from the left but will encourage liberal bonding in nauseating bellicosity. ShareThis more >>

Class War TV Times 25 - 31Oct

A great week of loafing around ahead for the revolutionary couch potato, with good programming virtually every night. Any more of this and we will be paying the licence fee! Sat 25 Oct 7.10pm BBC2 - Stephen Fry in America. Perhaps recalling Oscar Wilde's visit more than a century earlier, Stephan Fry visits West Virginia's coal mining industry. Sun 26 Oct 4.25pm BBC2 - Down The Line. More to get Class War Trainspotters angry - the axing of rural train services analysed. 9pm ITV3 - The Molly Maguires. An important section of American working class history - the rise and fall of the Molly Maguires. Sean Connery attempts to do them justice............ 10pm UKTV History - The life and leagacy of English radical William Cobbett. Mon 27 Oct 8pm Ch4 - Dispatches: Don't Bank On the Bailout. A City speculator asks how much the City is to blame for the global financial crisis. How honest will he be? 8.30pm BBC1 - Panorama. The volume of data on individuals kept by both the state and private companies. 9pm BBC2 Prescott: The Class System and Me. After nearly a decade as a New Labour Cabinet Minister, John Prescott suddenly rediscovers his working class roots. How much did the BBC pay you John? 10pm BBC4 - When Borat Came to Town. The Romanian village of Glod, which 'starred' in the film Borat. Tues 28 Oct 10.40pm ITV1 - The Troubles I've Seen. You get celebrity insights into everything these days. This is how celebrities 'survived' the Northern Ireland conflict............ 10pm More4 - True Stories: Jesus Politics. Religious faith and the US political system. Weds 29 Oct 10pm BBC4 - A Year In Tibet. The role of Buddhism in Tibetan society. What chance the BBC being even slightly critical of every liberals favourite religion? Thurs 30 Oct 7.30pm BBC2 - Credit Crash Britain: HBOS Breaking the Bank. "Bail out the banks loan art to the churches......." Fri 31 Oct 9pm BBC2 - The American Future: A History by Simon Schama. The far from bashful Simon Schama puts forward the issue of race in American politics.  more >>

Sexual Cleansing in Iraq: Bashar, Coordinator of Iraqi LGBT in Baghdad Assassinated - Islamist Death Squads Are Hunting Down Gay Iraqis and Summarily Executing Them

Sexual cleansing in Iraq Islamist death squads are hunting down gay Iraqis and summarily executing them WATCH the video link below – and weep: By Peter Tatchell London & Baghdad – 25 September 2008 STOP PRESS: This morning, news came from Iraq that the coordinator of Iraqi LGBT in Baghdad, Bashar, aged 27, has been assassinated in a barber shop. [...] more >>

Eastern European Romas - Welcome to Finland

The Freedom of Movement Network (Vapaa liikkuvuus -verkosto) has in co-operation with Socialcenter Rajatila started to offer accomodation for Roma beggars from Eastern Europe. The occupied building in Rajasaari, Helsinki is not run according to capitalist logics of making a profit but according to its users' needs. On the 24.6. about 20 Roma from Bacau, Romania moved to Rajasaari. "The aim of our project is to raise discussion about the hypocrite politics the City of Helsinki is running: they speak of helping these people, but in reality they are only being harrassed.", Dan Koivulaakso from the Freedom of Movement Network comments. The network stresses the fact that these people are EU-citizens and have the legal right to move freely from one EU-country to another. At the same time the project offers concrete shelter for people who are begging in our city. Personnel from the Helsinki Deaconess Institute and Social Service Bureau have started a street patrolling project this summer, and are interviewing Roma beggars about their background, living conditions in Finland, sources of income and possible needs. At the same time the leader for the project, Jarmo Räihä has stated that they will not help with food nor accomodation. "When people have tried to get roofs over their heads, this has been reacted upon through putting in the police. A romanian beggar who tried to sleep inside an abandoned train station in Pukinmäki was arrested and fined", Katja Tuominen from The Freedom of Movement Network comments. It is obvious that unemployed and often illiterate Roma, who face racism everywhere they go, have to beg in European metropoles in order to secure an income for their families. In e.g. Romania a Roma family can get about 35€/month in different social benefits. In Helsinki they can earn up to 80€ in one day by begging. The Eastern European Romas' aim to improve their lives and take advantage of their rights to move freely as EU-citizens has generated new forms of control. E.g. a memorandum from the Turku police department recently suggested police officers to first warn beggars and take up their names, and then on the third occasion fine them. On top of this the Turku police planned to deport beggars and confiscate their earnings. The plans which, needless to say were illegal, have since been withdrawn. On the 26.6. Helsinki city officials have demanded the building used for the housing project to be emptied and threated with eviction. The Freedom of Movement Network demands alternative housing if the building is to be emptied and is ready to negotiate with the city even after their threats. more >>