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Israeli Apartheid

Jack straws attack on the pakistani community

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By Yvonne Ridley

(source: Counterpunch.org)

Has an open season of hate been declared on the Pakistani community in Britain? I have to ask after listening to a former Labour minister’s astonishing attack on young, Pakistani men in recent days.

Using the same politics of race – which cost neighboring ex-MP Phil Woolas his seat – Jack Straw launched what I can only describe as a hateful blast on the Pakistani community in Britain. The former UK foreign and home secretary accused some Pakistani men of seeing white girls as “easy meat” for sexual abuse. In a speech which could have come from the pages of a BNP election leaflet, the Blackburn MP talked of a “specific problem” involving Pakistani men and called on the community to be “more open” about the issue.

All of this only days before a crucial by-election in Britain in a constituency where the predominant minority community hails from Pakistan. He launched his attack after two Asian men subjected a series of vulnerable girls to rapes and sexual assaults. The two were, quite rightly, given indefinite jail terms. Personally, I thought life sentences would have been more appropriate for what they did.

Abid Mohammed Saddique, 27, was jailed for a minimum of 11 years at Nottingham Crown Court and Mohammed Romaan Liaqat, 28, was told he must serve at least eight years before being considered for release.  They were the leaders of a gang who befriended girls aged from 12 to 18 in the Derby area and groomed them for sex.

As a journalist of more than 35 years, I’ve sat through countless court cases and trials and listened to similar, horrific stories pour forth. As long as there are vulnerable young women, of no particular faith and skin color, they will be targeted by criminally-driven men of no particular faith and skin colour. Having lived in Soho, London’s so-called red light district, for two decades, I’ve watched the prostitution and drug rings change hands from the control of English to Maltese to Turkish to Albanian male gangs.

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Another war in the works

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America Is Led And Informed By Liars

By Paul Craig Roberts

(source:Information Clearing House)

Does anyone remember all the lies that they were told by President Bush and the “mainstream media” about the grave threat to America from weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? These lies were repeated endlessly in the print and TV media despite the reports from the weapons inspectors, who had been sent to Iraq, that no such weapons existed.

The weapons inspectors did an honest job in Iraq and told the truth, but the mainstream media did not emphasize their findings. Instead, the media served as a Ministry of Propaganda, beating the war drums for the US government.

Now the whole process is repeating itself. This time the target is Iran.

As there is no real case against Iran, Obama took a script from Bush’s playbook and fabricated one.

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Condoleezza Rice waits for vindication

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Condoleezza Rice waits for vindication

After George W. Bush spent all of Colin Powell’s political capital, he installed Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State for his second term in office. The image of the United States had taken a beating around the world and was in dire need of a makeover. Enter Dr. Rice.

Initially, the cable news channels could not get enough of Rice’s stylish boots and cosmopolitan demeanor, a foreshadowing of the patronizing canonization of Michelle Obama. Underlying the disgusting fawning was a genuine hope that Rice would restore our tarnished reputation.

Foreign diplomats recognized the rift between Powell and Bush, so the State Department did not carry much clout. WIth Rice, other nations could be assured that her words and deeds were completely in line with the intentions of the president.

Rice wanted to revitalize the State Department. She pulled people out of cozy posts in Europe, and began placing them in areas that required more attention such as India, China, South Africa, and Brazil. Diplomats were required to do some hard time in trouble spots like Iraq and Afghanistan. They were also directed to become fluent in at least two languages and gain expertise regarding at least two regions of the world. More emphasis was placed on local and regional approaches to drug trafficking and disease. Bilateral discussions were to be promoted on the basis of improving infrastructure and lessening the need for handouts. These efforts were collectively dubbed "Transformational Democracy."

 

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