DOES RAPE CHARGE = INVASION?

 

LIBYA - Behind the phony ICC 'rape' charges: ARE NATO FORCES PREPARING A GROUND ATTACK?

The following is an article by Sara Flounders for    International Action Center.

        Without presenting a shred of reliable evidence, NATO and International Criminal Court conspirators are charging the Libyan government with conspiracy to rape -- not only rape as the "collateral damage" of war, but rape as a political weapon.

This charge of an orchestrated future campaign of rapes was made at a major press conference called by the lead prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on June 8, 2011. The even wilder unsubstantiated ICC charge that Libya plans to mass distribute Viagra to its troops confirms this as the most tawdry and threadbare form of war propaganda.

          It is important to understand that NATO countries with the full complicity of the corporate media and the ICC are spreading this Big Lie in order to win support for and close down all opposition to a ground assault of Libya, something that would otherwise be unpopular both in Europe and the United States. This wild charge adds to the evidence of a massive escalation in bombing urban targets in Libya, the use of British and French helicopters that give close support to ground troops and the positioning in the Mediterranean off Libya of U.S. warships that can quickly land troops. The NATO alliance is desperate to put Libya beyond all discussion or defense and raise the NATO war to the level of a Holy Crusade to defend women.

         The charge of rape as a political weapon was spread -- without evidence -- against Serb forces to justify U.S. plans for the first NATO bombing campaign in the history of the military alliance in 1994 in Bosnia and was used again in 1999 in Serbia in the first NATO occupation. The rape charge was used to soften up the U.S. and European population for the criminal war against Yugoslavia. Now a similar plan is in the works for Libya.

        All too often widely fabricated lies are spread to justify imperialist wars. In 1991 the first war against Iraq was justified by outrageous charges that the Iraqi army had grabbed Kuwaiti babies from incubators and smashed the babies to the floor. This was presented as reliable “testimony” to in the U.S. Congress and in the UN. Months later it was confirmed as a total fabrication. But the lie had served its purpose. In 2001 the corporate media and U.S. politicians claimed that they had to bomb and then massively occupy Afghanistan to win rights for women that the Taliban taken away. The situation for women in Afghanistan and for the entire population has deteriorated further under U.S. / NATO occupation.

       Despite video and photo evidence that the entire world has seen through WikiLeaks, the International Criminal Court has never considered for a moment filing criminal charges against U.S. British, French or German troops. The pictures, videos and reports in major newspapers of sexual torture and humiliation at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by U.S. soldiers, the testimony by the U.S. soldiers involved in rapes, tortures, mutilations and executions in Iraq and Afghanistan confirms the brutal reality of U.S. wars. These wars have never been to ‘save’ women.

      As an African country, Libya can hardly expect a fair hearing or any form of justice from the ICC. The International Criminal Court created with high hopes of international justice in 2002 has been used against 7 countries – all in Africa. Meanwhile, the ICC has never examined U.S. drone attacks on defenseless civilians in at least 8 African, Arab and South Asian countries. Nor has it even touched U.S. invasions and occupations. Israeli bombing of the Palestinian people is “off limits”.

        This is an essential time to remind all people concerned about the rights of women that U.S. intervention or any imperialist intervention has never protected women. Even women serving within the U.S. military machine are not “safe”. According to a study published by the Journal of Military Medicine, 71 per cent of women soldiers have been sexually assaulted or raped while serving in the U.S. military. Women who have been assaulted consistently report poor medical treatment, lack of counseling, incomplete criminal investigations and threats of punishment for reporting the assaults. In 2009 the Pentagon admitted that approximately 80 per cent of rapes are never reported – making it the most under-documented crime in the military. In addition U.S. military bases are all too often surrounded by an entire sex industry of abused women forced by hunger, dislocation and lost families into work in bars and clubs.

      Rape in every society has little connection to sexuality and desire. It has always been about imposing power and domination. The "political rape" charge in this case makes no sense and has no basis beyond the U.S.-NATO desire to justify expanding the war against Libya.

Stop U.S.-NATO intervention in Libya.

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JUNE 30 - J30, - TOMORROW'S WORLD??

I have the hope that the day will dawn

when the Idea will conquer brutal force;

that after the struggle and the lingering travail,

another voice, more sonorous, happier than mine

shall know then how to sing the triumphant hymn.

 Jose Rizal, “Mi Retiro” (22 October 1895)

 

      The long suffering public sector workers are at last coming together in defence of their conditions. Having to face a full frontal assault on their jobs, pensions and living standards by the millionaire public school thugs, they have joined hands and called a strike for June 30. We have to realise that this is not their fight alone, all our living standards are under attack. Our social services are to be decimated to save money, to hand to the bond markets and the banks. Our public assets are to be sold off, to give the money to the bond markets and the banks. Ask yourself, how does this help the ordinary people of this country? Lower wages, work longer, less jobs, a privatised health service, an education system deprived of resources and no public facilities, everything corporate owned, is this a society that will benefit you and I? This is where we are going, unless we organise and unite to stop this advance of corporate fascism.

      On June 30, we must all show our solidarity with the strikers. Those not on strike should have a wee sickie, none of us should go anywhere near a business, buy nothing on that day, pay no bills. Let's make it a day of no commerce what so ever, hit them where it hurts, in their money. If you are not on the streets supporting the strikers then get on your bike, paint the shed, take the kids for a walk, read a book, visit your granny, you could even try and write your memoirs, but don't spend money in any shape or form. You can survive a day without spending a penny, literally, not figuratively.

       This should only be the first phase of a struggle to take society out of the control of the millionaire bankers and bond markets. The first step in turning society in a different direction, to change society away from the corporate towards a needs based society, built on justice and mutual aid. Strikes by themselves will achieve little, we have to have the desire to change the basic structure of a society that has failed the people time and time again. The present structure of society is based on greed and profit and only benefits the millionaire corporate class, asking them, “please sir can I have some more” is not the answer. If we want a decent world for our kids and grand kids, we, the ordinary people have to build it now. If not, our kids will be faced with another June 30 in an attempt to protect their meagre living standards and this June 30 will have been a waste of time.

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THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE V THE WILL OF THE BANKERS!!

SPAIN.

     Across Europe the so called people's representatives are slashing at the standard of living of the ordinary people, the very people the say that they represent. Voted in to carry out the will of the people they line their pockets, get into bed with the bankers, plunder and strip the public naked. While at the same time hand over all the public's assets to their friends in the corporate world.  

     If the "people's representatives" don't represent the people, then what do they expect? Do they expect the public to lie down and quietly take a beating, so as the banks don't have to pay for their gambling excesses? Should the people sheepishly walk into deprivation while the plunderers line their pockets? In the West the media applauded the "Arab Spring" will they now applaud the "European Spring".

GREECE.

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THOSE WERE THE DAY'S!!!

           An appeal for help, all those old anarchists, socialists and communists who might have some info on the sadly missed Socialist Sunday Schools, well now's the time to pass it on for the present and future generations. Our kids should have an alternative to the bland pro-establishment pulp that is pumped from ever avenue of media, education and political parties. However, it is up to us.

Socialist Sunday School Project by Ruth Ewan, A Call For Information.

        For Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art (GI) 2012, Scottish artist Ruth Ewan will be investigating the Socialist Sunday School movement, prevalent in Glasgow in the first half of the twentieth century.

A SOCIALIST Sunday school, I'd  go ti tha'.

       The movement's aims were designed to counter the dominant influences of Liberalism, Conservatism and ultimately capitalism, thought by many to be promoted by both church and state schools at that time. The Socialist Sunday Schools had no formulated curriculum, although guidelines were circulated on ethics, morality, love and social responsibility. Throughout the UK these schools flourished in tandem with the Independent Labour Party up until its decline in the early 1930s. Glasgow however avoided this fate with some of its Socialist Schools remaining in operation throughout the 1950s and 60s, and, according to some sources did not cease completely until the 1970s.

Wi' dis socialist mean?

       For the GI Festival 2012, artist Ruth Ewan will create an exhibition, publication and programme of public events reflecting on her research into the Socialist Sunday School Movement in Glasgow. She will include and draw on material from city archives such as Mitchell Library, People's Palace and Scottish Screen.

My book's called "Mutual Aid".

        Importantly, Ruth is keen to hear from and meet as many people who attended, or knew others that attended, the Socialist Sunday Schools, to provide new oral histories and material to add to the archives. Ruth hopes that these contributions will form a major part of her project presented at Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art, which will take place from Friday 20th April - Monday 7th May 2012.

       If you or a friend or family member attended the Socialist Sunday Schools and you would like to offer your knowledge or memories please contact curators Siobhan Carroll and Kitty Anderson on sundayschool@glasgowinternational.org or call the GI Festival office on 0141 276 8384.

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BAGRAM - GUANTANAMO,

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE??

         Bagram detention facility, (prison) is bigger than Guantanamo Bay prison yet it receives no coverage in the Western media. It holds some 1,700 detainees, all held without charge or trial, and no way to prove their innocence, despite a Marine Corps General's 2009 report stating that many should be released. Nor has there been any in-depth news coverage of practices at Bagram, that if widely known, would no doubt add to a call for the removal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan. You SHOULD  read this detailed report.

Afghan detainee's cell Bagram Prison March 2011    (A.P. photo.)

        Of course what we should all realise is that across the globe in country after country, as the various states try to control their populations, such facilities are wide spread. Guantanamo and Bagram are just two of the so called developed Western democracy's facilities aimed at control. It matters little which country they are in, it is always the same, state power trying desperately to control  the people.

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LET'S DANCE.

 

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The reason I like this video is because I believe that the one thing authority can't handle is spontaneity and fun. Everything has to be planned, ordered and at the right time, no room for the frivolous. So folks let's dance, in great numbers and in places of our choosing.

CHANGING FORM OF CAPITAL CRISIS.

      
         Some interesting details on the on-going crisis that's, according to the optimistic, is over and we are now looking for GROWTH, the capitalist's panacea. You can read the full article at LINKS Internation Journalof Socialist Renewal.

         "---Perhaps the first indicator that the capitalist crisis is still unfolding is the rise in unemployment in many advanced capitalist countries.

         How many are affected by this? According to the latest figures of the International Labor Organisation, 205 million workers are jobless and the capitalist crisis has destroyed 30 million jobs since 2007.

        Unemployment in the United States rose from around 4.5% in late 2006 to 10% in 2009. In March 2011 it had slightly fallen to 9%. In Europe, the crisis has restored mass unemployment in a number of countries: in Spain (20% in 2010), Ireland (14%), Greece (12.5%), Portugal (11%). Millions of people are thus reduced to idleness since the unfolding of the crisis.

        The second form of the continuing capitalist crisis is the crisis in state finance. Sovereign debt has thus become the centre of the crisis since 2010 and the default of Greece.

       The global recession, but also state intervention to save the banking sector, led in the advanced capitalist countries to a significant increase of the weight of sovereign debt in national economies. This does not concern only the peripheral economies of the eurozone since the same phenomenon affects the US, Japan and the core EU countries. Hence, the austerity measures adopted by governments (“left” and right) to reduce public spending and satisfy the demands of financial markets (whose criteria is a more or less 60% of GDP in public indebtedness). ---"    READ ON---

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SPAIN: ANARCHISTS AND MAY 15 MOVEMENT, REFLECTIONS.

HOW DEMOCRACY WORKS IN SPAIN. 

   

     The following is a short extract from a very interesting article posted on that excellent site LibCom It is well worth reading the full article.

        A reflection article written by anarchists in Madrid on the occupation at Puerta del Sol, leading up to the neighbourhood assemblies which took place on May 28.

        This text was written in Madrid, so many of the descriptions and reflections may not match the reality of other locations, especially given the heterogeneity of the 15-M Movement. Even so, we think that it could be useful as a point of departure for reflection for all the comrades involved in the assemblies, regardless of the site. The text was written and corrected hastily so that it would be ready before the convocation of village and neighbourhood assemblies on May 28. Keep this in mind while reading it and excuse any mistakes that it may have.

-Some Anarchists from Madrid.

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       CAPITALISM OR JUSTICE? YOU CAN'T HAVE BOTH.

       According to a recent article by the BBC, the World Bank is warning that food prices are close to pushing millions more into extreme poverty. Since June 2010 an additional 44 million more people have been pushed into poverty. The bank claims that a further 10% rise in food prices would push 10 million more below the extreme poverty line of $1.25 a day, while a 30% price increase in the price of staples could lead to 34 million more poor. It is estimated that at the moment there are about 1.2 billion people living on less than $1.25 a day. The bank also warns that the prices of wheat, corn and soya all rocketing.

      While this disaster is unfolding the so called “financial crisis” (gamblers and spivs gone bust) is still with us and will unfold over the next year or so with the possibility of chaos and civil disobedience on a massive scale. Greece, at the moment, has almost daily mass demonstrations in most of its cities, with a general strike planned for this month. Spain has the Squares in its large cities occupied, and every other country in Europe has demonstrations and more planned on a unified front. The real pain has still to hit.

      Meanwhile the IMF is hell bent on screwing the people of various countries, most of Europe included, by handing governments loans, Of course we all know that nothing the IMF or the European Central Bank does, helps to alleviate the poverty in the world. On the contrary, for their loans they demand “deficit reduction” which translated into ordinary speak, means, cut all social spending, privatise everything in sight and send the money to the busted banks and bond market.

       This is capitalism, a system where the parasites with the money gamble and con their way to greater wealth for their little club, and when the gamble doesn't pay off, then they turn to the ordinary people and plunder their assets, decimate their standard of living to ensure that the gamblers and spivs don't lose out for their greed.

      How much longer can we afford to allow such a system of greed and exploitation to decimate our world, a world that we will leave to our children and grandchildren. Do we leave them a future of poverty and greed, devoid of hope and opportunity, or do we leave them a world that will allow them to develop to their full potential, free from the fear of deprivation, a sustainable world that sees to the needs of all. The choice is ours!!!

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CHALLENGE TO SPAIN'S POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STATUS QUO.

         The following was lifted from IndymediaScotland. It is always good to get some information on what is really happening in protests across Europe and the rest of the world for that matter. Let's make no mistake, these are not lots of protests, this is the one global protest against an economic system that plunders the Earth and condemns millions to abject poverty and millions more to a life of stunted desires devoid of opportunities. A system that has failed the people of the world and yet is being pushed down their throats by an small bunch of thuggish parasites. It will only stop when power is wrested from their hands into the hands of the ordinary people across the globe.

     ann arky is alwys interested in hearing from people on the ground, those involved in the various aspects of this world protest, drop a wee note.

EDINBURGH.

Interview with Michael Albert, co-founder of Z Magazine , conducted by Scott Harris.

SPAIN.

The economic crisis gripping Europe and government austerity measures have triggered angry demonstrations in major cities across the continent, including Athens, Paris and London. More recently, young activists in Spain poured into the streets, and taking inspiration from the popular revolts in the Middle East and North Africa, have occupied Madrid’s Puerta del Sol Square. There, Spaniards from all walks of life have gathered in unexpectedly large numbers to protest an economic and political system they say has given them no hope for the future. Activists in the Square, who call themselves “Indignados,” or the outraged, have organized themselves into a small city run by democratic councils. Police attempts to forcibly remove the demonstrators only swelled their numbers. 

ATHENS.

Story continues HERE.
 
 

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IUF Uniting food, farm and hotel workers world-wide

      Four years after punishing lockout, one year after OECD agreement, Unilever Assam workers still waiting for their union to be recognized.

      Business is doing well at Unilever’s personal products factory at Doom Dooma in the Indian state of Assam. But nearly 4 years after management tried to destroy the union with a punishing 6-week lockout, and almost one year since the IUF and Unilever formally concluded an agreement to settle the dispute under the auspices of the UK government, the workers are still waiting for their union to be recognized as their collective bargaining agent. The workers’ mood is one of deepening frustration. How has this happened?

Read the full story here

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THE LAW IS THE LAW, SO DON'T YOU DARE BREAK IT!!!!

       We all know that the law is an ass, and that common sense should prevail, but sometimes along comes something that proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt. This guy deserves hero status. DOH, I'm only doing my duty!!!!

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SYRIA - TAKING SIDES vs IMPERIALIST INTERVENTION.

         An extract from an interesting article from The International Centre, it is well worth reading the whole article as it does throw some light on the very complex situation in the Middle East and the even more complex and seemingly contradictory attitude of the West.

         U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ declared on March 25, 2011 – that there are 3 repressive regimes in the Middle East that must be condemned – Syria, Libya and Iran. Why is the U.S. targeting these particular countries? The progressive political movement must avoid being just an echo and a justification of Pentagon war policy, especially whenever any developing country is in the cross hairs of a U.S. attack.

        Consider: isn't Israel a criminally repressive regime against the Palestinian population? Aren't Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan repressive regimes, military dictatorships and/or corrupt monarchies? All of these brutally repressive regimes have killed of thousands of their own population and could not survive one day with out decades of U.S. military, economic, diplomatic and political support. Is the U.S., with the largest prison population in the world and more weapons than the rest of the world put together, a repressive regime? It is the source of repression, destabilization, dictatorships and wars.

 

         It is within this context that progressives must view the demonstrations that have been taking place for two months against the Bashir Assad government in Syria. The regime has both acknowledged that reforms are essential and responded with force. The actual character and the social forces involved in these demonstrations remains unclear, as does the political direction of the Syrian opposition.

          The events in Syria are connected to the social explosion shaking the Arab world. Washington and all the old regimes tied to it in the region are trying desperately to manage and contain this still unfolding mass upheaval into channels that do not threaten their domination of the region.

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