Michael Moore Discusses Receiving Death Threats After Speaking out Against Iraq Invasion at Academy Awards in 2003
October 3, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media From C-SPAN’s in Depth on Book TV, author and documentary maker Michael Moore recalls his account of speaking out against the invasion of Iraq during the 2003 Academy Awards and the subsequent death threats he received, egged on by right wing radio and the likes of Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck for the year or two following the speech. You can watch the entire three hour interview at C-SPAN’s web site here .
Continue reading …It’s illustrative to look at how the media has covered the origin and growth of the tea party movement with the OccupyWallStreet protests. Even a handful of self-identified tea party activists, with tea bags stapled to their tricorn hats and misspelled signs, were covered breathlessly as the birth of this new populist movement, angry with the direction of the country, and rising influence. That, of course, was all completely untrue. The tea party movement was an astroturfed movement from the beginning, funded and organized by conservative organizations under jingoistic and quasi-populist names like “Americans for Prosperity” and “FreedomWorks”. Compare that to the OccupyWallStreet protesters. Truly grassroots, the media—when they do pay attention—deride them for not having a clear, unified goal (as if the tea party could be more precise than “take our country back”), for being disorganized (which is what happens when Dick Armey isn’t ordering up the signs) and for their inability to effect change (because it’s completely reasonable to expect 10 days of protests to change the status quo of 30 years of Reaganomics on Wall St). Moreover, the truly populist concerns are largely ignored by the media, who are almost monolithically more interested in what’s happening to the privileged few inside the Washington Beltway than the 99% of people who live outside it. One of the few media outlets willing to look at the protest and discuss it in a relatively intellectually honest way is my new favorite weekend news show, Up with Chris Hayes . Nancy Giles, Allison Kilkenny and J.A. Myerson point out that OccupyWallStreet suffers from the media’s own unfair expectations: any true grassroots movement will be disorganized and unlikely to effect immediate change. But it is absolutely inarguable that we are seeing the fomentation of political activism by young people who have been betrayed by the older generation’s greed, short-sightedness and complacency. And whether or not the protesters can actually cause change in Wall Street (which is doubtful, to be honest), that fire of political activism is a good thing and should continue to be stoked.
Continue reading …Man must serve 24 years for murder of woman found in suitcase at Heathrow
October 3, 2011 No Comment
Youseff Wahid fled to Lebanon after Fatima Kama’s body was found in 1999, but was tracked down by Scotland Yard A man has been jailed for at least 24 years for murdering a woman whose body was dumped in a suitcase at Heathrow airport. Youseff Wahid, 42, a former flight attendant, was found guilty in August and remanded to allow the judge to determine the minimum term of a life sentence. Wahid fled Britain for his native Lebanon the day after the body of Fatima Kama was discovered in July 1999, the Old Bailey heard. Pursued by Scotland Yard detectives, Wahid fled again before he could be tried there but was sentenced to death in his absence. He was eventually extradited from Bahrain last year – the first time anyone has been sent back to the UK from there. Judge Paul Worsley told Wahid: “You are an intelligent but devious and manipulative man. “There is indication of significant physical suffering before her death. “You callously concealed her body in a suitcase.” Kama, 28, lived her life “like Holly Golightly”, the fun-loving Audrey Hepburn character in the 1961 film Breakfast At Tiffany’s, the court heard. She was on a week-long visit to London from Canada when she was attacked as she stayed in Wahid’s brother’s flat in Marble Arch, central London. She was repeatedly stabbed in the back and her throat was slashed before she was taken to an airport car park on the Heathrow Express from Paddington station. She was found soon after the suitcase was spotted on a trolley. But before the aspiring cabaret singer and dancer could be traced back to the flat, Wahid had flown out from the same airport. Adrian Darbishire, prosecuting, said Wahid had been seen on CCTV carrying the “very heavy” suitcase on the train. The next morning, he had shaved off his moustache and left the UK for Beirut where extradition was not possible. But Darbishire said he could not escape “the long arm of Scotland Yard” as detectives tracked him to Bahrain. DNA from the body linked him to Kama, whose blood was found on carpets and skirting boards. Kama had been due to fly home on Sunday and her family alerted police when she failed to turn up at Montreal airport. Darbishire said: “She was a vivacious and attractive young woman who had a number of rich admirers. “There was something of the Holly Golightly about her and her friends. “Often she would be out at nightclubs and casinos until the early hours of the morning with male and female friends.” But Wahid, on the other hand, was “neither rich or attractive to Fatima Kama”. Wahid refused to take part in the trial and turned down legal representation in the “mistaken belief” that he could abort the trial, the judge said. Crime guardian.co.uk
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Commander Sirajuddin Haqqani said the militant outfit didn’t kill Burhanuddin Rabbani, killed by a suicide bomber last month The commander of Afghanistan’s most notorious militant outfit, the Haqqani network, has denied playing a part in the assassination of President Hamid Karzai’s main peace envoy two weeks ago. “We haven’t killed Burhanuddin Rabbani,” Sirajuddin Haqqani said in an audiotape message delivered to the BBC Pashto service, referring to the peace envoy killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul on 20 September. It was the first public pronouncement by the Haqqanis on an issue that has triggered a fresh war of words between Pakistan and Afghanistan and killed off near-term hopes of starting peace talks to end the conflict. On Monday Islamabad lashed out at Afghan accusations that its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy service engineered the assassination to control the barely-nascent Taliban peace process. “Instead of making such irresponsible statements, those in positions of authority in Kabul should seriously deliberate as to why all those Afghans who are favourably disposed towards peace and towards Pakistan are systematically being removed from the scene and killed,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement . Afghan investigators allege that Rabbani’s assassin was a Pakistani whose mission had been controlled from the western Pakistani city of Quetta, where the Taliban “Quetta shura” is allegedly based. If true, that would discount the role of the Haqqani network, which operates further east along the lawless border. Nonetheless, the Haqqanis remain a major point of contention between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US. Two weeks ago the outgoing US military chief, Admiral Mike Mullen, caused consternation with allegations that the Haqqanis were a “veritable arm” of the ISI. He hinted that the ISI had directed a daring guerrilla assault on the US embassy in Kabul on 13 September, as well as a giant truck bomb three days earlier that wounded 77 US soldiers at a base south of Kabul. But in recent days the White House and State Department have rowed back on Mullen’s comments, saying that while the ISI has allowed the Haqqanis to operate from Pakistani soil there is no evidence that Pakistani spies directed the embassy assault. The furore has left Pakistan more estranged than ever from its Afghan neighbours and its putative American allies. A senior Pakistani intelligence official insisted to the Guardian that the Haqqanis operate from Afghan soil, echoing comments Sirajuddin Haqqani recently made in an interview from Reuters. But he said he admitted that Haqqani’s father, the elderly Jalaluddin who founded the militant network in the 1980s, is resident in Miram Shah, the main town in North Waziristan in Pakistan’s tribal belt. Jalaluddin is seriously ill and living in the town with relatives, the Pakistani official said. He did not offer any proof to back up his assertion. A senior western official in the region confirmed that Haqqani senior was “bedridden”. But, he added, “I don’t know where that bed is.” Afghanistan Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Taliban Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
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Commander Sirajuddin Haqqani said the militant outfit didn’t kill Burhanuddin Rabbani, killed by a suicide bomber last month The commander of Afghanistan’s most notorious militant outfit, the Haqqani network, has denied playing a part in the assassination of President Hamid Karzai’s main peace envoy two weeks ago. “We haven’t killed Burhanuddin Rabbani,” Sirajuddin Haqqani said in an audiotape message delivered to the BBC Pashto service, referring to the peace envoy killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul on 20 September. It was the first public pronouncement by the Haqqanis on an issue that has triggered a fresh war of words between Pakistan and Afghanistan and killed off near-term hopes of starting peace talks to end the conflict. On Monday Islamabad lashed out at Afghan accusations that its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy service engineered the assassination to control the barely-nascent Taliban peace process. “Instead of making such irresponsible statements, those in positions of authority in Kabul should seriously deliberate as to why all those Afghans who are favourably disposed towards peace and towards Pakistan are systematically being removed from the scene and killed,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement . Afghan investigators allege that Rabbani’s assassin was a Pakistani whose mission had been controlled from the western Pakistani city of Quetta, where the Taliban “Quetta shura” is allegedly based. If true, that would discount the role of the Haqqani network, which operates further east along the lawless border. Nonetheless, the Haqqanis remain a major point of contention between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US. Two weeks ago the outgoing US military chief, Admiral Mike Mullen, caused consternation with allegations that the Haqqanis were a “veritable arm” of the ISI. He hinted that the ISI had directed a daring guerrilla assault on the US embassy in Kabul on 13 September, as well as a giant truck bomb three days earlier that wounded 77 US soldiers at a base south of Kabul. But in recent days the White House and State Department have rowed back on Mullen’s comments, saying that while the ISI has allowed the Haqqanis to operate from Pakistani soil there is no evidence that Pakistani spies directed the embassy assault. The furore has left Pakistan more estranged than ever from its Afghan neighbours and its putative American allies. A senior Pakistani intelligence official insisted to the Guardian that the Haqqanis operate from Afghan soil, echoing comments Sirajuddin Haqqani recently made in an interview from Reuters. But he said he admitted that Haqqani’s father, the elderly Jalaluddin who founded the militant network in the 1980s, is resident in Miram Shah, the main town in North Waziristan in Pakistan’s tribal belt. Jalaluddin is seriously ill and living in the town with relatives, the Pakistani official said. He did not offer any proof to back up his assertion. A senior western official in the region confirmed that Haqqani senior was “bedridden”. But, he added, “I don’t know where that bed is.” Afghanistan Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Taliban Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
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Firefighters tackle raging fire after explosion at unit in Newchapel, East Grinstead At least eight people have been injured following an explosion and major fire at an industrial estate in Surrey, emergency services said. The first alerts came in shortly before 11.30am about an explosion at Hobbs industrial estate, off Eastbourne Road, Newchapel, near East Grinstead, Surrey police said in a statement. It added: “Surrey police, Surrey fire and rescue service, South East Coast ambulance service and Surrey air ambulance are all in attendance at the scene.” The ambulance service said eight people were being treated for injuries, although she had no information yet as to how serious these were. Two helicopter ambulances and six ambulances were sent to the scene. The ambulance service had no information about widely circulated rumours that several people were missing. The fire service said 10 fire engines attended the blaze at the industrial estate unit. The operation was made more complex by the likely presence of gas cylinders, she said. An engineer working on the roof of the nearby London England Temple, a Mormon church, said he heard an initial explosion. “There was a massive, massive bang, a large bang, with a little after-bang but that was it,” he told the Press Association, asking not to be named. “And then just a few minutes after, that’s when smoke started to appear.” Footage shot by the local ITV news showed large plumes of smoke rising from the site. The location is south of London, near the M23 and M25. Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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Firefighters tackle raging fire after explosion at unit in Newchapel, East Grinstead At least eight people have been injured following an explosion and major fire at an industrial estate in Surrey, emergency services said. The first alerts came in shortly before 11.30am about an explosion at Hobbs industrial estate, off Eastbourne Road, Newchapel, near East Grinstead, Surrey police said in a statement. It added: “Surrey police, Surrey fire and rescue service, South East Coast ambulance service and Surrey air ambulance are all in attendance at the scene.” The ambulance service said eight people were being treated for injuries, although she had no information yet as to how serious these were. Two helicopter ambulances and six ambulances were sent to the scene. The ambulance service had no information about widely circulated rumours that several people were missing. The fire service said 10 fire engines attended the blaze at the industrial estate unit. The operation was made more complex by the likely presence of gas cylinders, she said. An engineer working on the roof of the nearby London England Temple, a Mormon church, said he heard an initial explosion. “There was a massive, massive bang, a large bang, with a little after-bang but that was it,” he told the Press Association, asking not to be named. “And then just a few minutes after, that’s when smoke started to appear.” Footage shot by the local ITV news showed large plumes of smoke rising from the site. The location is south of London, near the M23 and M25. Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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Any chance of plan B for the economy? Is it time to get tough with the French? Why raise the speed limit? John Harris enlists the help of David Cameron’s favourite band, the Smiths, to grill a cast of Conservatives and meets anti-Tory demonstrators outside the conference John Harris Elliot Smith Richard Sprenger
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Russian billionaires begin legal dispute over shares in Russian energy company, as Chelsea owner faces claims for £2bn Two of Britain’s most famous oligarchs – political exile Boris Berezovsky and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich – have clashed in the high court in a sensational case that is likely to set a record for privately-funded litigation in the UK. The court heard claims that Abramovich blackmailed and betrayed Berezovsky, his former mentor, and put wealth and influence above loyalty and friendship. Berezovsky says Abramovich intimidated him into selling shares in the Russian oil company Sibnet at a fraction of their real value. Berezovsky is claiming more than £2bn ($3.1bn) in damages from Abramovich over the Sibneft deal, his barrister, Laurence Rabinowitz QC, said, opening the 12-week trial. Berezovsky – who fled Russia in 2000 after falling out with President Vladimir Putin – also wants millions in compensation for another deal involving the Russian aluminium giant Rusal. The case was taking place in the new Rolls building of the commercial court in London’s Fetter Lane, before Mrs Justice Gloster. Both Russians sat at opposite ends of the packed courtroom. They arrived separately, looking relaxed. Abramovich listened to the proceedings in Russian via headphones. Their respective entourages included bodyguards wearing dark glasses, numerous legal assistants and friends. Rabinowitz told the judge that both men had worked together to create Sibneft in 1995 and became friends. He said Berezovsky had been betrayed after falling out with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and leaving Moscow for Britain in October 2000. “This is a case about two men who – and this is common ground – worked together to acquire an asset – that is Sibneft – that would make them wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of most people,” said Rabinowitz. “In the process, we say, [they] became and remained good friends until, that is, Mr Berezovsky, who had adopted a high political profile in Russia, not least through his control of certain media outlets, fell out with those in power in the Kremlin and was forced to leave his home and create a new life abroad.” He said Abramovich was left with the choice of remaining loyal or betraying Berezovsky and seeking “to profit from his difficulties”. Abramovich had made threats that Berezovsky’s interests in Sibneft would be expropriated “by those in the Kremlin led by Mr Putin who regarded Mr Berezovsky as an enemy”, the court heard. Berezovsky had no choice but to sell at a knock-down price, said Rabinowitz. He added: “It is our case that Mr Abramovich at that point demonstrated that he was a man to whom wealth and influence mattered more than friendship and loyalty and this has led him, finally, to go so far as to even deny that he and Mr Berezovsky were actually ever friends.” Roman Abramovich Boris Berezovsky Russia Europe Chelsea Luke Harding guardian.co.uk
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Delwar Hossain Sayeedi of Jamaat-e-Islami party charged with aiding Pakistan during war of independence A senior leader from Bangladesh’s largest Islamic party has been charged with war crimes for allegedly leading groups that took part in killing, looting, arson and rape of Bangladeshis during the country’s 1971 independence war against Pakistan. Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan that year – with help from India – after a nine-month war. A special tribunal has been up by the Bangladesh government to deal with charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from the war. The tribunal accepted 20 of 31 charges filed by the prosecution against Delwar Hossain Sayeedi of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, including those that he aided Pakistan. Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed an estimated 3 million people, raped about 200,000 women and forced millions to flee their homes during the war. Sayeedi is accused of being involved in the killing of more than 50 people, torching villages, rape, looting and forcibly converting Hindus to Islam. He has denied the allegations. Sayeedi was arrested last year along with four other leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami who are accused of war crimes, including party chief Matiur Rahman Nizami. Sayeedi is the first to be indicted by the tribunal. Jamaat-e-Islami openly campaigned against breaking away from Pakistan during the war. The party says the charges against its leaders are politically motivated. Jamaat-e-Islami was a key partner in the 2001-2006 government headed by Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister and current opposition leader. Zia, the longtime political rival of the current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has called the tribunal a farce. The international community has called on the Bangladesh government to ensure that the tribunal is free and impartial. New York-based Human Rights Watch has called for changes to the tribunal, including allowing the accused to question its impartiality, which current law prohibits. Sayeedi’s trial is scheduled to begin on 30 October. Bangladesh Pakistan War crimes Human rights guardian.co.uk
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