Cargill Blockaded Over Rainforest Destruction and Land-Grabbing
Indymedia UK - 1 Aug 2008
Since early in the morning on 1st August, 20 participants of this year’s Camp for Climate Action and members of Action Against Agrofuels successfully blockaded the only access gate to Cargill’s European regional head office in Cobham, Surrey. 8 activists locked on to the gates closing the site down completely. Agrobusiness giant Cargill are being targeted by the protesters for their role in rainforest destruction and land-grabbing as well as for profiteering from the food crisis.Hannah Ritchie from the group says: “Cargill is using the boom in agrofuels to expand soya, palm oil and sugar plantations, displacing communities, food crops and destroying ecosystems. Destroying rainforests and other biodiverse ecosystems, including healthy soils, is one of the quickest ways of heating the planet. This is why we are blockading the Cargill office two days before the official start of the Climate Camp at Kingsnorth.”Newswire: Photos: Climate Activists Blockade Of Cargill Europe Head Office | Cobham, Surrey : Activists Blockade Cargill Europe Head OfficeLinks: Climate Camp | Biofuelwatch UK | Letter Presented to Cargill from Indigenous and Community Leaders (PDF) | Latest 300-350 Radio Show: Agrofuels

Candidate who wants Olmert’s job once ‘sought deaths of 70 Palestinians a day’
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 1 Aug 2008
Summary: Shaul MofazA leading candidate [Shaul Mofaz] to be Israel’s next premier called for a death toll of 70 Palestinians a day when he was head of the military during the second intifada, according to a best-selling book by two Israeli journalists. source: The Independent read more

New view on Mideast needed
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 1 Aug 2008
Summary: The U.S. insists on the prevention of a nuclear Iran, when the Arab public is well aware that the world’s largest per capita nuclear arsenal is in Israel. Further, the American position has largely been to not negotiate with Iran before it suspends its nuclear program. Yet the U.S. pushes the Palestinian Authority to negotiate while Israel continues settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. source: Chicago Tribuneread more

The Nakbah Project: A nightmare of shattered lives
Electronic Intifada - 1 Aug 2008
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rMy journey began, unexpectedly, in a Nazi concentration camp, Majdenek, outside what was once a Jewish town called Lublin. During my last visit, I was moved by a group of visitors who had probably lost relatives there. They planted small Israeli flags on the ground outside. I was confused by this image, pondering how that blue and white flag has become so blood-drenched since its creation. I began to wonder about the next stage in the tragic history of that period—the creation of Israel and its consequences. Jane Frere writes about the motivation behind her exhibition Return of the Soul.

Israeli forces mortally wound Nilin teenager after funeral
Electronic Intifada - 1 Aug 2008
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOn 29 July, Israeli forces shot and killed a ten-year-old boy in Nilin, Ahmed Mousa, in the head with live ammunition fired from an M16, on Tuesday evening. Around the time of the funeral procession for Ahmed Mousa last night, Israeli occupation forces returned to the village and opened fire on villagers, shooting another young Palestinian teenager in the head.

Interview with Soltanieh: NAM moves in support of nuclear Iran
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 1 Aug 2008
Summary: Ali Asghar SoltaniehA new parameter in the NAM statement is that the ministers have welcomed Iran’s willingness to enter negotiation with all countries of the Non-Aligned Movement and also the countries in the region. This sends a strong and positive signal to those who are saying that Iran is isolated. Iran is not isolated. Almost all world countries have sent their ministers and representatives to this country to say that they support Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities. source: Press TVread more

Deadline ultimatum eases for Iran in nuclear showdown
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 1 Aug 2008
Summary: Gary SickWASHINGTON (AFP) ? The United States and its European allies have pulled back from setting Saturday as a firm deadline for Iran to reply to the latest international offer of incentives for a freeze in its nuclear drive. source: AFPread more

Introducing DisneyIraq: The Unhappiest Place on Earth
AlterNet: War on Iraq - 1 Aug 2008
An American financier is pitching a vast theme park in Baghdad, not out of kindness, but as he says, “for profit.”

Afghanistan: The Other Illegal War
AlterNet: War on Iraq - 1 Aug 2008
The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan was every bit as illegal as the invasion of Iraq. Why, then, do so many Americans see it as justifiable?