April 28, 2003
The War is Over?

April 26 - As many as 40 Iraqi civilians were killed and many were injured in a series of blasts at an arms dump on Baghdad's outskirts yesterday, an Iraqi medic told Reuters near the scene.

A series of loud explosions, lasting about an hour, were heard in the city centre from about 8am (1400 AEST). US troops said they were caused by controlled detonations to destroy Iraqi munitions as part of a continuing program but later at the scene, an officer told Reuters that assailants had sparked the chain reaction by firing flares into the dump.

US Army Captain Patrick Sullivan, from an engineering unit, said the chain of blasts was sparked by unknown attackers.

"Hostile forces fired four flares into an ammunition storage area. One of the flares ignited an explosion and that set off a chain of explosions," Sullivan told Reuters at the scene.

Later, US Army Sergeant-Major Gary Coker told Reuters at a point some three kilometres from the scene that his unit had been forced to pull back because they had been fired on.

"We tried to go and help them. The people came out and shot at my men," he said, adding that the soldiers did not return fire and that some of them had been hurt.

Desperate neighbours shaken from their beds or interrupted having breakfast dug frantically in the rubble of homes, looking for survivors amid the mud and shattered concrete.

Reuters photographer Behrakis saw a number of people bleeding heavily and one man, blackened and burned, being treated by US Army medics. He added that witnesses said some of the victims had their limbs severed or had been badly burned.

US troops blamed unidentified attackers who fired flares into the munitions store. But local people turned their anger on the Americans, shooting and forcing them back, soldiers said.

A local medic travelling in an Iraqi civilian ambulance ferrying casualties between the blast scene and a hospital said there had been many victims.

Asked how many were killed, he replied: "Forty."

Local people said several people were believed to be still trapped in the rubble of a wrecked building, apparently hit by an errant surface-to-surface missile from the arms storage dump.

Some soldiers were wounded, an Army sergeant-major told Reuters at Zaafaraniya, a mixed residential and industrial suburb on the southern edge of the capital.

Earlier, Reuters photographer Yannis Behrakis had seen furious local people throw stones at American troops.

"The Americans sent troops to help the wounded but they were met by angry crowds throwing stones," Behrakis said.

Shi'ite Clerics Say They Are Ruling Najaf

April 26 - In many parts of Iraq it was still far from clear on Saturday who was in control.

Shi'ite Muslim clerics are running the holy Iraqi city of Najaf without consulting U.S.-led forces camped outside, a spokesman for the leader of one Shi'ite group said on Friday.

But U.S. troops on the outskirts said they were consulting a retired Iraqi army colonel who had been appointed mayor and was presiding over a council of elders, including Shi'ite clerics.

The apparently contradictory statements highlighted confusion and disputes about who is in charge in many Iraqi cities -- including Baghdad.

Bush Bars UN Weapons Inspectors from Returning

In simultaneous briefings in New York and Washington, both the White House and the US ambassador to the UN said they saw no role in postwar Iraq for the UN weapons inspection teams.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters in Washington to "make no mistake about it. The United States and the coalition have taken on the responsibility for dismantling Iraq's WMD [weapons of mass destruction]".

Asked if the White House saw any role at all for the UN's weapons teams and, in particular, for chief inspector Hans Blix, Mr Fleischer said: "Well, the President is looking forward, not backward."

US Tells Iran to Stay Out of Iraq

Iranian-trained agents have crossed into southern Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein and are working in the cities of Najaf, Karbala and Basra to promote friendly Shiite clerics and advance Iranian interests, according to defense and other United States government officials.

The officials cited intelligence reports that said the agents include members of the military wing of an Iraqi exile group that operates from Iran with that government's training and support. Known as the Badr Brigade, the militia is the armed force of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a Shiite group with headquarters in Tehran.

Lockheed profit boosted by war

April 23, 2003 - The company, whose F-16 and F-22 fighter jets were used extensively by the US during the war in Iraq, saw profits rise to $250m (£160m) in the first three months of the year from $224m a year earlier.

Smaller rival Raytheon, which has been dogged by problems in its aircraft business, revealed a jump in sales at the unit which manufactures the Tomahawk cruise missile, also used in Iraq.

Raytheon said yesterday that sales at its missile systems division increased by 18% in the first three months of the year to $860m. Group sales increased to $4.2bn from $3.9bn.

Russia to defy US

April 24, 2003 - THE US's diplomatic rift with Russia widened yesterday as Moscow insisted sanctions against Iraq stay in force until UN inspectors declared the country free of weapons of mass destruction.

At the same time, Richard Perle, a leading adviser to the Pentagon, told a Russian newspaper the country's multi-billion-dollar oil deals with Iraq would probably be annulled. Russia has an estimated $US52 billion ($85 billion) tied up in deals with Iraq under the sanctions regime and is owed at least $US8 billion.

Moscow has rejected suggestions from the Bush administration it should write off the money owed in a show of goodwill to the Iraqi people.

The US is keen to end sanctions against Iraq to kickstart the country's economy, but has faced opposition from the anti-war grouping of France, Russia and Germany, who fear the immediate lifting of sanctions could legitimise the war and lose them valuable contracts.

Washington has made it clear any deals made with the former Saddam Hussein regime will not continue. Mr Perle reaffirmed that view in an interview in Kommersant yesterday.

Michael Moore plans Bush I-bin Laden film

Variety reported that Michael Moore is working out a deal with Mel Gibson's production company, Icon Productions, to finance the film, "Fahrenheit 911," a documentary about the "the murky relationship" between former President George Bush and the family of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

According to Moore, the former president had a business relationship with Osama bin Laden's father, Mohammed bin Laden, a Saudi construction magnate who left $300 million to Osama bin Laden. It has been widely reported that bin Laden used the inheritance to finance global terrorism.

Moore said the bin Laden family was heavily invested in the Carlyle Group, a private global investment firm that the filmmaker said frequently buys failing defense companies and then sells them at a profit. Former President Bush has reportedly served as a senior adviser with the firm.

"The senior Bush kept his ties with the bin Laden family up until two months after Sept. 11," said Moore.

Propaganda War
Japanese web site reports on US campaign to win the hearts and minds of Iraqi people with 17 million leaflets dropped on Iraq.

     

April 2, 2003
US Running Critically Low on Tomahawk Missiles

April 1, 2003 - In the first 11 days of the conflict, the US navy has fired 700 of its stock of 1,200 Tomahawk cruise missiles on ships and submarines in the region. Meanwhile, the air force and navy together have used 5,000 satellite-guided bombs, known as JDAMs, which account for more than 80% of the bombs dropped so far. The JDAM (joint direct attack munitions) arsenals on the five US aircraft carriers in the Gulf are already running low.

One solution is to switch to different types of weapons, which will happen anyway as the focus of the air campaign shifts from fixed to moving targets, from palaces and government buildings to tanks.

The other solution is to take more Tomahawks and JDAMs into the region. There are about 2,300 Tomahawk missiles left in American global arsenals, enough for about three more weeks of air strikes at the current rate. They are much harder to bring into action, as the missile arsenals of ships and submarines cannot be replenished at sea. More Tomahawks can only be brought to the battlefield by bringing new ships and submarines into the region.

Boeing, the manufacturer, has been turning JDAMs out around the clock since the Afghan war, when stocks ran seriously low. It has also increased its capacity over the past year, but monthly output is still only 1,500 a month, enough for only about two days at the current rate of sorties.

JDAM have a strap-on guidance system added, mainly to 1,000lb or 2,000lb "dumb" gravity bombs, to make them "smart". They are therefore relatively cheap, about $20,000 each, a fraction of the cost of other guided bombs and missiles, such as the $600,000 Tomahawk.

Arabs Shocked at Rumsfeld's Syria Threat

DAMASCUS (LAT) - In a news conference in Washington on Friday, Rumsfeld accused Syria of sending night-vision goggles and other items to Iraq, saying: "These deliveries pose a direct threat to the lives of coalition forces. We consider such trafficking as hostile acts and will hold the Syrian government accountable for such shipments."

Rumsfeld also accused Iran of aiding Iraq by allowing hundreds of fighters to cross its border into the country.

In newspaper headlines, on the street and among the Arab elite, the response was one of bitter amazement and, then, angry resignation. Some people expressed puzzlement at why Rumsfeld would make the statement at a time when the United States' stock in the Arab world is already low.

"Only a madman would think of widening the circle of war," said Syrian Information Minister Adnan Umran, a former ambassador to Britain who also spent several years in the U.S. as a diplomat.

In this restive region, his words were widely taken to mean that the United States is prepared to attack Syria and Iran unless they fall into line

CHANNEL SURFING
Saudi Arabia: With Protests Prohibited, Emotions Flare in Private

RIYADH (WashPost) - Every night before snacks laid out by a maid on the marble coffee table, the couple channel-surfs from CNN to al-Jazeera to Abu Dhabi television, Leila's anger bubbling over while Mohammed calmly tries to think up a rational way for the carnage to end.

"I have a beautiful home, beautiful kids, a beautiful husband," says Leila, a svelte woman in her mid-forties whose fitness is evident in her jeans, stiletto heels and a tight pink sweater. "I feel secure. But these people have no security."

The war in Iraq so infuriates Leila, who is reading a book on anger management, that she sometimes fantasizes about becoming a suicide bomber.

In other Arab countries, protesters are taking to the streets. Here such expressions are prohibited, but the anger is no less strong. It is just hidden, as people sit at home watching TV and engaging in conversations about civilian casualties and American hubris.

NEWS
KFI Radio Host claims America "cannot afford war"

LOS ANGELES Feb 23 (CitizineMag) - Talk radio personality Johnny Wendell gave a pessimistic appraisal of the upcoming invasion of Iraq and its ramifications for Americans on his Sunday night program on KFI 640 AM.

Wendell's commentary about this war differs significantly from those of other KFI personalities such as Bill Handel and Matt Drudge. KFI is owned by Clear Channel Inc.

Wendell called the military action, "a war the country cannot even afford" and said there is no way for Americans to know how much the war will cost in mere dollars.

He drew the Vietnam comparison, saying that, in 1965, after the fabricated Gulf of Tonkin incident, the Department of Defense estimated the intervention to repulse the North Vietnamese would cost $45 billion; by 1973, the total cost to taxpayers was almost $500 billion dollars.

Wendell accused the media of muddling the fact that there is no positive proof of an connection between Saddam and the planners of the hijackings of September 11, 2001.

He also claimed mass media outlets, "gin up the hysteria" about the war, and said that Americans are even confused over whether there is any substantive difference between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.

At one point, the talk show host questioned Vice President Richard Cheney's conviction in urging Americans of the necessity of taking down Saddam when, according to Wendell, Cheney came out in favor of ending sanctions against Iraq just a few years ago.

During the 1990s, Cheney's company Halliburton benefited from trade with Saddam's Iraq, earning $23 million in contracts to reconstruct the country.

Wendell also said that over 50% of Iraq's population is under 15 years old. This might be a positive factor for crusaders who want to 'liberally democratize' Iraq, but it may be better to keep in mind when gaging the terrorist threat that Americans will look forward to this century.

Johnny Wendell appears on Sunday afternoons on KFI, and occasionally fills in during the week.

Dennis Prager to Wrangle for U.S. Senate Seat

LOS ANGELES 12 February 2003 (CitizineMag) - Local personality Dennis Prager hopes to make his moral voice one of the 100 most powerful in the country by challenging Senator Barbara Boxer for her U.S. Senate seat in 2004, according to a February 4 broadcast of The Dennis Prager Show.

Prager described how being a U.S. Senator would give him a stronger platform from which to address the 'moral issues that face us in the modern world. Above all, he said he would stand tall and "make the case for America" against the naysayers.

Dennis Prager hosts a nationally syndicated radio show in which he breaks down major moral questions using his Judaic faith as grounding. In his announcement, he also spoke of the 'personal issues' he is attempting to resolve before firmly deciding on the run.

Prager for Senate Slide Show …

VALENTINE'S DAY COMING UP!
February 14: Real Big U.N. Security Council Vote on USA's Invasion of Iraq

UK shadow foreign secretary, Michael Ancram said on January 27, "Hans Blix delivered a clear message of frustration to the security council today.

"Iraq must change its attitude ahead of the meeting of February 14. If Iraq cooperates fully, war can be avoided," he added.
(Source: Guardian Unlimited - UK)

THE REIGN OF BUSH THE YOUNGER
Fear, War, and 'Sweeping' New Laws: Patriot Act II

Reuters: New Database Will Identify Terrorists Before They Terrorize

(Reuters February 7) The U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act 'enhanced' the ability of the federal government to tap phones, share intelligence information, track Internet usage, e-mails and cell phones, and protect U.S. borders.

New proposed D.S.E. Act of 2003 will:

-- further limit public disclosure of information relating to terrorism investigations by 'enhancing' the Justice Department's ability to deny requests to get the data through the Freedom of Information Act;

-- set up a DNA database that would include people associated with suspected terrorist groups

-- terminate state law enforcement decrees (put in place to stop police spying abuses) that limit the amount of information police can gather about individuals and organizations;

-- Allow pretrial detention without bail for people suspected of terrorist activity;

(Source: Drudge / Reuters - UK)

'Fed is Inflating Economy' says Moneytalk Host

LOS ANGELES 09 February 2003 (CitizineMag) - Respected economic observer and talk show host Bob Brinker has accused Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve of "inflating" the American economy through its "easy money policy" and endless, and yet vindicated, rhetoric that the "economy is coming back."

Brinker called plummeting interest rates offered by the Fed, "the most aggresive monetary policy" he has seen in his lifetime.

He also commented that the steady pronouncements from Greenspan and others that "everything's fine" in the economy may be giving Americans a false sense of security.

On Brinker's widely acclaimed AM radio program, Moneytalk, the host sounded more pessimistic than usual about America's present situation.

"Is this really the direction we want to be heading?" Brinker said at one point in reference to War Department chief Donald Rumsfeld's remark that the United States can (and may) fight against Iraq and North Korea at once.

(Source: KABC 790 - USA)

CITIZINE SLIDES

06 Feb 2003
Steve Bing Puts on Rolling Stones Concert at Staples Center to Fight 'Global Warming'

Stones Slide Show...

04 Feb 2003
Record Guy Phil Spector Pays $1M Bail Bond after Arrest

Phil Spector Slide Show..
Rock Legend Phil Spector had left a $500 tip on a $55 bill earlier in the evening; he and Clarkson left the House of Blues (WeHo) at 2:30 AM. (Source: KNX 1070 AM - USA)

Airstrip One: Taki Faces 'Speech Crime' Charges from Scotland Yard for Article in 'Spectator'

UK: Diversity Directorate will assess whether 'Thoughts on Thuggery' piece violates the 'Public Order Act', for which the maximum sentence is two years in prison. (Source: UK Independent)

Jan 2003: Boxgate: Made in USA?
Courtesy of Drudge.

USA: Support For 1st Amendment Slipping

(AP) Nearly half of Americans now think the constitutional amendment on free speech goes too far in the rights it guarantees, according to a poll.

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