It seems that Mommar Qaddafi's Libya, of all places, has been overlooked by the current Bush "regime change" offensive. Now that sanctions have been lifted, an opposition is starting to emerge, and appears (in contrast to its counterparts in Syria, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Cuba, etc.) to be independent of Washington and the West.

The following is from a speech by farmer Sharif Omar of Jayyous in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a long-time leader of the Palestinian non-violent movement and member of Qalqilya District's Land Defense Committee. This speech was given at a May 21 rally at Trafalgar Square in London.

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My friends, how can the United Kingdom help us to achieve our just requirements? We know well that the international community imposed boycotts against South Africa with sanctions until the people there won their freedom and rights. We the Palestinians have the right to expect the same commitment and effort and to dream of having the same results. So your government is invited to lead the international community in serious and complete boycott with sanctions against Israel.

As we've recently noted, nothing makes the 9-11 "skeptics" (who are actually among the most gullible people in the world) giddier than a whiff of vindication from The Establishment. Pretty ironic, given that their entire world view is predicated on the assumption of a monolithic and omnipotent Conspiracy. This time it's Paul Craig Roberts, a supply-side wonk from the Reagan Treasury Department. What the 9-11 conspiranoiacs (as we prefer to call them) don't get is that The Establishment is no less likely than any other cross-section of society to produce cranks and wackjobs. More likely, in fact. Especially the Reagan administration! James Watt, Alexander Haig, the Gipper himself—wackjobs on parade! Funnier still, while they are distributing Roberts' words to give themselves a sense of mainstream legitimacy, the medium that ran this piece of detritus, Arctic Beacon, states on its homepage that among the topics it seeks to explore is "the Alien Presence on Earth and UFO Phenomena."

Way to go, conspiranoiacs!

Now let's see... This is the same United States of America that initiated war against Iraq for allegedly stonewalling UN inspectors, right? Thanks to TruthOut for passing this one along.

UN Experts Cite Guantanamo Torture Reports
By Bradley S. Klapper
The Associated Press

Thursday 23 June 2005

Geneva - UN human rights investigators, citing "persistent and credible" reports of torture at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, urged the United States on Thursday to allow them to check conditions there.

It was wonderful to see photos in the newspapers today of Hindu pilgrims making their way up mountain trails in the disputed Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir for the annual yatra or pilgrimage to Amarnath Cave, where Shiva is honored in the form of a natural ice stalagmite that is regarded as a symbol of the god's phallus. The 2002 yatra had been marred by sectarian violence that left nine pilrgims dead (see WW4 REPORT #46). This year, the only problems have been logistical (heavy snowfall, overbooked flights for those who chose helicopter rather than the traditional 80-mile trek from Srinagar).

A victory for free speech in New York City. Congratulations to the courageous June Brashares. The only scary thing is that some of the jurors said they "weren't clear" on whether free speech is constitutionally protected. We fail to see the ambiguity here.

GOP demonstrator not guilty, jury finds

BY DARYL KHAN
Newsday

June 24, 2005

Technically, the trial of June Brashares was about the fate of one protester and whether she is guilty of a narrowly defined set of criminal charges. But the larger question hovering over the case goes to the heart of free speech: Is dissent at a partisan political convention a crime?

The latest sorry debacle over the slow and tempestuous redevelopment of New York's Ground Zero concerns plans for an International Freedom Center on the site. Survivors groups are protesting that the museum will not be exclusively dedicated to the 9-11 disaster, but will also feature material on Nazi and Soviet tyranny, American slavery and the Native American genocide. As one survivor at a "Take Back the Memorial" protest at Ground Zero told Bloomberg news June 20, "Instead of being immersed in 9-11, we'll be discussing world politics."

A fairly amazing escalation in the European rendition scandal. This from the June 24 NY Times:

Italian Judge Names 13 in Abduction Tied to C.I.A.

ROME (AP) -- An Italian judge on Friday ordered the arrests of 13 CIA officers for secretly transporting a Muslim preacher from Italy to Egypt as part of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts -- a rare public objection to the practice by a close American ally.

The Egyptian was spirited away in 2003, purportedly as part of the CIA's ''extraordinary rendition'' program in which terror suspects are transferred to third countries without court approval, subjecting them to possible torture.