It is ten years today since the brutal and unnecessary death of Rachel Corrie, an American student, at the hands of the Israel Defense Force (IDF). I am reposting this note from my blog World Impusle to mark the occasion, lest we forget. Rachel was just an idealistic girl, she could have been any of us or our children. This is the way our supposed friends treat our children. Recent reports also indicate that the Israeli authorities routinely abuse and imprison 700 Palestinian children between the age of 12 and 17 every year.
Recently, an Israeli court in Haifa found the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) innocent of any responsibility for the death of young, American peace activist Rachel Corrie. Corrie was run over and killed by a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer, just think about it... death by bulldozer, operated by a member of the IDF. According to eyewitnesses, there when it happened, she was clearly visible from the dozer. Well, not according to the IDF or the court.
It's a dark day for human rights and peace in the Middle East. Our hearts go out to the Corrie family, after their years of determined actions designed to gain some measure of closure and justice in this case. (Read more here).
I can't say I'm surprised, the IDF has a long history of finding its own members innocent of virtually every crime. Recently, an IDF participant in Operation Cast Lead - the war against the innocent in GAZA - received only 45 days of punishment for summarily executing a mother and daughter who were waving a white flag at the time (SOURCE).
Just a few days ago, the proverbial feces hit the fan. Wired Magazine, in a stellar piece of investigative reporting, revealed a treasure-trove of information regarding the NSA's new Utah spy center, and the agency's secretive agreements with shadowy firms to spy on US Citizens. Uh-huh. That's right. We should all be concerned.
The story hit hard, and spread. TV News reports from small local stations all the way to national news programs highlighted the story. The US Army General responsible for the NSA felt compelled to go public with a denial. Of course, it didn't hurt that concerned congressional representative started asking direct questions. Read the Wired article. And read the General's denials here. Take note that he says quite specifically: We don't do we have sub-contracted that task out to trusted foreign allies like Israel and Singapore.that here. "Here" is the operative word. I submit that means the agency does not spy on US Citizens from US territory. Thus, the "here." In fact, there is evidence that
There are many who are quite skeptical about the General's denials. After all, it's not like the NSA has a long record of honesty when addressing Congress or the American public. It's a spy thing. So we have to rely on the judgments of others in that regard. Read what ComputerWorld had to say about the denials in this article.
Now, read about how we've outsourced the invasion of our privacy to foreign firms in this BUSINESS INSIDER article.
The Author is connected to this story, in a peripheral sort of way. During the 80's I had a chance to meet and chat with Admiral John Poindexter, the US Governments uber-geek programmer, and the conceptual architect of the TIAA (Total Information Awarness & Analysis) program that was deemed so unconstitutional by Congress that they de-funded it and sent it away. Problem is, it never really disappeared. It just went underground. I first wrote about my conversation with the Admiral years ago in THIS POST.
So you can see that in addition to Israeli firms, Singapore is also involved. Investigations reveal that THIS MAN is part of the Singaporean effort. He's an old associate of Poindexter's by the way. You remember Poindexter's TIAA, well in Singapore it's called RAHS: Risk Assessment Horizon Scanning. Snowden is an integral part of a firm called Cognitive Edge that is the architect of RAHS. From the firm's website, this vague but tantalizing description of the program.
The RAHS system is a strategic risk assessment and analysis tool, which aims to provide early alerts on potential threats to national security by building a network that links various independent government agencies throughout the Singapore government.
Through the RAHS project, the government aims to identify early indicators of change, detect signals and analyze potential threat patterns which otherwise would have gone unnoticed.
Finally, here's a video piece from Amy Goodman's Democracy Today covering the story.
Update: This just in. Stratfor emails revealsecret, widespread TrapWire surveillance system powered by Abraxas technology. Abraxas founder Richard “Hollis” Helms said his signature product“can collect information about people and vehicles that is more accurate than facial recognition, draw patterns, and do threat assessments of areas that may be under observation from terrorists.” He calls it “a proprietary technology designed to protect critical national infrastructure from a terrorist attack by detecting the pre-attack activities of the terrorist and enabling law enforcement to investigate and engage the terrorist long before an attack is executed,” and that, “The beauty of it is that we can protect an infinite number of facilities just as efficiently as we can one and we push information out to local law authorities automatically.” The author has nothing against predictive analytics or the notion of horizon-scanning for threat detection. However I personally hold the belief that these kinds of culture-impacting decisions should be taken with full public involvement, discussion and debate. I'm not seeing that happening in this case.
Laurie Penny writes in England's "The Independent" newspaper:
With women under attack financially, socially and sexually across the developed and developing world, with assaults on jobs, welfare, childcare, contraception and the right to choose, the time for polite conversation is over. It's time for anger. It's time for daring, direct action, big demands, big dreams. The men who still run the world from boardrooms and government offices have become too used to not being afraid of what women will do if we are attacked, used and exploited. We must make them afraid.
Intrigued? It's a great opinion piece that surely reflects the frustration of many. Read the article.
At this very moment in the fair state of California thousands of gay couples are tying the knot. Many have waited almost a lifetime for this moment, and The Author celebrates with them. So lift a glass tonight and make a toast to life, to love, and to marriage equality. The younger generation has it right: it's not the sex, it is the person. Read a post by the plaintiff in the Cali case that ended discrimination, here.
The Supreme Court got it right, for once. Barely. On a split, 5-4 decision the Court today decided in favor of Gitmo detainees and against the administration of president George W. Bush. Surprised?
I don't know what surprised me the most...that five members of the current court would actually affirm the constitutional right to a fair trial; or, that four conservative members of the court found a way to leave the constitution behind. Read the NY Times coverage of the story here. Then check out the LA Times Q&A on the issue, here.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain has already reassurred the radical right about his intentions to continue to appoint hyper-political, conservative jurists to the high court. Like we need more Scalia clones to tell us all in endless "ninograms" how to live and act. I don't think so.
Of course, the "torture president" immediately disagreed with the ruling. No respect for the separation of power from this crew, unless it results in rulings in their favor. No surprise there. The Author is mindful of the important role the court plays in the success of our democracy. That's why continuing the trend of partisan, radical-rightist appointments established by the Bush administration is not an option if we value our freedom, privacy and rights.
Berlin yesterday unveiled a memorial to the thousands of Gay men that were criminalized and killed by the Nazis. 55,000 branded criminals and 15,000 deemed inferior and murdered en masse by their own country. Read more about it here.
While it is true that this number is small compared to the suffering of the Jews, it is important to remember and memorialize all the victims of Nazi persecution. The Author was gratified to read about the new memorial. The story doesn't end there, however. Victims also include half-a-million Gypsies (source), almost the entire population of occupied Eastern Europe; as well as countless disabled and developmentally disabled individuals.
Sadly, Gypsies - or Rom as they preferred to be called - are still being persecuted in large swathes of Europe. Many have heard of the Slovak hatred for the Rom (source), but Italy has recently experienced a variety of what appear to be officially-sanctioned pogroms directed against Gypsy settlements. Read this alarming article for background. The far-Right government of Silvio Berlusconi, with established Fascist roots, appears to be stoking the flames of ethnic hatred. The lesson? Facists will be Facists. LGBT Germany Gypsies human rights
Today the world celebrates International Women's Day. Conceived in 1911 by German activist Klara Zetkin, IWD seeks to honor and celebrate the contributions of women to society, the human race and the planet. The theme for 2007's event is "Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women and Girls." A very good cause that I have championed in a previous post.
It strikes me as a very appropriate moment to reflect on the role of women in our societies. With a declared female candidate for president of the United States, a female German Chancellor, a strong female contender for the French PM spot, and president "Ma Ellen" delivering Liberia from decades of strife, women are on the ascendancy. Some poetic justice in that, as stupid white men have mucked-up the planet with their short-sighted aggressive bluster, cowboy justice and insatiable lust for power and material possessions.
In some parts of the world, like Burma, it is a single female that stands bravely against oppression. As of today, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 11 years and 135 days under house arrest in her home country. All for speaking out for individual freedom and liberty. If you're planning a trip to Burma, don't go. There is simply no excuse for spending money and offering any support at all for this pariah nation.
Also today, China issued its annual "Human Rights Record of the United States" report. To provide some perspective for our own IWD events, I thought I'd cut-and-paste some of that report's findings regarding the human rights of women in the U.S. So here goes:
"Women in the United States do not share equal rights with men in politics. Despite the fact that women outnumber men in the U.S. population, they hold only 82 seats in the 109th U.S. Congress, including 14 seats or 14 percent of the Senate and 68 or 15.6 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives. Low-income American women lack proper labor protection and social security and live a hard life. A survey by the Community Service Society showed that among low-income working mothers living on less than 32,000 U.S. dollars for a family of three, more than half were not entitled to even a single day of paid sick leave; 61 percent did not have paid vacation; and 80 percent did not receive any employee health benefits for themselves or their children. In 2005, 37 percent of the low-wage mothers had to give up necessary medical care, and a third had their electricity or phone turned off because they could not pay the bills. Forty-three percent had to rely on food pantries, and 42 percent fell behind in their rent."
How to get involved: Check out Women for Women, an organization that facilitates women sponsoring other women in third word countries.
It's a dark day for human rights and peace in the Middle East. Our hearts go out to the Corrie family, after their years of determined actions designed to gain some measure of closure and justice in this case. (Read more here).
