Albion Monitor Issue 151 DECEMBER 2006
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  THE YEAR OF "TRUTHINESS"
Wayward Press awards
Is there any question that Stephen Colbert is journalist of the year?

FREE! The key moment in journalistic courage this year came in April, as Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert stood before the president and Washington press corps at the White House Correspondents Association dinner and brutally spoke truth to power. But if there was a flaw in Colbert's tour-de-farce it was only that he didn't go far enough. The U.S. news media today is not only a pack of sycophants, but have come to fail their most fundamental purpose: to always tell the truth


Bush Can't Answer Key Question: Who is the Enemy in Iraq?


Is Iraq really about the global war on terror, the alleged threat from Iran, the danger emanating from sectarian war, or simply the administration's desire to claim success against the resistance to the occupation itself?
  The Unknown knowns: What we don't know about Iraq can hurt us 404 reports

UN Votes for Iran Sanctions


Hold-outs Russia and China say resolution a way for Iran to regain footing

As Rice's Iran Strategy Fizzles, Cheney Waits in Wings


UN won't go along with tough sanctions

Neo-Cons Present "Victory" Plan for Iraq


Escalate war, but just call it a "surge"

Saudis Prepare to Make Move on Iraq


Positioning themselves to directly influence strategy in Iraq

Maliki's National Reconciliation Summit a Bust


Slim chance for peace now as major Sunni, Shiite groups boycott

Sunni Groups Offered U.S. Deal to Pacify Baghdad, Turn Over Zarqawi


White House blew chance in Nov. 2005 to stop civil war by taking Sunni side

Somalia Crisis Turning Into Christian-Muslim War


U.S. taking sides and claiming Islamic force has ties to al Qaeda

Mogadishu in Chaos as Islamic Militia Leaves FREE!


Clans rearming in anticipation of the return of the U.S.-backed warlords

  VIDEO ADDS TO SECTARIAN TENSION
Sand sculpture on the beach in the eastern India state of Orissa PHOTO: Gulf Times

SADDAM EXECUTION STIRS ANGER, OUTRAGE

The execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein carried out at the start of the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha has angered Iraqis and others across the Middle East. Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, the Kurdish judge who had first presided over Saddam Hussein's trial told reporters that the execution at the beginning of Eid was illegal under Iraqi law, besides violating the customs of Islam. Amin said that under Iraqi law "no verdict should be implemented during the official holidays or religious festivals."

A member of Saddam's defense team, Najib al-Nuaimi, told reporters the day after the execution that no Sunni lawyer was allowed among the witnesses at the execution. "This is not within normal procedures," al-Nuaimi said. He added that the execution was an act of revenge and carried out for political purposes. Later, shots of the execution taken by a witness from a mobile phone showed Saddam being taunted by his executioners in his final moments. This, coupled with images of Saddam smiling at those taunting him from below the gallows, has evidently drawn widespread sympathy for Saddam.

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Saddam's Execution Spurs New UN Call for Death Penalty Moratorium


Saddam had right to appeal under treaties signed by Iraq

Botched Execution Makes Saddam Surprise Muslim Martyr


"They gifted Saddam the best death at the best moment of the year and enlisted him a hero"

Saddam Hanged Without Fair Trial, Groups Say


The trial "will be seen by many as nothing more than 'victor's justice'"

Saddam's Death Also Leaves Questions Hanging


Kurds left without genocide trial

Saddam Execution Timing Stuns Iraq Sunnis


Killed on Sunni holy day for forgiveness


TIME Chooses "You" as Person of the Year FREE!

 steveyoung
Anyone who was anyone and everyone who wasn't: Time's Person of the Year

To quote Groucho: Who wants to be a member of a group that would have me?

DHS Holding Tens of Thousands of Immigrants in Jails While Awaiting Residence Hearings


Many are Central Americans who came in search of work and freedom from increasing gang violence

Massive Immigrant Sweep Creates Havoc for Workers' Families


Few suspects found, much damage to relations with Latino community

Pinochet Dies at 91, Never Facing Justice for Crimes


Was facing legal action in 4 human rights, 2 corruption cases

Pinochet's Abuses Led to New Human Rights Movement


Pursuit of justice may foreshadow Rumsfeld's upcoming legal woes

Rape Conviction Revives U.S.-Philippine Tension


American authorities want protection for Marine convicted of raping a Filipina

Fiji Coup Leaders Gag Media


Military closes papers to block "propaganda" against the new political leadership

Mel Gibson's 'Apocalypto' Ignores Great Civilization

 apocalypto
"Tribute" film just another gory explotation flic

Blood and gore, not scientists and artists

Mel Gibson Must Answer Serious Deceptions of 'Apocalypto'


Characters ripped off from "Road To El Dorado" cartoon are least of the distortions

Chavez Faces Serious Opposition to Reckon With


40% united against him

Chavez Claims Mandate After Landslide Vote


"This is the starting-point on Venezuela's road to socialism"

Bush Wants Near-Total Isolation for Gitmo Prisoners


Contact with defense lawyers could incite the prisoners to violence

Gitmo Like "Being Alive in Your Grave"


Family of imprisoned Pakistani father and son describe horrors

Workers in Wealthy UAE Living in Squalor FREE!


500,000 migrant workers face a range of systematic abuse by their employers, including lack of basic housing

Tough Lessons From The Duke Rape Case


Backfire of shouting "race" in rape accusations

Disabled Iraq Vets a Silent Crisis


Over 150,000 veterans of the Iraq war receiving disability benefits

Iraq THE WAR IN IRAQ

2 of 3 Iraqi Children no Longer in School


School attendance was nearly 100% under Saddam

U.S. Troops Storm Falluja Hospital - Again


Repeatedly raided by U.S. soldiers "as if it were a military target"

More Iraqis Say U.S. Troops Engaging in "Collective Punishment"


Electricity in Falluja cut off for three days after snipers attacked U.S. soldiers

Iraq Becoming a Nation of Widows


Hundreds of thousands wives or mothers now carry the burden of running the families

Iraqi Doctors, Other Professionals, Singled Out as Targets


40% of professional class has now fled

Politics As Usual POLITICS AS USUAL

Why Does Anyone Take Newt Seriously?


His latest insight is that America can only survive if we impose severe curbs on freedom of speech

Some Democratic Leaders Lock-Step With Repubs on Labor, Immigration


2 key Congressmen back measures to punish immigrant workers

109th Congress: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen FREE!


Not much was accomplished during the 109th, but there was the usual manic flurry of activity the last couple of days, sort of like those sudden deathbed confessions at the moment of reckoning that keep you from going to Hell

Gates May Be Forthright, But He Won't Have Rummy's Clout


Nor can he make Bush deal with the most basic issues in Iraq

Bolton Resigns in New Defeat for Hawks


Less than three weeks after Bush had resubmitted Bolton for Senate confirmation

  CAN'T STAY THE COURSE, CAN'T END THE WAR
Bush and Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group

BAKER PANEL: NO WAY OUT OF IRAQ UNDER BUSH DOCTRINE

Among 79 recommendations included in its report, the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group (ISG) called for urgently convening all of Iraq's neighbors, including Syria and Iran, as part of a comprehensive "New Diplomatic Offensive" designed to both stabilise Iraq and to address "key regional issues," including the Arab-Israeli conflict. "There must be a renewed and sustained commitment by the United States to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace on all fronts: Lebanon, Syria, and President Bush's June 2002 commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine," the 142-page asserted in an implicit rebuke to Bush's neglect of these conflicts.

But despite the breathless hype, the report did not include any dramatic new ideas for actually ending the war in Iraq. In fact, it did not include a call to end the war at all. Rather, the report's recommendations focus on transforming the U.S. occupation of Iraq into a long-term, sustainable, off-the-front-page occupation with a lower rate of U.S. casualties.

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Crisis Group Says Baker Report Didn't Go Far Enough


Calls for "clean break" in U.S. strategy

Baker Report More Than Anyone Hoped


Diplomacy, not aggression is the realist's roadmap

Polls Show Strong Support for Iraq Study Group's Findings


All surveys show Americans consider Iraq in civil war, want U.S. out fast

Iraq Study Group Report Faces Uncertain Future


Besides White House opposition, includes hard truths about Israel's role in strife that neither party wants to consider

ISG Report: It was Always all About the Oil FREE!


Recommendations 62 and 63 confirm that control of Iraqi oil is a fundamental premise of Administration policy

Kurds Reject Baker's ISG Report


We'll secede if you touch our oil

Baker Report a Bipartisan Plan to not end Occupation FREE!


Focus is transformation into a long-term, sustainable, off-the-front-page occupation with a lower rate of U.S. casualties

Poll: Over 3 in 4 Americans Want New Path in Iraq


Want direct negotiations with Iran and Syria on stabilizing Iraq

Baker Report: Situation "Grave and Deteriorating"


"You cannot look at this area of the world and pick and choose among the countries that you're going to deal with"

Neo-Cons Move to Preempt Baker Report


Campaign to discredit bipartisan Iraq Study Group before recommendations announced


Zimbabwe's Land Reform Program Destroyed "Breadbasket of Africa" FREE!

 Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's land reform has destroyed vital farmland   PHOTO: ACT International

Productive lands turned into country estates for Mugabe's chums

Neo-Cons Were Pushing for Israel to Attack Syria During Lebanon War


"If Syria had been defeated, the rebellion in Iraq would have ended"

Syria Offers Israel Deal it Says is too Good to be True


Olmert won't take offer for renewed peace talks seriously

Zionists Outraged Over Israeli Textbooks Including W Bank "Green Line"


Want all references of "West Bank" replaced with "Judea and Samaria"

Arab Media Call Pope's Visit a Turkey


Visit to secular nation did little to repair his damaged image with Muslims

Child Beggars Now Common in Afghan Capitol FREE!


Over 60,000 school-aged children now work on the streets of Kabul to survive

Afghans Growing Less Hopeful About Future


As NATO and U.S. forces brace for expected Taliban push in 2007

Afghan Officials Shocked at Scope of Opium Farming FREE!


50% increase in opium production over last year

U.S. Cash for Afghan Water Projects Goes to Taliban FREE!


Money intended to win support of villagers

Mao's Model City Fights Encroaching Desert


Mini metropolis blasted by fierce storms with sandblaster winds

Don't Blame us for Poor Environmental Record, China Says


"We import the raw material, produce, send the products abroad"

Bush Signs Law to Divert 20 Billion Gallons From Colorado River FREE!


Will open southern Nevada, Arizona for massive development

Asian Diabetes Soars as Junk Food Grows Popular


Several governments considering tax on sugary drinks, fast food

Ebola Virus May Wipe Out Gorillas FREE!


"Add commercial hunting to the mix, and we have a recipe for rapid extinction"

Drug-resistant TB More Widespread Than Previously Feared, Says WHO FREE!


Drug-resistant Tuberculosis in almost all countries surveyed

Don't Rush to Praise Bush's Immigration HIV Waiver


Immigration policy will still treat disease like leprosy or TB

Planting More Trees in U.S. Won't Slow Global Warming, Study Says FREE!


But trees planted in tropical rainforests could indeed help, scientists say

Unknown How World Forests Will Adapt to Warmer Climate


Collapse of Amazon rainforest forseen after just 2 years of drought

Massive Oil Spill From Israeli Bombing of Lebanon Still Not Cleaned Up


Even species living at the bottom of the sea have not escaped contamination

Tainted Vodka and Bad Hootch Killing Thousands of Russians Each Year


About 42,000 are killed or become disabled from alcohol poisoning
Columnists

MOLLY IVINS

Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins has decided that she needs to take a break from her column while she undergoes the latest round of cancer treatment. She plans on resuming her column next month

ROBERT SCHEER

Robert Scheer Bush Proves Ike Was Right

Is There Any Hope Democrats Will Stop the War?

Rummy's One Last Lie for the Road

Becoming What We Despise

ALEXANDER COCKBURN

Alexander Cockburn Judy Miller's Pal Continues the Fabrications

Harry Reid: More Troops to Iraq!

Voters Said No to War, Congress Says Yes

Meet Senator Slither

STEVE YOUNG FREE!

Steve Young Right Wing Talker's Tumble

The Fight for Madison's Progressive Radio

O'Reilly's Toys and Tots Tempest

The Death of Right-Wing Talk Radio Relevance

Gerald Ford

Albion Monitor
(http://www.albionmonitor.com)
Issue 151

Editor: Jeff Elliott (editor@monitor.net)

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