whatawaytodie (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} whatawaytodie) wrote,@ 2002-04-19 09:40:00 |
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Friday, with the Weekend on My Mind
It's Friday morning. I'm sitting at work, wondering if there's some holiday I forgot about. Hardly anyone is here. Not much work is gonna get done today.
Scouring the morning news, I've run across a few interesting things today.
The Irish Times (Ireland) found clear evidence that the U.S. military was behind the coup in Venezuela. Not a surprise, but it does offer concrete proof that what the Bush administration has been saying is not true. Of course, concrete evidence doesn't seem to mean as much as it used to. Lies, the repeated words of the president and his followers somehow have more weight of "truth" than facts.
US military attache implicated in Venezuela coup
The US military attache in Caracas was with the planners of last week's aborted coup against Venezuela's President Mr Hugo Chavez in the hours beforehand, a source in the president's office, it emerged tonight.
The US Embassy in Caracas had no immediate reaction to the allegations.
Meanwhile US President George Bush said today that Mr Chavez should learn from the turmoil that led to his brief ouster last week and take steps to address it.
"It (is) very important for President Chavez to do what he said he was going to do, to address the reasons why there was so much turmoil on the streets," Mr Bush said after meeting Colombian President Mr Andres Pastrana at the White House.
"It's very important for him to embrace those institutions which are fundamental to democracy, including freedom of the press and freedom for the ability of the opposition to speak out," Mr Bush told reporters.
"And if there's lessons to be learned, it's important that he learn them," he said.
On a related note, the AP reports a Spanish judge (the same one who indicted Pinochet) is trying to question Kissinger about his role in supporting South American dictatorships in the 1970s and '80s.
Judge Wants to Question Kissinger
MAR ROMAN - Associated Press Writer
MADRID, Spain (AP) - A Spanish judge is seeking to question former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in London about crimes committed during the military dictatorships that ruled several South American countries in the 1970s and 1980s.
Judge Baltasar Garzon, who has been investigating former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's human rights abuses in Chile, has filed a request with British authorities to allow him to question Kissinger when the American arrives to attend a convention, Juan Garces, a lawyer involved in the Pinochet investigation, said Wednesday.
Garzon, a National Court investigative magistrate, is known for his pursuit of drug traffickers and terrorists in Spain and abroad.
He attracted international attention when he ordered the arrest in London of Pinochet in 1998, kicking off an ultimately unsuccessful bid to have him extradited to Spain for trial on charges of human rights violations. (MORE)
***Back to the Middle East***
The BBC confirms what Palestinians have been saying for weeks: That Israelis are using human shields.
Israel accused of using 'human shields'
By Sebastian Usher
BBC Middle East analyst
A leading human rights group has accused the Israeli army of routinely using Palestinian civilians as human shields.
Human Rights Watch said the tactic could be considered a war crime.
Israel has rejected the accusations.
In a 24-page report, based on the testimony of more than 50 witnesses, Human Rights Watch documents how Israeli soldiers have forced Palestinians at gunpoint to open suspicious packages, knock on suspects' doors and search the houses of Palestinians wanted by Israel.
The report concentrates on four separate raids between late last year and the first months of this year.
But it says the practice has continued in the current Israeli offensive. (< A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/w
***
I have to get to work, but I wanted to quickly mention a movie called War Photographer that will be opening in the U.S. this June. It follows the life of James Nachtwey, one of the absolute best (anti)war photographers ever. Swiss filmmaker Christian Frie attached tiny cameras to Nachtwey's own cameras, so you see and hear everything going on as Nachtwey is out shooting. I'll write more about it later. I'm incredibly excited to see it.
Work!
It's Friday morning. I'm sitting at work, wondering if there's some holiday I forgot about. Hardly anyone is here. Not much work is gonna get done today.
Scouring the morning news, I've run across a few interesting things today.
The Irish Times (Ireland) found clear evidence that the U.S. military was behind the coup in Venezuela. Not a surprise, but it does offer concrete proof that what the Bush administration has been saying is not true. Of course, concrete evidence doesn't seem to mean as much as it used to. Lies, the repeated words of the president and his followers somehow have more weight of "truth" than facts.
US military attache implicated in Venezuela coup
The US military attache in Caracas was with the planners of last week's aborted coup against Venezuela's President Mr Hugo Chavez in the hours beforehand, a source in the president's office, it emerged tonight.
The US Embassy in Caracas had no immediate reaction to the allegations.
Meanwhile US President George Bush said today that Mr Chavez should learn from the turmoil that led to his brief ouster last week and take steps to address it.
"It (is) very important for President Chavez to do what he said he was going to do, to address the reasons why there was so much turmoil on the streets," Mr Bush said after meeting Colombian President Mr Andres Pastrana at the White House.
"It's very important for him to embrace those institutions which are fundamental to democracy, including freedom of the press and freedom for the ability of the opposition to speak out," Mr Bush told reporters.
"And if there's lessons to be learned, it's important that he learn them," he said.
On a related note, the AP reports a Spanish judge (the same one who indicted Pinochet) is trying to question Kissinger about his role in supporting South American dictatorships in the 1970s and '80s.
Judge Wants to Question Kissinger
MAR ROMAN - Associated Press Writer
MADRID, Spain (AP) - A Spanish judge is seeking to question former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in London about crimes committed during the military dictatorships that ruled several South American countries in the 1970s and 1980s.
Judge Baltasar Garzon, who has been investigating former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's human rights abuses in Chile, has filed a request with British authorities to allow him to question Kissinger when the American arrives to attend a convention, Juan Garces, a lawyer involved in the Pinochet investigation, said Wednesday.
Garzon, a National Court investigative magistrate, is known for his pursuit of drug traffickers and terrorists in Spain and abroad.
He attracted international attention when he ordered the arrest in London of Pinochet in 1998, kicking off an ultimately unsuccessful bid to have him extradited to Spain for trial on charges of human rights violations. (MORE)
***Back to the Middle East***
The BBC confirms what Palestinians have been saying for weeks: That Israelis are using human shields.
Israel accused of using 'human shields'
By Sebastian Usher
BBC Middle East analyst
A leading human rights group has accused the Israeli army of routinely using Palestinian civilians as human shields.
Human Rights Watch said the tactic could be considered a war crime.
Israel has rejected the accusations.
In a 24-page report, based on the testimony of more than 50 witnesses, Human Rights Watch documents how Israeli soldiers have forced Palestinians at gunpoint to open suspicious packages, knock on suspects' doors and search the houses of Palestinians wanted by Israel.
The report concentrates on four separate raids between late last year and the first months of this year.
But it says the practice has continued in the current Israeli offensive. (< A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/w
***
I have to get to work, but I wanted to quickly mention a movie called War Photographer that will be opening in the U.S. this June. It follows the life of James Nachtwey, one of the absolute best (anti)war photographers ever. Swiss filmmaker Christian Frie attached tiny cameras to Nachtwey's own cameras, so you see and hear everything going on as Nachtwey is out shooting. I'll write more about it later. I'm incredibly excited to see it.
Work!
