tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85798032009-08-20T15:10:52.614+01:00"DID YOU, TOO, O FRIEND, SUPPOSE DEMOCRACY WAS ONLY FOR ELECTIONS, FOR POLITICS, AND FOR A PARTY NAME?" - WALT WHITMANAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comBlogger949125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-3388541787250392782008-12-17T16:01:00.003Z2008-12-17T16:09:46.970Z

Just a few days ago Amnesty International called our attention on the Iraqi political prisoners:Thousands of Iraqis detained by US forces are at risk of torture or even execution, following the ratification of a security agreement between the US and Iraqi governments. Under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which will take effect on 31 December, around 16,000 prisoners held by the US will be

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-17006679440591754212008-12-17T00:20:00.004Z2008-12-17T01:06:15.364Z

Jonathan Steele from the Guardian wrote yesterday an article (*) on Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at Bush. I had sent him an e-mail earlier yesterday, asking to write about it (**) but that was of course not the reason Steele wrote his piece, or at least so I hope; I wouldn't like to be the one responsible for this other charade of journalism.Jonathan Steele writes:

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-37896614440787483902008-12-16T12:10:00.005Z2008-12-16T13:30:35.609Z

A few days ago, writing about the Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) between the US and the Iraqi "government", Jonathan Steele wrote in the Guardian:"The deal gives Iraq's national resistance almost everything it fought for (...) From the American point of view, the main thing the pact does is to allow the US to withdraw with dignity. No hasty Vietnam-style humiliation, but an orderly retreat from

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-69014330437216773172008-12-15T11:24:00.005Z2008-12-15T16:02:47.639Z

When Muntazer al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist, shouted, "It is the farewell kiss, you dog" to Bush and threw him his shoes during a news conference in Baghdad, the curtain of hypocrisy fell and the ugly emperor stood naked in front of the world.Those shoes however were not aimed only to a man who should be - by his own standards - hanged, together with his entire junta of mass murderers; the Iraqi

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-85968290113006924832008-12-13T15:08:00.003Z2008-12-13T17:54:06.081Z

Dozens of progressive and alternative websites have re-published Patrick Cockburn's appalling article originally appeared in CounterPunch a few days ago. As Jonathan Steele's article in the Guardian a few weeks ago, this Cockburn's article is so extreme one wonders if those alternative websites have become alternative to reality.After selling Obama as the Anti-Bush and the Man of Change, the

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-40255639128800904512008-12-12T12:47:00.004Z2008-12-12T21:18:44.515Z

If you happen to live on Planet Earth, where a single country, Iraq, has been the main focus of "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today" - to use Martin Luther King Jr.'s words - for the past two decades, you may be interested to know what's happening in one of the most fascinating celestial bodies of the parallel universe of the mass-media.Planet P. Cockburn is particularly

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-57646665801400122802008-12-09T19:10:00.002Z2008-12-09T19:14:36.160Z

Governor Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday morning on corruption charges, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama's seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.Now, that's funny. The White House has just been rent for the next four years for $ 750 millions and the tenant, far from being

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-3982945303295471542008-12-09T01:07:00.002Z2008-12-09T01:14:12.905Z

To sell imperialism George W. Bush has used Freedom & Democracy; Barack Obama has promised change and change you will get. IPS reports:WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (IPS) - A bipartisan task force of former top national security policymakers is calling on the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama to make the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities overseas a top U.S. foreign policy

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-8573424218674753362008-12-07T11:40:00.004Z2008-12-07T16:00:46.273Z

To The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of YorkIn today's Observer you write:"President Robert Mugabe was right when he said only God could remove him. That's exactly what happens. No tyrant lives for ever. No cruel regime lasts. God acts. And he is acting. An international chorus is at last being raised to bring an end to Mugabe's brutal regime. As cholera

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-62254084514545242562008-12-06T21:03:00.004Z2008-12-07T12:30:49.541Z

The Archbishop of York, the second highest cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury, called for Mr Mugabe and his allies to be overthrown so they can stand trial in The Hague: "The time to remove them from power has come""The time has come for Robert Mugabe to answer for his crimes against humanity, against his countrymen and women and for justice to be done.

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-7471492544874886962008-12-04T19:33:00.004Z2008-12-04T21:25:58.218Z

After receiving a few comments about my latest blog entry Mirror, mirror, on the wall... I'd like to address two points; one is about Scott Ritter and the other one is on the capture of Saddam Hussein and his trial.One of the comments I received points out that Ritter didn't mean to attack the anti-war movement with his words. Obviously I expressed my thoughts very badly if I could give that

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-9196853061024593012008-12-03T18:54:00.004Z2008-12-05T20:19:57.615Z

Many leftist intellectuals and anti-war activists must have paled when they read the latest Scott Ritter's article; surely they saw themselves into the mirror:In this, truth be told, Bush is no different from the majority of society in both America and Great Britain. It is easy to moralise today, armed with the certainty of 20/20 hindsight, that the invasion of Iraq was wrong, the case for war a

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-57604284910927452182008-12-02T02:11:00.004Z2008-12-02T02:46:47.741Z

US President Barack Obama is working to move the mighty American war-machine from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan.To do that he needs an agreement with Iran about Iraq (and it would seem that agreement has already been found) and a propaganda campaign to convince the public opinion a) that the war in Iraq is over and the US will withdraw from the country and b) that Aghanistan and Pakistan are

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-64705814296795329592008-12-01T19:54:00.001Z2008-12-01T19:58:13.041Z

After a long illness and a protracted vegetative state, the U.S. anti-war movement finally died today; the joy to see president-elect Barack Obama appointing Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense was fatal. Its peace achievements have been impressive; its stature is best measured by its indefatigable support of the Democratic Party; its understanding of

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-71290744717629657552008-11-29T02:03:00.008Z2008-11-29T03:33:55.613Z

The best clown in town. After seven years of US-NATO occupation the UN Security Council can affirm that in Afghanistan there is "not a security crisis": "There is undoubtedly a difficult security situation which is developing... but not a security crisis", said Italian ambassador Giulio Terzi, head of a UN Security Council team at the end of a three-day assessment tour.Escalation. There are

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-86140679172494770342008-11-27T10:36:00.003Z2008-11-27T10:48:07.152Z

Pakistan Daily published a list of Iraqi academics assassinated in Iraq during the US-led occupation.This is a particularly meaningful aspect of the Iraq genocide, the extermination of its intellectual classes. It wasn't enough to invade and occupy what was once the most advanced country in the Middle East and destroy its economy. Iraq had to be obliterated, its history re-written and its future

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-53022998616127953232008-11-25T23:03:00.002Z2008-11-25T23:17:13.303Z

"Then Circe took me by the hand and bade me be seated away from the others, while she reclined by my side and asked me all about our adventures. 'So far so good,' said she, when I had ended my story, 'and now pay attention to what I am about to tell you- heaven itself, indeed, will recall it to your recollection. First you will come to the Sirens who enchant all who come near them. If any one

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-30250707701178480252008-11-24T14:15:00.004Z2008-11-24T14:27:15.284Z

US president-elect Barack Obama Saturday announced plans to create 2.5 million new jobs:I have already directed my economic team to come up with an Economic Recovery Plan that will mean 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011 - a plan big enough to meet the challenges we face that I intend to sign soon after taking office. About the economic team, the New York Times informs us:The

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-63754945774836808572008-11-22T01:01:00.001Z2008-11-22T01:04:09.294Z

From the Times:A retired Marine general and former Nato commander is emerging as a leading contender to become Barack Obama's national security adviser, the most important foreign policy post in the White House.James Jones, a decorated Vietnam veteran and former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, is admired by Republicans and Democrats - he is a close friend of John McCain - and would bring

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-86211138524370260742008-11-12T22:28:00.004Z2008-11-12T22:41:01.958Z

Obama the Fraud named former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (also known as Bloody Madeleine) as his emissary at the international economic summit in Washington.In 1996 Lesley Stahl on U.S. sanctions against Iraq: "We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?" - US Ambassador at the United

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-6020039165192243942008-11-10T16:01:00.008Z2008-11-10T19:58:24.650Z

Hangover. How long is it going to last? For some newborn babies, all their life: The U.S. election has triggered a new generation of mini Barack Obamas with parents in Kenya and the United States naming their newborns after the new president-elect. That's not a new phenomenon. Naming babies after saints, prophets, kings, popes and charismatic leaders is as old as the human civilization. Sometimes

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-4023779811685162302008-10-31T18:15:00.003Z2008-10-31T19:11:05.027Z

How would you explain to an Afghani child that Obama is the lesser of two evils when he's going to escalate the massive crimes against humanity the US and the NATO have already been committing in that country for the past seven years?"We're confronting an urgent crisis in Afghanistan... It's time to heed the call... for more troops. That's why I'd send at least two or three additional brigades to

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-38081249109326221832008-10-23T18:44:00.004+01:002008-10-23T19:20:17.938+01:00

"Everything has to change so that nothing changes." - Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa, Il Gattopardo The color of money. Senator Barack Obama's campaign has now raised more than $600 million, almost equaling what all the candidates from both major parties collected in private donations in 2004.Where do you think that awful lot of money comes from?"Many of these large donors come from industries with

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-78017251874054881052008-07-04T14:28:00.005+01:002008-12-14T13:32:29.646Z

I read in New York Times:American Flags as Big as FieldsOn the field before the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball plans to assemble the largest gathering of Hall of Fame players in baseball history. And as fans salute their heroes, the former players will join the crowd in saluting the American flag — one that is roughly 75 feet by 150 feet, as long as a 15-story building is tall, spread

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8579803.post-18502736755423513332008-06-23T19:57:00.002+01:002008-06-23T20:15:08.172+01:00

The British Medical Journal published a few days ago “Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme” In the study’s abstract, the conclusions read: “War causes more deaths than previously estimated, and there is no evidence to support a recent decline in war deaths.”The lead researcher, Ziad Obermeyer, a research scientist at

The Cat's Dreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725829274264451323noreply@blogger.com