NATO - THE OIL INDUSTRY'S HIT SQUAD!!!

          Now as the Libyans look at a divided country facing a humanitarian crisis we should be asking ourselves whether the NATO carrying out of UN resolution 1973 has been a success or not. The UN resolution was to stop Gaddaffi using the Libyan air force and army helicopters to attack the rebels and bomb civilian areas, in so doing prevent a humanitarian disaster. What UN resolution 1973 did not do was sanction regime change. It is also clear the the resolution did not sanction an aerial campaign against the Libyan government nor the Libyan army. The NATO force was to be a defence force for the Libyan people, it was not meant to be an attack force for the benefit of Libyan rebels. However as usual, the Western powers deliberately misinterpret UN resolutions to further their own imperial designs. No matter your opinion of the Gaddaffi regime the military campaign carried out by NATO against Libya was illegal, thus making the the leaders of the governments involved, mainly UK, France and Italy, equally guilty of war crimes as the man they wished to replace, Gaddaffi. It is not the first time that the Western imperialists have carried out regime change by means of military action, but it usually results in instability and/or civil war in the country they have targeted. The result can usually be classified as a humanitarian disaster, and from the reports coming out of Libya it would appear that this case is no exception as report after report paints a picture of a devastating humanitarian catastrophe. The only conclusion that can be drawn from the evidence on the ground is that the NATO carrying out of UN resolution 1973 has been an abysmal failure. The main beneficiaries being the Western oil companies who have already moved to get their slice of the action. It is sad to think that there are still people out there who believe that during their financial crisis, the Western powers spent all that money and effort simply for the benefit of the Libyan people.

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ANOTHER ILLEGAL WAR, HOW MANY DOES THE WEST WANT??

     

       SIGN online petition at  iacenter.org/africa/libyawarpowersact to send messages to House and Senate Foreign Relations Committees, congressional leaders, the Obama administration, the U.N. Secretary-General, Security Council, General Assembly President and member states, and the national and international media. On May 19 the war against Libya reached its 60-day mark. On that date this criminal war will be in explicit violation of the War Powers Act.

      The War Powers Act is a U.S. law that grew out of the struggle against the war in Vietnam. It requires a president involved in a military conflict lasting longer than 60 days to come before Congress for authorization to continue the war. Knowing that this war is immoral, illegal and based on lies, the Obama administration has refused to address the reasons behind initiating yet another war after years of death and destruction in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

     In the past 61 days of a war that was promoted as a "humanitarian intervention" to enforce a "no-fly zone," the U.S. and NATO have conducted more than 2,500 bombing missions. A May 13 NATO bombing killed 11 Islamic religious leaders and injured 47 other members of a highly publicized, unarmed religious peace delegation of 150 Imams and other Islamic leaders. The NATO command has acknowledged the attack occurred.

      This was a deliberate, targeted massacre by U.S./NATO aircraft. The religious leaders were gathered to attempt a meeting of peace and reconciliation with the NATO-supported opposition. The attack occurred in the city of Brega, which is 500 miles east of Tripoli and close to the area under opposition control. Since time immemorial, in every country and culture, peace delegations, religious delegations and unarmed envoys traveling under white flags have been accorded respect and safe passage, especially in war zones.

      U.S./NATO Command, with reconnaissance predator drones that are able to read a license on a car, knew exactly what this large, highly respected Islamic peace delegation was, where the delegates were staying and what their announced purpose was. This latest NATO airstrike is a most grievous war crime. It is an unprecedented new level of international lawlessness and it reveals a dangerous escalation of the war on Muslim people. It comes on top of the ongoing criminal assassination attempts on Col. Gadhafi that have already killed his son and three of his grandchildren.

       NATO bombs have hit numerous civilian targets including the Libyan Down's Syndrome Society, a school that provided speech therapy, handicrafts and sports sessions for disabled children. NATO Planning Staff claim that "All NATO targets are military targets," And the New York Times reports that Gen. Sir David Richards, Britain's top military commander, is propsing that NATO target Libyan "infrastructure," including electrical power grids and fuel dumps, in government held areas. Such targeting would be an attack on the civilian population that would constitute a war crime according to the Geneva Conventions.

       We believe the people of Libya, North Africa, the Middle East, the U.S. and the world deserve a debate on the need to immediately end this war. With the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression having a continued impact on the peoples of the U.S. and the world, we must stand up and demand the end to the bombings and other destabilization efforts against Libya, and all other forms of hostility against this African country.

      We need money for jobs, housing, food, health care, and quality education -- not for war and destruction.  Tell Congress, the White House and the corporate media that the illegal and criminal war on Libya must end now.

Stop the bombs! End the war!

SIGN online petition at   iacenter.org/africa/libyawarpowersact

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DEPLETED URANIUM, A STATE CRIME.

        

        Over the years I have written several articles on depleted uranium, some in blogs and websites and one for the newspaper Freedom. I have highlighted the horrors in Serbia and Kosovo caused by NATO forces use of depleted uranium weaponry on the people of that unfortunate region. Also the use of these same weapons much closer to home at the weapons testing range at Dundrennan on the Solway Firth. However all that was dwarfed by the US and UK forces use of these weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan. What has unfolded in these regions must rate as the one of the greatest ever state crimes. In regions of Iraq the rate of birth defects has risen into the stratosphere, cancers and other diseases have sky-rocketed and this is set to continue for many years to come. Yet most people in the West are blissfully ignorant of what their governments have done in their name, not only to these countries, but to our own troops, and of course our governments play dumb and carry on using these weapons of mass destruction.

          To once again attempt to highlight this state crime against innocent people I have lifted part of someone elses article on the subject.

          You can read the whole article HERE. 

         "Most Americans have no idea that depleted uranium munitions used by the U.S. military are causing one of the greatest environmental nightmares in the history of the world. In fact, most Americans have no idea what depleted uranium even is. But even as many Americans gobble down their burgers and french fries and pizza and enjoy the "good life" watching their big screen televisions, an entirely different story is being written on the other side of the world. In Iraq and Afghanistan today, there are some areas that have been so polluted by depleted uranium that they have literally become uninhabitable hellholes. Americans like to think of themselves as so "environmentally conscious", but the truth is that one of the greatest environmental tragedies of all time is being caused by the U.S. military and yet nobody seems to care."

      The full article is a must read.

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JUDGE GARZON

    

     The news is in -- Judge Garzón is to be tried on charges that could end his career, inflicting a fresh blow to the credibility of our justice system. A decision on whether to suspend his license is expected imminently.

       The main charge, brought by extreme right lobby groups, is that he violated the 1977 Amnesty Law by investigating crimes against humanity -- including the disappearance of tens of thousands of people, during the civil war and its aftermath. But crimes against humanity cannot be amnestied under international law.

      The Supreme Court now faces a historic choice: uphold the rule of law, or allow ideology and impunity to triumph over justice. They are under enormous pressure to bring Garzón down, but a massive public outcry could tip the balance. More than 70,000 of us have already raised our voices for democracy and universal human rights -- let's deliver a 100,000-strong petition to the General Council of the Judiciary this week. We have only days left -- sign the petition now and then help spread the word.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_garzon/98.php?cl_taf_sign=6YJOMltu

       Whatever we think of Garzon, he has gained a reputation for his relentless efforts to seek justice, pursue brutal dictators, terrorists, drug mafias and corrupt politicians. But the Supreme Court has admitted three complaints against him, two of which could impact on two crucial investigations for our democracy: the case of crimes against humanity, and the Gürtel case, one of the largest bribery and corruption scandals in our recent history.

       The crimes against humanity case is straight forward -- these crimes are of such gravity that international law does not permit accused perpetrators to hide behind national amnesty laws, even if this law played a role at the time of our political transition.If the court removes Garzon's license it will be undermining their commitment to universal human rights and with it our faith in the judicial system. Act now! Sign the petition and share this message with all your friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_garzon/98.php?cl_taf_sign=6YJOMltu

      This petition is about all of us, beyond our political or party allegiances, defending our democracy, which is already weakened by an acute economic and political crisis and a plague of corruption. Only through bold citizens' actions can we ensure that our political leaders and institutions work for the common good. This is our moment! Click below to sign now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_garzon/98.php?cl_taf_sign=6YJOMltu

With determination,
Luis, Alice, Benjamin, Iain, Ricken, Paul and the entire Avaaz team.

More information:

The New York Times, "An Injustice in Spain":
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/opinion/09fri2.html

The Financial Times, "Garzón at bay":
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e8bfb99c-4b16-11df-a7ff-00144feab49a.html

The Economist, "Judge Not:
http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15875987

The Globe and Mail, "Political storm over Spain's most famous judge":
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/incoming/political-storm-over-spains-most-famous-judge/article1493634/

Crimes of War Project: "Spain's Memory War: Judge Halts Attempt to Enforce Justice for Franco's Killings":
http://www.crimesofwar.org/onnews/news-spain.html
 
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