–There continues to be many reasons not to engage in violent imperialist `intervention’ in Iran. The most important ones being that it would be violent, imperialist, and against international law.

–The policies that define neo-liberalism are enough to make any working person angry.

“However, the leader of the biggest opposition party, Benazir Bhutto, has not yet said whether she would pull her party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, out of the election … analysts said they believed she had not completely moved away from her original plan, devised with the backing of the Bush Administration, to seek some kind of conciliation with General Musharraf in a potential power-sharing deal.”

It seems as though Pakistan’s political parties are soon going to face fractures in their opposition to the coup.

Prensa Latina broke this story almost 2 weeks ago.

“Former US National Security Director Paul Wolfowitz, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, among others, attended the meetings … According to Tribuna Popular, students from private and state universities are the cannon fodder, and the so called popular networks of social democracy organized by Chacao’s mayor Leopoldo Lopez are the mobilizing mechanism.”

Also see the following article from VHeadline.com which claims that Michaelle Jean was present at the meeting as well.

–More on what happened during the `student protests’ in Venezuela. Worth a read. We continue to hear reports that there are `outside’ agitators that are instigating and funding these protests. It should not be a surprise to anyone after the 2002 coup attempt by the opposition. More hereVenezuela Accuses U.S. of Instigating Student Violence.

–Imperialism continues into the African continent. The United States Africa Command… just say it out-loud and think about the history of Western powers in the region and feel the anger swell.

“Civil rights advocates criticized plans by the Los Angeles Police Department to map the city’s Muslim communities, calling it racial profiling.”

“At least 50 people have been killed and about 100 wounded during two days of heavy fighting in the Mogadishu, the Somali capital.”

Also see: UN: Somalia peacekeepers ‘not viable’ | BBC

A local Anglican priest and a Mexican-born photojournalist are claiming that a Vancouver-based mining company is “up to no good” in Guatemala.

Javier de Leon, a mining resistance leader in the community of San Miguel Ixtahuacan, San Marcos, Guatemala, will be in Fredericton on December 4. For event details, email info@frederictonpeace.org

–Not really that big of a surprise given the massive tax-cuts that have been granted. The working people of this country have been not only paying for their own social services, they have been subsidizing the rich.

“Israel is a member of the IAEA, but it is not itself a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which attempts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons … It is widely believed to currently be the only nuclear-armed state in the conflict riven Middle East region.”

It is important to remember that Iran is entirely within the parameters of international law. The statement from the Israeli minister is a good example of hypocrisy.

Bill C-3 amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

The person that sent it my way stated the following:

You gotta love that Orwellian title: “the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act”

SUMMARY (from the document)

This enactment amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to add provisions relating to a special advocate to Division 9 of Part 1 of that Act. The special advocate’s role is to protect a person’s interests in certain proceedings when evidence is heard in the absence of the public and of the person and their counsel. The special advocate may challenge the claim made by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to the confidentiality of evidence as well as the relevance, reliability, sufficiency and weight of the evidence and may make submissions, cross-examine witnesses and, with the judge’s authorization, exercise any other powers necessary to protect the person’s interests.

The enactment eliminates the suspension of consideration of the reason- ableness of a security certificate that occurs when the person named in it makes an application for protection.

The enactment also provides that, when a person is detained under the security certificate regime, a judge of the Federal Court must commence a review of the detention within 48 hours after the detention begins and then, until it is determined whether a certificate is reasonable, at least once in the six- month period following the conclusion of each preceding review. A person who continues to be detained after a certificate is determined to be reasonable and a person who is released under conditions may apply to the Court for a review of the reasons for their continued detention or for continuing the conditions if a period of six months has expired since the conclusion of the preceding review.

The enactment permits the appeal of a determination whether a security certificate is reasonable and of a decision resulting from a review of a person’s detention or release under conditions to the Federal Court of Appeal if the judge certifies that a serious question of general importance is involved.

It also permits a peace officer to arrest and detain a person who is subject to a security certificate if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person has contravened or is about to contravene their conditions of release.

The enactment enables the Minister to apply for the non-disclosure of confidential information during a judicial review of a decision made under the Act and gives the judge discretion to appoint a special advocate to protect the interests of the person concerned.

“[Israeli] settlers are bypassing a ban on using caravans to expand settlements by erecting pre-fabricated homes on site … Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are deemed illegal under international law.”

Peace in the Occupied Territories is entirely dependent upon Israel conforming to international law.

–Yes, Carbon Capitalism is here to the rescue. Only through the mystical magic of the market can the destructive power of the current system be covered up at the same time profit be reaped and new consumer markets opened. Hurray for the public relations industry and the power that has come from the century of environmental exploitation.

–Afghanistan is not the place for our soldiers as they are operating under imperialist policy. You have to listen to Joya to find out why.

–The social sciences, perhaps one of the only areas for people with critical perspectives on the world, continues to be largely beholden to the dominant ideology.

–When large corporations rule, the rest of us suffer. It is no different when it comes to digital content. The creators and the users are suffering at the hands of corporations that are winning the battle against regulation for the public interest.

–A disgrace.

“At least 852 American military personnel have died in Iraq so far this year — the highest annual toll since the war began in March 2003, according to AP figures.”

A summary of the events of the past five years leading up to the current state of affairs in Pakistan. Superbly done.

The radical elements from within the poor and working classes have been given a wider pulpit.

Also see: Militants seize Pakistani town as unrest continues | Yahoo News

“In the Swat valley near the Afghan border — a focus of a wave of militant violence — about two dozen police officers and several troops offered no resistance to militants who seized three police stations and a military post in and around the town of Matta.”

The fact that the rank-and-file of the military are not supporting their superiors should not be lost on Musharraf.

“The relatively firm rule of the president general has been good for the economy, with steady growth, a rising stock market and substantial economic aid from the West … The country’s economy has expanded 7.5% annually over the last five years, but political concerns have kept some foreign investors away. Last year, Pakistan got $8.5 billion in foreign investment. In the run-up to the emergency, the stock markets sold off by around 10%.”

An economy based on war and the deprivation of civil-rights is obscene.