Clipmarks | hayesstw's clips

The "just war" that was illegal and immoral

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:38:35 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: Over the last few days I've been watching, on Sky News, reports on the British inquiry into British involvement in the Iraqi-American War.

What I've heard and seen so far has confirmed my impression at the time, back in 2002-2003 -- that there was no real reason for the war other than that the leaders of Britain and the US wanted one. It was George Bush's second, and Tony Blair's third, since he was also one of the foremost proponents of the Nato war against Yugoslavia in 1999 (see earlier post).

The inquiry evidence is all couched in careful diplomatic terms, presenting the evidence. But for evaluation of the issues at stake, this piece from The Telegraph, of all places, tells it like it is.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

First find the heart, Tony. Your Attorney General told you, in writing, the year before you invaded, that it would be an entirely illegal enterprise. International law is there for a reason: To prevent the waging of bad wars. And the Iraq war has turned out to be catastrophically and wickedly wrong. Ultimately that is not only about illegality. It is about immorality.

The principles of the "just war" have been around since the time of Cicero and, in Christian thought, the principles of jus ad bellum were laid down by Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas. They invariably include defence of the innocent and military force as a last resort.

Blair's actions were not only illegal, as now conclusively demonstrated by Lord Goldsmith's evidence, they were also entirely immoral in the judgment of his own, universal Church. We can only presume that he confessed all this and sought absolution when he was received into the See of Rome.

Tags: war, peace, just war, tony blair, iraq

The war that could have people

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:16:37 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: Yes, we all knew about this all along, except that many of us didn't, because it wasn't the way the story was spun in the Western media.

Clip Source: www.morningstaronline.co.uk

The trial of Radovan Karadzic in The Hague, which has been stalled by the former Bosnian Serb leader's refusal to show up in court, is likely to be used by the West to justify NATO's current policy of "humanitarian intervention."

At a time when the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan is becoming increasingly unpopular in countries which have committed troops to this theatre of war, Western officials are likely to propagate the generally accepted notion - created by Western governments to cover up the real, geo-political motives for their involvement in the Yugoslav civil war - that it was NATO intervention which ended the Bosnian war and put an end to Karadzic's "genocidal policies."

The German government encouraged feelings of nationalist secession within multi-ethnic Yugoslavia, principally in Slovenia and Croatia, with the assistance of Ustashe exiles, second world war-era Croatian fascists.

Nato's shame

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:14:09 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: It is not without reason that some people have nicknamed Nato the North Atlantic Terrorist Organisation.

While it has talked much about the "war on terror", ten years ago it teamed up with, and acted as the air force of a terrorist organisation, the Kosovo Liberation Army, whose atrocities have been systematically covered up.

Clip Source: www.wsws.org

Fresh revelations have emerged about torture and murders carried out by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia in 1999 and the occupation that followed.

Allegations that the KLA maintained a secret network of prisons in their bases in Kosovo and neighbouring Albania were made on the BBC programmes “Crossing Continents” and “Newsnight,” broadcast April 9.

Information about terrible activities taking place at Burrel first reached the International Centre for the Red Cross in 2000 after KLA fighters reported that Serb civilians were taken there in 1999 and their organs removed and sold abroad for transplant operations.

Amnesty International spokesperson Sian Jones told “Crossing Continents” that UNMIK “chose not to investigate” the war crimes and was “notoriously slow in going after KLA officers.

The fact is the KLA played a key role in the United States’ strategy of breaking up the Yugoslav republic into its constituent parts

Tags: kosovo, balkans, us politics

Methodist leader receives death threats

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:18:20 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: Methodist bishop Paul Verryn's ministry to refugees in central Johannesburg has been controversial, and now he has veen receiving death threats.

Clip Source: www.pretorianews.co.za

Two men were arrested on Wednesday night for allegedly threatening the life of Methodist bishop Paul Verryn in Johannesburg.

Verryn allegedly received the first death threat from the men, both South Africans aged 26 and 31, on Monday. Verryn then filed a complaint with police.

Verryn said the men claimed to have been hired by the business owners around the church and that they were professional killers active in taxi violence.

Verryn has attracted both acclaim and criticism for using his church to provide accommodation to thousands of Zimbabwean migrants. People in government have accused him of creating a service crisis in downtown Johannesburg.

Local businesses have complained and even filed lawsuits against him. They say the presence of such large numbers of people has resulted in business losses.

In addition to blackmail, the bishop believes the threats could also be "seen as a thing where people want to get all opposition to xenophobia out of the way".

Tags: metodist church, paul verryn, refugee ministry

The nine hippies of Tarnac

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:08:50 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: The face of big government just got uglier.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Balaclava-clad police swooped on the remote village of Tarnac at dawn and arrested four men and five women, aged 22 to 34, over terrorist claims. Photograph: Thierry Zoccolan/AFP/Getty Images

the French government claims that Tarnac and its small shop are the headquarters of a dangerous cell of anarchist terrorists plotting to overthrow the state. Images of balaclava-clad police swooping to arrest suspects in Tarnac were compared by bewildered villagers to a strange, rural action movie. The government hinted that locals were too gormless to have noticed the terrorist activity in their midst. But after weeks of controversy, supporters are rising up to defend the young people of the village.

Known as the Tarnac Nine, four men and five women aged 22 to 34 are being investigated over far-left terrorism following dawn raids by police in November that targeted several addresses, including a farm with a few goats, chickens and vegetables.

Tags: big government, civil rights, human rights

In memoriam: Helen Suzman

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 07:14:22 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: For nearly 15 years, from 1961 to 1974, Helen Suzman was a lone voice in parliament for freedom, democracy, justice and human rights. And the tributes on her death show how much even those who disagreed with her politically appreciated her stand.

Clip Source: www.thetimes.co.za

Tributes have poured in for anti-apartheid icon Helen Suzman, who died at the age of 91 on Thursday.

President Kgalema Motlanthe said Suzman earned her place in South Africa’s political history through her persistent and courageous opposition to the inhumane system of apartheid.

He said South Africans of all persuasions should honour Helen Suzman and show appreciation of her contribution to the building of a democratic society.

The Pan African Congress also added its voice to the growing chorus of individuals and groups hailing Helen Suzman.

South Africa has been "robbed" of one its "brightest stars", Pan African Congress president Letlapa Mphahlele said in a statement.

"She effectively used the parliamentary platform to echo the fears and aspirations of the people," he said.

He said the PAC was "indebted" to Suzman for her support of the party’s founder, Robert Sobukwe, while he was imprisoned on Robben Island.

Tags: south africa, politics, helen suzman

Death of "Clash of Civilizations" theorist

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:04:55 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: Though Cold War terminology persists (people still speak of "First World" and "Third World"), Huntington's thesis seems to have been borne out by the reality of post-Cold War conflicts.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Samuel P. Huntington, a political scientist best known for his views on the clash of civilizations, died Wednesday on Martha’s Vineyard. He was 81.

Mr. Huntington argued that in a post-cold-war world, violent conflict would come not from ideological friction between nations, but from cultural and religious differences among the world’s major civilizations.

He identified those civilizations as Western (including the United States and Europe), Latin American, Islamic, African, Orthodox (with Russia as a core state), Hindu, Japanese and “Sinic” (including China, Korea and Vietnam).

He made the argument in a 1993 article in the journal Foreign Affairs and then expanded the thesis into a book, “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order,” published in 1996. The book has been translated into 39 languages.

Tags: clash of civilizations, samuel p. huntington, geopolitics, world power

Homeless shelter overflowing

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 01:59:08 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: Jim Growden, Baptist minister in Tullahoma, Tennessee, is involved in the running of a shelter for homeless people.

Clip Source: www.manchestertimes.com

As unemployment hovers near eight percent nationwide, the Shepherd’s House board of directors and its volunteers continue to serve the homeless in Coffee County and the surrounding area.

Staff members of the Shepherd’s House, located at 712 First Ave., Tullahoma, are the Rev. Jim Growden, director; Carol Growden, assistant director; and Terri Beard, house manager.

Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 10, 2008 the house served as a temporary shelter for 209 people, according to the Rev. Jim Growden, director.

Tags: homeless, baptist church, growden family, family history

Barack Obama's grandfather tortured by British

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:05:00 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: It's interesting how things turn around.

"He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree"

During the Mau Mau emergency in Kenya most of the Orthodox clergy in Kenya were held in concentration camps by the British, and most of the Orthodox churches were closed.

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Barack Obama’s grandfather was imprisoned and brutally tortured by the British during the violent struggle for Kenyan independence, according to the Kenyan family of the US President-elect.

Hussein Onyango Obama, Mr Obama’s paternal grandfather, became involved in the Kenyan independence movement while working as a cook for a British army officer after the war. He was arrested in 1949 and jailed for two years in a high-security prison where, according to his family, he was subjected to horrific violence to extract information about the growing insurgency.

The British responded to the Mau Mau uprising with draconian violence: at least 12,000 rebels were killed, most of them Kikuyu, but some historians believe that the overall death toll may have been more than 50,000. In total, just 32 European settlers were killed.

Tags: kenya, mau mau, barack obama, british colonialism

Patriarch for life

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:33:17 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: The ailing Patriarch of Serbia, Pavle, asked leave of the Synod of Bishops to retire but so far the bishops have showed no sign of acceding to his request. Perhaps they realise that it will be very difficult to find anyone to take his place.

Clip Source: www.b92.net

BELGRADE -- The Holy Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has not confirmed His Holiness Patriarch Pavle's plea to withdraw from his duties.

Patriarch Pavle (FoNet, archive)

Beta reports that the Assembly did not take a vote on this issue, deciding instead that the ailing 94-year-old will remain at the helm of the Church until his death.

Bishop Irinej of Niš said that although under the SPC constitution the patriarch kept the position until his death, the same principle could be applied as the one applying to bishops.

“The election of bishops is for life, but it can be overturned either through canonic guilt or through proof of inability to perform one’s duties, or through personal choice to resign and receive a pension,“ Irenej explained.

Tags: orthodox church, serbia, patriarch pavle

Religious violence in India

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:10:52 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: Recent reports of religious violence in India tend to reinforce Prof Samuel Huntington's "clash of civilizations" thesis.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Three people said to be Hindu activists were arrested yesterday in connection with bombings that killed six Muslims during Ramadan last month in the west of the country.

The news comes after an upsurge in violence that has seen Hindu mobs rampage through Christian villages in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, leaving more than 40 people dead.

Christians who have lost their homes have been told they can return only if they convert to Hinduism.

At a press conference in the Indian capital yesterday a nun said she had been raped and paraded naked in Orissa by a rampaging mob of Hindus in August.

The anti-Christian violence this summer spread across four states, including Karnataka, the capital of which is Bangalore, India's information technology capital.

Tags: religion, violence, hindutva, clash of civilizations

Is neoliberalism dead yet?

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:43:09 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: The the recent nationalisation of banks in the UK and US looks like the death-knell for neoliberalism - but is it?

Clip Source: www.counterpunch.org

What exploded last week was an economic credo that has been rolling along since the early 1970s: neoliberalism.

By all rights, this last crisis has brought us to the crossroads where neoliberalism should be buried with a stake through its heart.
We’ve had thirty years worth of deregulation – the loosening of government supervision. This has been the neoliberal mantra preached by both major parties, the whole of the establishment press and almost every university economics department in the country. It is central to the current disasters. And if you want to identify symbolic figures in the legislated career of deregulation, there are no more resplendent culprits than the man at McCain’s elbow, Phil Gramm, and the man standing at Obama’s elbow at his press conference, Robert Rubin.

Tags: neoliberalism economics, economic liberalism, privatization, privatisation

Jack Fingleton by Greg Growden

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:17:58 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: Greg Growden is better known as a rugby writer, but it seems that he writes about cricket too.

Clip Source: www.cricketweb.net

In 1991 I stumbled across a little paperback book called A Wayward Genius by Greg Growden. I had never heard of the author, but the subject matter being discussed was that of 'Chuck' Fleetwood-Smith a colourful Test cricketer from the 1930s. The small book was consumed in one sitting (224 pages) and I was mightily impressed with the author.

For the next few years I would check the new cricket books at summer time, and keep my eye out for any new offerings from Growden. After a while I gave up hope of any new books until I walked into my local bookshop last week and found a beautifully presented hardback book titled Jack Fingleton by Greg Growden.

Seventeen years is a long break between books, but like the acting of Jack Nicholson, the writing of Growden has improved with age.

Tags: sport, cricket, growden

Zimbabwe: on the edge of the abyss

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:47:30 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: Thabo Mbeki is back in Zimbabwe, trying to patch up the power-sharing agreement that he helped to patch together just before he resigned as president of South Africa.

Clip Source: www.hararetribune.com

Yesterday the World Food Programme issued an alarming statement on the food crisis in Zimbabwe. They appealed for an additional US$140 million to cover the shortfall in basic food aid for the next six months. What they did not say was that this still leaves a shortfall in overall cereal and oilseed supplies of 800 000 tonnes for the next 6 months.

They also did not tell the world that the funds they had paid to the NGO’s doing food distribution had been taken by the Reserve Bank and the organisations could not pay their transporters for transport services or buy fuel.

no less than US$500 million has been pilfered from the State and private coffers in this way. That is enough money to feed the entire population for 7 months. No wonder they do not want to wrap up this agreement and swear in a new government. They must be terrified of anyone getting into the vaults and records at the Reserve Bank.

Tags: zimbabwe, financial crisis, thabo mbeki

Catonsville protester dies

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:54:59 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw

Clip Source: www.baltimoresun.com

John Hogan had just returned after 15 years helping the poor in a tiny Guatemalan village when he learned about a protest against the Vietnam War planned by a group of Catholic activists.

Forty years ago last spring, Mr. Hogan and eight others seized hundreds of draft records from the Catonsville U.S. Selective Service office, doused them with homemade napalm in a parking lot and set them ablaze. The actions of the protesters, known as the Catonsville Nine, sparked a dramatic trial, inspired generations of activists and is remembered as one of the country's most famous acts of civil disobedience.

After being released from prison for his actions, Mr. Hogan worked as a carpenter and devoted himself to a life of quiet service. He died Friday of complications from a stroke at Yale New Haven Hospital near his home in Hamden, Conn. He was 73.

Tags: catonsville nine, vietnam war, catholic church, protest, anti-war