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UN Statement on WikiLeaks
Joint Statement on WikiLeaks
UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression
In light of ongoing developments related to the release of diplomatic cables by the organization Wikileaks, and the publication of information contained in those cables by mainstream news organizations, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression see fit to recall a number of international legal principles. The rapporteurs call upon States and other relevant actors to keep these principles in mind when responding to the aforementioned developments.
John Pilger's 'The War You Don't See' now on YouTube
By Rady Ananda
I’ve uploaded it to my review at TPV: http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2010/12/19/john-pilger-s-the-war-you-don-t-see-an-i
Were Opium Heads Responsible for the Downfall of China?
By Elizabeth Young
In the early 19th century, traders from Britain and America bought porcelain, silk and tea from China. Allegedly, the problem was the “traitors” could find nothing to sell in exchange and the trade balance went negative. China then built up substantial monetary reserves in silver.
In 1830, according to our “accurate” history books, the British finally found something the Chinese would buy: Opium.
“The fruit of the poppy was popular in many countries but, as usual, the Chinese over-did it. First, it was a favorite of the leisure classes, then, it trickled down to ordinary workmen.”
Soon, the “coolies” were neglecting their labors and China was in crisis.
When the authorities tried to stop the drug trade, the British opened fire, humiliating the government and almost bankrupting it. People lost confidence in Manchu rule.”
By the mid-19th Century, nearly half the country was in open revolt and saw the end of the oldest civilization in written history and a culture that may have influenced the Sumerians, Babylonians and the Persians. The Chinese are responsible for the four inventions that make life as we know it possible: Printing, papermaking (toilet paper?), gunpowder and the compass.
Is that Story Possible?
Are we to believe that all of a sudden “Hop Sing” is addicted to a psychotropic drug (more likely to get you constipated than high), moves to America and becomes a stereotypical Chinese house servant for Ben Cartwright at the Ponderosa?
Mike Jay in Emperors Of Dreams, realizes the Opium story is false information, which is deliberately intended to change the “dispositions and beliefs” of a population:
“The image at the core of this Opium belief has rarely been examined, either at the time by contemporaries or more recently by historians because a variety of interests intersect to replicate it in different contexts.”
In 1839, in spite of the so-called uncontrolled demand for opiates, rather than coffee or cannabis, the British traders found themselves with 20,000 chests of unsold opium on their store-ships, just below Canton. Then in one of those chance occurrences that don’t happen very often, like the same person winning the lottery three weeks in a row, the Chinese had a “tea party.”
The British now had an excuse and the historians an explanation, for the start of the first Opium War.
Spoiling for a Fight?
by Stephen Lendman
Washington is a world class menace, waging imperial wars for global dominance called peace, stability and democracy. In the run-up to the 1950 Korean War, Truman used South Korea to goad Pyongyang into a conflict it didn't want. Nor does it now, but events may spiral out of control unless cooler heads prevail.
Last March, the latest confrontation began when North Korea was falsely blamed for sinking a South Korean ship. At the time, evidence suggested a false flag, manufactured to blame Pyongyang.
Then on November 23, US media reports said North Korea incited the gravest incident since the July 1953 armistice. Analysts called it a deliberate provocation, even though South Korean forces fired first, goaded by the Obama administration for what Pyongyang, with good reason, called a rehearsal for invasion.
Rethinking Imperialist Theory
James Petras
Social Basis of Imperial Politics
Almost all theories of contemporary imperialism lack any but the crudest sociological analyses of the classes and political character of the governing groups which direct the imperial state and its polices. The same is true about the theorizing of the imperial state which is largely devoid of institutional analyses.
Most theorists resort to a form of economic reductionism in which ‘investments’, ‘trade’, ‘markets’ are presented as historical disembodied entities comparable across space and time. The changing nature of the leading classes are accounted for by general categories such as “finance”, “manufacturing”, “banking”, “service” without any specific analysis of the variable nature and sources of financial wealth (illegal drug trade, money laundering, real estate speculation, etc.).
The Hornet’s Nest Kicked Back – A Review of Susan Lindauer’s Extreme Prejudice
Five years after her indictment, Susan Lindauer never got the trial she repeatedly requested. On September 15, 2009, Assistant US Attorney O'Callaghan convinced US District Court Judge Loretta Preska that Lindauer was not mentally competent to stand trial. Judge Preska dismissed the case at the request of O'Callaghan's replacement on January 15, 2010. This was done against Lindauer's wishes and ignored credible witnesses who testified to her role as an intelligence asset.
Foiled ‘terror’ plot on eve of passage of Food Patriot Act
By Rady Ananda
None other than CIA-run CBS News reported yesterday that the “Latest Terror Threat in US Aimed to Poison Food.” Though the stymied “terrorist” plot was “uncovered earlier this year,” the CBS exclusive report is filed on the eve of passage of the draconian Food Safety Modernization Act, otherwise known as the Food Patriot Act.
Apparently, official estimates of the number of foodborne illnesses (based on speculation and assumption) isn’t enough to scare the public in the minds of corporate officials. Adding to the long list of government-orchestrated terror events, we now learn of an alleged plot to poison the food supply. The transparent timing of such a “news” story couldn’t be more obvious if Obama had cried ‘Wolf!’
Government-manufactured terror threats continue to dominate corporate media in an attempt to terrorize the public into accepting the loss of civil liberties and personal freedom. This extends to our Earth-born right to eat natural foods with which the human species evolved.
How Deceit and Truth Are Feeding Resistance to U.S. Militarism
By Kevin Zeese
Vets Plant Seeds of Mass Action Against U.S. Wars Watered by Obama’s Deceit and WikiLaks Truth
Mike Ferner, the president of Veterans for Peace, was speaking outside the White House calling for a “culture of resistance” against U.S. wars. His organization was leading a protest outside the White House at the same moment that President Obama was inside announcing the continuation of the Afghanistan War.
Pulitzer Prize winning war correspondent and author Chris Hedges, who has seen more war than most vets, joined in the call for action. He adapted President Obama’s campaign of hope and change, urging everyone not to wait for Obama, but to take action: “Hope will only come now when we physically defy the violence of the state. All who resist, all who are here today keep hope alive. All who succumb to fear, despair and apathy become an enemy of hope. They become in their passivity agencies of injustice.” Hedges urged actions, large and small, against the corporate-government’s militarism.
More on Haiti's Raging Cholera, Electoral Fraud and Deportations
by Stephen Lendman
Haitians remains plagued by a perfect storm combination of earthquake devastation, crushing poverty, raging cholera, electoral fraud, exploitation, persecution, Obama-ordered deportations, and world indifference to their plight, with few exceptions like Cuba and Venezuela.
Post-quake, their aid was some of the first to arrive. After cholera struck, Chavez sent a Ministry of Health team with medications, intravenous drips and rehydration tablets. He promised more as needed for "our Haitian brothers and sisters (exploited) by savage capitalism and imperialism."
Lebanese! Beware of the treacherous Israeli snake
By Khalid Amayreh
Saad al Hariri's recent visit to Iran is undoubtedly a welcomed development. It served the interests of Lebanon, Iran and all other forces that stand against Israel's nefarious designs in the region.
We all know the diabolical nature of Israeli goals in Lebanon. These can be summarized into the following:
First, Israel is interested in keeping Lebanon in a constant state of civil or sectarian strife in order to weaken the country and show the western world that Israel is the Christians' friend in this predominantly Muslim region. Thank goodness, most of the Lebanese Christians have come a long way since they believed Zionist lies and propaganda about Israeli friendship. In the mid 1970s, successive Israeli governments, especially under the Likud and other fascist-minded parties, privately entertained the idea of creating a Christian mini-state in Lebanon , which would be another Israel in the part of the Arab world.
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