PEACE NEWS

Love song

LATEST NEWS

Iranian President Ahmadinejad says today the
Group of Eight wealthy nations' policies will
"accelerate them along the road to a precipice."

Ahmadinejad says the world has entered an era
of fundamental change, ending a world order
controlled by a single powerful nation.

"It is possible for people to assemble who are
unaware of the state of people's lives and who
do not understand the changing times," he says.

"They (the Group of Eight members) may imagine
they can solve their own problems without
respecting others or paying any attention to
their interests. But this attitude is just a
series of failures that will accelerate them
along the road to a precipice."


******************


WHY IS CHENEY STILL OUT OF PRISON ?

In an article released Sunday by Seymour Hersh
in the New Yorker Magazine, we learn that
the White House has met, considered and is
probably working to fabricate a situation
that can be used by the United States as
a pretext for attacking Iran.

Hersh tells us of a brainstorming session in
the Vice President’s office. The topic of the
session was casus belli. How can they get the
Iranians to do something that will make it appear
as if they started it, as if they were the bad guys?


***********************


A DATE FOR WITHDRAWAL - WHICH BIT DON'T USUK UNDERSTAND?

Iraq will not accept any security agreement with
the United States unless it includes a date for
the withdrawal of foreign forces, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie,
the government's national security adviser, says today.

Rubaie says Iraq is waiting "impatiently for the
day when the last foreign soldier leaves Iraq."

"We can't have a memorandum of understanding with
foreign forces unless it has dates and clear horizons
determining the departure of foreign forces.
We're UNAMBIGUOUSLY talking about their departure,"
Rubaie says in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf.

He speaks after meeting Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric,
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

"I informed the clerical leaders about some of
the advances in the talks. There are real problems
and difficulties, and we have many roadblocks ahead.
There is a big difference in outlook between us
and the Americans," Rubaie says.

The Bush administration has always opposed
setting a withdrawal timetable.

Today, the White House says the talks are not aimed
at setting a "hard" deadline for withdrawal.

"Negotiations and discussions are ongoing every day,"
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe says in Japan,
where Bush is attending a Group of Eight summit.

"It is important to understand that these are not
talks on a hard date for a withdrawal."

In a further complication, Iraq's deputy parliament speaker
Khalid al-Attiya says lawmakers must approve any
deal the Iraqi government reaches and will probably reject
the document if American troops are immune from Iraqi law.

It will be almost unthinkable for USUK to allow
its soldiers to be subject to Iraqi law.

Maliki's preference for a memorandum of understanding,
contrasts with earlier talks which have all been leading to
the signing of a formal Status of Forces Agreement.

Attiya;
"Without doubt, if the two sides reach an agreement,
this is between two countries, and according to
the Iraqi constitution a national agreement must
be agreed by parliament by a majority of two thirds."


*************************


WE DON'T ACCEPT BULLYING !

Iran will strike Tel Aviv and the U.S. fleet
in the Gulf as a FIRST response to any attack
against the Islamic republic, an aide to Iran's
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says today.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) is pressuring White House
officials to prepare a military attack against Iran,"
Iran's ISNA news agency quotes Ali Shirazi,
Khamenei's representative in the Revolutionary
Guards navy division, as saying.

"If they commit such a silly move, Tel Aviv and
the U.S. fleet in the Persian Gulf will be Iran's
first targets and they will be burned with
Iran's crushing response," Shirazi says.

He warns that U.S. interests around the world will also be hit if Iran is attacked.

"The first bullet fired by the United States at Iran
will be followed by Iran's response of burning down
its vital interests around the globe," Shirazi says.

"The Iranian nation will never accept bullying...
NO forces in the world can confront it," he adds.


****************


LOVE AND DIPLOMACY

A spokesperson for Japan, the G8 hosts:
"Some African leaders mentioned that we should
bear in mind that Mugabe will retire in a few
years. Putting pressure on Zimbabwe, including
sanctions, might lead to internal conflict.
We should be discreet and careful."

M'Beki, of S. Africa, who also warns that the
result of further sanctions will lead to blood-letting,
has Brown lecturing HIM on democracy (sic) and
insisting sanctions are applied...

Brown - the unelected prime minister -
has plenty of time to lecture "uppity" blacks
in Zimbabwe, yet completely ignores Somalia,
where most of Mogadishu is reduced to rubble
and the USUK backed government employs armed
gangs to terrorise and loot, as Ethiopian troops
snipe at people from every high point and roof-top.

Yesterday, a mother was forced to watch as her
young child had its throat slit by soldiers.
Yet the Guardian reports "atrocities" only in Zimbabwe,
and Brown, apparently, wants more.... a civil war !


**********************


RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE ASKS G8 FOR PEACE

Supreme Court judge of Palestine Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi
addressing the International Clerics Conference,
says Palestinians honour all humans and their rights.
He says Islam bans any violation of those rights,
and that Islamic teaching calls for economic prosperity,
protection of the environment and a rejection of war,
in addition to prohibiting the use of weapons of mass destruction.

Sheikh Tamimi speaks as head of the Palestinian delegation
to the International Clerics Conference, which
is attended by religious leaders from around the globe.

The Sheikh also speaks of assaults against holy places,
especially in Jerusalem, which, he says, are done
with the intention to claim the sites as exclusively Jewish.

Sheikh Tamimi warns of the impact of the
Israel-led siege on the Gaza Strip, which he
says are an impediment to peace negotiations.

As the conference ends, participants issue a
joint declaration which world religious leaders
hand to the Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda.
The declaration is being submitted to the G8 nations
as they meet in Hokkaido, Japan between 7 and 9 July.

The declaration asks the G8 to take serious
action against threats to humanity, including
pollution, climate change, poverty, and the
deterioration of global food security.

The declaration also calls on summit leaders
to help with the disarmament of all nuclear
weapons, and to end all foreign occupations,
in order to establish a just and comprehensive
peace throughout the world.


********************


ISRAELIS MACHINE-GUN FARMERS

Israeli forces use machine guns to fire on
Palestinian farmers tending their fields near
the high-tech border fence in Gaza.

As a result of heavy fire, farmers are forced to
abandon work in their fields which they had only
begun after a ceasefire between Israel and
Palestinian factions went into effect on 19th June.

The Israeli military announced on Friday that it
will fire on any Palestinians who come within
300 meters of the Israel-Gaza border, despite the
ceasefire. Earlier today, the Israeli military
took over the frequencies of local radio stations
to warn locals than anyone "approaching" the border will be shot.

The Palestinian local initiative for countering
Israeli aggression in the town of Beit Hanoun,
in the northern Gaza Strip, calls this decision
"a death penalty for thousands of farmers," and
warns that thousands of hectares of agricultural
land and irrigation wells will be lost to the border zone.

The media director of the local initiative Sabir
Za'aneen says the northern and eastern Gaza Strip
borders have become "death borders" which will
result in the loss of thousands of jobs for
Palestinian farmers when they lose access to their fields.

The Ministry of Agriculture in the Gaza-based
Hamas de facto government criticizes the Israeli
military's decision to turn the border area into a kill zone.

"[The Israeli] occupation's procedures double
Palestinian citizens' suffering, especially
farmers who have hoped to reform their lands and
plant it again after the ceasefire with Israel
came into effect," says the Ministry of Agriculture.



********************


SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE !

USUK say Iran MUST stop enriching uranium, and
WILL NOT be allowed to close the Persian Gulf.
Iran's response, is ....

The Iranian people will NEVER give up their rights
and will continue to develop nuclear energy.

And the Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces says,
that Iran's strategy is to keep the Strait of Hormuz open,
the official IRNA news agency reports.

BUT - if the country's interests are jeopardized,
"we will not let any ships pass through", Major
General Hasan Firouzabadi is quoted as saying.

The army chief underlines the role of the strait,
a narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf, through which
roughly 40% of the world's oil is transported,
saying that the Hormuz Strait is a strategic
canal with vital importance to Tehran.


*****************************


CURFEW TRIES TO KILL RESISTANCE

Israeli troops are imposing a curfew on the
entire West Bank village of Nil'in, northwest
of the city of Ramallah, forcing residents
inside their homes and blocking the community's
three main entrances, witnesses inside the
village said on Saturday.

Witnesses say that Israeli forces are using tear
gas, rubber-coated metal bullets and occasional
live rounds to enforce the curfew.

The villagers of Nil'in and their international
and Israeli supporters have been staging weekly
demonstrations against the construction of
Israel's separation wall. The Israeli military
has violently cracked down on these
demonstrations, resulting in scores of injuries.

Former Palestinian Minister of Information
Mustafa Bargouthi calls the closure "collective
punishment aimed at breaking the popular, non-
violent struggle against the wall."

Expecting another weekly protest, Israeli soldiers
moved in at 5am on Friday, declaring the village
a "closed military zone." At noon, six hundred
villagers defied the curfew, holding the Friday
Muslim prayer and a demonstration which lasted until 6pm.

Israeli troops once again attacked Friday's protest.
In the course of the day, 24 people were injured
by bullets and tear gas. Four Israeli activists
and one journalist were arrested.

Witnesses add that Israeli soldiers blocking
the roads into the village halted an ambulance
transporting a 65-year-old woman named Fayqa
Hussni Khawaja to a nearby hospital.


*********************


U.S. AND ISRAEL "DESPERATE AND MIRED"

A senior Islamic Revolution Guards Corps commander
warns that Iran's response to any military aggression
will make the aggressors sorry for their actions.

IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad-Ali Jafari;
"Any move against Iran will be interpreted as ushering in war."

He warns that his forces will use "blitzkrieg tactics"
in the Gulf if his country comes under attack.
"The Guards are equipped with the most advanced
missiles that can strike the enemies' vessels
and naval equipment with fatal blows.
Blitzkrieg tactics and operations of the Guards' boats
will not leave a chance for the enemies to run away.
These words do not mean that the prerequisites of war
are being set but these are the strategies that our
alert armed forces have prepared for any hypothesis."

However, he rules out the possibility of any attack,
saying the U.S. and Israel's threat against Iran
is a result of desperation because of their being
"mired" in Afghanistan and Iraq.


***************************************


ISRAEL OPENS GAZA FOR HOW LONG ?

Israel re-opens crossings Sunday, but most
Palestinians in Gaza are losing confidence that
the truce is bringing an improvement in their lives.
Even when the crossings open, not enough supplies
are making their way in to improve the situation.

The crossings, closed on Thursday, remained shut until Sunday.


************************


PASTORS FOR PEACE WIN AGAIN !

The U.S. Pastors for Peace are in Havana !

Their caravan entered Mexico on Saturday (July 4th)
after facing a few obstacles imposed by U.S. "authorities".

At the Pharr International Bridge border crossing
from McAllen, Texas into Tamaulipas, U.S. agents
seized 35 computers that were part of some
150 tons of aid, including nine vehicles.

Members of the 19th U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan
carried out a sit-down protest at 8 a.m. (local time)
and occupied one of the Customs lanes for half an hour
until they were authorized to enter Mexico.

The caravan members are now at the port of Tampico,
where they will ship the humanitarian aid to Cuba.

Víctor Zenón Vargas, of the coordinating
committee for the Pastors for Peace Caravan,
says one hundred members of the Cuba solidarity movement
flew to Havana this weekend to deliver the aid.

The organization, which challenges U.S. prohibitions
on trade and travel to Cuba every summer,
consists of activists from the United States,
Canada, Europe and Mexico.

The donations include medical equipment,
educational materials, art and sports supplies,
SIX school buses, (five of which carry the names
of Gerardo Hernández, Fernando González, Ramón
Labañino, René González and Antonio Guerrero,
unjustly imprisoned within the U.S. for fighting
against terrorism) and a mobile library.

The Interreligious Foundation for Community
Organization (IFOC) Pastors for Peace has been
working for social justice for more than 40 years
and has collected humanitarian aid to support
the Cuban nation since 1992, without requesting
a U.S. Treasury Department license.


***************************


PUNISHING CONTEMPT OF COURT, "FUTILE" !

A federal judge in Riverside, Calif., orders
two Marines released from jail despite their refusal
to testify before a grand jury investigating
the killing of Iraqi detainees in 2004.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson says that
Sgt. Jermaine Nelson and Sgt. Ryan Weemer are
still in contempt of court, but that keeping
them jailed is futile.

Nelson and Weemer face charges in military court
relating to the alleged killing of detainees
during the U.S. destruction of Fallujah.


*************************************


MOVEMENT OF U.S. 4TH FLEET A "HEGEMONIC PRETENSION".

The president of Cuba’s National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcón,
meeting Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,
says relations between Cuba and Brazil are at an "optimal stage"
and both parties are making an effort to further improve them.

He spoke with his hosts about several issues;
the United States Fourth Fleet, the MERCOSUR
Summit in Argentina, and the condemnation of
anti-immigrant measures adopted by the European Union.

President La Silva expressed satisfaction with
the MERCOSUR meeting, and is optimistic about
the possibilities for Latin American integration.

In reference to the Fourth Fleet, Alarcón says
Cuba knows quite a bit about U.S. ships moving
close to its shores and reminds us that the region
is an extension of the U.S. Southern Command.

"Our position is that this decision must be categorically rejected.
It implies hegemonic pretensions to use military force,
or threaten its use, against any Latin American country."


*********************


MORE LESSONS "TO COME"

The Ahrar al-Jalil Brigades, which claim the
2nd of July "bulldozer attack" in Jerusalem,
advise the Israeli army that they should not
seek out targets in East Jerusalem in response.

The Brigades add in a statement that "yesterday
we taught you a new lesson," and if the army
attacks residents in East Jerusalem,
"there are more to come."

Ahrar Al-Jalil is based inside Israel.
The driver of the bulldozer, was 30-year-old,
Husam Tayseer Dwayat, from a village in east Jerusalem.


*********************************


LET THE PALESTINIANS DRINK ....WHAT ?!

A new study conducted by Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem,
says average water consumption in Israel is 3.5 times that in the West Bank.

This discrepancy, the study says, will "have
serious repercussions on the economy and the
health of tens of thousands of Palestinians."

Already, according to the report released Tuesday,
water consumption in parts of the West Bank is
only one-third of what the World Health Organization
(WHO) states as the minimum per capita usage.
Since the past winter and spring saw little rainfall in the region,
this summer's water shortage is expected to be severe.

Access to water is hampered by a number of factors.

ONE - Israel's discriminatory distribution policy.
During water shortages, supplies are diverted to settlements.

TWO - the Palestinian Authority is prevented from drilling.

THREE - Water is stolen in those territories that
remain under full Israeli control, and Israeli authorities
have been "unable" to apprehend or stop the thefts.

The B'Tselem report calls Israeli water policies
"a violation of its obligations under International Humanitarian Law."
The organization calls on the government of Israel
"to ensure the immediate, regular, adequate
supply of water to every resident of the West
Bank without discrimination, and to allow the
Palestinian Authority to develop new water sources."


***********************


SEVEN THOUSAND WAIT IN BURNING SUN

Egypt reopened the Rafah border crossing Thursday
to allow some Palestinians back into Gaza.

Egyptian soldiers had fired warning shots as
Palestinians tried to break through into Egypt.

Ihab al-Ghussein, spokesperson, Gaza interior ministry:
"Egypt is part of the Gaza siege, because they
increase the suffering of the Palestinian people
instead of easing it."



********************


IT'S PEOPLE NOT JUST POLITICIANS WHO COUNT !

Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi urges Iran and the U.S.
to find a peaceful resolution to their standoff
warning that military action will harm both countries' people.

Ebadi, winner of the peace prize in 2003 for her work
advocating greater rights for women and children in Iran,
speaks at the launching of a new anti-war group
she is helping to create with the aim of
averting an Iranian-U.S. conflict.

Ebadi warns against any military action and
further economic sanctions against Iran,
saying both will just hurt ordinary people and
accelerate the flight of Iran's most educated
and skilled professionals.

"We expect Iran and U.S. to settle their disputes
through negotiation. This is in the interests of
both the Iranian and American people," she says.

Ebadi, who became one of Iran's first female judges
before the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution,
also stresses that the issue should not be left to politicians.

"Decision-making about peace and war is not a
restricted right of governments anymore.
People also have the right to discuss it."


***************************


"MARRIAGE AND LOVE THREATEN ISRAEL"

Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset Muhammad Barakeh,
representing the Democratic Front, says that
"those who prepared the racial Israeli law
of citizenship must be tried in an international court
because it is a racial and dangerous law."

Barakeh speaks before the Knesset as it discusses
a one year extension of the emergency citizenship law.
Under the law, Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza,
married to Israeli citizens, are prohibited from living in Israel.
The law was passed for the first time in 2002,
and has been extended several times since.

The law has been discussed several times recently,
Barakeh adds, and even the Israeli High Court
criticizes it and warns against its continuation.
However, he says, the Israeli government and an
overwhelming majority of Knesset members are
insisting on going ahead with the extension.
The fact that the law is clearly racist, says
Barakeh, is likely the reason that it has not yet
been ratified as a permanent feature of Israeli law.

"Only in Israel," Barakeh concludes, can
"marriage and love threaten the state's existence;
it's craziness itself."



******************


CHOPPERS DOWN

USUK loses another helicopter in N Afghanistan,
as a new program in one Israeli city warns
Jewish girls not to date Israeli Bedouin boys.
The southern Israeli city is pushing the program in schools
by using a video called "Sleeping with the Enemy."

The video shows a Kiryat Gat city representative
warning girls not to take part in dating Bedouin
boys - something he calls "abnormal."

There are about 160,000 Bedouin living in the Negev.
They are Israeli citizens and many serve in the Israeli military.
But they are often treated as second-class citizens.


**************


BRITAIN CHEATS ON LOYAL GURKHAS

Ex-Gurkha soldiers lose their High Court challenge
to the British government over a pensions deal.

The former servicemen say the settlement
leaves them unable to cope financially.


*********************


AFRICAN UNION TELLS USUK TO "BUTT OUT"

In a closing statement, the A.U.
asks that "outside" pressures stop interfering
in Zimbabwe, as USUK try to tighten the screw.
Will they listen?


***********************


BAN PRAISES PEACE MOVES - CALLS FOR NO MORE NUKES

Visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
praises the latest development in resolving the
Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and calls on all
parties in the six-party talks, to grasp the
opportunity for complete denuclearization.

The latest development is an encouraging and
positive step, and all parties should take the
opportunity to strengthen communication and cooperation,
Ban says, at a press conference held at the
Correspondents' Club of Japan.


*************************



U.S. MILITARY KILL MALIKI'S COUSIN.

The U.S. military finally acknowledges
that they SHOT one of the Prime Minister of Iraq's
relatives and terrified the villagers of Janaja,
the village Maliki was born and raised in.

Maliki is conspicuously silent in the aftermath
of the "covert" U.S. raid on Friday morning.

Other senior Iraqi officials are not keeping quiet:
They are demanding an investigation and say the incident
could affect negotiations on a U.S.-Iraqi security pact.

Janaja residents say the prime minister's office
privately has reassured them that Maliki is furious,
but wants to keep diplomacy out of the media spotlight.

The U.S. military statement confirms that coalition forces
shot and killed "a local security guard".

"Coalition forces deeply regret the loss of life
and are conducting an investigation," the U.S. statement says.

The U.S.'s muted apology, three days after the raid,
still leaves Iraqi officials infuriated, from
Karbala council, right to the Iraqi government.

Because Karbala province is supposed to be under full
Iraqi control. The U.S. military handed over
Karbala security in October 2007. Iraqi
authorities say the raid was conducted
without their knowledge or coordination.

Plus, the man the U.S. military describe as
"a local security guard" is a cousin of Maliki's
and was the personal bodyguard of Maliki's sister,
relatives and Iraqi officials say.

Ali Abdulhussein al Maliki was killed at his guard post
outside the villa belonging to Maliki's sister,
says the guard's brother, Ahmed Abdulhussein al Maliki.

He says his brother and three other bodyguards
were at the home of Maliki's sister, their cousin,
in a guard station attached to the main, two-story villa.
Before dawn Friday, about 50 American ground troops
in camouflage stormed into Janaja. He says he
still has no idea why they came to the Maliki home.

"The troops detained the guards, including Ali,
who'd memorized a few English words and tried
to tell them, 'I'm police. I'm a Maliki guard.'
They tied the hands of the three guards and
took Ali to a room. Ten minutes later, gunfire.
The American forces killed Ali."

The crisis strengthens the hand of Iraqi negotiators
drafting any "Status of Forces Agreement".

Ahmed Shames, media officer from Maliki's office:
"It will definitely influence the negotiations
and give the Iraqi negotiators even more to ask for."

Shames says the prime minister certainly "was not pleased.
You can tell he is upset by this. He hasn't been
in a good mood since the incident."


****************


The chief judge of Iraq's highest Court, Kamel al-Shewaili,
was killed a few days ago.

Monday, five Iraqi appeals court judges have bombs
explode outside their homes in eastern Baghdad,
in an apparent attempt to "intimidate",
police and a judicial official say.

No-one is hurt in the attacks, except the
wife of Ali al-Alaq, one of the judges, who is
slightly wounded.


********************


IRAQ SAYS "NO" TO USUK

Iraq says it has NOT signed technical support agreements
with USUKs oil majors, "because they refused
to offer consultancy based on fees as they wanted
a share of the oil," says Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani.

Iraq is negotiating with Shell, BP, ExxonMobil,
Chevron and Total, and a consortium of other
smaller oil companies.


*********************


A senior Iranian military official says the
Islamic republic is digging 320,000 graves
on its border provinces, for future dead invaders,
Iran's English-language satellite channel Press TV reports.

Iran's Armed Forces headquarters has approved the plan
to dig graves for enemy forces in case of any attack
on its territory, says Brigadier General Mir-Faisal
Baqerzadeh, head of the "Foundation for the
Remembrance of the Holy Defence".

"We do not wish the families of enemy soldiers
to experience what Americans had to go through
in the aftermath of the Vietnam War," says Baqerzadeh,
who is also head of Iran's search committee for missing soldiers.

These preemptive measures will decrease the time
during which slain soldiers will be buried, says
the Iranian military official , adding that "the
burial of slain soldiers will be carried out decently and quickly."

Baqerzadeh says the decision is in line with
Iran's commitment to the Geneva Convention
and additional protocols regarding wartime
cooperation between Iran and the Red Cross.

The U.S. and its allies have accused Iran of
trying to develop nuclear weapons under the
cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran has
denied the U.S. charges, insisting that its
nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

The Bush administration says it is focussed on
diplomacy to try to resolve Iran's nuclear issue,
but also proclaims it will take "no option off the table."

Some observers believe it is possible that the
U.S. and Israel will attack Iranian targets,
over Tehran's "suspicious" nuclear programs.


*******************


THOSE POOR PEOPLE IN ZIMBABWE !

African Union Commission Chairperson Jean Ping
calls on Africa to shoulder its responsibilities
and help Zimbabwe overcome their election problems.

"Africa must fully shoulder its responsibilities
and do everything in its power to help the Zimbabwean
parties to work together to help overcome their
country's problems," he says, at the opening session
of the 11th AU summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

Ping says he has, since his election, been actively
engaged in working towards the successful completion
of the electoral process in Zimbabwe.

The AU chief hails the efforts by southern African countries
to help solve Zimbabwe's problems.


China, Russia and South Africa all say "Let's talk",
and vote against hurting or interfering any further,
in a Zimbabwe brought to its knees....

Mr Brown and President Bush still want the security council
to impose further economic sanctions, an OFFICIAL arms embargo,
and travel bans on Zimbabwe government ministers.

Bush hits out at Zimbabwe's leader,
saying Mugabe heads an "illegitimate government"
that holds power only through a "sham election
that ignored the will of the people..."

Fair play, he's got a cheek, inee !


***********************


Another British soldier has been killed by a mine
in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence says.

The soldier, from B Company 5th Battalion,
The Royal Regiment of Scotland, was on patrol
in the Lashkar Gar area when he stepped on a "legacy"
anti-personnel mine at 11am Saturday. He was killed instantly.

The MoD spokesperson says: "He was part of a
vehicle checkpoint patrol operating in the
Lashkar Gar area when they received a report
of an RPG attack on a civilian aircraft at
Bost airfield in Lashkar Gar.

"When investigating this they dismounted their
vehicles and that is when what is believed to
have been a legacy anti-personnel mine detonated,
killing the soldier instantly.

"The soldier's next of kin have been informed
and have requested a 24-hour period of grace
before further details are released."

Also Saturday, the MoD says, a soldier from 13 Air Assault
Support Regiment Royal Logistic Corps died in
Afghanistan when the vehicle he was patrolling in rolled over.

He is identified as Warrant Officer Dan Shirley,
a 32 year old soldier, from Leicester.

The latest death takes to 110 the number of British
service personnel who have lost their lives since
the start of operations in Afghanistan.



**************************


UK ACTIONS ILLEGAL.

An Iranian MP accuses Britain of "illegal acts."
"Britain's move on imposing further sanctions against Iran
beyond the UN Security Council resolutions
is an illegal act against the Iranian nation,"
head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission
of the Iranian Parliament, Alaeddin Boroujerdi says,
in a meeting with British Ambassador to Tehran Geoffrey Adams.

He says Iran will give the response unfriendly
and illegal actions necessitate, Press TV reports.

Gordon Brown has decided that Britain will
"freeze the assets" of Melli, the biggest Iranian bank,
and will start new sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industry.

Boroujerdi points out that "Iran is ready to hold
serious talks aimed at reaching an understanding
- in line with international regulations."

The MP also strongly protests against British lawmakers'
decision to remove the MKO from its list of terrorist groups.

Adams said Britain has "no intention to damage mutual relations"
and that London calls for an "expansion" of relations.


*********************


Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa says
Israel has "no genuine will to settle the Palestinian issue,"
the Egyptian state MENA news agency reports.

Addressing the inaugural session of the Interim Arab Parliament,
Moussa says there is a small amount of progress
in the Mideast peace process; but this is not enough.

Israeli settlements still proliferating in the disputed lands,
spoil all peace efforts, he says.

The Israeli settlement plans have drawn harsh criticism
from the Palestinian side and the international community,
including Israel's ally the United States.

Few tangible results have been achieved since
Israel and the Palestinians revived their peace talks
at a U.S.-sponsored conference last November.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that
"We consider settlement activities a major obstacle
that obstructs any development in the peace process."



***************************


WAR OR PEACE ?


Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari warns Israel
against launching any attack on the Islamic republic,
an Iranian newspaper reports on Saturday.

Israel "is completely within the range of the Islamic republic's
missiles" and it cannot confront Iran's missile power,
Jafari tells Iran's Jam-e Jam newspaper.

"The enemy possibly wants to delay our nuclear activities
by attacking our nuclear sites, but any interruption
would be very short since Iranian scientific ability
is different from that of Syria and Iraq," he says.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards chief also says
his country WILL impose controls on shipping in the
Gulf oil transit route if it comes under attack.

"Naturally, when a country is attacked by an enemy,
it will use all of its capabilities to confront the enemy,"
Jafari says. "We will definitely impose control
on the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, says "the
Iranian threat must be stopped by all possible means,"
indicating that a military strike cannot be excluded.

His remarks are believed to be the strongest he has ever made.


************************


THROWING U.S. "AID" OUT.

Bolivian President Evo Morales expresses his support
for the decision by coca growers in the Chapare region of Cochabamba
to expel the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) and reaffirms that he will not
"kneel down before the empire."
"I salute the decision by the growers’ movement."

Celebrating the delivery of ambulances donated by Spain,
Morales again denounces USAID and the U.S. embassy in Bolivia
for the destabilization efforts they are leading against the elected government.
Bolivian Minister of Defense Walker San Miguel,
asserts that the intention is to carry out a coup.



**************************


MONEY SCREAMS !

The US Senate overwhelmingly approves a bill
alloting 162 billion dollars for war in Iraq and Afghanistan.



*******************


GOOD NEWS !

The US has removed its nuclear weapons from Britain.
The Federation of American Scientists report that
the last 110 American nuclear weapons on UK soil
were withdrawn from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk
on the orders of President George Bush.

Hans Kristensen, the report's author, says
withdrawals took place over the past few years.
Kristensen says the first sign the bombs had left
showed up in a US airforce document dated January 2007.

The document lists inspections of US nuclear sites,
and notes "not applicable to Lakenheath".

Kristensen's report is posted at fas.org/blog/ssp.

Kristensen: "It's so puzzling why Nato goes about
the reduction in total secrecy. Keeping this secret
completely undercuts our foreign policy interests."

The FAS was founded by scientists on the Manhattan Project.



**************************


LOVE AND MONEY FOR IRAQI CHILDREN

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are donating $1,000,000
to help children affected by the war in Iraq,
the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict announces.

The organization will distribute the donation,
made through the couple's Jolie-Pitt Foundation,
to four organizations working on behalf of children
who have lost parents, homes and schools in Iraq.
Children in the U.S. who have lost parents in
the conflict will also benefit.

"These educational support programs for children
of conflict are the best way to help them heal,"
says Jolie in a written statement from Education
Partnership for Children of Conflict, which she co-chairs.

"We hope to encourage others to give to these
great organizations," Pitt adds.

The money will be divided between the Armed Services
YMCA Operation Hero Program, which provides
military children with counseling and educational
support; Women for Women International, which
will provide books, school supplies and other
basic necessities to Iraqi women and children;
the International Rescue Committee, which will
repair three schools and offer classes for more
than 2,500 students; and NineMillion.org, which
will give school uniforms and learning materials
to more than 2,000 displaced Iraqi children.

Jolie, who's expecting twins, says the babies are
due in August. She and Pitt have four children:
Maddox, 6; Pax, 4; Zahara, 3; and Shiloh, 2.



*************************



RICE SAYS SINIORA "OUR MAN."

Fouad Siniora, the Lebanese prime minister,
says the latest prisoner swap represents a failure
for Israel and a "national success" for Hezbollah.

The comment is rare praise indeed from Siniora:

"The release of the prisoners through a German mediator ...
marks a big failure, and a very big failure of Israel's policy,
which refused, before the July 2006 war, to seal
a complete exchange deal," a Lebanese government statement says.

"This deal ... is a new and clear condemnation
for Israel, its tactics and its policies."

Israel has said it is interested in opening peace talks
with Lebanon, a move the Lebanese government dismisses.

Siniora says Lebanon will be the last Arab
country to sign a peace treaty with Israel.

Deadlock over the formation of a national unity government
in Lebanon still persists, as fears of renewed clashes
and a security flare-up are increasing.

"Majority" leaders are refusing to give Christian
opposition leader Michel Aoun a key cabinet portfolio
out of four "sovereign" ministries - foreign, finance, defense and interior.

The opposition refuses President Michel Suleiman's wish
to give the ministry of defense to Elias Murr,
who is considered affiliated to the majority
and not a neutral figure.

"There is an American and Saudi Arabian demand to
delay the formation of the cabinet until the end of July,"
local political analyst Wasif Awada says.

He points out delay will help the Americans
reach the settlement they are working for in Iraq.

The U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is reported
to have told majority leaders last week, that
there is no need to form the government quickly, Awada said.

Rice apparently told the Lebanese majority leaders
that the reassignment of Seniora to form the new cabinet
is a victory for the majority, and she considers that
Seniora is the person who will implement U.S. policy in Lebanon.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman warns that
differences in the country have reached the level of "suicide."

Suleiman makes the remarks during a spiritual meeting
which he called for at the presidential palace,
and adds that "the government should be formed soon
to express our will for national unity and coexistence."

Earlier this week, deadly clashes between pro- and anti-
government supporters raged in northern Lebanon,
leaving 10 people dead and 55 others wounded.

The local Central News Agency says that
"several local and regional powers are preparing
for a new round of fighting in Lebanon as an
extension of Arab and regional conflicts."



*********************



British forces are using thermobaric weapons in Afghanistan.

Apache attack helicopters fire the thermobaric
weapons against fighters in buildings and caves,
creating a pressure wave which sucks the air out of victims,
shreds their internal organs and crushes their bodies.

Their use by Russia against civilians in Chechnya
in the 1990s was condemned worldwide.

The MoD admits using the weapons on "several occasions".

They are now to be fired from RAF Reaper unmanned drones
controlled by "pilots" at Creech air force base in Nevada.

These weapons are so controversial that MoD legal experts
spent 18 months debating whether British troops
could use them without breaking international law.

Eventually, they got round the ethical problems
by redefining the weapons:

"We no longer accept the term thermobaric, as
there is no internationally agreed definition,"
says an MoD spokesperson....
"We call it an enhanced blast weapon."

Human Rights Watch says they are "particularly brutal"
and their blast "makes it virtually impossible
for civilians to take shelter".

Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman:
"It is staggering the MoD has added these weapons
to Britain’s arsenal in cloak-and-dagger secrecy.
Parliament has never assented to their use.
Gordon Brown claimed the moral high ground when
Britain supported a ban on cluster munitions
but leaving a loophole for these weapons casts
a different picture on the true position."

The MoD:
"We are conscious of the controversial aspects,
but it is being used sparingly and under strict
circumstances where it is deemed appropriate by
the commander on the ground."

A spokesperson adds that it can "achieve objectives
with the minimum coalition casualties and reduced collateral damage".



********************



WE'RE A DEMOCRACY, RIGHT?

Imagine the world as democratic... with a UN parliament.
In a world parliament of, say, 500 members,
China, with 20% of the global population, would have 100 M.P.s.
India, with 17% of the population, would have 85.
All the countries of the European Union combined,
with 7.4% of the global population, would have 37 M.P.s.
The U.S and Israel, with 5% of the world’s population,
would have 25 world parliament M.P.s.

Asia, with an estimated 60% plus of the global population,
in a democratic world parliament, would
have 303 out of the 500 seats.



*****************************



QUEEN ELIZABETH DOES HER BIT FOR HARMONY

In a move certain to be seen as an affront to Muslims everywhere,
Queen Elizabeth of USUK gives a knighthood to Salman Rushdie.

Just in case we think she's being too generous to "foreigners",
she simultaneously takes one away from President Robert Mugabe;
who WAS an honorary Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Bath.

The cricket tour is now also cancelled...

I bet Robert's shaking in his shoes !



*******************************



WEST IS OPENLY WARNED TO CHANGE DIRECTION...

Iran's Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani
says today, that the West should listen hard to ElBaradei's warning
and stop provoking Iran, the Press TV satellite channel reports.

"There is little chance for interaction. You
have reached the final minutes of your defeated game," Larijani says.

"Why do you tread the path of confrontation if
you intend to hold negotiations with Iran?"
Larijani asks the West, referring to the package
of incentives drawn up by the five permanent
members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

The Iranian speaker recommends that the West
does not carry out measures which will result in higher costs.

"Western powers are on the threshold of an impasse.
The Iranian and regional nations are
scrutinizing their moves," Larijani says.

He states further, that Iran will change its policies
on the nuclear issue, if the West intends to use
negotiations as a means to justify "its illegal measures."

Larijani adds that the issues of human rights
and Iran's nuclear program have been changed into
a pretext for certain Western countries for their
diplomatic and media fraud.

"You know that your wrong strategies in Iraq,
Lebanon and Afghanistan have borne not fruit,
but hatred. The little chance for interaction
with Iran requires rational and constructive signs," he says.

　 In an interview with the Austrian newspaper "Die Presse"
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mahdi Safari today,
points out that the EU's sanctions against Iran
will lead to serious consequences, namely, Iran
withdrawing money from EU countries.

He believes that once "more than 100 billion U.S. dollars"
are withdrawn from European banks, it will
certainly lead to a money shortage on the continent,
which will have an impact on the global economy.

The EU will suffer a "loss" if it takes part in
implementing further sanctions against Iran, says
Safari, because Iran has "gas and oil resources
that everyone wants to buy."



********************************



IRAN ISOLATED ?

The Organisation of Islamic Conference is endorsing
Iran’s bid to occupy a seat on the Security Council for 2009-2010.



*************************


First contractor convicted under U.S. military law in Iraq.

A U.S. military court has sentenced Alaa Mohammad Ali,
to five months in jail for stabbing another interpreter.
Ali has been in detention since February.

Good headline though, yeah?



**************************


THE GREATEST POSSIBLE FORCE - WITHOUT LIMITS


Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najar
on Sunday, warns of a "limitless" response to any
military strike, and considers Israel's drill
- reported in the eastern Mediterranean and Greece -
as "psychological operations".

Mostafa Mohammad Najar;
"It seems that parallel efforts and psychological warfare
are underway to dissuade the Iranian nation from
realizing its inalienable right,"
Najar tells Iranian Fars news agency.

"Iran will not initiate any conflict but will
punish any aggressor with the greatest possible force.
With determination and using all the options
- without limits in terms of time and space-
we will give a crushing response to any hostile action,"
he says, adding that Iran will not be intimidated
by these threats and will not renounce its right.

The New York Times reports on Friday that the
U.S. military believes Israel's military exercise
earlier this month was a rehearsal for a
potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

More than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighter jets
participated in the manoeuvres in the eastern Mediterranean
and Greece during the first week of June, U.S. officials say.

Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps
Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, on Saturday,
says his troops will counter any attack against the country.

Now the West knows... any attack on Iran,
will lead to war without end or limits.
Please write to your MP !



*****************************



BRITISH EQUIPMENT "GROUND DOWN"

712 of the 2,136 Warrior, Saxon and Scimitar vehicles,
which could be used to transport and protect troops,
are either being repaired or have been destroyed.



*********************************



SISTANI REJECTS PACT WITH USUK

"Political entities should stick to their stand
of rejecting the pact," says Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalaei,
a representative of Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric,
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in Karbala on Friday.



*******************************



USUK "PROVIDE NO LEADERSHIP".


A survey of the world's refugees reports
that half a million Iraqis fled in 2007, the
third consecutive year more Iraqis were displaced
than any other nationality in the world.

The survey by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
says the U.S. accepted just over half the 3,000
it had promised to resettle.

"While the Bush administration and the United Kingdom
are busy trying to win the war, they have provided
no leadership toward ensuring the rights and
well-being of the victims of this war.
Europe, which for the most part warned of the
dire humanitarian consequences of the war, has also
done nothing to help the people they were so concerned about."

In its "Report Card" section, it gives the U.S.
an "F," the lowest grade, for returning refugees
to their home countries without hearing them out.

"We gave the United States an F in refoulement
entirely for its treatment of Haitians,"
Merrill Smith, editor of the report, says.

Cubans but not Haitians are told they have the
right to seek asylum. Haitians are sent back.

"The mistreatment of refugees is not limited to
poor countries or undemocratic regimes.
Wealthy industrial nations utilize policies
designed to limit the number of refugees that
enter their territory, explaining that they
have limited resources, that refugees are unable
to integrate or that some other country has primary responsibility."

Europe appears in the section entitled "Worst Places for Refugees."

"European countries have crafted policies that
essentially deny access by making it as difficult
as possible to enter their territory.
Countries on the periphery of Europe have the
harshest policies, protecting their wealthy neighbours
to the north and west, often for money."

It faults European countries for forcibly returning
refugees "to manifestly dangerous situations."


* * *


The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution
demanding warring nations stop using sexual violence
as a tactic of war, saying the problem has reached
"unspeakable and pandemic proportions".

The document - passed during a special meeting on Thursday -
says rape is no longer just a by-product of war
but a military tactic that poses a threat to
international security and stability.

The resolution calls on warring governments to protect
civilians from sexual violence saying that such crimes
should be excluded from amnesty after conflicts.

The council also warns that special measures will be considered
against the perpetrators when imposing or renewing sanctions.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, says the
problem of sexual violence has
"reached unspeakable and pandemic proportions...."

UN officials say the problem is currently worst
in eastern Congo but a survey of 2,000 women and
girls in Liberia shows that 75% had been raped
during the country's civil war.

MIND, THEY'VE GOT A BLOODY CHEEK !
U.N. PEOPLE ARE AMONGST THE MOST GUILTY OF ABUSE !!!

(SEE ARTICLE FURTHER BELOW ON CONGO)



*************************


EEC UNITES ON REFUGEES - EXCEPT THE UK !

The EEC passes a bill which states EU nations
should grant immigrants basic rights, including
access to free legal advice, food and shelter,
and prohibits the expulsion or detention of unaccompanied children.

Both extreme right and "liberals" acclaim the law.

According to the bill, once illegal immigrants
are found by the authorities, they will first
be allowed to leave voluntarily for up to 30 days.

If there is a risk they will abscond, they can be
put in custody for up to six months while their
deportation is being processed.

There can be a 12-month extension in specific cases,
such as when illegal immigrants do not co-operate.

At present, there is no common policy on expelling
illegal immigrants, and detention periods vary from
32 days in France to indefinite custody in the UK.

The reforms will not automatically apply in Britain,
because it has negotiated an "opt-out".



***************************



BIG LATIN-AMERICAN "NO" TO EEC LAW ON IMMIGRANTS

Latin American countries criticise the new EU
immigration law, which stipulates deportation
of illegal immigrants in EU countries.

The European Parliament's "Return Directive",
is due to come into force in 2010.

Under the law, all illegal immigrants living in the EU
will have to leave the bloc within seven to 30 days.

If they don't, they will be subject to up to
six-months of detention, which can be prolonged
to 12 months in "exceptional" cases. The deportees
will be barred from re-entry for up to five years.

On Thursday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
threatened to cut the oil supply to European
countries if the new law is applied.

He urges Latin American countries to unite against the EU law,
which he describes as an "embarrassment" and "unacceptable."

Meanwhile, the Argentine Foreign Ministry
criticises the new EU law, saying the Argentine
government "regrets the terms of the Return
Directive approved by the EU Parliament.
The immigration issue can only be solved if
it is tackled with respect for human rights,"
the ministry says in a statement.

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry also releases a statement,
saying the EU decision to put a tougher hand on
illegal immigrants "goes the wrong way."

Foreign ministers of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia
also express their concern about the EU law.

A Peruvian parliament leader says the EU law
contradicts the agreement between the EU and
Latin America on the protection of immigrants,
which was signed in May during the 5th Latin
American, Caribbean and EU Summit (ALCUE).

Guatemalan Deputy Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Ibarra
says the EU law affects many countries in the region,
which could work together to urge the EU to reconsider.

Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina
says the EU decision is "worrisome" because the
present policy is more generous to Latin American immigrants.


***************************


WILL USUK BE FOREVER REMEMBERED AS WORSE THAN THE NAZIS ?

The General who probed Abu Ghraib says
Bush officials committed war crimes:

"There is no longer any doubt as to whether the
current administration has committed war crimes,"
retired Army Major Gen. Antonio Taguba writes,
in a new report on medical evidence that U.S. troops
abused prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo.
"The only question that remains to be answered
is whether those who ordered the use of torture
will be held to account."

Here's a short extract from an article by McClatchy;
"John Yoo wanted to use military commissions in
the manner they were used in the Indian wars,"
Romig said. "I looked at him and said, 'You know,
that was 100-and-something years ago. You're out
of your mind; we're talking about the law.'"

The military commissions that the U.S. used
against Native Americans during the mid-19th
century were often ad hoc and frequently
resulted in natives being hanged or shot.

(Yoo is now a professor at BERKLEY, California !!!)

YOU CAN LOOK AWAY, BUT TO READ THE TRUTH . . .
PLEASE PASTE THIS INTO YOUR BROWSER:-

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/



**************************



BIG HITCH FOR METRIX TRANSFER TO ST ATHAN

The planned switch of military training to Wales
to set up a £11bn new facility could be put back
eight years, BBC Wales suggests.

Building on the centre at St Athan in the Vale of
Glamorgan was due to start next year, but massive
opposition could be having an effect....
Now, union leaders fighting to keep work in Hampshire
say the Metrix consortium is considering
keeping open HMS Sultan in Hampshire.

It was due to close and transfer its work to
south Wales in 2017, but a leaked e-mail suggests
it could stay open until 2025.

PCS's Paul Bemrose;
"There are a lot of problems with the programme
now in terms of affordability, which the MoD are
not talking about, because they don't want to
raise the spectre of the project collapsing."


*******************************



THE CEASEFIRE STICKS - JUST! - IN GAZA,
BUT DON'T FORGET THE WEST BANK !

Israeli settlers attack Palestinian civilians and
burn three dunums of agricultural land near the
Israeli settlement of Yatsahar, south of Nablus.

Around 200 settlers attack civilians, say witnesses,
destroying property and setting fire to agricultural lands.
They also throw stones at houses causing a large
amount of damage to the house owned by 'Atallah
Taqo, a resident of Huwwara.

The settlers also disrupt the movement of pedestrians,
erecting checkpoints. They attack Arab cars
passing through the area.

The Israeli army launches simultaneous attacks
in Hebron, Jenin, Tulkarem, and Qelqilia.



****************



WORLD'S BIGGEST GUN RUNNERS !

Britain is now the world's biggest arms exporter,
overtaking the US, the Financial Times reports
Wednesday, quoting government figures.

Britain "earned" £10 billion from new defense orders
from overseas in 2007, giving it 33% of the
world export market, figures released Tuesday show.
In 2006, UK export orders totalled £5.5 billion.


*************************


MONTHS AGO, the Afghan Senate urged Taleban talks and a Ceasefire.

The Afghan Senate called on the Kabul government
to open direct talks with the Taleban, and said
Nato must stop attacking them.


The draft law distinguishes between the Taleban,
and Pakistani and al-Qaeda fighters, who it says
are enemies of Afghanistan.


The Senate still says that while efforts get under way
to open talks, Nato-led military operations against
the Taleban should CEASE.

"If the need arises for an operation, it should be
carried out in co-ordination with the national army
and police and after consultation with the government
of Afghanistan," the National Reconciliation Bill states.

It also says that when the Afghan army and police force
are up to full strength, a timetable should be drafted
for "coalition forces to leave the country."



&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&



NEVER MIND RUMSFELD - GET CHENEY & BUSH !

"Physicians for Human Rights" alleges evidence
of U.S. torture and war crimes, and accuses
U.S. military health professionals of;
allowing the abuse of detainees, denying them
medical care, and providing confidential information
to interrogators that they can then exploit.

The top military lawyer at Guantanamo now says
prisoners WERE exposed to forbidden techniques,
such as sleep deprivation, but that such treatment
was hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Lieutenant-Colonel Diane Beaver, says the US
defence department hid prisoners who were
being treated harshly, or abusively.

Beaver also says the military was secretly using
previously forbidden techniques, such as sleep
deprivation, but hiding them so as not to draw
"negative attention", according to minutes of one meeting.

"The ICRC is a serious concern. They will be in
and out, scrutinising our operations, unless they
are displeased and decide to protest and leave.
This would draw a lot of negative attention."
Beaver also said interrogators should "curb the
harsher operations while ICRC is around".

A senior CIA lawyer at that meeting, John Fredman,
said that whether harsh interrogations amount to
torture "is a matter of perception.
If the detainee dies you're doing it wrong."

Beaver wrote the Oct. 11, 2002, memo that said
abusive methods could be used against detainees
at Guantanamo Bay because they were "not prisoners of war".
Her proposed methods included extended isolation,
20-hour interrogations, death threats and waterboarding.

Now she says she is "shocked" that her memo became
the justification for Rumsfeld's approval to use harsher methods.

(The committee she spoke to, heard that Senior
Allied Commanders "left the room" when torture
was discussed, for fear of "guilt by association".)

This is just the FIRST day of evidence...

Look out Rummy, they're comin' to getcha !



*****************



PEW ! - WE DON'T LIKE AMERICA.

The latest Pew report on attitudes to the US;-

"...with few exceptions, the American economy is
now seen as having a negative impact on national economies,
both large and small, in all parts of the world."

The majority of countries also think that the U.S.
is extremely influential in their nations —
and see that influence as bad.



**********************



WHY IS THE PRICE OF OIL GOING UP?

Earlier in June, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz
says that if Iran continues its nuclear program
"we will attack it." The week before, Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni says Israel's military option
is "viable", and on Sunday former deputy defense
minister Ephraim Sneh says he believes Israel will,
in the end, need to attack Iran.



*******************************


BROWN CAPITULATES AND CURTSIES.


Brown says there is no "timetable" for the
withdrawal of British troops from Iraq;
says he is sending "additional troops" to Afghanistan;
then announces that Britain is "freezing"
the assets of Iran's largest bank, Bank Melli.

Bush says Brown is "a good friend".



****************************


FAIR SWAP?

After a couple of hundred dead or seriously injured
in Afghanistan, UK soldiers can welcome some fresh faces.

Some 230 engineers, logistical staff and military training experts
are reported to have been picked to begin a "tour".



*********************



"DECLARATION OF WAR ON ALL MUSLIMS"

The de facto Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip
says they are monitoring Israeli settlement expansion
in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem with concern,
and that they reject any entrenchment of Israel's illegal settlements.

The de facto Hamas government points out that the
Israeli government recently decided to build 1,300
new residential units in the settlement of Ramat Shlomo,
near the Palestinian neighbourhood of Beit Hanina
in East Jerusalem, which already has 2,000 housing units.

The Hamas de facto government describes the
Israeli decision to expand the settlement
as new evidence that the continuing meetings between
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators are "futile."

The statement adds that the Israeli government
exploits these meetings to cover its criminal
acts and to expand settlements in and around
Jerusalem, as part of its ongoing attempts to
Judaize the city. The statement describes the
continuing Israeli settlement expansion in Jerusalem
as a "declaration of war against Muslims all over the world."

The de facto Hamas government calls on the
international community to end its silence
regarding the aggressive practices of the Israeli
occupation, and reminds them that constructing
settlements on occupied territory is a war crime
under international law and the Fourth Geneva
Convention. The statement calls for serious
international intervention to stop the ongoing
Israeli violations, and urges countries to stop
treating Israel as if it is immune from
international penalties or sanctions.

Finally, the statement calls on the Arab and
Islamic countries to assume their
responsibilities towards occupied Jerusalem and
intervene urgently to save the holy and
multicultural city from the Israeli attempts to
Judaize it, which have intensified since the
Annapolis conference in November 2007.



**************************


EEC MOVE TO UPGRADE RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL CONDEMNED

The National Committee for Grassroots Resistance in Palestine
condemns recent discussions in the European Union
on upgrading relations with Israel and urges the EU
to act against Israel's ongoing human rights violations
and settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In a statement to European and EU representatives,
the Committee says that while Palestinians appreciate
the EU's longtime support for a just peace based on UN resolutions,
they are dismayed at recent deliberations over upgrading Israel-EU relations.

The National Committee for Grassroots Resistance,
notes that Israel continues to disregard the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) 2004 decision
condemning construction of the separation wall inside the West Bank,
and that the ICJ recommends that states take punitive action
against Israel if it fails to dismantle the wall.

As the Committee puts it, "serious pressure should
be put on Israel to bring an end to these illegal measures…
Israel should not be rewarded for its unlawful practices."

The Committee adds that Israel continues to pursue
"expansionist, colonial, and discriminating policies"
in the occupied Palestinian territories, including
land confiscation, home demolitions, settlement and
wall construction, Judaisation of Jerusalem, restrictions
on Palestinian movement, exploitation of Palestinian
water resources, assassinations and mass imprisonment.
The statement warns that in the West Bank, Israel
is establishing "an apartheid regime based on
transforming areas into isolated ghettos and cantons."

Earlier in June, Palestinian P M Salam Fayyad
sent a strongly worded letter to the EU opposing
any potential upgrade of EU-Israel relations
while Israel continues to expand settlements in the
West Bank and violates its commitments under the Road Map.

Israel is reportedly seeking to attain a status in the EU
similar to that of Switzerland, which is not an EU member
but benefits from a free trade agreement with the EU
and easy access for its citizens to EU countries.
As an interim measure, Israel wants to upgrade its
relations with the EU under the European Neighbourhood Policy
(ENP) framework, strengthening economic and institutional ties
and enabling Israelis to receive EU research funding.



******************************



UK MILITARY 'INFLUENCING' UNIVERSITIES.


The UK is the world's third biggest spender
on military research and development,
yet there is considerable secrecy surrounding
the growing influence of the military on the
research agenda in British universities,
according to a new report by a UK-based organisation.

Among the 16 universities investigated by
Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR)
are Oxford and Cambridge, and Imperial College
and University College in London.

Chris Langley, one of the report's authors, says:
"The creeping influence of the military establishment
is deeply disturbing... We encountered secrecy
and evasiveness while researching this report.
There must be transparency if public confidence
in science is to be maintained."

The report, entitled Behind Closed Doors, claims
that the average level of military funding of UK
universities is up to five times larger than
government figures suggest.

The most recent government figure for military
funding of British universities is £44m in 2004.

The report says that since 2002, new military
research groups that are supported by publicly-
funded research councils, military corporations
and the MoD have surfaced in many universities.

The UK is the world's third biggest spender on
military research and development, receiving $5bn
net expenditure from the MoD alone in 2005 to 2006.

Langley says the growing influence is reflective
of how universities in the UK are becoming increasingly commercialised.


"If you're undertaking research, and receiving
commercial funding for it, you're expected to
produce results which have a short-term economic goal.
Whereas if you're funded by a research group
which is not tied to an agenda then you're more
likely to be motivated by scholarship and interest."

Langley, an independent scientific consultant,
says research students today are "largely"
funded by commercial organisations, particularly
in the areas of science and engineering.

He says staff in universities worry about
the power of vested interests, especially large
corporations, in influencing the research agenda
and making it more "conformist".

Corporations known to develop military technology
and provide funding to UK universities include
BAE Systems, Boeing, GKN, General Dynamics,
Lockheed Martin, QinetiQ and Rolls Royce.

The rising involvement of such companies means
that high-technology, weapons-based approaches
are given priority over political or diplomatic methods, says Langley.

"The staff we spoke to were not prepared to go
public with this, they felt very uncomfortable," he says.

"Individual researchers wouldn't raise their
voices against this – they're caught between
the universities and their funders."

Universities deny the military is playing a
greater role in research agendas.

Hurrah for this report ! Psychology courses, for example,
at "red brick" universities throughout the UK,
for decades, have focussed on conformity studies,
with some interested specifically in torture and
even how to "break" a religiously motivated person.
Most universities in the UK have all faculties spied on.

Free country ? Not a glimmer !



***************************



The Israeli army has refused exit visas for
several of the "Fulbright scholarship" students
from Gaza. Rice is trying to "find out" why !


******************************


Ethiopia spends 50 million dollars on armaments,
as US aid pours in to feed starving people...
that's a strange priority, but it couldn't happen
in Britain - could it !?!
As Brown fought for 42 days prison wthout charges
or trial, (and spends billions bombing Iraq
and Afghanistan,) we read that a rise in both child
and pensioner poverty has left Britain a more unequal
country than when Labour came to power in 1997.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says that
the prime minister will have to divert money
from "other areas" to have any chance of
hitting his 2010 target for halving child poverty.
Armaments like nuclear tipped missiles, couldn't be
one of those "other areas", could they?

David Phillips, researcher at the IFS: "We
estimate that it would need to spend a further
£2.8bn a year by 2010-11 to give itself a 50-50
chance of meeting its next child poverty target".

The IFS says inequality in Britain is now equal
to the highest level since figures were available in 1961.


*******************


SOMALIA SUFFERS AS "PEACE DEAL" SIGNED.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, former leader of
Somalia's Islamic Courts' Union, rejects the
new peace agreement between the country's
interim government and its main political rivals.
Aweys calls it "a trap" to derail the Somali resistance.

Although the Ethiopian-backed Somali government
and some members of the opposition Alliance for
the Liberation of Somalia (ALS) signed a
cessation of hostilities accord on Monday,
the deal faces criticism hours after it is signed.

Aweys: "We encourage the insurgents and the
Somali people not to be tired of combating the enemy.
I do not believe that the outcome of this conference
will have any impact on the resistance in Somalia.
The aim of the meeting was to derail the holy war in the country."

Najum Mushtaq, a Somalia analyst;
"There are two external factors that I think are
very critical; one is, during the last four and
five months we have had US air strikes in Somalia.
Although in one of them they have been able to
kill a so-called al Qaeda leader … there has been
a lot of collateral damage.
The Islamic insurgency in Somalia should be seen
to be directed against two enemies. The Ethiopian
occupiers [as the resistance sees them] and the
American war against terrorism.
On both cases this peace deal has little value."

Clashes between Muslim fighters and Somali-Ethiopian forces
killed at least 28 people over the weekend.
Aid workers say the violence has triggered a
humanitarian crisis which may be the worst in
Africa, with at least a million people displaced.



****************************************



YOUR MOVE, MR PRESIDENT.

Iran is being threatened by Bush - and we
all fret, because he IS crazy enough to do it.
What we've missed - and it was barely reported -
is a letter from U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr.,
chair of the House Judiciary Committee, on May 8th,
to George W. Bush, warning the President that
any attack on Iran without Congressional approval
will be grounds for impeachment.



*****************



BEHAVE . . . OR IT'S ONE STATE !

The head of the Palestinian Negotiations Unit, Ahmad Qurei',
says the Palestinian negotiating team totally reject Israel's decision
to initiate new construction in the Jerusalem settlements.
He describes the American stance on settlements as unfair,
the European position as hypocritical,
and the Arab posture as weak.

He says that if Israel wants to impose 'facts on the ground'
by force, "I will tell them that we spent 30 years
persuading Palestinians to accept a two-state solution,
and if we do not succeed in achieving it,
we will return to the idea of one state."



*******************



ISRAELIS INJURE VICE PRESIDENT OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Dozens of Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters
participating in a peaceful march in Bil'in were hurt
when Israeli forces responded with massive amounts
of tear gas and rubber-coated bullets on Friday afternoon.
The protest against the separation wall was the closing event
of the Third Annual Conference on Nonviolent Resistance,
held in the village of Bil'in, west of Ramallah, for three days.

The conference was attended by more than 300 people,
including Palestinians, Israeli activists, and foreign nationals.

During the protest on Friday, Bil'in residents,
popular resistance activists, Palestinian and
European parliamentarians, and foreign and Israeli
activists marched towards the separation wall in Bil'in,
which confiscates most of the village's land.
Israeli troops fired tear gas, sound bombs, and
rubber-coated bullets towards the protesters.

Dozens were treated for tear gas inhalation,
including Vice President of the European Parliament
Luisa Morgantini and Irish peace activist and
Nobel prize laureate Mairead Corrigan-Maguire.
Italian judge Julio Tuscano was injured after
being hit in the head by a tear gas grenade,
and was transferred to Al-Sheikh Zayed Hospital
in Ramallah. Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordinator of
the local popular committee, was also lightly injured.

Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)
including Dr Mustafa Al-Barghouthi, Qais Abu Leila,
Muhib 'Awad, and Walid Assaf also participated in
the march and suffered from tear gas inhalation.

In comments to the conference participants before the march,
Al-Barghouthi affirmed that Israeli aggression
will not stop the Palestinian popular struggle
against the Israeli occupation and the separation wall.

In September 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court
ordered the government to change the route of
the separation wall in Bil'in so that the
villagers would have access to their land.
The Israeli authorities have not begun to
implement the ruling, and the Israeli military
has argued it cannot change the route for 'security reasons.'

Iyad Bournat, a member of the popular committee in Bil'in,
says that the conference and the march have been
a success despite the harsh response of the Israeli forces,
and affirms that the villagers' nonviolent resistance will continue.



***************



ALGERIA WAITS FOR EGYPT TO SHOW SOLIDARITY

Algeria expresses support for the proposed Palestinian unity talks,
and re-extends its offer to supply free fuel to the Gaza Strip.

The offer of support took place during a phone call
between deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
and Algerian Prime Minister Abdel Aziz Belkhadem.

The offer depends on Egypt’s cooperation in opening
the Rafah border crossing. Israel controls Gaza’s main
crossing point for liquid fuels, often forcing the crossing to close.



***********************



US PLAN FOR "PERMANENT BASES IN IRAQ"
... the story continues:-

Iraq is now insisting on the right to veto any
US military operations throughout its territory,
and make mercenaries subject to Iraqi law,
according to a senior member of the Iraqi government.

Hussain al-Shahristani, Iraq's oil minister,
says any agreement will last a maximum of two years
and be terminated by either side with six months' notice.



Last week, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a powerful
Shiite cleric heading the leading Shiite party SIIC,
met with revered Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Al-Hakim says Sistani raises four conditions
as pillars for the establishment of the agreement:
safeguarding the sovereignty of Iraq,
transparency, approval of the Iraqi people
and the need to submit the details of the deal
to the Iraqi parliament for the final decision...
and now an Iraqi parliamentary committee turns
down the latest USUK proposals.... Game on !!!


Details reveal that the proposed deal would
allow US forces to occupy permanent bases,
carry out military operations and keep immunity from Iraqi law.

The details, revealed by The Independent,
are provoking a huge backlash in Iraq.

The proposed deal would cement the US military presence in Iraq
and prevent Obama from fulfilling his campaign
promises to withdraw US troops if elected.

"Iraqi sovereignty would be very much diluted
if this pact goes ahead as Washington wants,"
says Patrick Cockburn, author of The Independent report.
"It would be very difficult to call Iraq a fully
independent country if it agreed to these terms."

The Independent report says that the US
would be allowed to have more than 50
permanent bases in the country.

Soldiers would be granted full immunity from Iraqi law
and a free hand to conduct arrests and military operations
without the consent of Baghdad,
or even an obligation to consult.

It also says the US wants control of Iraqi
airspace below approx. 9,700m.

The US says it does not want permanent bases in Iraq,
but The Independent quotes an Iraqi source
who says Washington's position is "a tactical subterfuge".

On Thursday, Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq,
denied claims that the US wants permanent bases in Iraq.

In the US, the plan has been criticised by
Democrats who see in the proposed pact an attempt
by George Bush, the US president, to dictate US
foreign policy even after he is out of office.

A majority of the Iraqi parliament has already
written to the US Congress rejecting the long-
term security deal unless it is linked to a
requirement that US forces leave.
See below for more details...



*********************



The US is threatening the Iraqi government
into signing a military agreement by holding hostage
some 50 billion U.S. dollars of Iraq's money
in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

American negotiators are using the existence of
20 billion U.S. dollars in outstanding court
judgments against Iraq in the United States,
to pressure their Iraqi counterparts into
accepting the terms of the military deal
which is seen by many Iraqis as prolonging
the U.S. occupation indefinitely.

U.S. negotiators in talks with the Iraqi side
have suggested that if the UN mandate, under which
the money is held, lapses and is not replaced by
the new agreement, Iraq's foreign reserves,
currently protected by a U.S. presidential order
giving them immunity from judicial attachment,
would lose this immunity, and the cost to Iraq
would be the immediate loss of 20 billion U.S. dollars.



*********************



With USUK and Israel screaming for war, Iran and Syria
sign a new defence agreement as Hamas holds talks
in Tehran, and Hezbollah leader Nazrallah suggests;

"There are two dreams; a Lebanese dream and an American dream;
The Lebanese dream speaks about a calm and peaceful summer
and the American dream speaks about a hot summer.
Come and let us realize our dreams, and not
the dreams of our enemies."



****************



THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE "WILL NOT BE BROKEN"

Ahmad Yousef, Political Counselor in the Foreign
Ministry of the de-facto government in Gaza,
applauds Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas'
decision to restart an open dialogue.

Yousef says that Abbas' speech last Wednesday
and Hamas' immediate acceptance of it lays
the groundwork for a return to political
awareness and wisdom in the Palestinian arena,
and constitutes an important step towards
national reconciliation and healing the
divisions between Hamas and Fatah which have
prevailed since June 2007.

He says; "We hope that there will be an Arab
and Islamic effort to support the dialogue and
reconciliation endeavours, push them forward, and
deal with any obstacles on our path to success."

Referring to Abbas' speech, Yousef states:
"We were waiting for this positive language
to motivate everyone to work towards healing the
damaged relations between our brothers in the
Hamas and Fatah movements, and to return all
Palestinian factions to their national spirit
which carried us together through long years
confronting the Israeli occupation."

He adds: "We warned previously against betting
only on the US position, or putting all the files
of the Palestinian issue in one basket;
instead we must push towards deepening our Arab
and Islamic ties, since Palestine and the Al-aqsa
Mosque occupy a place in the minds of the 1.5
billion Muslims around the world."

"Today, after listening to the speech of Isma'il Haniyeh,
which is another step forward, we embark with him
on a new journey of reconciliation and reformation…
we can now start working for national unity and
strengthening our social fabric as sons of one nation.
We reaffirm our commitment to political
partnership and peacefully sharing authority."

Yousef concludes, "We hope that Abbas will surprise us
with a visit to the Gaza Strip in the coming days,
and recognizes that Gaza is not only a strong
supporter of the national project but also a
house honored by the blood of martyrs, and that
its people will not be broken despite the
hunger, oppression and blockade."


************


FULL WITHDRAWAL - OR SOD OFF !


A majority of the Iraqi parliament has written to Congress
rejecting a long-term security deal with Washington
if it is not linked to a requirement that U.S. forces leave.

Rep. William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat
and Iraq war opponent, was handed a letter by
Iraqi parliamentarians laying down conditions for
the security pact that the Bush administration seeks.

"The majority of Iraqi representatives strongly reject
any military-security, economic, commercial,
agricultural, investment or political agreement
with the United States that is not linked to
clear mechanisms that obligate the occupying
American military forces to fully withdraw from
Iraq," the letter to leaders of Congress says.

The signatures represent just over half the
membership of Iraq's parliament, says Delahunt,
a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee chairman.

Iraqi lawmakers testified to Delahunt's panel on Wednesday
that talks on a long-term security pact
should be postponed until after troops are gone.

"What are the threats that require U.S. forces to be there?"
asked Nadeem Al-Jaberi, speaking through a translator.

"I would like to inform you, there are no threats on Iraq.
We are capable of solving our own problems."

A Sunni Iraqi lawmaker, Khalaf Al-Ulayyan;
"We prefer to delay until there is a
new administration in the United States."

So after all that violence, hatred and pain -
the U.S. ends up getting nothing !?!



****************************



"SMALL POCKETS OF BULLSHIT"

In 2006, former Defence Secretary John Reid
suggested operations in Afghanistan could be
completed within three years 'without firing one bullet'.

In 2007, between May and September, 29 British
men were killed in an almost continuous offensive.

In Iraq it took four years to reach 100 British casualties.
In two years, 95 men have died in Afghanistan.

Last summer, frontline troops in Helmand had a one in 36 chance
of not surviving a six-month tour of duty. During the Korean war it was one in 58;
In Vietnam, one in 46.

During 2007 British troops fired almost four million rounds.


**********



After months of dedicated pressure from peace campaigners,
Reed Elsevier has finally stopped organising arms trade fairs.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade argued long
that Reed's involvement in the arms trade was
incompatible with its position as the number-one
publisher of medical and science journals.

Reed drew particular criticism over its defence links
from its top title, the Lancet.

They've now sold the DSEi, ITEC and LAAD defence exhibitions
to Britain's largest independent exhibitions group,
Clarion Events, for an undisclosed sum.

Clarion Events' chief executive, Simon Kimble;
"The events we have acquired in the defence-and-security sector
are a valuable and profitable addition to our portfolio
and fit perfectly with our strategy for international expansion.

"Defence and security is a legitimate business like any other
and we will apply the same very high standards,
rigour, experience and skill to organising events
in this sector as we do in all of our others."



****************

World leaders have sent messages of support
to the new government in Nepal - except the US -
which continues to list the Maoists as a
foreign "terrorist" organisation.

The decisive win for Maoists in Nepal,
re-aligns Nepal, away from India and towards China.
Their manifesto calls for scrapping all major treaties,
especially those with New Delhi,
and stopping the recruitment of Gurkhas
into the British and Indian armies.



*************



UNASUR - the Union of South American Nations -
is formed - a regional version of the European Union.
Meetings of the country’s heads are to be annual,
and ministers’ meetings are to be quarterly.
The headquarter is to be in the capital of Ecuador, Quito.
Chile’s president Michelle Bachelet, is the first
president of the Union of South American Nations.
Lula da Silva; ‘South America will no longer be
a mere geographical concept. Beginning today
it is a political, economic and social reality,
with its own means of functioning’.



**************



BRITAIN SHOULD LEAD "BY EXAMPLE"

Amnesty International calls for Guantánamo Bay
to be shut by the end of the year.

Secretary general, Irene Khan, says she hopes
the next US president will announce its closure
on December the 10th - the 60th anniversary of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"It would be a great occasion for the new US president
to announce the closure of Guantánamo on that day," she says.

You can find Amnesty's annual report at;
http://thereport.amnesty.org/

The report renews criticism of the UK
for deporting refugees to unstable countries,
holding secret terror hearings and failing to
investigate state collusion in killings in N.Ireland.

She calls on Britain to "clean up its act"
and says world leaders "cannot be seen to
be leaders unless they do so by example".



***************



"CANNOT BE TOUCHED"

Sexual abuse of children by aid workers and peacekeepers
is rife and efforts to protect young people are inadequate,
says a report published this week.

The study by charity Save the Children UK
says there are "significant" levels of abuse,
much of it unreported and unless the silence ends,
attempts to stamp it out will "remain fundamentally flawed."

Accusations of sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers
around the world have increased in recent years
and the United Nations is investigating claims.

The report agrees that the U.N. and some non-governmental organizations
are stepping up efforts to address the problem,
but argues for a global watchdog to be established this year,
because so many "humanitarian" organizations
are now faced with
"an endemic failure to respond to reports of abuse"

The study finds a huge range of exploitation and abuse:
children trading sex for food, forced sex,
verbal sexual abuse, child prostitution,
child pornography, sexual slavery,
sexual assault and child trafficking.

U.N. peacekeepers are identified as the most likely perpetrators,
although a total of 23 humanitarian, peacekeeping
and security organizations were associated with
sexual abuse in just three countries.

"ALL humanitarian and peacekeeping agencies
working in emergency situations, including
Save the Children UK, must own up to the fact
that they are vulnerable to this problem
and tackle it head on," says Jasmine Whitbread,
chief executive of Save the Children UK.

The report says official U.N. statistics
underestimate the scale of abuse, because
much of the exploitation is not reported.

"Clearly there is a significant disparity
between the low levels of abuse cited in these statistics
and the high levels suggested in field investigations and other evidence."

Save the Children says there are many reasons
why abuse is not reported:
fear of losing material assistance,
threats of retribution, stigmatization,
negative economic impacts, lack of legal help,
resignation to abuse, lack of information about
how to report abuse and, critically,
lack of faith in a response.

Anecdotal evidence from ALL the groups studied points to
"an endemic failure to respond to reports of abuse".

"Many U.N. agencies and NGOs working here feel
they cannot be touched by anyone,"
reports one aid worker in the Ivory Coast.



**********************


ISRAEL STOPS WEST BANK FROM MOVING

Israel added a net 44 obstacles to Palestinian
movement in the West Bank since last September,
a new report from the United Nations Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) shows.

The Israeli military removed 103 barriers, but
imposed another 144 checkpoints, roadblocks and
other obstacles, a net increase of 7%.

Despite pledges from Israeli leaders to ease
restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank,
there are now a total of 607 obstacles,
including staffed and unstaffed checkpoints,
earth mounds, gates, concrete roadblocks, walls,
trenches, and electric fences throughout the territory.

UN teams carried out a survey to evaluate a claim,
made by the Israeli government in April,
that 61 roadblocks had been removed.
The teams found that only 44 of the barriers were actually removed.
Six were still in place and 11 could not be located.
Of those that were removed, OCHA reported that
only five had significant impact on movement
and access in the West Bank. Nine were of
"minimal significance," and seventeen were
of "no significance."

Thirteen were "questionable in regard to
the circumstances of their removal."



************



SMALL, DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES "MOST PEACEFUL"

Iceland is the world's most peaceful country,
according to the Global Peace Index survey.

Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, Iceland's foreign minister;
"We are very pleased that the index confirms
the core values of a small democratic society,
which has never had a military and has effectively
practised peace for hundreds of years.
We can feel that other states also find this of importance
and it is in fact a driving force in our first-time candidacy
for a non-permanent seat on the UN security council."

Denmark and Norway come second and third,
followed by New Zealand and Japan.

France comes 36th, Britain 49th, and the US is 97th.
Iraq, Somalia and Sudan come last.

The survey warns that the world's militaries are growing,
as is the technical sophistication of armaments.

Steve Killelea, founder of the Global Peace Index;
"...it takes small steps by individual countries
for the world to make greater strides on the road to peace."



*****************


NEW LABOUR - NEW MILITARY BRITAIN !

A Tory who "defected" to New Labour, says in his report
- published now - that State school pupils
should be encouraged to sign up with the cadet corps, for military training.

Quentin Davies' review is also expected to recommend
a national armed forces day, which could become a public holiday.

Davies is also calling for a re-examination
of the way the military is portrayed in schools.

Part of the plans involve leading football clubs
being called on to host parades by troops.

Brown is behind these plans, and also wants to create
a British "Purple Heart" - the medal awarded
to American troops injured in battle

Brown is said to have been impressed at the way
the US celebrates its armed forces through homecoming parades,
appearances at major sporting events,
and regular mainstream television coverage.

Last year the head of the army, General Sir Richard Dannatt,
warned that a lack of public appreciation
for Britain's military effort in Iraq and Afghanistan
was in danger of "sapping" the willingness of troops to serve.

Currently there are about 60 cadet forces
in comprehensives in England and Wales,
and 200 in the grammar and independent sector.

The proposal to expand them, which would see pupils
who sign up given weapons training, is likely
to prove highly controversial.

In March teaching unions denounced schools-based cadet forces
as a "questionable recruiting tactic".



*************



President Bush, however happy he may be to strike Iran,
cannot act without Congressional approval,
and Congress is now moving against him.

In a major setback for President Bush’s war preparations,
with Republicans in Congress now wary of more confrontation,
the U.S. Senate has voted 97 to 1 to stop putting oil
in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the rest of this year.
The House has approved a similar bill by a vote of 385 to 25.
President Bush cannot veto these measures,
passed as they were, by overwhelming majorities.



*******************



ISRAELI CHUTZPAH - OR ARMAGEDDON ?

Ehud Olmert's spokesperson, Marc Regev,
says that Israel and the US have recently agreed
to work decisively against the Iranian nuclear project.

Regev says Israeli and American points of view on the issue
are identical and they will work towards
preventing Iran from possessing any form of nuclear arsenal.

He describes diplomatic efforts as "positive but inadequate."
He says a number of military options have been proposed
which are approved of by Israel.



**********************



WHY DEPEND ON ISRAEL ?

Israel, which controls Gaza's borders, has
limited fuel supplies since last September.

Algeria is offering to supply fuel to Gaza,
if Egypt will allow tanker trucks to pass through
the Rafah crossing, bypassing Israeli-controlled crossings.
Egyptian authorities have yet to respond to the proposal.
Iran also offered fuel to Gaza two years ago.

"Egypt sent gas to Israel," says 'Ubaid,
"and they should have sent it to the Gaza Strip instead."
He thanks Algeria for its offer, and calls on Egypt
to allow Algerian fuel through the crossing.

'Ubaid also accuses Israel of shipping fuel
to the Gaza Strip at the last minute.
He also says the shutdown of the power plant
can only worsen the crisis in Gaza.


*********************


Gaza's population has been reduced to a "subhuman existence",
according to a senior UN official.

John Ging, director of operations in Gaza for the UN Refugee and Works Agency;

"It is a disaster for everybody because it's
touching everybody in every aspect of their life,
from the moment you get up in the morning until
you go to bed at night. The way things have been
reduced here, there's a very sub-human existence
for the general population."

Israel has reduced the amount of fuel so much
that many cars run on cooking gas or vegetable oil
and many schools can now longer transport their pupils to class.

More than two-thirds of Gaza's water wells
rely on fuel-powered pumps, and crops are dying.

The World Bank says that poverty rates in Gaza
are now close to 67% and that economic growth
last year was zero.

Ging says the delivery of aid is
"inadequate for the basic needs of the population.
The definitions of a humanitarian crisis are rather obscene
when compared with just how people are having to
struggle to survive here at the moment.
For everybody here, they have a daily crisis in their life
to survive and that crisis is created by a policy
to close the Gaza Strip off from the outside world."

Gaza's crisis can be eased if the crossings are opened;
"The solution is simple: open the crossings," Ging says.

"The civilian population are not lost to civilisation.
They have not given in to violence as the only way.
They are actually struggling to protect themselves
against that and they are getting no support.
If this were understood - that Gaza is not lost to violence,
that Gaza is not hopeless rather that
the majority of people in Gaza are civilised -
then the whole equation would change.
People respond much more positively to help
than they do to force, coercion or violence."



*****************



USUK TRAINS AND FINANCES TERRORISTS

Iran arrested 12 people over a deadly m