------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998
To: •••@••.•••
From: Bill Ellis <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: "WAR IS IMMINENT"
Cc: "Free Arab Voice" <•••@••.•••>
BE:
The piece on "WAR IS IMMINENT" is a prime example of the misinformation
being cirulated in the Internet. It raises the question of how to se
filter the nonsense for the real news not covered by the mainstream press.
Usually we can take a quick look at the author or the source of the news
item and filter our that from questionable souces.
I do that and have a long list of news sources that my computer rejects and
deletes on receiving it. I can look at the "trash" file when and if I
wish. If I don't open it and save any files filtered out they are deleted
when I close that session.
The "WAR IS IMMINENT" piece gave me a number of other sources to include in
my "trash" file. I hope that the "cyberjournal" will not be added to that
list. But the responsibility for anyone to filter out the misinformation
from real information is on us all.
I disagree with the negativism of the cyberjournal and many other sources
that have not yet moved beyound the negative pessimism we all feel when we
analyze the mainstream social/economic/political/media system. But it has
a record of being accurate and well developed. I will continue to use it
as a source for accurate news of the world until it sends on more nonsense
from questionable sources of misinformation.
----------
Dear Bill,
Cyberjournal is not for everyone, and I will continue to post controversial
views. I expect objections such as yours, especially in times of
media-created hysteria. But I find two things curious regarding your
posting. First, why do you not give even a single example of a statement
you consider to be "misinformation"? Second, why do you object to sources
that I forward, but not object to the analysis I myself offer, which
largely agrees with the sources you find so offensive?
As the for the mainstream media having a "record of being accurate and well
developed", I find that preposterous and would welcome comment from other
readers on that topic. I've written about the systematic bias and
selectivity of the media so many times I grow weary.
rkm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Sep 1998
To: •••@••.•••
From: Ruth Cohen <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: cj#829> INVITATION to Help Achieve a Livable World
I would initially be happy to subscribe to your misson statement and to
encourage others to do so. Howeer, I am very concerned by your publication
of the views of various fanatics whose purpose is to drum up hatred of Jews
and Americans, and to defend the indefensible atrocities committed in
places like Serbia and the Middle East.
I think you are playing with fire when you publish their propaganda. By
raising the stock of extremists because they are opposed to American
attempts at world domination, you are puttng innocent people at risk,
whether they are boarding a bus, or a plane, or working in or visiting a
government office. Obviously this is no way to advance the cause of
solidarity among social activists world wide.
Hence I require reassurance that you will not be publishing any more rabid
speculations by various hatemongers before I can once again feel at ease
about joining the CDR.
----------
Dear Ruth,
Again, I challenge you to be specific about what you consider to be
"propaganda", and I inquire as to why you don't object to my own statements
and analysis. How is it "raising the stock of extremists" to inquire as to
whether the plant in Sudan makes war materials or pharmaceuticals? Nothing
I've posted has condoned the embassy bombings, that isn't the issue.
As for "hate-mongering speculation", that's a perfect description of the
media coverage of the events in question. Muslims are not our enemies.
They are oppressed by regimes that the US has helped to put in power. Our
_common enemy is US imperialism which has now evolved into corporate
imperialism against all of us.
rkm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: •••@••.•••
From: •••@••.••• (James Crombie)
Subject: Re: cj#829> INVITATION to Help Achieve a Livable World
Cc: •••@••.•••
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 15:43:46 -0300
Hello Folks!
Richard's and Jan's invitation came at an opportune
moment, since I have been brooding over the situations
in Kosovo, Algeria, Afghanistan and the Undemocratic
Republic of the Congo. (This is a non-exhaustive list.)
This brooding has some connection with some remarks
of Richard's -- as a reading of the following will reveal.
The common characteristic possessed by the
above-named territories is that whatever administrative
authorities may exist are either unable or unwilling to
provide a minimally acceptable level of protection for
the people who live there.
I think that something should be done.
The UN, the United States and NATO should not be in
the business of being busibodies -- and countries should
be mainly left to settle their own problems. Ditto for
families and couples, except when things deteriorate
beyond certain limits of non-acceptability -- for example
in cases of serious violence and extreme neglect. But
there are situations where it would be wrong not to
intervene.
A good international model for such intervention is the
recent UN presence in Haiti which was about as
successful as it could have been realistically hoped that
it would be. The current situation in Haiti is not such
that I am making plans to move there with my family --
far from it -- but the situation is nonetheless several
orders of magnitude better than it would have been
without some kind of intervention from outside.
I know that Richard, for one, simply hates the idea of
NATO or UN forces occupying anything, but I can't help
thinking that a lot of misery would have been avoided
by simply placing 5000 NATO soldiers in Kosovo last
July...
----------
Dear James,
Your attitude is immanently understandable. You are presented with
pictures of suffering in the media, and of course you want something to be
done about it. That is precisely the purpose of media propganda, to spin
events in a way that creates support for US interventionist policies. And
it is to counter such propaganda that I have posted, and will continue to
post, alternative views and information.
There are some questions I suggest you ask yourself: Why are there no
pictures in the media of the suffering in East Timor? Why has the US done
everything it could over the past decade to destabilize Yugoslavia and
encourage factional stife? Why did the US permit years of genocide and
wait until Croatia was fully prepared for an invasion of Bosnia before
deciding to finally intervene? Why did the US arm and train the Taliban
and then leave them to take over Afghanistan? Why did the US install
Noriega and Marcos in power in the first place, funding and supporting them
for years, when they were from the beginning as corrupt and tyrannical as
they were at the end when their evil was finally taken up by the press?
Why is the IMF systematically destroying society after society in Africa?
And Haiti! You've got to be kidding! It was intervention from outside
that caused Haiti's problems, and that installed the regime that was
finally replaced.
In closing, below, I'm posting a statement by WILPF (Women's International
League for Peace and Freedom), regarding the latest US acts of state
terrorism.
rkm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998
To: "bruna's list" <•••@••.•••>
From: •••@••.••• (Bruna Nota)
Subject: "Terrorism - new forms of warfare"
4/ 9/98
Dear friends, you may be interested in taking some extracts of this message
and doing your own mailing to the UN and/ or US government. I also append
some relevant 'street wisdom' notes.
In peace,
Bruna
Sender: •••@••.•••
Subject: "Terrorism - new forms of warfare"
To: •••@••.•••
X-Sender: •••@••.•••
This will be printed in the next International Peace Update; excerpts of
it are sent as WILPF statement to the UN.
IPU article, by Barbara Lochbihler, WILPF Secretary General
"Terrorism - new forms of warfare"
The government who claims to take leadership of the world has used its
military superiority and bombed unilaterally two other countries. It has
proudly shown the world that its leadership capacities rest on the
technical advantages of weapons and a huge intelligence service, it rests
on the disrespect and sidetracking of existing international bodies, on the
violation of international law and it infringes the Charter of the United
Nations. Who can seriously believe that this attack by the USA can qualify
as "an exercise of the right of self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N.
Charter"?
The International Community and the UN alike seems to have accepted the US
rationalization. Not only the silence of governments, in and out of the
United Nations forums, but applause by many over a unilateral action by one
of its Member States, seemingly without any kind of consultation, is not
only appalling but dangerous for the future.
The Security Council has not condemned these unilateral military attacks.
In order to pacify the Islamic states the Security Council declares, that
it will continue to follow the issue, but does not show any sign of
undertaking a serious investigation. It has not investigated the claims of
the Sudanese government that the plant bombed by the US produced
pharmaceuticals only. The US representative in the Security Council told
the press, that they do not understand why there is a need to investigate,
as the US had proven that the plant produced chemical weapons. Why then,
did they not welcome an investigation to show the world that there is no
doubt on the reason for the bombing? Now we hear from different sides,
including the German Ambassador in Sudan, that there is no evidence that
products other than medicine, were produced.
Will we learn more about the facts behind the terrible and cruel bombings
in Kenya and Tanzania? Who else beside Mr. Osama Bin Laden could have
benefited from these attacks? What kind of political advantage can be
gained, by whom, for the overall involvement and influence in African
politics? The International Community needs to insist that the
investigations continue and the perpetrators are brought to court.
Terrorism can never be justified, the senseless killing and destruction,
can never bring the needed political transformation of a difficult or
desperate situation.
We call on the UN Secretary General and on all members of the Security
Council to react responsibly, to formulate a policy that attacks such as
those against Sudan and Afghanistan do not qualify as acceptable
anti-terrorism measures. We need a strong UN that continues to promote and
develop effective ways to fight terrorism and not to give way to bullying.
The governments of Sudan and Afghanistan do not have many friends. Their
record on human rights violations against their people is long and groups
like WILPF are continuing to support those who work for ending the ongoing
bloody wars within those countries, for the respect of human rights and in
particular for the end of female apartheid in Afghanistan. We have
consistently protested the support of the Taliban by neighboring Pakistan
and the US, as a factor of 'stability'. Why a systemic, long term analysis
of the situation has not been done by the self-styled "leaders of the
world"? A large part of terrorism is rooted in the despair that chronic
injustices have engendered. We need to look at the institutions and
policies that create and perpetrate these injustices, not recur to
simplistic and cruel vendettas that ignore the complexity of the causes of
conflicts.
The attack against Sudan and Afghanistan has not brought any results in
fighting terrorism. Many people worldwide, not only in the Islamic world,
do feel the sense of injustice of this action. We fear that it will lead to
more hatred and support for radical fundamentalist groups, which promote
pseudo and absolute wrong solutions for deep rooted problems.
The US foreign minister Madeleine Albright announced that this was not a
single action, such strikes will be the wars of the future. So the question
is: Who will be next? There will be always a reason to fight the invisible
evil. In times of capitalist globalization it could be an unwanted
competitor, a non-obedient dictator, someone with a bad human rights
record, who no longer fulfills the interests of those who had previously
supported him. If there is no rule of law, then the might of the stronger,
in this case the military stronger, will set the rules. An old story, with
a somewhat new twist.
The ongoing restructuring of armies, in order to strike anywhere in the
world, to punish and destroy and then to leave, has been a successful
strategy. The US military industrial complex is jubilant to see its
existence justified once more and its importance underlined by the
overwhelming majority of the US people supporting the need for this missile
attacks. In other countries the protagonists of the military industrial
complex are rejoicing as well, that once again the world has understood
that war is the final means of politics and their industry can continue to
thrive, even in the face of increasing human and environmental degradation.
As long-time activists for peace and justice, we know that we have to
continue to educate, to inform and use all available means to spread
additional information to that provided by the mainstream media. We need to
reach out to encourage more people to think independently, to ask questions
and try to look behind the seemingly obvious. We should not stay with our
anger, we need to increase networking and keep on demanding that the rule
of law should guide international affairs.
--------------
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
International Secretariat
1, rue de Varembe
C.P. 28
1211 Geneva 20
Tel: +41 22 733 61 75
Fax: +41 22 740 10 63
"Remember that every time you go the extra mile, you place someone under
obligation to you.
When you do something to or for another, whether your deeds are good or
bad, people feel compelled to 'retaliate' in kind. If you are a kind and
decent person, you can expect to be treated well in return. If you use
others for your own advantage without giving anything in return, you
will soon find that they have little use for you. People like working
for and with positive, considerate people. Start now to develop the
habit of going the extra mile."
-----
"Some people build walls instead of bridges."
"When love is real, it heals. Love is a pain killer." Jewel Diamond
Taylor
Bruna
*****************************************
If you want peace, prepare for peace (Si vis pacem para pacem).
*****************************************
------------------------------------------------------------------------
a political discussion forum - •••@••.•••
To subscribe, send any message to •••@••.•••
A public service of Citizens for a Democratic Renaissance
(mailto:•••@••.••• http://cyberjournal.org)
----------------------------------------------------------
Non-commercial reposting is hereby approved,
but please include the sig up through this paragraph
and retain any internal credits and copyright notices.
.---------------------------------------------------------
To see the index of the cj archives, send any message to:
•••@••.•••
To subscribe to our activists list, send any message to:
•••@••.•••
Help create the Movement for a Democratic Rensaissance
----------------------------------------------
crafted in Ireland by rkm
-----------------------------------
A community will evolve only when
the people control their means of communication.
-- Frantz Fanon
Share: