Albion Monitor Issue 159 JULY 2007
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  GOVERNMENT KEPT TEST RESULTS SECRET FOR 5 YEARS
Bush Uruguay poster
The cemetery at Mossville Louisiana, where residents charge their lives have been blighted by health problems probably caused by toxic pollution from the nearby Condea Vista polyvinyl plant. (PHOTO: © Greenpeace/Stone)

TOXICVILLE, LOUISIANA

The historically black community of tiny Mossville, Louisiana is surrounded by 14 chemical factories, including petroleum giant Conaco Phillips and Georgia Gulf, a vinyl products manufacturer. Founded in the late 1700s, the town is unincorporated and has had no voting rights in the state and no power to control what businesses operate within its borders. Some factories moved to within 50 feet of people's homes. Residents charge that government scientists have repeatedly monitored dangerously high levels of dioxin in their blood while doing nothing to get the community out of harm's way.

In 2001, a division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found levels of the dioxin compound vinyl chloride in the air in Mossville at concentrations 100 times what is permitted by federal law, and ethylene dichloride at 20 times -- but the report from the U.S. health agency, ATSDR, concluded, "The source of dioxin exposures in the Mossville residents is not known."

"I live in a community that is dying. Schools are gone. Most of the light and happiness of this community doesn't really exist anymore," said resident Delma Bennett. As a project, he photographs many people in the community who use breathing machines


    The president protects the cover-up 404 reports

UN Passes Unanimous Resolution on Darfur


Will create the world's largest peacekeeping operation

Bush Giving $43 Billion to Mideast to Buy More Weapons


Viewed as effort to buy anti-Iranian alliance among moderate Arab states

Libya's Release of "HIV Medics" Compared to Extortion


"Human rights, civil rights, and scientific evidence were completely ignored"

Vast Underground Lake Found in Darfur FREE!


Hopes that "1,000 Wells for Darfur" will end strife in region

Evangelicals Have 2-Hour Meetup With Mideast Muslim Diplomats


Christian Zionists asked if they could be more "balanced" in their support of Israel

Iran's Policies Towards Iraq Not Much Different Than Bush's


Despite White House playbook portraying Iran as trying to destabilize Iraq

Presidential Contenders Endorse "Grassroots" Campaign to Isolate Iran


Even Obama and Hillary sign on to campaign spearheaded by neo-cons, Israeli lobby

Quake Damage at Nuclear Power Plant Shakes Japan's Confidence


Site was considered least likely to be affected by an earthquake

Israel's Palestinian Prisoner Release Aimed at Supporting Abbas


Israeli troops also drop 178 Fatah militants from the 'wanted' list

Bush Throws U.S. Support Behind Fatah


Big endorsement of Abbas' faction called too little, too late

Gaza Economy Near Collapse FREE!


4 of 5 private sector businesses have closed

New Warning of Famine in Darfur


After Oxfam begins phasing out aid because of deteriorating security situation

Civilian Deaths From U.S. Airstrikes a Growing Part of Afghan, Iraq Death Toll


Use of air power escalating, as are number of "regrettable" incidents

Neo-Cons Try to Rally, Bully Repubs Into "Surge" Support


Denounce GOP Senators who now call for a change of course "pre-9/11 Republicans"

Chiquita, Drummond, on Trial for Ties to Colombia Death Squads


Chiquita paid $25 million in March for paramilitary payoffs

 
The Siege of the Red Mosque

FREE! The storming of the Red Mosque is not the victory that General Pervez Musharraf and his supporters in Washington proclaim. Rather, it represents the abject failure of the Pakistani president's policies. The shaky military junta seems to have few answers to the central question of containing religious extremism in the sect-ridden Pakistani society. With a growing number of citizens challenging the authoritarian system, U.S. support for Musharraf is more and more out of touch with Pakistani reality.

The Red Mosque tragedy highlighted one particularly incompetent aspect of the Pakistani government: the failure of the religious education reforms. More than 15,000 madrassas of five mutually exclusive sects comprise the religious education sector in Pakistan. Reforming this sector has been the centerpiece of the military regime's post-September 11 counterterrorism strategy. A plan was announced in June 2002 to regulate, modernize, and integrate madrassas into mainstream education. The failure of this roughly $100 million project could not have been more spectacular, or the government's lack of will to implement madrassa reform more evident, than in the six-month drama staged by the mullahs of the Red Mosque and its affiliate madrassas


Jihad Comes Home With Suicide Bombings in Pakistan


Bombings are the most serious challenge yet to Musharraf

The Real Threat to America Lies in Pakistan: NIE Report


Taliban, al-Qaeda have regrouped in "safe haven" tribal areas of western Pakistan

Taliban Attack Pakistan Troops to Avenge Red Mosque


Peace talks between Taliban and Musharraf at end

Pakistan Sees Musharraf Conspiracy Behind Siege of Red Mosque


Viewed as distraction from crisis over firing of chief justice

Musharraf's Crisis Finally Spotlights Pakistan Role in Islamic Terrorism


And questions years of Bush's enthusiastic support

Turkey's Islamic Party Wins Election Mandate


But Kurdish activists have representation in Parliament for the time in 15 years

Turkey Calls Off Iraq Border Attack - For Now


Military angry that prime minister playing role of peacemaker on eve of national elections

Turkey Expecting Troops to Cross Iraq Border at any Time


Invasion before election could help ruling party

Livestock Antibiotics Can End Up in "Organic" Foods, Study Finds FREE!


Manure containing antibiotics are not formally banned or prohibited

Bush: All Enemies are now "al-Qaeda"


Informal, overlapping group of networks becomes the "icon of jihad"

Hamas Hopes Release of BBC Reporter Will Give it Legitimacy


Hoping to show it can impose order in the chaos-ridden, lawless streets of Gaza

The Real Reason Bush Kept Scooter From Jail FREE!


Federal Inmate # 28301-016 too important in the bigger coverup

Blackwater Claims Military Immunity in Wrongful Death Suit


Blackwater maintains that it's working for the government, so it can't be sued for deaths or injuries

NATO Forces Surrender Part of Afghanistan to Taliban FREE!


Schools closed, music banned after Brit troops withdrew in Feb

Climate Change a Major Cause of Darfur Crisis FREE!
 Darfur death
Sudan, has suffered several long and devastating droughts in the past few decades   (Photo: © Boris Hegen/IRIN)


Example of how shifts in rainfall can bring down governments and even set off wars

Woman Sentenced to Beheading by Saudis to get Legal Help With Appeal


Closed justice system condemns people to death without legal representation at their trials

Justice Dept. Investigating Saudi Royal Family Bribe Case


Money allegedly paid to Prince Bandar through U.S. banks

Ex-EPA Chief Whitman Grilled Over Her 9/11 Role FREE!


Says Agency not to blame for the thousands of people who now are ill after being told Ground Zero was safe

Soviet-Era Weapons, Not Iran, Arming Taliban


Smuggling guns from N to S Afghanistan a booming business

Survey Finds Most Muslims Reject Extremism


Approval of suicide bombing has declined dramatically over the past five years

Iraq THE WAR IN IRAQ

Big Jump in U.S. Airstrikes on Iraq


"Going back to air raids is an alarming sign of defeat. To bombard an area only means that it is in the hands of the enemy."

Iraqis United in Soccer Celebration


Team's physiotherapist killed by bomb on eve of competition

Iraq Women's Rights Activists Increasingly Targeted by Militants FREE!


NGOs forced to keep female employees inside their offices to prevent them from being targeted

Life at a Standstill in Locked-Down Baqouba


Roadblocks, expensive gas leads to boom market for donkey carts

Iraqis Seek Tattoos for Easy Corpse ID FREE!


Fear of being an unclaimed body in a packed morgue

With Morgues Full, Iraq Turns to Digging Mass Graves


Like the rest of Baqouba, the morgue suffers from continuing lack of electricity

Iraqis Fear U.S. Plans to Partition the Country


White House report praises move to "semi-autonomous regions"

Iraq Religious Leaders Edict: No Fishing in the Tigris FREE!


Has become major dumping ground for corpses

Baqouba Says U.S. Crackdown Ineffective, Killing Hundreds of Civilians


U.S. admits al-Qaeda left in advance of Operation 'Arrowhead Ripper'

Iraqi Sunni, Shiite Swapping Homes to Escape Neighborhood Death Squads FREE!


New booming real estate business in Baghdad

Iraq Kurds Argue Over Islamic Law


Dispute over Sharia law as basis of new constitution

Swamped With Iraq Refugees, Syria Faces Crisis FREE!


2,000 Iraqi refugees arriving each day

Kurd Region of N Iraq Draws Investors


Almost $3.5 billion investment as rest of country collapses

Politics As Usual POLITICS AS USUAL

Bill Richardson Problem: How Latin Can He Be?


Perception that he is an ethnic candidate could sink him outside the West

House Passes Symbolic Bill Against Permanent Bases in Iraq


Played into the Democrats' stated goal of forcing Repubs to vote on record about the war on a regular basis

Giuliani Thumps the War Drum


Names neo-con who wants to invade Iran as one of his foreign policy advisers

Reid Ended Iraq All-Nighter Before Bipartisan Amendment Vote


Making sure Iraq war is branded on all Repubs for 2008 vote

Neo-Con Coup at Foreign Broadcast News Ops


The voice of America heard by the world now reflects radical agenda

Religious Right Rejects Giuliani FREE!


James Dobson also warns followers against McCain

 
  Casualties in the border war
Crosses memorializing immigrants who died trying to reach the U.S. on the heavily fortified border wall between Tijuana and San Diego

At the Side Door Cafe in Falfurrias, Texas, body counts enter conversations as naturally as the price of feed, or the cost of repairing torn fences. "I removed 11 bodies last year from my ranch, 12 the year before," said prominent local landowner Presnall Cage. "I found four so far this year." In total, the Border Patrol recorded 453 border deaths last year and a GAO report said recorded border deaths have doubled since 1995. It also said the Border Patrol may be producing an undercount. No one knows, of course, how many die without leaving recoverable remains.

Besides those who die crossing the border, a far greater number are facing uncertain fates from the United States immigration system. Entire families, including those with small children, are held at the T. Don Hutto detention facility, a private Texas prison that was intended to be closed for lack of occupancy until the site was revived as a result of new immigration enforcement policies. In April, the U.S. denied a UN human rights official access to inspect this facility and another jail in New Jersey.

Others find themselves at the mercy of a Kafkaesque immigration system, such as Yaderlin Jimenez, whose husband has been missing since his unit was attacked in Iraq on May 12. Even after the Department of Homeland security dropped deportation proceedings against her after he was declared MIA, she remains in legal limbo. She has reason to fear: Just a few months after an Army soldier died in Iraq and was buried with full military honors, his father was deported as an undocumented immigrant. Like a vast number of others, Yaderlin is left with no legal remedy, and only the hope the government will do something decent

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They Die in South Texas

With GI Husband Missing in Iraq, Wife Faces Legal Limbo

Hoping the "Government Will do Something Decent"

U.S. Blocks Oversight of Prisons With Immigrant Families

How NAFTA Made a Mexican the World's Richest Man

 Carlos Slim
Carlos Slim, the Mexican son of Arab immigrants, surpassed Bill Gates in becoming the world's richest man

NAFTA's limitations distort income distribution in both Mexico and the U.S.

Ethanol and Other Biofuels Pushing Up Food Prices


Also leading to accelrated land clearing in the Amazon, Indonesia and Malaysia

Iraq Will be Occupied Like Korea, White House now Says


A protracted, if not permanent, troop presence

Chavez Buying Fleet of Russian Submarines


Cites incident when U.S. aircraft carrier entered Venezuelan territorial waters

World Bank Pushing Into Mideast


Activity nearly doubled in two years

Supreme Court to Hear Case Based on "O.J. Simpson Race Card"


Prosecutors raised example of famed black murderer who got away

Ethiopia Wins Battle With Starbucks Over Trademark Coffee Brands


Hailed as example of how poor countries can win fair trade concessions

Uproar After Japan Defense Minister Says A-Bombs Had Positive Side


Attacks from all sides show nation still can't reach consensus on its role in WWII

World Bank and U.S. Push to Open Latin America to Private Investors


Aimed at undermining efforts by Chavez and others to create rival "Bank of the South"

Burma Appears Headed for China-Style Government


So much for 2003 promises of democratic elections

Over 13,000 Still in Pakistan 2005 Quake Refugee Camps FREE!


Camps to close in December 2007

Taliban Dictating Rules for Education of Girls in Pakistan Region


Many families have stopped sending girls to school

American Weapons Flood Mexico, Fueling Violence


Worries over the drug trade going north matched with concerns over arms heading south

Zionists Outraged Over Textbooks Calling Foundation of Israel a "Catastrophe" for Palestinians


Calls for resignation of the Israel education minister after forbidden word allowed in state-run Arab schools
Columnists

JOE CONASON

Joe Conason Murdoch's Army Smears the Bloggers

No Boasts of Diplomatic Victory From Bush

Enough With the Holier Than Thou's

Centrists Finally Face Reality in Iraq

Reaganite Rudy's Bad Memory

ROBERT SCHEER

Robert Scheer Will Bush Ever Learn?

The President We Were Warned About

Bush Coddling The Real Terrorist Threat: Pakistan

Libby Might Have Sung

Profiteering at Taxpayer Expense

ALEXANDER COCKBURN

Alexander Cockburn Dog Fighting and Violence in American Culture

The Secret Government, Peeing on a Redwood Tree

Should Americans Support the Iraqi Resistance?

STEVE YOUNG FREE!

Steve Young When All Else Fails, Fight the Culture War

Just Say NIE

Bill-O's Sick-o Health Plan

O'Reilly Reveals the Great Satan: NBC

Satan Apologizes for Ann Coulter

FREE! The application of overwhelming firepower in lieu of alternative tactics has long been the American way of fighting a war. If we assume that only 3 billion of the 9.2 billion small-caliber rounds consumed by U.S. forces during the past six fiscal years were fired in combat in Iraq, then, given an Iraqi population of approximately 27 million in recent years, the rate of U.S. small-arms fire during the present war works out to more than 100 shots for every man, woman, and child in the country, or more than ten times what the world's population received per capita from U.S. forces during World War II.

Albion Monitor
(http://www.albionmonitor.com)
Issue 159

Editor: Jeff Elliott (editor@monitor.net)

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