Newswires: NATO Summits | WOMBLES - News, Information for anarchist direct action

Afghan police recruits abusing drugs, US report finds

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:57:56 +0000

BBC News: Drug abuse is rife in the Afghan police force with up to four out of 10 recruits testing positive for illegal drugs in some areas, a US report says. The report for the US Congress said the illegal drugs trade "undermines virtually every aspect" of efforts to secure Afghanistan. Afghanistan produces 90% of the world's opium and the drugs trade is a key source of funding for the insurgency.

Anatomy of Conspiracy Theory By Zahir Ebrahim

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:25:00 +0000

In fact, some of the best cloaking devices for clandestine covert-operations and hidden agendas have been invented by the most brilliant minds – here is one exposition for instance from Ezra Pound: “invent two lies and have the public keep arguing which one of them might be true”. Another is by Leo Strauss – the erudite teacher of the majority of the neo-cons – called “Noble Lies”. A third by the White House, often referred to as “plausible deniability”. Lastly, we also have the “limited hangout” and “modified limited hangout” conspiracies to mislead the public in case “plausible deniability” for governmental wrong-doing doesn't work. But wait, we also have “beneficial cognitive diversity” through “cognitive infiltration” - previously known as COINTELPRO and undercover operations - thanks to the academic regurgitation of Harvard Law Professor Cass Sunstein, now President Obama's Chief Information Officer.

One Month of the Obama Killing Machine in Afghanistan: Data and a Lesson for the UNAMA and its Groupies

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:54:48 +0000

RAWA News:Let the numbers tell the story. The following presents a detailed summary and analysis of Afghan civilians killed directly - so-called impact deaths - by U.S/NATO forces in Afghanistan during a single month, February 2010. The Obama killing machine left 80-86 dead Afghan and Pashtun civilians. By contrast, the number in February 2009 was 50. The intent here is to set the record straight as regards Afghans killed by the U.S/NATO, and in so doing challenge the UNAMA to move beyond its “faith-based” counting.

Women’s worst world-wide

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000

A ranking released on Women’s Day reveals that while Afghanistan is deemed the worst country world-wide for women to live in, the ranking is a saddening lecture for African women as well. Of the top-ten worst countries for women, seven are African. Sadly, the list ignores the many successes in the African countries listed. HSEN

AFGHANISTAN: Women’s rights trampled despite new law

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:46:38 +0000

IRIN: As the world marks International Women’s Day, ambivalence, impunity, weak law enforcement and corruption continue to undermine women’s rights in Afghanistan, despite a July 2009 law banning violence against women, rights activists say. A recent case of the public beating of a woman for alleged elopement - also shown on private TV stations in Kabul - highlights the issue.

Solidarity with Women in Iran

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:42:00 +0000

More than 50 men and women, mainly Iranians, took part in a protest organised by the 8 March Women's Organsiation (Iran-Afghanistan) to mark International Women's Day. They protested at the Iranian Embassy against the 31 years of anti-women Islamic laws and repression and calling for an end to the Islamic regime in Iran before marching to Trafalgar Square for a rally. London 07/03/2010

Joe Glenton jailed for nine months

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:03:30 +0000

A British soldier who refused to return to duty in Afghanistan and went on to speak at anti-war rallies was sentenced to nine months' detention in a military prison on 5th of March. Support group in London is going to appeal, but it's not known whether that can change the situation. Though, people from all over the world already could show, how much solidarity can be effective, organised on 4th and 5th of March actions in support of Joe in UK, Italy, USA, Germany, Greece, Russia and earlier, in January, also in New Zealand and Poland. Thanks to those people, charge of desertion was dropped and instead of 10 years detention in prison Joe was sentenced to 9 months.read more

The Election - What's The Point?

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:42:54 +0000

Now that politics have focused down on the election, I find myself thoroughly demotivated. There is a substantial percentage of the population who wish to see a very early withdrawal from the occupation of Afghanistan, who want genuinely firm measures against the casino banking economy, who are very sceptical about the direction the European Union has gone, and who do not want to waste many scores of billions of dollars on a nuclear submarine system which can wipe out half the world's population instantaneously and the rest shortly thereafter. Yet the great "leader's debate" will be between three people who all follow the same pro-bank bailout, pro-Afghan war, pro-EU and pro-Trident consensus. The political differences between them are insignificant - they are engaged in a Mr Smarm contest. They are not even good at that - Brown is an aggressive churl, Cameron is comfortable only working alongside his team of fellow toffs, Nick Clegg seeks to avoid offending the establishment consensus at all costs. Only in Wales and Scotland do any significant number of people have a hope of electing anybody who stands outside the cosy Westmnister consensus on key issues. To work, democracy must present the electorate with real choices. Our democracy does not work.

Lawyer Says Canada Wanted Afghan Prisoners Tortured

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:53:09 +0000

By CBC News - March 5, 2010 Federal government documents on Afghan detainees suggest that Canadian officials intended some prisoners to be tortured in order to gather intelligence, according to a legal expert..."[W]hat [the documents] will show is that Canada partnered deliberately with the torturers in Afghanistan for the interrogation of detainees..." read more

Army launches investigation: Corrupt Afghans stealing millions from aid funds

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:11:39 +0000

The Independent: A major investigation has been launched into contracts awarded by coalition forces in Afghanistan that are worth hundreds of millions of pounds. The probe into construction and logistics contracts of the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) has been ordered by Major General Nick Carter, commander of Isaf forces in the south of the country.

Press Release. Kurds Protest

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:58:45 +0000

Kurdish Protest in Dublin on Monday EU Parliament Kurds in Ireland will stage coordinative demonstrations outside EU parliament on Monday 08/ 03 at 1;30 pm. We invite all supporters and interested parties to attend these demonstrations, and in particular members of the media. We ask the Irish people and government to be more sensitive to the oppressive nature of Turkish, EU States and to the lack of democracy and accountability of EU. For more information contact Latif Serhildan, Coordinator of Kurdistan Solidarity Ireland.

No school for almost half of Afghan children

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 08:29:30 +0000

DAWN: Almost half of school-age children in Afghanistan do not have access to education, President Hamid Karzai said Saturday as he inaugurated the new school year. “Five million school-age children in our country do not go to school, some because of war or because their schools have been closed by the Taliban or others, some because they do not have the ability to go to schools,” he said.

Federal Intellectual Property Enforcement Gears Up

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:55:11 +0000

The Obama Administration has been slowly ramping up its attention to intellectual property issues. Over the past few months, we've seen an IP "summit" at the White House. We've seen the successful nomination of a new cabinet-level "IP Czar" position. We've seen the announcement of a new DOJ task force for IP issues. What does it all portend? Unfortunately, many signs suggest that the administration is paying far more attention to the interests of the entertainment industry than to the public good. At the same time, there are a few positive efforts and indications, so we're holding out hope that things could improve. The first bad omen came last December, when Vice President Biden invited the RIAA, MPAA and other representatives of the mainstream entertainment industry to a closed-door "Piracy Summit" at the White House. Although Biden's office sold the summit as "bringing together all the stakeholders" in the piracy debate, it failed to invite a single representative of the public interest or the technology industry. One outcome previewed at the summit was the formation of a new Department Of Justice "Intellectual Property Task Force", which was formally announced in February. Unfortunately, the Department of Justice already has a history of coming down disproportionately hard on victims of the copyright conflict. And while the task force's announcement stressed that IP crime "threatens not only our public safety but also our economic wellbeing," it didn't even pay lip-service to the harms to privacy, free speech, and innovation in the industry's long war on piracy. Later in February, the government's new IP Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), Victoria Espinel, announced that "the Federal Government is currently undertaking a landmark effort to develop an intellectual property enforcement strategy" and asked for public input into what this strategy should look like. A major component of the request seeks information about "the costs to the U.S. economy resulting from intellectual property violations," which in the past has mainly been expressed through skewed, erroneous accounts of the supposed effects of piracy from entertainment industry lobbyists. However, the IPEC is also demanding an unprecedented level of rigor from these studies: Submissions directed to the economic costs of violations of intellectual property rights must clearly identify the methodology used in calculating the estimated costs and any critical assumptions relied upon, identify the source of the data on which the cost estimates are based, and provide a copy of or a citation to each such source. [Emphasis mine.] Since some of these poorly executed studies have appeared to successfully persuade members of Congress to change copyright law only in ways that favor the entertainment industry, it's refreshing to see the IPEC pushing for greater validity. To that end, we look forward to seeing the Obama Administration publicly debunk the empty rhetoric that circulates around questions of unauthorized file sharing and its economic effects. There are other bright points. Late last year, the Administration supported looser international copyright protections for reading materials for the blind. Limitations and exceptions to copyright are a critical "safety valve" in copyright that helps preserve free expression, access to knowledge, and other human rights, and we hope to see them defended by the Administration in other contexts as well. While IP enforcement appears to have center stage, there are other double-standards and unintended consequences in copyright and trademark law, all of which could benefit from some attention from the White House. The orphan works conundrum remains unsolved. Copyright term and licensing issues stymie creators and archivists. The anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA still obstruct innovators. But will the Obama Administration and Congress choose to face these tough, important issues? At the next IP summit, will advocates for questions like these have a seat at the table? Or will the public interest side of intellectual property law and policy continue to languish unaddressed? Time will tell.

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton jailed for 9 months

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:39:00 +0000

On the same day that Gordon Brown -- whose war polices have killed thousands -- insisted that the illegal Iraq war was the "right" thing to do, Lance Corporal Joe Glenton was sentenced to nine years imprisonment for refusing to return to Afghanistan to fight a war he believed to be unjustified and a sensless loss of life for Afghans and Iraqis alike. By Peter Walker guardian.co.uk 5 March 2010

British soldier jailed for refusing to fight in Afghanistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:34:07 +0000

CNN: A British soldier who went absent without leave rather than return to fight in Afghanistan was jailed Friday for nine months by a military court, officials said. Glenton, who completed a seven-month tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2006, became an outspoken critic of British military operations in the country during his absence, frequently appearing at anti-war rallies and on television.

Luca Tornatore, Copenhagen Detainee, Petition Online

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:03:39 +0000

Luca Tornatore, Copenhagen Detainee, Petition Online Please sign the petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/freeall/petition.html Luca Tornatore isn’t only our friend. He is a scientific researcher at the Department of Physics at the University of Trieste. He is a scientist, one who combines passion and a desire to change the world to his scientific skills. These are the ingredients that pushed him to go to Copenhagen together with hundreds of Italian environmentalists. Luca is in Copenhagen to demand climatic justice, to participate in the Climate Forum and to network with others who believe that the environmental emergency must be faced beginning from a democratization of decision-making and not through delegating the question to those who started the problem in the first place or to those who are worsening it. read more