Bill Weinberg

Mexico: Naval intelligence calls EZLN "national security threat"

From Mexico's La Jornada, July 24, via Chiapas95, our translation:

The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) and the narco-traffic in Chiapas "are factors that affect the national security," says an internal document of Superior Center of Naval Studies (CESNAV) of the Secretary of the Navy.

Oaxaca: student radio station attacked by gunmen

From Mexico's El Universal, July 24, via Chiapas95:

OAXACA, Mexico - Gunmen attacked a university radio station that has backed efforts to oust the Oaxaca state governor, as violence flared once more in protests that has driven many tourists from this colonial city.

Israel v. Norway: cartoon wars redux

Here we go again. Israel's envoy to Norway complains that a cartoon goes "beyond free speech." What the hell does that mean? Beyond good taste? Beyond acceptable discourse? Beyond what should be permitted in a free society? Where are these lines to be drawn and by whom? Why can't the offended (Muslim or Israeli) protest offending images without calling for their censorship, either explicitly or (worse, because it is more insidious) implicitly? Maybe this kind of sloppy and censorious speech is worse than hate speech? From BBC News July 26:

Israeli attack on UN post: "accidentally on purpose"?

Shades of the USS Liberty affair. Ian Williams writes for his blog, Deadline Pundit July 26:

Accidentally on Purpose
With the Israeli bombing of a UN camp and the killing of four UN peacekeepers, we really do seem to be in a "deja vu" all over again phase. Already UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is under attack for condemning the "apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defense Forces of a UN Observer post."

WHY WE FIGHT

Just remember, the private automobile stands for freedom, and if you're not with us you're with the terrorists. From Newsday, July 24:

Hummer driver pled guilty to loan-sharking charges

The Lloyd Harbor man who fell asleep and accidentally drove his Hummer into two teenage sisters, killing one, is awaiting sentencing on separate loan-sharking charges -- though that crime won't factor in the investigation into Sunday's accident, authorities said.

Operation "Return to Sender" sweeps Midwest; border deaths hit high

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continued the second phase of its "Return to Sender" interior enforcement operation July 12-20 with raids through the state of Oklahoma and the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Illinois; Louisville, Kentucky; and Kansas City, Missouri. The same operation brought the arrest of 154 immigrants in a July 10-14 sweep through three Ohio cities. In the first phase of Return to Sender, 2,179 immigrants were arrested nationwide from May 26 to June 13. The operation targets immigrants who have final orders of deportation.

WHY WE FIGHT

Another sacrifice for the American way of life. From the New York Post, July 20:

'3-TIME DWI' MOM KILLS PRIEST, 79

July 20, 2006 -- A beloved Long Island priest taking an evening walk was killed by a hit- run, serial drunken driver on a leafy East Hampton street, police said yesterday.

Iraq moves closer to genocide

As if the facts in the headline aren't bad enough, note also the armed attacks on the Sunni religious establishment. It is starting to seem more and more like Bush's blundering into Iraq will have only succeeded into plunging the country into a genocidal situation. From AP, July 20:

Killers slit throats of mom, 3 children
Baghdad family had fled to Basra to escape threats

BAGHDAD -- Assailants slit the throats of a mother and her three children Wednesday in southern Iraq, where the family had fled to escape threats that they had cooperated with the Americans.

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