1 January 2004
BRITISH SPIES WARNED OF POSSIBLE US GULF INVASION IN 1973
The British Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) secretly warned the UK government that the US might be prepared to invade Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi to seize their oilfields following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
'Secret files just released [under the 30-year rule] reveal that spy agencies believed the US was ready to take military action to prevent further disruption to its oil supplies.
'It came after Arab states imposed a complete embargo on the US in October 1973 over its support for Israel.'
(ITV Teletext; BBC Ceefax)
This is probably the earliest data on the matter. Later (in 1974?) then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was publicly blustering about seizing Saudi oilfields. The US government apparently drew up a contingency plan for this by 1975, but concluded it wouldn't be feasible (unlike Venezuela) because of the likelihood of Soviet counter-intervention. (See "The US Cabal's Emerging Oil Empire".)
2 January 04
U.S. Has Big Plans for Embassy in Iraq
Robin Wright, Washington Post
'In preparation for ending [!] its occupation of Iraq, the Untied States is making plans to create the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in the world in Baghdad, complete with a staff of over 3,000 personnel, according to U.S. officials.
The transition will mark the hand-over of responsibility for dealing with Iraq from the Pentagon to the State Department, which will then help oversee the two definitive steps in creating Iraq's first freely elected democratic government.
'"The real challenge for the new embassy, so to speak, or the new presence will be helping the Iraqi people get ready for their full elections and full constitution the following year," Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said in an interview this week. "That's going to be a major effort on our part. ...
'The other major challenge will be sorting out the terms of the U.S. military presence, which is expected to exceed 100,000 troops even after the occupation ends, U.S. officials say. ...
'The U.S. Embassy in Egypt has a larger presence, with more than 7,000 personnel. But they include many non-diplomats from various U.S. agencies, including, for example, two members of the Library of Congress who collect foreign books. The Baghdad embassy will have the largest diplomatic staff anywhere in the world, the State Department said.'
And will, no doubt, be the envy of many an old Soviet subversionist, whose country's embassies were, in its day, bases for flocks of spies and other agents of Red imperialism. The new embassy, located in the heart of the oil cabal's prospective empire, is doubtless intended as one of the key bases for the new imperial subversion. And Iraq will too, under its US-installed puppet regime, be a military base for when naked force is judged appropriate to continue building this empire.
'BA FLIGHTS GROUNDED AMID TERROR FEAR
'A British Airways flight from Heathrow to Riyadh has become the latest service to be grounded amid security fears.
'Flight BA263 had been due to take off on Saturday afternoon [3 Jan.]. Its return leg on Sunday, BA262, was also cancelled.
'On Friday, BA flight 223 to Washington was cancelled on government advice, for the second day running.
'security sources told ABC News flight BA223 was the target of a specific threat; the BBC has been told a known terrorist had been trying to board.'
(BBC Ceefax, p.104)
On the theme of comical errors ...
'IDENTITY ERROR LED TO FLIGHT GROUNDING
'Six cases of mistaken identity led to the grounding of Air France flights, French police officials have said.
'Half a dozen flights between Paris and Los Angeles were cancelled [just] before Christmas when passenger lists revealed names similar to FBI terrorist suspects.
'One "terrorist" turned out to be a five-year-old girl, while another was a prominent Egyptian scientist.
'Two other names deemed suspicious by the FBI were elderly Chinese women and another was a Welsh insurance agent.'
(BBC Ceefax, 2 Jan. 04, p.105)
'IRAN REJECTS US HUMANITARIAN DELEGATION [ says US State Dept]
'The time is not yet right for a high level visit by a US delegation in the wake of the Bam earthquake, Iran has said.
'US officials were considering sending a former had of the American Red Cross on a humanitarian mission to Bam, where up to 50,000 are feared to have died.
'But the State Department said Iran was holding Senator Elizabeth Dole's visit "in abeyance" and the US had decided no to pursue it for the moment.
'Earlier an Iranian cleric accused the US of trying to exploit the disaster.'
(BBC Ceefax, 2 Jan. 04, p.107)
As, very probably, they are. But, as where the US State Department led the way as "newsbreaker" of North Korea's "resumption of a nuclear-weapons programme", now it sets itself up as one of Iran's "obduracy". ... (And we needn't be reminded that the US and UK governments were the main sources for the announcement of Libya's new cooperation on "WMD programmes".)
3 January 04
Make sense of this one, if you will ...
'TIMES[:] The [British] PM [Tony Blair] encouraged the Lib Dems to be more critical of America's response to the 9/11 attacks, as support from Tory IDS [Iain Duncan Smith, the former leader of the "opposition" Conservatives] hindered his US negotiations.'
(ITV Teletext, p.328, reviews of British papers)
Since the Liberal Democrats are the only mainstream political opposition to the imperial-puppet policies of the Labour and Conservative parties, this sounds on the face of it a boots-on-your-head-and-hat-on-your-feet report.
'BURMA[:] The government is determined to implement its "road map" to democracy, the PM said ...'
(ITV Teletext, 3 Jan. 04, p.318)
These monsters have a "saving grace": a sense of humour.
4 January 04
The Capitol building in Washington DC, home of the US Congress, has been re-opened after a false alarm. A suspicious substance was detected in the basement (No! It couldn't be ...... another gunpowder conspiracy!!), but turned out to be an industrial solvent. Congress is on vacation at this time.
'SEARCH FOR RED SEA CRASH BODIES
'... from the wreckage of the jet which crashed in the Red Sea killing all 148 on board have continued throughout the night.
'The Flash Airlines Boeing 737, carrying over 130 French passengers, plunged into the sea minutes after leaving the [Egyptian] resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. ...
'Egyptian officials say initial findings suggest the crash was caused by a technical fault, not terrorism. [A conclusion that was premature, said a commentator on BBC TV news.]'
(BBC Ceefax, 4 Jan. 04, p.104)
'"'Something's happening to the flight', she said. Then there were screams ..." is The Sunday Telegraph headline, quoting a passenger's phone call.
'The paper adds that security was stepped up over Tony Blair and his family who were on holiday nearby. [Small world!]
The Independent on Sunday says investigators were "desperately seeking evidence" to explain the Red Sea crash.'
(BBC Ceefax, 4 Jan. 04, p.148, reviews of British papers)
'BLAIR PAYS VISIT TO TROOPS
'Prime Minister Tony Blair has arrived in Basra, southern Iraq, for a surprise visit to British troops. [The "surprise" factor for these visits is beginning to wear off.]
'Mr Blair flew into Iraq's second city by military aircraft from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh [my emphasis], where he was on holiday with his family.
'During the day-long visit, he is set to meet military commanders and give a speech to some of the 10,000 British troops stationed in and around Basra.'
(ITV Teletext, 4 Jan. 04, p.303)
So was the air crash intended for Blair, or did someone fix it to look that way? (And kill off some of those French "wimps" at the same time?)
Once in Iraq, Blair praised the troops and (in what for him was a rare slip-of-the-tongue) spoke of "weapons of mass distraction ..." (and, without missing a beat) "... and destruction". Blair-slips will clearly only make a pamphlet in comparison with the multi-volume Bush-slips.
British Airways flight BA223 has finally landed in Washington DC. But BA said it is cancelling its daily flight to Riyadh until further notice.
'The Sunday Times says security services have uncovered an Al-Qaeda plot to hijack several jets, including a BA flight, and crash them into US targets.'
(BBC Ceefax, 4 Jan. 04, p.148, reviews of British papers)
'SUNDAY MIRROR[:] The US believes al-Qaeda is planning to attack the White House using a hijacked BA jumbo jet.'
(ITV Teletext, 4 Jan. 04, p.328, reviews of British papers)
'MAIL ON SUNDAY[:] The [British Ministry of Defence] has ordered lawyers to "fight dirty" against the widow of Dr David Kelly in any battle for compensation.'
(Ibid.)
'OBSERVER[:] Plans to put armed guards on UK planes are in disarray after BA refused to fly with them on board.'
(Ibid.)
'INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY[:] BBC chiefs are lining up a middle-ranking manager to bear the brunt of an expected onslaught of criticism after the Hutton inquiry.'
(Ibid.)
5 January 04
'US TO FINGERPRINT FOREIGN VISITORS
'Stringent new security regulations affecting most tourists have been introduced at US air and sea ports.
'Everyone entering the United States with a visa will now have fingerprints and photographs taken and scrutinised. [The move affects all but 28 countries.]
'People on the visa waiver scheme such as tourists from much of Europe, Japan and Australia are not yet [!] affected, but those on work visas are.
'Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the US aimed to be "open to visitors, but closed to terrorists".'
(BBC Ceefax, p.109)
'BIN LADEN ALIVE: STRAW
'[British] Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said that the believes Osama bin Laden is still alive.
'Mr Straw said it was a safe assumption that a[n audio]tape broadcast by Arab TV station Al Jazeera was that of the wanted al-Qaeda leader.
'He said that he did not have confirmation of the fact [!!] but that searching for the terrorist leader is still a "key Issue".'
(ITV Teletext, 5 Jan. 04, p.305)
It's nice to see our British boys anticipating the grandees of the USA for once ...
A senior official of the CIA told the BBC that a technical analysis of the latest "bin Laden" audiotape showed that it was "probably genuine".'
(BBC Ceefax, 5 Jan. 04)
Mikhael Saakashvili has won the Georgian presidential election with a majority of 90 per cent. Observers said the electoral process wasn't prefect, but was an improvement on the last election.
Saakashvili is a lawyer and was educated in the US.
And the Caspian oil pipeline seems all the safer today.
'SYRIA REJECTS CALLS TO RENOUNCE WMD
'Syrian President Bashar Assad has rejected calls to renounce weapons of ass destruction.
'He indicated he would not abandon his country's suspected chemical and biological weapons programmes [he did not explicitly admit to such programmes] unless Israel gave up its undeclared nuclear arsenal.
'"We are a country which is (partly) occupied and from time to time we are exposed to Israeli aggression," he said in a Daily Telegraph interview.
'"It is not difficult to get most of these weapons anywhere in the world".'
(BBC Ceefax, 5 Jan. 04, p.106)
'Three soldiers have been discharged from the US army for mistreating Iraqi prisoners of war ...
'An internal inquiry found soldiers had thrown prisoners down and kicked them in the head, groin and abdomen in an incident at Camp Bucca last May ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 5 Jan. 04, p.110)
6 January 04
'GUARDIAN[:] Lord Hutton has delayed publication of the Kelly report because he has yet to apportion final blame.'
(ITV Teletext, p.328, reviews of British papers)
'Financial Times:] BBC chairman Gavyn Davies has ruled out reform of the corporation's governance following the Hutton inquiry into the death of David Kelly.'
(Ibid.)
7 January 04
'DISASTER PLANS SET TO BE UNVEILED [for UK]
'Planned new powers for dealing with a major terrorist attack or natural disaster are set to be unveiled.
'Ministers have already published drafts of the new laws, which were criticised by an influential committee of MPs and peers for putting human rights at risk.
'The measures allow ministers to tackle a wide range of interests, from foot-and-mouth to an attack on the internet.
'The plans enable the Government to rush through temporary legislation without prior parliamentary approval. {my emphasis.]'
(BBC Ceefax, p.104)
'... The Civil Contingencies Bill, part of the Queen's Speech [which announces legislation for a new session of Parliament], will lay out the emergency powers available to police in responding to terrorist incidents.
'Human rights group Liberty is worried the Bill gives "far too much power" to the Government in defining what it considers an emergency.'
(ITV Teletext, 7 Jan. 04, p.303)
In the new version of the Bill published today, after criticism by the parliamentary committee and by Liberty, the government has narrowed its definition of an "emergency", and reduced its status from primary legislation (so that it cannot automatically over-ride legislation like the Human Rights Act). But the emergency powers seem to be as broad and draconian as in previous versions.
MPs welcome rethink on anti-terror plans
Sarah Hall, Guardian online, 8 Jan. 04
'CHRISTMAS ATTACKS "PLANNED"
'US intelligence agencies believe terrorists were planning a Christmas attack more devastating than the September 11 atrocities.
'The US administration disclosed it stepped up security after "a stream of intelligence" pointed to an air attack on American cities.
'Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said it implied raids "greater than those that occurred on September 11".'
(ITV Teletext, 7 Jan. 04, p.305)
They also said agents with radiation detectors were secretly deployed to watch for a "dirty bomb" attack on New Year crowds.
8 January 04
'VISAS [to be] NEEDED FOR US VISITS
'Britons travelling to the United States, even for short visits, will soon need a visa, it has emerged.
'Britons can [at present] enter America for up to three months without a visa under the "visa waiver programme" but the rules are being tightened from October 26.
By that date citizens of visa-waiver countries must have new "biometric" passports, which contain digital photographs or fingerprints.'
(ITV Teletext, p.308)
'[Financial Times:] US officials "systematically misrepresented" the threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before the war, a Washington think-tank [The Carnegie Endowment] says.'
(ITV Teletext, 8 Jan. 04, p.328, reviews of British papers)
'Frankfurter Rundschau says the war in Iraq entailed complex political shifts in the Middle East.
'The long-term consequences of these are not yet known, it believes.'
(BBC Ceefax, 8 Jan. 04, p.147, reviews of European papers)
9 January 04
'Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Querei says he will push for a single Arab-Jewish state if Israel carries through a threat to draw up its own borders. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, p.123)
Which, under the current circumstances, could be playing into Israeli hands.
'US LOWERS TERROR ALERT LEVEL
'The US has lowered its terror warning level as Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said that an "urgent" threat had passed.
'Mr Ridge said certain locations and sections of the economy, which he did not identify, will keep their security posture at the orange level.
'But a US official has said that airports and airlines will keep their high alert status.'
(ITV Teletext, 9 Jan. 04, p.305)
'US BEGINS HUGE IRAQ FORCES ROTATION
'The US has begun rotating its forces in Iraq in one of the largest movements of American troops since World War II.
'About 250,000 military personnel will move in and out of the country [out to where?] over the next four months.
'Some 125,000 American troops in Iraq will be replaced by a 110,000-strong, less heavily armed force, including more National Guard and Reserve units.
'Troops are also being replaced in Kuwait and Afghanistan, where 11,000 soldiers are on active duty.'
(BBC Ceefax, 9 Jan. 04)
Late-winterearly-spring has established itself as the "danger period" in the US cabal's "imperial cycle", when its terror campaign reaches a climax, perhaps (as with Iraq) as the appetiser for country-conquest.
10 January 04
'CALL TO MAKE BBC GOVERNORS INDEPENDENT
'BBC governors should be made independent of the Corporation [i.e. of the BBC], a Blairite think-tank has said.
'The Institute of Public Policy Research said while other broadcasters answered to Ofcom [the UK government regulator], the [BBC] board acted as a regulator for the Corporation.
'But its role was called into question after it backed claims that Downing Street "sexed-up" intelligence on Iraq.
'The call comes before the Hutton report into the death of [Ministry of Defence] expert Dr David Kelly, named a the report's source.'
(BBC Ceefax, p.116)
'Lord Hutton, whose report into the death of weapons expert David Kelly will be published soon, is officially retiring as a Law Lord on Sunday [11 Jan. 04]. ...
'His retirement will not affect his work in writing the report on the inquiry. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 10 Jan. 04, p.107)
12 January 04
TURKEY[:] The US military has begun using an air base in the south for a massive rotation of troops, in a sign of improved relations with its Nato ally.'
(ITV Teletext, p.318)
'FEARS OVER RISE IN CHILD PORN
'Child pornography crimes have rocketed 1,500% [in the UK] since 1988 [from 35 people charged or cautioned in 1988 to 549 in 2001, according to Home Office statistics] and an avalanche [now there's a pithy word!] of more porn could be unleashed by new internet mobile phones, a report warns.
'The massive rise is mainly due to the increase in use of the internet, the study by children's charity NCH showed.
'Child welfare professionals are worried new phones will be used by paedophiles to access child sex sites, take pictures and trade in vile images.'
(ITV Teletext, 12 Jan. 04, p.304)
And does this reveal one of the ulterior police-state motives that may be behind this concern? ...
'SAFETY CALL OVER CHILD INTERNET PORN
'Child protection experts are calling on the computer industry to install better safety devices to help stop children becoming victims of abuse.
'The NCH said in a report that the internet had driven a 1,500% rise in child pornography since 1988.
'Experts believe the availability of images of children could be encouraging people to commit actual abuse.
'There are also fears new mobiles that can film, display and send video could generate a further danger to children.'
(BBC Ceefax, 12 Jan. 04, p.108)
'John Carr's report for the charity NCH Action for Children today, on the rapid rise of child abuse activities on the internet, provides a comprehensive historical overview of these offences and our efforts to tackle them in the UK.
'While the report focuses on pay-per-view child pornography websites and online newsgroups (public discussion forums), the activities of internet paedophiles have recently changed significantly. ...'
"John Carr" (biographic note), Internet Watch Foundation
'John Carr is the Internet Consultant for NCH Action For Children. Founded in 1869, NCH is today one of the UK's largest children's welfare organizations ...
'John Carr has been a member of the IWF Boards since its foundation in 1996.'
The IWF has officials drawn from the internet industry, the police and the government, and watches in for child- and other illegal pornography, and other illicit activities.
The US Supreme Court has upheld the US administration's decision to keep secret the names of the "700" people, non-citizens of Arab and Islamic extraction, who were arrested in America after 9/11. (These people have since mainly been deported.)
13 January 04
'Italy's constitutional court has thrown out a controversial law granting Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, p.115)
14 January 04
Peace activist Tom Hurndall, who was in a coma for nine months after being shot by an Israeli sniper while shielding a Palestinian child, has died.
An Israeli soldier has been charged with his manslaughter, but Hurndall's family accuse the Israeli government and army of a cover-up.
'Intelligence agencies are investigating a series of internet warnings, said to be issued by al-Qaeda, about major terrorist attacks on the United States.
'The messages posted on several Islamist websites include claims that an entire city could be destroyed. ... [the claim] was posted on an Islamist internet forum called the Mujahideen Network. ...'
Perhaps they were inspired by Tommy Franks.
15 January 04
'IRAQIS PROTEST AGAINST POLL PLANS
'Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been demonstrating in the southern city of Basra for direct elections for the country's new government.
'The peaceful protest outside a mosque was organised by local clerics.
'The top Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sistani, has called for the new administration to be elected not selected.
'Correspondents say the Shia objections are complicating US plans to hand over power to an appointed government by the middle of this year. [Or, to put it another way, popular pressure is interfering with the US junta's aim of regularizing its nominated-puppet government (in contradiction to its professed aim of democratizing Iraq).]'
(BBC Ceefax, p.105)
'CALL FOR PROBE INTO IRAQ MEDIA DEATHS
'A French-based media watchdog has urged the US government to reopen an inquiry into the deaths of two journalists in a Baghdad hotel hit by US tank fire.
'Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the shelling of the Palestine Hotel last April had been an act of "criminal negligence" by military authorities. [I would go further, and call it intentional intimidation of independent war-reporting.]
'The US military, meanwhile, said it shot dead seven suspected Iraqi rebels in central Iraq on Wednesday [14 Jan. 04].
'They were killed in clashes in three towns, an army spokesman said.'
(BBC Ceefax, 15 Jan. 04, p.122)
16 January 04
'The [UK] Government has in the past insisted that the UK has no biological WMDs.
'Why is the MoD [Ministry of Defence] now recruiting scientists with experience of biochemical pathogens at Porton Down?
'The really frightening part is that, in a sector that often recruits post-doctoral staff to salaries of less than £20,000, the MoD is offering £20,000 for a minimum requirement of five GCSEs. My concern is not reduced by "science" GCSE being mandatory.
'BR, Bolton[, England]'
(BBC Ceefax, p.145, letters to Ceefax)
Well, you'd expect Science GCSE, at the very least, to be mandatory in such a post. But what about the rest of BR's message? ...
Police win paedophile internet ban
BBC News online, 16 Jan. 04
'A Welsh police force has won what is thought to be a ground-breaking ruling which bans a paedophile from using the internet and mobile phones.
'Gary Geoffrey Thomas, 37, lured a 14-year-old mid Wales girl into having sex with him after grooming her via an internet chatroom.
'He was sentenced to 18 months in jail after the jury at Mold Crown Court heard how he had sex with the youngster, one of 15 underage girls he had met in internet chatrooms.
'Detectives asked the court for the order after they [said] Thomas described as "predatory" had made more than 1,000 calls on his mobile phone to schoolgirls. ...
'... Judge Huw Daniel ... banned Thomas ... from subscribing or using the internet or mobile phones of any description for the next five years.
'The order has been welcomed by Dyfed-Powys Police Detective Sergeant Diane Davies, who asked for the ruling. ...
'However, John Carr, an internet consultant for the children's charity NCH, said he understood what the police were trying to do but doubted they would be able to police the order.
'He told BBC Radio Wales: "The simple truth is there are thousands of internet cafes on the high streets and back streets [!] of every urban area in Britain.
'You can walk into one of them, give someone a quid [£1] in cash and set yourself up an internet account in less than three seconds. [Just slightly exaggerated claims. ...]
'"It requires absolutely no proof of you[r] name, address, telephone number or anything, and the same applies with mobile phones you just pay cash in a shop and walk out with one." [Brother, you're big!] ...'
Reminds you of those Soviet unpatriots who listened to all that Western bourgeois filth on their trannies. No wonder the Great Leaders banned private photocopiers, in a bid to stop samizdat propagation of this corruption.
I know little about Carr, or what his degree of sincerity might be; but he is playing hell-for-leather into the hands of >the Ashcroft-led anti-crusade which, under the cynical pretext of child protection, aspires to set the scene for the suppression of all opposition to the US cabal's world-imperial projects.
The establishment of an all-seeing state eye, followed by strangulation of independent media and, ultimately, the wholesale stitching-up of oppositionists as pedophiles (and other discrediting labels). Stalin had his "counter-revolutionaries", Hitler his "Judeo-Bolshevists" ... We shouldn't doubt that the Third Form of totalitarianism will be every bit as enterprising.
17 January 04
US slated on child porn
David Williamson, The Western Mail, icWales.co.uk
'Following the jailing of railway guard Gary Geoffrey Thomas on Thursday [15 Jan. 04] for unlawful sex with an underage girl and an unprecedented ruling that he must not use a mobile phone or the internet for the next five years, David Williamson reports how the leading children's charity NCH [is anyone capable of saying National Child Helpline in full?] is blaming the United States for the spread of paedophile material around the world. ...
'Legal hair-splitting has prevented the US law-enforcement agencies from being able to act against the vast majority of suspects. Meanwhile, the United States continues to be the world's number-one source of paedophile websites. [Unsurprising, since it is the no. 1 host of the internet.]
John Carr [it's that man again!] is the author of NCH's recent report which argues that exposure to child abuse images fuels the sexual fantasies of paedophiles.
'He is exasperated by the American response to a growing criminal market. [Now this is a gob-smacking critique of the land of origin of Ashcroft's great anti-paedophile campaign ...]
'In 2002, even though the United States only accounted for less than 30% of global internet users, 52% of the child abuse images found in Britain were created there. [Whatever these statistics are supposed to mean or tell us.] ...
'US investigators handed in a list of 6,500 names to their British counterparts after [considerably after, I think] shutting down a child pornography "gateway" ["Landslide"] in 1999. Being suddenly presented with so great a number of suspects to investigate has [... stalled the system? No ...] led to more than 2,300 arrests.
Meanwhile, US officials have an equivalent list of 35,000 names but have arrested only around 200 people.
'Mr Carr explained that one of the chief reasons for the US failure in prosecuting those who had been downloading the images.
'He said, "In order to get a warrant you have to present evidence that is recent. In some states recent is interpreted as meaning the last 30 days."
'Instead of using the giant [yep, it's giant, but perhaps a minnow compared to the total scale of "investigations"] list of names for prosecutions, in most cases police have to target specific individuals in sting operations which are time-consuming and expensive.
'What is of great concern to Mr Carr and his colleagues is the American failure to shut off internet newsgroups [my emphasis] used by child pornography enthusiasts, again on legal grounds. [Now we're getting to some of it ...]
'In 2002 more than 1.2 million child abuse images were moved across the internet using such newsgroups.
'Britain's Internet Watch Foundation, which is made up of members of the internet industry, the police and the Government, concluded that the easy availability of the pornography through the newsgroups was fuelling demand.
'When the newsgroups were then dropped by British internet service providers [my emphasis; what newsgroups are we specifically talking about?it became vastly more difficult for anyone in the UK to access images of child abuse and helped disrupt paedophile networks.
'The proportion of reported child porn images which are believed to have originated in the United States has now fallen [in the UK] from 18% to 2%. [Sounds effective. What other categories of newsgroup will it be used against next??]
'Mr Carr said, "We asked the American industry, "Why don't you do something similar?' They said they are powerless because of their anti-trust laws." ...
[ All-in-all, we have one nice example here of Britain beginning to be used as a test-bed for the projected American police state.] ...
'Concerned Women for America, one of the nation's largest conservative women's groups, is outraged that attempts to make it easier to prosecute child pornography producers have been frustrated by lawsuits brought by respected free-speech groups. [Yes, please note the "respected". They can see the way the wind's blowing; and those genuinely concerned with child-pornography and pedophilia are being just as cynically exploited.] ...'
Halliburton Gets More Iraq Work
Jackie Spinner, Washington Post, 17 Jan. 04
'The U.S. government yesterday awarded a Halliburton subsidiary, under fire for how much it paid to import fuel into Iraq, a competitively bid contract worth as much as $1.2 billion to continue repairs to the country's oil facilities.
'The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave KBR one of two contracts that replace a np-bid contract it was awarded last March. A joint venture between Pasadena-based Parsons Corp and its former division, Parsons Energy and Chemicals Group Inc., won the second contract, worth up to $800 million.
'The announcement came in the week Pentagon auditors asked the Defense Department inspector general to investigate a deal between KBR and a Kuwaiti fuel supplier to import gasoline into Iraq as part of the first contract.
'A draft audit report last month found that KBR may have overcharged the government $61 million for fuel from Kuwait. KBR has denied that it did anything wrong, and the Corps of Engineers said its audits have turned up nothing improper.
'The new contracts, which were supposed to be awarded in late October, were delayed, in part, because of questions about the KBR fuel contract, said Lt. Gen. Robert B. Flowers, commander of the Corps of Engineers. The new KBR contract will not include further imports of fuel. Last month the Pentagon asked a military unit to take over that task. ...'
Iraqis agitate for quicker elections: U.S. stands firm
The Seattle Times online, 17 Jan. 04
'Iraq's Shiite leaders threatened yesterday to trigger strikes, demonstrations and possible confrontation with U.S. troops if election demands are not met, while the United states' top civilian in Iraq said the U.S. might alter its plan for selecting an interim government but that the June 30 deadline would hold. ...'
'BUSH SIDESTEPS SENATE OVER TOP JUDGE
'President George W Bush has appointed a controversial judge to a federal court despite opposition from Senate Democrats.
'Charles Pickering was one of four judges blacked by the Democrats, who accused him of having extreme views.. I believe Pickering was the one who made great efforts to reduce the sentence of a Ku-Klux-Klan man.]
'But President Bush ended the two-year congressional battle by using his power to appoint the judge while the Senate is in recess.
'He will now sit on the New Orleans-based appeal court until January 2005.'
(BBC Ceefax, 17 Jan. 04, p.122)
'The US Justice Department has asked a federal court not to allow the release of "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla.
'The move comes after an appeal court in New York ruled last month that Mr Padilla, a US citizen seized on US soil, could not be held indefinitely.
'Mr Padilla was arrested at Chicago airport and accused of involvement in a plot to set off a radiological weapon. ...
'Mr Padilla has been held in a naval facility in Charleston, South Carolina, since June 2002 following a presidential decree.
'He is thought to be the only US citizen since World War II to be detained on a presidential decree. ...'
'BLACK SUED BY OWN COMPANY
'US newspaper publishing giant Hollinger International has said that it is suing its own chairman Conrad Black.
'The lawsuit, which was filed in court in New York, accuses the ex-Daily Telegraph boss [he doesn't own it any more? - perhaps the next item explains this] of improperly taking more than £125m from the company.
'Black and ex-company president David Radler are accused of repeated and systematic schemes to divest corporate assets and opportunities to themselves.'
(ITV Teletext, p.308)
18 January 04
'BARCLAYS BUY DAILY TELEGRAPH
'The Barclay brothers have added the Daily Telegraph to their portfolio of UK newspapers after agreeing a £260m takeover of Hollinger International.
'They announced the deal with Ravelston, owned by Lord Black of Crossharbour, to buy its 78% stake in the Canadian firm.
'It gives Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay 73% of voting rights in Hollinger, which owns the UK Telegraph and the Chicago Sun-Times.'
(ITV Teletext, p.309)
Which means, presumably, that the Barclays have bought into Henry Kissinger and Richard Perle, members of the Hollinger board.
'20 DIE IN IRAQ SUICIDE BLAST
'A suicide bomb attack which killed 20 people and wounded more than 60 others has been blamed on "terrorist allies' of captured ex-dictator Saddam Hussein.
'Two US defence officials and 18 Iraqis were killed when a car bomb exploded near the US-led coalition's Baghdad HQ.
'Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council blamed the attack on the ex-regime and "its terrorist allies who have no value for sacred things or human lives".'
(ITV Teletext, 18 Jan. 04, p.303)
19 January 04
'EX-GCHQ OFFICER IN COURT ON LEAK CHARGES
'A British intelligence officer alleged to have leaked a top secret e-mail has appeared in court under the Official Secrets Act.
'Katherine Gun, who worked at the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ), will now appear at the Old Baily [Central Criminal Court] on February 15.
'The former translator says she leaked an e-mail from US spies in an attempt to prevent the "illegal" war in Iraq.
'She was sacked from GCHQ, at Cheltenham, last June.'
(BBC Ceefax)
'Tens of thousands of Shia Muslims have marched [in Baghdad] against coalition proposals for a transfer of power [in Iraq], just hours before the US seeks UN backing for the plan. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 19 Jan. 04)
'The United Nations is considering sending a team to Iraq to explore whether credible elections could be held before power is transferred [to an "interim government"].
(BBC Ceefax, 19 Jan. 04, later, p.110)
20 January 04
William Steiger, the US representative on the World Health Organization (WHO), is "a close friend of the Bush family".
(British Channel 4 News at 7pm)
This may be relevant to artificially-souped-up scares about SARS and other matters by which the WHO appears to have sought to keep up the general world "terror-level" over the last year or so.
How much power does the American right have in the World Health Organization?
'WAR CRIMES TRIAL THREAT TO UK
'The Government could face an international trial of war crimes after the invasion of Iraq.
'A report by a panel of lawyers is being handed to the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the use of cluster bombs and depleted uranium.
'Prosecutors will now decide whether to launch a formal probe into the report, written after an inquiry was held by the UK-based organisation Peacerights.'
(ITV Teletext, 20 Jan. 04, p.304)
What about the invasion of Iraq in general? Still, it's a start ...
'Israeli warplanes have launched an air strike on [two Hezbollah bases in] southern Lebanon, a day after Hezbollah militants killed an Israeli soldier in a rocket attack ...
'On Monday, one Israeli soldier died and another was injured when a rocket hit their armoured bulldozer. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 20 Jan. 04, p.110)
Porn gets Wapped in the face
Internet Magazine, 20 Jan. 04
'Teenagers hankering after a glimpse of naked flesh on their mobile phones [in the UK] will have their lust restricted by new filters which will block explicit WAP content for users until their age is verified.
'The major network providers Orange, T-Mobile, Vodaphone, Virgin and 3 have all agreed to a Code Of Practice designed to prevent the fragile minds of children from being warped as a result of viewing the unclothed human figure. [I didn't write this rubbish, ladies and gentlemen.]]
'In future, content with an 18 certificate will not be available on your mobile phone until a network operator has confirmed your age.
'E-commerce minister, Stephen Timms, welcomed the decision. He told the BBC that the new measures are "an excellent example of responsible self-regulation".'
The point is, what other sites might this identity-verification be applied to, "inadvertently" or otherwise?
22 January 04
Just when the case against a 9/11 suspect in Germany was on the point of collapse, up pops a new "witness" ...
9/11 suspect 'helped with codes'
BBC News online
'A German court has heard evidence that a Moroccan man, Abdelghani Mzoudi, helped the 11 September hijackers by sending coded information to middlemen.
'The information comes from someone claiming to be a former Iranian agent, whose identity is being kept secret.
'It arrived just as the trial was due to end the verdict has now been delayed by one week to next Thursday [29 Jan. 04]. ...
'The prosecution case against Mr Mzoudi appeared to have all but crumbled last month when the court released Mr Mzoudi from custody on the basis of new evidence.
'The evidence came in the form of a statement from an unidentified informant saying that there were only four people in the Hamburg cell responsible for the [9/11] attacks three pilots and Ramzi Binalshibh who is already in US detention.
'The source was not named but the court said it believed it was Mr Binalshibh. ...'
Panorama prompts war probe calls
BBC News online, 22 Jan. 04
'The [UK] government is facing renewed calls for a full judicial inquiry into its decision to go to war with Iraq.
'It follows [yesterday night's] Panorama programme, on BBC One, which contained a previously unseen interview with late weapons expert Dr David Kelly.
'Dr Kelly said Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within days or weeks, rather than the 45 minutes mentioned in a government dossier [published in Sept. 2002].
'The Conservatives [the so-called UK opposition] said the interview reinforced the case for a full inquiry. ...
'Dr Kelly apparently committed suicide after being named as the suspected source for a BBC story on claims Downing Street "sexed up" the government's Iraq weapons dossier. ...
'The interview with Dr Kelly was recorded for Panorama in October 2002, a month after the prime minister presented the dossier to Parliament, but never broadcast. ...'
The trick for the Conservatives, who supported the Iraq invasion at least as enthusiastically as the Labour government, is how to use all this stuff against the latter without shooting themselves in the foot at the same time.
23 January 04
David Kay, the head of the US search for WMD in Iraq, has formally handed in his resignation. He said he doesn't think Iraq had WMD or even a large-scale weapons programme.
'The new head of the US team searching for banned weapons in Iraq says he has been instructed simply to find "the truth, wherever that lay".
'Charles Duelfer said recently he did not believe Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but he insists he will approach his new job with an open mind. ...'
'Mr Duelfer, a 51 year-old former UN weapons inspector, ... [said] "I don't want to pre-judge that," ... adding that Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet told him to find only one thing: "That is the truth, wherever that lay". ...'
In other words the puppet-masters, having reaped the benefit of their front-boys' dirty work in founding an oil empire, are letting them take nay, setting them up for, the fall.
Janes: U.S. might strike Hezbollah in Bakaa
Lou Marano, UPI, 23 Jan. 04
'WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (UPI) The prospect of the United States attacking Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon is no idle threat, the editor of Jane's Intelligence Digest said Friday [22 Jan. 04].
'On Friday the digest released a report saying the Bush administration is considering such strikes in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, where the bulk of Syria's forces are deployed, as [a] way to pressure Damascus. Jane's attributed this to its regional correspondent reporting from Beirut.
'In a phone interview from London, Alex Standish, editor of Jane's Intelligence Digest, confirmed that his sources were American and that they were communicating the views of people close to the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Asked if his sources were in the U.S. embassy, he replied he could not identify them further. ...'
U.S. denies empire bid, Annan warns of jungle law
Mark Trevelyan, Reuters AlertNet, 23 Jan. 04
'The United States' top law officer denied on Friday [22 Jan. 04] that Washington was greedy for empire and stressed it needed partners to prevail in the war on terror.
'Attorney-General John Ashcroft was forced to defend the conduct of the war in the face of criticism at a major world summit.
'"If you look at the United states and its performance, and what it does in the world, it's not an aggressor," Ashcroft told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
'"The United States doesn't seek to consume territory or to acquire an empire," he told the gathering, at which Washington has at times faced criticism over its security policies and the war in Iraq.
'Ashcroft was speaking from the same platform where U.N. chief Kofi Annan had earlier told delegates that global security must not be dictated by the "laws of the jungle". Annan told business leaders that collective security was at risk of falling apart.
'The Secretary-General said the dangers stemmed not only from terrorism itself but also from the way the war on terror was fought, although he did not mention any country by name. ...'
Secrecy still circles POW Saddam
BBC News online, 23 Jan. 04
'The fate of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein remains shrouded in mystery, almost six weeks after his capture.
'The US-led coalition in Iraq has provided scant information about his whereabouts or the conditions under which he is being kept.
'The Red Cross, which applied to see the former leader two weeks ago, said it had not yet agreed a date for a visit with the coalition authorities.
'But a spokesman said he was "fairly hopeful" a visit would go ahead. ...'
So there's still not much evidence that Saddam is still alive and in captivity .... some brief video clips of him with no evidence of date, plus the claim of one or two members of the Americans' puppet government to have visited him in captivity.
Halliburton admits $6m kickbacks
BBC News online, 23 Jan. 04
'Energy services giant Halliburton has admitted that it has fired two members of staff in Iraq for taking kickbacks of up to $6m (£3.3m).
The two employees are alleged to have taken the cash from an unnamed Kuwaiti company helping Halliburton to supply US troops in Iraq.
'Both workers were employed in KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary. ...'
25 January 04
'The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees [in the shape of its head, Peter Hansen,] is warning it may not be able to cope with those made homeless by Israeli army demolitions.
'More than 14,000 people in Gaza have lost their homes since October 2000, almost 10,000 of them in Rafah [the "refugee camp"].'
(BBC Ceefax, p.109)
26 January 04
'GENERAL VOWS TO CATCH BIN LADEN
'The American commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan says he expects to catch Osama Bin Laden this year.
'Lieutenant-General David Barro said dealing with Bin Laden and ex-Taleban leader Mullah Omar was a top priority. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, p.110)
Another pretended capture in prospect?
'US congressmen have held talks with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on a landmark visit to Tripoli. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 26 Jan. 04, p.119)
'The International Court of Justice has rejected a call by Israel to move a January 30 deadline for written arguments on the security barrier case. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 26 Jan. 04)
'David Kay said in a US radio interview that he thought the CIA awed the president an explanation for warnings about the threat Iraq posed. ...'
(BBC Ceefax)
'PAKISTAN[:] The former British public schoolboy accused of murdering reporter Daniel Pearl was moved to a new jail amid an alert over security around him.'
(ITV Teletext, 26 Jan. 04, p.318)
Is that Saeed Omar Sheikh, or Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? These two characters have such similar recent histories that I find it hard to distinguish them. I feel that perhaps they are counterparts in closely-parallel universes. Or perhaps the result of a cross-program leakage in the CIA's virtual-reality computer. ... :-)
On the BBC's Newsnight tonight was a piece ("Terror Network") about Mullah Krekar, the apparent leader of the Iraqi Kurdish based Ansar al-Islam. Ansar is alleged to be behind the current wave of bombings in Iraq. Ansar has fought against the mainstream Kurdish PUK ...
Mullah Krekar obtained refugee status in Norway and promptly, it is said, went back to Iraqi Kurdistan ... US Attorney-General John Ashcroft, who "happened" to be on holiday in Norway, applied for his extradition to the US, but this was denied because of the death penalty in the US. Prof. Staale Eskeland, intervied for Newsnight, said the "the main evidence, as far as I can see," for Ansar's current "terrorism" comes from the "PUK, which is under American control. ..."
"Terror Network", BBC Newsnight, 26 Jan. 04 [transcript date, 27 Jan.])
'The United States is to review the intelligence it used to justify the war in Iraq, the White House has said.
'But spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters the US Government stood by its decision to topple Saddam Hussein.'
(BBC Ceefax, p.109)
... The White House is trying to shift the blame onto the CIA. (BBC World Service)
27 January 04
'The International Criminal Court should investigate Britain and the US for possible war crimes, a group of legal scholars has told the UN.'
(ITV Teletext, p.318)
Hutton's report is a whitewash in favour of the British Government, if a "sneak preview" in tomorrow's Sun newspaper is to be believed.
28 January 04
'INDEPENDENT[:] Fresh doubts about the death of David Kelly were raised by three doctors who questioned whether he took his own life.'
(ITV Teletext, p.328, reviews of British papers)
"Our doubts about Dr Kelly's suicide", by David Halpin, C. Stephen Frost and Searle Sennett, published 27 Jan. 04.
But their opinion has been challenged by three "leading forensic pathologists": "Experts support suicide finding", The Guardian, 28 Jan. 04.
'[Financial Times:] Dick Cheney, US, vice-president, backed away from the assertion that Saddam Hussein had possessed weapons of mass destruction.'
(Ibid.)
'GUARDIAN[:] The [British] Government is expected to be cleared by Lord Hutton of sexing up its Iraqi weapons dossier.'
(Ibid.)
Yes, the Hutton Report is an almost-complete whitewash of the British Government (only some mild criticism of the Ministry of Defence, nothing against its head Geoff Hoon).
But it is also a smashing attack on the BBC. Gavyn Davies, the chairman of the Corporation, has resigned.
The report also concludes that David Kelly committed suicide no surprises there either. (Oh, by-the-way, the report was only supposed to be about the circumstances of Kelly's death.)
(Readers should remember that Hutton was appointed head of the inquiry by the Government in the first place.)
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has said that the renewal of the BBC's charter [a periodic event, next due in 2006] will take into account the findings of the Hutton Report.
(BBC Newsnight, 28 Jan. 04. See "'Hutton will affect BBC charter'", BBC News online, updated 30 Jan.)
'WMD INTELLIGENCE WRONG, SAYS KAY
'The former senior US weapons inspector, David Kay, has said intelligence that Iraq possessed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons was false.
'Mr Kay, who resigned last week, told a Senate committee in Washington that failures had become apparent in US intelligence-gathering capability.
'He denied that US intelligence had been distorted by government pressure in the run-up to last year's US-led war.
'"It turns out we were all wrong," he said, "and that is most disturbing."'
(BBC Ceefax, 28 Jan. 04, p.133)
What a Keystone cock-up! Comically misblunder into oil empire!
'The UN Secretary-General [Kofi Annan] has warned that the Palestinian Authority could collapse because of the stalemate in the Middle East peace process. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 28 Jan. 04, p.121)
Tape reveals last moments of 9/11 stewardess
PA News, The Times, 28 Jan. 04
'... Betty Ann Ong spoke in calm, measured tones as she recounted the terror unfolding around her.
'"There is somebody stabbed in business class. They can't breathe in business class. They've got mace or something," she told an operator at the American Airlines reservations centre.
'She said: "The cockpit is not answering the phone.
'"Our first-class galley attendant and our purser are stabbed. We can't get into the cockpit. The door won't open."
'The veteran flight attendant, known to her friends as Bee, was on American Airlines flight 11.
'The jet, with September 11 ringleader Mohammed Atta on board, was piloted by the hijackers into the north tower of the World Trade Centre, shortly after Ms Ong's call.
'Ms Ong remained calm, with no indication that she knew of the fate which awaited her and her passengers.
'A four-minute portion of the 20-minute conversation was played yesterday, for the first time in public, to [the] commission investigating the terror attacks.
'Panel chairman Thomas Kean praised Ms Ong for her "duty, courage, selflessness and love" in the face of such danger. ... 'The tape was played as the independent commission investigating the September 11 terror attacks announced that it was formally requesting an extension of its deadline, from May 27 to July.
'Members have already made it clear that they need more time, claiming that co-operation and access to information has not been forthcoming from the White House.
'President Bush is believed to oppose such an extension. [Not surprising, as the White House opposed an investigation in the first place.] ...
'The commission still has no commitment from Condoleezza Rice, the National Security Adviser, who was being sought to give evidence, and there are still negotiations over if and when the President and the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, will give evidence. ...'
29 January 04
'The Daily Telegraph says the BBC was "plunged into the biggest crisis in its history" by Lord Hutton's report.
(BBC Ceefax, p.148, reviews of British papers)
'"Whitewash" is the headline on a stark Independent front page [in fact there is a (cautious) question mark after it], which again questions the reasons for invading Iraq. ...'
(Ibid.)
And surprisingly from the usually-redoubtable Express,
'"Saint Tony" is the, perhaps, ironic headline in the Daily Express and says the Hutton report was a "whitewash". ...'
(Ibid.)
'BBC Director-General Greg Dyke has resigned over the Hutton report ... [He is the top executive at the BBC.'
(BBC Ceefax, 29 Jan. 04, p.104)
The BBC has regulated itself since (its inception in) 1927. (BBC Newsnight, 29 Jan. 04) It can reasonably be asked whether, or rather at what pace, the putsch is to be followed by the BBC's conversion into a government mouthpiece though ministers deny any such intention.
'The acting chairman of the BBC {Lord Ryder] has issued an "unreserved" apology after Lord Hutton censured senior bosses for failing in the David Kelly affair. ...'
(ITV Teletext, 29 Jan. 04, p.305/1)
'BBC IMPLEMENTS REFORM AGENDA
'The BBC's new acting chairman has vowed to address the serious defects in the corporation's processes and procedures highlighted in the Hutton report.
'Lord Ryder said: "We have begun to implement major reforms, including outside journalism, compliance systems, editorial processes and training."
'He added: "The changes arising from the Hutton report will be completed by Mark Byford, the acting director-general."'
(Ibid, p.305/2)
Byford's "entire career has been spent at the BBC he joined in 1979 as a reporter. He has been the corporation's Deputy Director-General since January ..."
(BBC Ceefax, 29 Jan. 04, p.106)
'AL-QAEDA "SEEKING BASE IN IRAQ"
'The capture of an alleged senior member of al-Qaeda in Iraq indicates that the group is trying to set itself up there, a top US military official has said.
'Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez claimed the arrest of Hassan Ghul was "pretty strong proof" of the presence of Osama Bin Laden's network in Iraq . ...
'"Mr Ghul was captured last week by US forces in Iraq.'
(BBC Ceefax, 29 Jan. 04, p.111)
'seven United States soldiers have been killed and one is missing after an explosion at a weapons cache where they were working in Afghanistan ... It is not yet clear what caused the latest explosion. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, p.113)
'[UK Home Secretary] BLUNKETT URGES TERROR FIGHT BALANCE
'David Blunkett will call for a balance to be struck between anti-terrorism measures and civil liberties when he delivers a keynote speech in India. [Now, for one naive second I thought he was going to express concern for civil liberties. But ...]
'The Home Secretary will argue that the prospect of prosecution is not enough to deter modern terrorists. [Is that really so modern ...?]
'He will tell the British Council in Delhi that governments must have the power to prevent and disrupt terror.
'"The challenge in the UK, as in India, is to find the right balance between security and freedom," he will say.' [With him sitting on the security side of the scales, presumably.]'
(BBC Ceefax, p.122)
The zeal and alacrity with which they have supported the US imperial and police-state drives belies the UK government's wide-eyed and indignant pleas of naive innocence.
30 January 04
'"Rudderless and demoralised", says the Daily Mail. "Its most serious crisis", says The Guardian. "Brought to its knees", says the Daily Mail.
'These are the verdicts on the state of the BBC following the Hutton report.
'But The Independent views the [UK] Government's "crowing over a shocked and demoralised BBC" as 'distasteful".
'It "seeks to dismember the BBC", says the [Daily] Mail, urging the Corporation: "Don't lose your nerve ... You must not cave in to the politicians." [They already have.]'
(BBC Ceefax, p.148, reviews of British papers)
[Even formerly pro-government papers are now taking the side of the BBC. The rest of the media realizes that it will be next.]
Andrew Gilligan (the BBC journalist that the Government used as its crowbar against the BBC) has resigned now.
'US ADMITS IRAQ INTELLIGENCE FLAWS
'The White House has acknowledged for the first time that its intelligence reports on Iraq might have been wrong.
'National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice has given a round of interviews in which she talks about possible flaws in pre-war intelligence.
'She said evidence suggested there were differences between "what we knew [!!] going in and what we found".'
'Until recently, President Bush had insisted that weapons of mass destruction would be discovered.'
(BBC Ceefax, 30 Jan. 04, p.107)
Bush has made a plea for the facts (now that Cheney and Rice have paved the way for him). ...
'BUSH "WANTS FACTS" ON WMD
'US President George Bush has said he wants to know "the facts" over Saddam's forbidden weapons but declined to call for an independent investigation.
'Bush said he wants to compare the US government's pre-war intelligence with what will be learned by weapons inspectors who are now in Iraq.
'He added: "One thing is for certain that Saddam Hussein was a danger. He was a growing danger."'
(ITV Teletext, p.309)
"... My senses may deceive me. I may misunderestimate the situation. But one thing is for certain.
"I STINK, THEREFORE I AM."
And, right on cue, comes a terror diversion:-
'NEW BA FLIGHT TERROR ALERTS
'New intelligence indicates that British Airways flights to Los Angeles could be terrorist targets, US officials said. [Anonymous officials BBC TV news].
'The flights are the same [ho hum] as those that drew increased attention when the US terror alert was raised to orange, or high, just before Christmas.
'But a BA spokesman insisted: "We would never choose to operate a flight unless it were completely safe to do so".'
(ITV Teletext, p.307)
'... US officials said they had received reports of "al-Qaeda's desire to target" [i.e. by special request?] five or six specific flights from Europe, Reuters news agency said.'
(BBC Ceefax, p.104)
31 January 04
'The Independent says acting chairman [of the BBC] Lord Ryder may have led the faction of BBC governors against keeping Greg Dyke.
'However, several who agreed [to remove Dyke] "were said to feel events had moved too fast".'
(BBC Ceefax, 31 Jan. 04, p.306)
'Thousands of BBC staff have paid for an advert in a national newspaper supporting their former director-general Greg Dyke. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, p.105)
'PAKISTAN NUCLEAR CHIEF "SACKED"
'The founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme has been removed from his post as a government adviser, unnamed officials say. [Is there an outbreak of unnamed officials?]
'Abdul Qadeer Khan was sacked to "facilitate" an inquiry into illegal sales of nuclear technology.
'Mr Khan has held the post of scientific adviser since retiring as head of the country's top nuclear facility in 2001.
'The probe began two months ago after the UN gave Pakistan information from Iran['s] and Libya's nuclear programmes.'
(BBC Ceefax, 31 Jan. 04, p.106)
'The White House is facing increased pressure to set up a full independent inquiry into alleged intelligence failures in the run-up to war in Iraq.
'All Democratic presidential contenders support an inquiry, and this weekend former Vermont Governor Howard Dean is expected to demand an investigation.
'Republican Senator John McCain has also broken ranks to insist on a full probe. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 31 Jan. 04, p.106)
'[UK] DEMONSTRATORS DEMAND WAR INQUIRY
'Hundreds [Wow!] of protesters have gathered in London to demand a public inquiry into why the UK went to war in Iraq.
'Campaigners including the Stop the War coalition, CND and the Muslim Association of Britain converged on Downing Street from midday.
'A copy of the Hutton report ... was also burned. ...'
(BBC Ceefax, 31 Jan. 04, p.117)
Hutton's report was so brazenly one-sided that you can't help wondering if the old fellow did it with the intention of discrediting the Blair Government.
'Iran's interior minister has warned that elections may not be held, due to a row between reformers and hardliners. ...
'The hardline Guardian Council reversed its decision to ban many candidates [11,000+ were banned) on Friday [30 Jan.], but about 2,500 remain banned.'
(BBC Ceefax, 31 Jan. 04, p.119)
'A car bomb targeting an Iraqi police station left nine people dead and 45 others injured, while three US troops were killed in a separate explosion.'
(ITV Teletext, 31 Jan. 04, p.306)
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