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Blocking the Net

Ron Chepesiuk September 27, 2005 Ron Chepesiuk

Vietnam's communist government knows that it is impossible to monitor the country's 5,000 cyber cafes, so it's forcing the cafe owners to be its eyes and ears. Last July, a government directive informed cafe owners that they will have to take a six-month course so that they can better monitor their cyber customers. The Vietnamese government is justifying its move for reasons of "national security and defense" - that is, to protect itself against online journalists who, it says, "provide sensationalist news and articles while others even publish reactionary and libelous reports and a depraved culture."

Diverse Anti-war Protests Largest in DC Since Vietnam

Benjamin Dangl and Brendan Coyne, NewStandard September 26, 2005 Benjamin Dangl and Brendan Coyne, NewStandard

Kicking off three days of actions aimed ultimately at pressuring the US government to pull troops out of Iraq, scores of protesters converged on Washington, DC on Saturday, September 24 for an all-day protest that included an array of speakers, a march past the White House and a concert that lasted well into the early morning hours. Estimates of the demonstration's size ranged from 100,000 to 300,000 protesters. Participants from across the country spent long hours riding overnight on buses and in caravans to take part in the largest anti-war event the nation's capitol has seen since the Vietnam War era. Groups began assembling on the Ellipse in front of the White House early yesterday. In preparation for the event, police blanketed the Ellipse, Federal Triangle and the grounds of the Washington Monument with a confusing maze of orange-plastic and wooden fences, closing many roads to both automobile and pedestrian traffic.

Venezuela here we come!

Super User September 22, 2005 Super User

Have you wondered what is happening in Venezuela, where the revolutionary president Hugo Chavez is using millions of dollars in oil money to fund social programs?

Have you heard about the World Social Forums that have taken place in Brazil and around the world, whose slogan is "Another World is Possible"?

How about the two together? That is what is going to happen January 24-29 2006 in Caracas, Venezuela, when the World Social Forum gathers there.

I attended the third WSF in Porto Alegre Brazil in 2003, and was thrilled and energized at meeting individuals and groups forging ahead with the creation of a better world. read more

A People’s History of Iraq: 1963 to 2005

Bob Feldman September 22, 2005 Bob Feldman

The history of Iraq is still being influenced by 138,000 U.S. occupation troops. Yet the mainstream "educational television" stations of the Public Broadcasting Service often appear more eager to broadcast programs about the history of rock music since 1960 than programs about the history of Iraq. But as Rashid Khalidi observed in the introduction to the 2005 edition of his Resurrecting Empire, "the hubris that allowed Pentagon planners to think that they were somehow immune to the lessons of history produced a grossly mismanaged occupation that has become hated by most Iraqis and has engendered fierce resistance." U.S. anti-war activists, however, may find some knowledge of post-December 1963 Iraqi people's history of use in debating with U.S. opponents of an immediate U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq.

U.S. Military in Paraguay Prepares to “Spread Democracy”

Benjamin Dangl September 15, 2005 Benjamin Dangl

Controversy is raging in Paraguay, where the U.S. military is conducting secretive operations. 500 U.S. troops arrived in the country on July 1st with planes, weapons and ammunition. Eyewitness reports prove that an airbase exists in Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay, which is 200 kilometers from the border with Bolivia and may be utilized by the U.S. military. Officials in Paraguay claim the military operations are routine humanitarian efforts and deny that any plans are underway for a U.S. base. Yet human rights groups in the area are deeply worried. White House officials are using rhetoric about terrorist threats in the tri-border region (where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet) in order to build their case for military operations, in many ways reminiscent to the build up to the invasion of Iraq. (1) The tri-border area is home to the Guarani Aquifer, one of the world's largest reserves of water. Near the Estigarribia airbase are Bolivia's natural gas reserves, the second largest in Latin America. Political analysts believe U.S. operations in Paraguay are part of a preventative war to control these natural resources and suppress social uprisings in Bolivia.

Private military arrives in New Orleans

Super User September 14, 2005 Super User

NEW ORLEANS – Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from Blackwater, a private security firm that also works in Iraq, began patrolling the streets of New Orleans last week. Some of them said they have been "deputized" by the Louisiana governor, and have been given the authority to use lethal force by the Department of Homeland Security, according to a report by Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo for Democracy Now!

"This is a totally new thing to have guys like us working CONUS (Continental United States)," a heavily armed Blackwater mercenary told the journalists. "We’re much better equipped to deal with the situation in Iraq." Some Blackwater employees are among the most feared professional killers in the world, accustomed to operating without concern for legal consequences. Some of the men in New Orleans had returned from Iraq as recently as two weeks before. read more