GOP Congressional Candidate Accuses Al Jazeera of Trying to Kidnap Him in FloridaDemocracy Now - 31 Jul 2008Al Jazeera host Avi Lewis discusses the bizarre story of Allen West, a retired Army lieutenant and congressional candidate who recently accused Al Jazeera of trying to kidnap him after a booker from the network asked him to appear on the show. “I don’t know if it was a kidnapping attempt,” West told the New York Daily News. “But I am not going to entrust Al Jazeera with my life. I said, ?Cancel the interview!’” [includes rush transcript]
Raj Patel on the Collapse of the World Trade Organization TalksDemocracy Now - 31 Jul 2008Talks to expand the World Trade Organization have collapsed after a week of negotiations. The talks broke down in part because India and other developing nations demanded the right to protect their farming sectors against heavily subsidized imports. The US refused to accept the protections and insisted on giving US corporations greater access to markets in India, China and other nations. [includes rush transcript]
Headlines for July 31, 2008Democracy Now - 31 Jul 2008Olmert to Resign Amid Corruption Investigations, House Committee Finds Karl Rove in Contempt, Turkish Court Rejects Ban on Ruling Party, RAND Report Criticizes Military Focus of War on Terror, Olympic Committee Admits China Will Censor Internet During Games, Radovan Karadzic to Appear Before UN War Crimes Tribunal, Ecuador Refused to Renew Lease on US Air Force Base, Chevron Lobbies to Fight Amazon Pollution Lawsuit, Humanitarian Activists to Sail to Gaza to Break Israeli Blockade, Report: US Military to Play Intelligence Role During DNC in Denver, Gun Control Activist Exposed as Gun Lobby Spy
My crime was to tell the truthElectronic Intifada - 31 Jul 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rI did not do it because I was a hero, but only because I was compelled. This is how I made my three documentaries. I say compelled because I am an actor, not a director. Nevertheless I loved my three films as a father loves his children. Mohammad Bakri comments on his persecution in the Israeli court system.
SFO wins appeal in BAE-Saudi case as public outrage continuesUKWatch.net - 31 Jul 2008The Law Lords have this morning upheld an appeal by the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) against the High Court’s ruling that he acted unlawfully in terminating a corruption investigation into BAE Systems’ arms deals with Saudi Arabia. The appeal followed a High Court judgment in April that the SFO, acting on government advice, had dropped the investigation following lobbying by BAE and a threat from Saudi Arabia to withdraw diplomatic and intelligence co-operation if the investigation were not dropped. This judgment was in response to a judicial review brought by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and The Corner House. Nicholas Hildyard of The Corner House said: “Now we know where we are. Under UK law, a supposedly independent prosecutor can do nothing to resist a threat made by someone abroad if the UK government claims that the threat endangers national security. The unscrupulous who have friends in high places overseas willing to make such threats now have a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card ? and there is nothing the public can do to hold the government to account if it abuses its national security powers. Parliament needs urgently to plug this gaping hole in the law and in the constitutional checks and balances dealing with national security. With the law as it is, a government can simply invoke ‘national security’ to drive a coach and horses through international anti-bribery legislation, as the UK government has done, to stop corruption investigations.? Symon Hill of CAAT said: “BAE and the government will be quickly disappointed if they think that this ruling will bring an end to public criticism. Throughout this case we have been overwhelmed with support from people in all walks of life. There has been a sharp rise in opposition to BAE’s influence in the corridors of power. Fewer people are now taken in by exaggerated claims about British jobs dependent on the arms trade. The government has been judged in the court of public opinion. The public know that Britain will be a better place when BAE is no longer calling the shots.? CAAT and The Corner House will issue a more detailed statement following an analysis of the Lords’ judgments.
