Friday 3 June 2011
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Feds: WikiLeaks Associates Have ‘No Right’ To Know About Demands For Their Records
Illustration: 'Inglourious Nerds' by @exiledsurfer
Libyan Limbo
This isn't a new problem. During the 1990s, the United States and its allies found it much harder than expected to convince Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to stop repressing opposition groups and open suspected weapons facilities to inspectors, to protect civilians in Bosnia, to force Somali warlords to stop pillaging humanitarian relief efforts, and to compel Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to end his violent ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosovo.
A decade ago, we wrote a book pondering this very puzzle. The short answer was that political constraints often bind the United States and its coalition partners much more tightly than their adversaries, and in ways that offset advantages in raw military power. Those painfully learned lessons apply more than ever in Libya today and help explain why Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi isn't flinching against the world's most sophisticated military forces -- despite his near-complete international isolation.
NATO forces and their Libyan rebel allies have scored some notable successes over Qaddafi. Eight high-ranking Libyan officers, including five generals, defected to Italy this week. Rebel forces drove Qaddafi's troops back from Misrata last month, ending the suffocating siege of the strategically located city. But despite these advances, neither side appears poised to break out of the months-long military stalemate in western Libya.
NATO is not attempting to bring about a complete military defeat of Qaddafi, which would require a much larger military effort, but is instead trying to impose sufficient costs that his regime either surrenders or collapses. Airstrikes targeting the leadership compound in Tripoli, while ostensibly designed to degrade Libyan command-and-control capabilities, are also likely intended to hit Qaddafi and key regime figures. At the same time, international financial and military assistance to the ragtag rebel forces is intended to bolster the internal revolt against his regime. But targeting elusive (or at times just well-bunkered) regime leaders from the air is hard, and, so far, Qaddafi is showing resilience and resolve -- much more than many advocates of intervention expected...
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♪♫ Einstürzende Neubauten - Yu Gung/Ein Stuhl/Der Kuss [fragment] (Live @ Moers 1990)
(For ErikL! Down boy down...XXX)
Heart in the right space
There is arguably only one band in the world that has, throughout more than five decades, touched on the entire musical history of jazz, from ragtime to swing, to hard bop and free jazz and beyond - way beyond, in fact, to outer space. That band is the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra, formed and led by the late Sun Ra and continued today under the direction of original member Marshall Allen, some 53 years after he first joined.
In one of the highlights of this year's Melbourne International Jazz Festival, the Sun Ra Arkestra will play in Australia for the first time.
HA! MI6 attacks al-Qaeda in 'Operation Cupcake'
The cyber-warfare operation was launched by MI6 and GCHQ in an attempt to disrupt efforts by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular to recruit “lone-wolf” terrorists with a new English-language magazine, the Daily Telegraph understands.
When followers tried to download the 67-page colour magazine, instead of instructions about how to “Make a bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom” by “The AQ Chef” they were greeted with garbled computer code.
The code, which had been inserted into the original magazine by the British intelligence hackers, was actually a web page of recipes for “The Best Cupcakes in America” published by the Ellen DeGeneres chat show.
Written by Dulcy Israel and produced by Main Street Cupcakes in Hudson, Ohio, it said “the little cupcake is big again” adding: “Self-contained and satisfying, it summons memories of childhood even as it's updated for today’s sweet-toothed hipsters.”
It included a recipe for the Mojito Cupcake – “made of white rum cake and draped in vanilla buttercream”- and the Rocky Road Cupcake – “warning: sugar rush ahead!”
By contrast, the original magazine featured a recipe showing how to make a lethal pipe bomb using sugar, match heads and a miniature lightbulb, attached to a timer.
The cyber attack also removed articles by Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and a piece called “What to expect in Jihad.”
British and US intelligence planned separate attacks after learning that the magazine was about to be issued in June last year.
They have both developed a variety of cyber-weapons such as computer viruses, to use against both enemy states and terrorists.
A Pentagon operation, backed by Gen Keith Alexander, the head of US Cyber Command, was blocked by the CIA which argued that it would expose sources and methods and disrupt an important source of intelligence, according to a report in America.
However the Daily Telegraph understands an operation was launched from Britain instead.
Al-Qaeda was able to reissue the magazine two weeks later and has gone on to produce four further editions but one source said British intelligence was continuing to target online outlets publishing the magazine because it is viewed as such a powerful propaganda tool.
The magazine is produced by the radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, one of the leaders of AQAP who has lived in Britain and the US, and his associate Samir Khan from North Carolina.
Both men who are thought to be in Yemen, have associated with radicals connected to Rajib Karim, a British resident jailed for 30 years in March for plotting to smuggle a bomb onto a trans-Atlantic aircraft.
At the time Inspire was launched, US government officials said “the packaging of this magazine may be slick, but the contents are as vile as the authors.”
Bruce Reidel, a former CIA analyst said it was “clearly intended for the aspiring jihadist in the US or UK who may be the next Fort Hood murderer or Times Square bomber.”
In recent days AQAP fighters have capitalised on chaos in Yemen, as the country teeters on the brink of civil war.
Tribal forces marching towards the capital, Sana'a, clashed with troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh for a third day running yesterday.
Duncan Gardham @'The Telegraph'
The cyber attack also removed articles by Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and a piece called “What to expect in Jihad.”
British and US intelligence planned separate attacks after learning that the magazine was about to be issued in June last year.
They have both developed a variety of cyber-weapons such as computer viruses, to use against both enemy states and terrorists.
A Pentagon operation, backed by Gen Keith Alexander, the head of US Cyber Command, was blocked by the CIA which argued that it would expose sources and methods and disrupt an important source of intelligence, according to a report in America.
However the Daily Telegraph understands an operation was launched from Britain instead.
Al-Qaeda was able to reissue the magazine two weeks later and has gone on to produce four further editions but one source said British intelligence was continuing to target online outlets publishing the magazine because it is viewed as such a powerful propaganda tool.
The magazine is produced by the radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, one of the leaders of AQAP who has lived in Britain and the US, and his associate Samir Khan from North Carolina.
Both men who are thought to be in Yemen, have associated with radicals connected to Rajib Karim, a British resident jailed for 30 years in March for plotting to smuggle a bomb onto a trans-Atlantic aircraft.
At the time Inspire was launched, US government officials said “the packaging of this magazine may be slick, but the contents are as vile as the authors.”
Bruce Reidel, a former CIA analyst said it was “clearly intended for the aspiring jihadist in the US or UK who may be the next Fort Hood murderer or Times Square bomber.”
In recent days AQAP fighters have capitalised on chaos in Yemen, as the country teeters on the brink of civil war.
Tribal forces marching towards the capital, Sana'a, clashed with troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh for a third day running yesterday.
Duncan Gardham @'The Telegraph'
Forest Swords
BUY DL : http://nopaininpop.greedbag.com/buy/fjree-feather-0/
BUY 12": http://www.roughtrade.com/site/shop_detail.lasso?search_type=sku&sku=339530
The ‘Fjree Feather' EP consists of remastered early demo material released on limited edition white vinyl 12" via London label No Pain In Pop. It was previously only available on a self released CDR prior to the release of 2010's universally acclaimed 'Dagger Paths' EP.
Forest Swords is the work of the Wirral Penisula’s Matthew Barnes. Mixing dubby grooves with Ennio Morricone style guitar lines and chasmic percussion the project is something truly organic, managing to sound like a mix of Mogwai's more gauzy soundscapes and Burial's sample strewn claustrophobia.
All money raised from the release will be donated to the Red Cross's tsunami recovery efforts in Japan. The Red Cross is currently helping over 280,000 people in the country move from shelters into temporary pre-fabricated housing, providing them with domestic items and the means to return to a normal life following March's disaster.
BUY 12": http://www.roughtrade.com/site/shop_detail.lasso?search_type=sku&sku=339530
The ‘Fjree Feather' EP consists of remastered early demo material released on limited edition white vinyl 12" via London label No Pain In Pop. It was previously only available on a self released CDR prior to the release of 2010's universally acclaimed 'Dagger Paths' EP.
Forest Swords is the work of the Wirral Penisula’s Matthew Barnes. Mixing dubby grooves with Ennio Morricone style guitar lines and chasmic percussion the project is something truly organic, managing to sound like a mix of Mogwai's more gauzy soundscapes and Burial's sample strewn claustrophobia.
All money raised from the release will be donated to the Red Cross's tsunami recovery efforts in Japan. The Red Cross is currently helping over 280,000 people in the country move from shelters into temporary pre-fabricated housing, providing them with domestic items and the means to return to a normal life following March's disaster.
Three arrested, accused of illegally feeding homeless in Florida
Jessica Cross, 24, Benjamin Markeson, 49, and Jonathan "Keith" McHenry, 54, were arrested at 6:10 p.m. on a charge of violating the ordinance restricting group feedings in public parks. McHenry is a co-founder of the national Food Not Bombs movement, which began in the early 1980s.
The group lost a court battle in April, clearing the way for the city to enforce the ordinance. It requires groups to obtain a permit and limits each group to two permits per year for each park within a 2-mile radius of City Hall.
Arrest papers state that Cross, Markeson and McHenry helped feed 40 people Wednesday night. The ordinance applies to feedings of more than 25 people...
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Susan Jacobson @'Orlando Sentinel'
Just like it was 1979 again...
Chris Carter @'Flickr'
This takes me back...
The Normal - Warm Leatherette
Quincy Jones produces Arabic charity record
Quincy Jones has joined some of the biggest names in Arab music to produce a charity single aimed at helping a new generation of artists and musicians.
Jones, the veteran music producer who has worked with Michael Jackson, Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra, worked on the single called "Bokra" -- an Arabic version of his song "Tomorrow (A Better You, A Better Me)" -- with Badr Jafar, an Emirati social entrepreneur.
The artists involved include Lebanese star Majida El Roumi, who wrote the lyrics; Moroccan-born Grammy-winning producer RedOne, who co-produced the track with Jones; Kadim Al Sahir, from Iraq; Saber El Rebai from Tunisia; Amr Diab, from Egypt and Asma Lmnawar, from Morocco.
It is 26 years since Jones produced the iconic record "We Are The World," which sold tens of millions of copies to raise money for victims of famine in Africa. A contemporary version of the song was also released last year to aid the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Jones, who first toured the Middle East and North Africa in 1953 with the jazz musician Lionel Hampton, said: "I have long been a vocal proponent of music and the arts being a great asset in building bridges between people and cultures."
He added: "I believe that given a choice, people want to live in a world of peace and prosperity, and it is my hope that this song will serve as a clarion call for the people of the Middle East and North Africa who share that desire for peace, hope, unity and a better tomorrow to come together to achieve that dream."
The money raised will help finance educational arts and culture scholarships and projects for children in the Middle East and North Africa.
Jafar said in a press release: "This song comes at such an important time for the Middle East and brings together the region's leading talent to produce a song of inspiration and hope for all.
"There is no better time in the region's history than now for us to be producing a song of this magnitude, and we have the very best people in the industry behind it."
The Arabic lyrics, written by Roumi, are aimed to provide a beacon of solidarity and hope for the region, the organizers said.
RedOne, the co-producer who has worked with artists such as Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, and Enrique Iglesias, told CNN: "It's such an honor to have been chosen by Quincy Jones to join the team and recreate this legendary song.
"We will be trying this new thing, inspire young people, the new generation thinking about peace, thinking about a better tomorrow."
The song was recorded in Rabat, Morocco, during the 10th edition of the Mawazine Festival Rhythms of the World.
Kadim Al Sahir, an Iraqi singer and composer who fled the violence in his own country, said the project was an opportunity to bridge divisions across the Middle East.
Al Sahir said it's not the first time he's worked with Jones, adding "he called me personally to ask for my help in doing the song in Arabic with an Eastern melody. I was happy then because I enjoy songs composed for humanity."
The team is also creating a music video for the song, as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary that will trace the "Tomorrow/Bokra" project, incorporating footage from various countries in the region where artists involved will be performing.
"Bokra" is expected to be released after Ramadan, which will run throughout August.
Rima Maktabi @'CNN'
TED Talk - Malcolm McLaren: Authentic creativity vs. karaoke culture
How does one find authentic creativity? In his last talk before passing away, Malcolm McLaren tells remarkable stories from his own life, from failing school to managing the Sex Pistols. He argues that we're living in a karaoke culture, with false promises of instant success, and that messiness and failure are the key to true learning.
Via
Via
France presents plan to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe presented a peace plan to the Palestinian Authority Thursday during a visit to Ramallah, meant to revive stalled talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
The peace plan, Juppe said, is largely based on U.S. President Barack Obama's speech last month, which called for a resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps.
However, while Obama focused on guaranteeing Israel's security, the French initiative is concerned with "security for the two states (Israel and Palestine)," Juppe told a news conference with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in the central West Bank city.
The plan had already been shown to President Mahmoud Abbas in Rome Wednesday.
The French initiative sets a one-year deadline for resolving the issues of Jerusalem and refugees, which Obama referred to without time-lines.
Juppe said he did not expect the Palestinians to respond to his proposal immediately, adding that he was scheduled to meet later Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to present the French plan to the prime minister as well.
"The situation here cannot continue," he said. "We are convinced that if nothing happens between now and September, the situation will be difficult for everyone," he said.
Juppe was referring to Palestinian plans to address the United Nations in September, asking for full membership in the UN as a state with recognized borders.
He did not specify whether France would support the proposed UN resolution, reiterating the French position, as stated by President Nicolas Sarkozy, that "if nothing happens between now and September, France would act according to its responsibilities, adding "all options are open."
Juppe said he hopes the French plan, which he claims has European Union and U.S. backing, will receive further credibility during a proposed international peace conference France wants to host in late June or early July.
The conference would be an expansion of a planned economic conference, also referred to as Paris II. France wants to host the economic conference in June in order to enlist aid for the Palestinian Authority for the next three years, according to Fayyad.
The Paris II conference "is primarily a Palestinian interest," said Fayyad in response to a question if the PA would accept an invitation to the proposed international peace conference.
"We also want it to have very clear political dimensions that would lead to the one thing we all want, and that is an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders," the Palestinian prime minister said.
Juppe said he expected Palestinians and Israelis to take time to discuss the French peace plan before responding to it.
Official Palestinian sources told the German Press-Agency DPA that Abbas told Juppe after the Rome meeting he will convene with the Palestinian leadership to discuss the plan before he gives his final answer.
@'Haaretz'
The peace plan, Juppe said, is largely based on U.S. President Barack Obama's speech last month, which called for a resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps.
However, while Obama focused on guaranteeing Israel's security, the French initiative is concerned with "security for the two states (Israel and Palestine)," Juppe told a news conference with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in the central West Bank city.
The plan had already been shown to President Mahmoud Abbas in Rome Wednesday.
The French initiative sets a one-year deadline for resolving the issues of Jerusalem and refugees, which Obama referred to without time-lines.
Juppe said he did not expect the Palestinians to respond to his proposal immediately, adding that he was scheduled to meet later Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to present the French plan to the prime minister as well.
"The situation here cannot continue," he said. "We are convinced that if nothing happens between now and September, the situation will be difficult for everyone," he said.
Juppe was referring to Palestinian plans to address the United Nations in September, asking for full membership in the UN as a state with recognized borders.
He did not specify whether France would support the proposed UN resolution, reiterating the French position, as stated by President Nicolas Sarkozy, that "if nothing happens between now and September, France would act according to its responsibilities, adding "all options are open."
Juppe said he hopes the French plan, which he claims has European Union and U.S. backing, will receive further credibility during a proposed international peace conference France wants to host in late June or early July.
The conference would be an expansion of a planned economic conference, also referred to as Paris II. France wants to host the economic conference in June in order to enlist aid for the Palestinian Authority for the next three years, according to Fayyad.
The Paris II conference "is primarily a Palestinian interest," said Fayyad in response to a question if the PA would accept an invitation to the proposed international peace conference.
"We also want it to have very clear political dimensions that would lead to the one thing we all want, and that is an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders," the Palestinian prime minister said.
Juppe said he expected Palestinians and Israelis to take time to discuss the French peace plan before responding to it.
Official Palestinian sources told the German Press-Agency DPA that Abbas told Juppe after the Rome meeting he will convene with the Palestinian leadership to discuss the plan before he gives his final answer.
@'Haaretz'
The Spanish Revolution
Tracklisting:
1. They shall not pass
2. El tren blindado
3. Ay Carmela
4. People again
Luc - bass, guitar, backing-vocals
Katrin - drums, hand-clapping, backing-vocals
Terrie - guitars, hand-clapping, backing-vocals
G.W. Sok - voice
John - voice, hand-clapping, backing-vocals
plus:
Dolf - guitar, hand-clapping
Cobie - hand-clapping, backing-vocals
Released in June 1986
Recorded at Emma's Koeienverhuurbedrijf in Amsterdam, NL
Produced by Dolf Planteydt
Originally released as a 144 page photobook + double 7" on Ex Records.
I bought this just as I left Amsterdam to move to Australia. I remember going in to a record shop with about 500 albums that I just couldn't bring out here and could not resist this wonderful package. My favourite photo in the book is members of the CNT assassinating a statue of christ!
UPDATE:2011
Thursday 2 June 2011
How Dean Acheson could come back to haunt Barack Obama
If there isn't a diplomatic breakthrough, Palestinians and their supporters will seek a resolution supporting recognition of a Palestinian state this fall at the United Nations. President Obama has already said that "symbolic" resolutions won't produce a Palestinian state, a statement which all but promises an American veto. The script appears to be already written. States supportive of Palestine will introduce a resolution. Washington will veto it, and everyone else will yell and scream as they always do when America uses its veto to back Israel at the UN.
But that should be the end of the story, right? After all, the United Nations Charter makes clear that both the Security Council and the General Assembly must be involved in the admission of new members to the organization. Article 4, paragraph 2 is explicit: "The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council." And in the Security Council, past precedent makes clear that the veto can be used on admission decisions. In fact, both the United States and the Soviet Union used the veto frequently for this purpose in the 1950s and 1960s.
There is a wrinkle however. Palestinian diplomats are now suggesting that they'll use a tactic called "Uniting for Peace" to bypass the expected American veto in the Security Council and have the General Assembly decide the matter of Palestine's admission:
At the time, the Americans wanted some way for the United Nations to express its continued support for the UN intervention in defense of South Korea (that intervention was authorized by the Security Council while the Soviet ambassador was boycotting the body). The Americans hit upon the idea using the General Assembly and they argued that the assembly--which was, at the time, quite pro-Western--could take up matters under consideration by the Security Council when the Council was paralyzed by the veto.
It was a terrible reading of the UN Charter--and the Soviets howled--but it served the immediate purpose. The General Assembly passed a clutch of resolutions supporting the UN's efforts in Korea. Some American allies at the time, including the British, quietly warned that the tactic might come back to bite the West. But Washington wasn't listening. As U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson wrote, "present difficulties outweighed possible future ones."
Those future difficulties came soon enough. By the 1960s, the composition of the General Assembly had changed dramatically as decolonization proceeded. What had once been a friendly forum for the United States became quite unfriendly. And so the United States quietly let the Uniting for Peace tactic drop. It's been picked up from time to time by other states --and it was last used in 1997, also on Israel-Palestine issues--but there's never been a definitive ruling on its legality or precisely how it can be used. No permanent member of the Security Council will lend support to an idea that challenges their power, and most other states have decided it's not worth challenging the Council's powers--and its powerful members-- so directly.
Some states might not mind forcing the issue now. The great majority of states resent the use of the veto power in any case, and that specific frustration could now meld with a broader discontent about the continued failure of attempts to reform the Security Council. The precedent of U.S. support for Uniting for Peace will be a useful arrow in their quiver. All the passionate American quotes about unreasonable blockages of the Security Council and the true purposes of the UN Charter will be thrown in the face of American diplomats. President Obama may soon be wishing that Acheson and the State Department's lawyers had kept their bright ideas to themselves.
But there is a small consolation for the United States: if the Palestinian statehood resolution does become a broader fight about the powers and prerogatives of the Security Council, at least Washington won't be alone.
David Bosco @'FP'
(Thanx Son#1!)
But that should be the end of the story, right? After all, the United Nations Charter makes clear that both the Security Council and the General Assembly must be involved in the admission of new members to the organization. Article 4, paragraph 2 is explicit: "The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council." And in the Security Council, past precedent makes clear that the veto can be used on admission decisions. In fact, both the United States and the Soviet Union used the veto frequently for this purpose in the 1950s and 1960s.
There is a wrinkle however. Palestinian diplomats are now suggesting that they'll use a tactic called "Uniting for Peace" to bypass the expected American veto in the Security Council and have the General Assembly decide the matter of Palestine's admission:
The Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said Wednesday that the Palestinians will seek an emergency session of the General Assembly known as "Uniting for Peace" to override any veto.Ridiculous, right? You can't rewrite the UN Charter simply by passing a resolution in the General Assembly. It is ridiculous. Unfortunately for Washington, it was the United States that thought up the Uniting for Peace resolution. It was the brainchild of U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson and his State Department lawyers, who were searching for a way around the Soviet Union's Security Council veto during the Korean War.
At the time, the Americans wanted some way for the United Nations to express its continued support for the UN intervention in defense of South Korea (that intervention was authorized by the Security Council while the Soviet ambassador was boycotting the body). The Americans hit upon the idea using the General Assembly and they argued that the assembly--which was, at the time, quite pro-Western--could take up matters under consideration by the Security Council when the Council was paralyzed by the veto.
It was a terrible reading of the UN Charter--and the Soviets howled--but it served the immediate purpose. The General Assembly passed a clutch of resolutions supporting the UN's efforts in Korea. Some American allies at the time, including the British, quietly warned that the tactic might come back to bite the West. But Washington wasn't listening. As U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson wrote, "present difficulties outweighed possible future ones."
Those future difficulties came soon enough. By the 1960s, the composition of the General Assembly had changed dramatically as decolonization proceeded. What had once been a friendly forum for the United States became quite unfriendly. And so the United States quietly let the Uniting for Peace tactic drop. It's been picked up from time to time by other states --and it was last used in 1997, also on Israel-Palestine issues--but there's never been a definitive ruling on its legality or precisely how it can be used. No permanent member of the Security Council will lend support to an idea that challenges their power, and most other states have decided it's not worth challenging the Council's powers--and its powerful members-- so directly.
Some states might not mind forcing the issue now. The great majority of states resent the use of the veto power in any case, and that specific frustration could now meld with a broader discontent about the continued failure of attempts to reform the Security Council. The precedent of U.S. support for Uniting for Peace will be a useful arrow in their quiver. All the passionate American quotes about unreasonable blockages of the Security Council and the true purposes of the UN Charter will be thrown in the face of American diplomats. President Obama may soon be wishing that Acheson and the State Department's lawyers had kept their bright ideas to themselves.
But there is a small consolation for the United States: if the Palestinian statehood resolution does become a broader fight about the powers and prerogatives of the Security Council, at least Washington won't be alone.
David Bosco @'FP'
(Thanx Son#1!)
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