its a mad mad mad mad world

[Guest guest]

Death Toll in Lebanon Approaches 400; 900,000 Displaced

Nearly 400 people have now died in Lebanon since Israel began attacking the

country 13 days ago. Over 1,000 have been wounded and as many as 900,000 have

been displaced from their homes.

 

Rice Arrives in Beirut; Says War is “Birth Pangs of a New Middle Eastâ€

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice arrived in Beirut today and is scheduled to

go to Israel. The Bush administration is still refusing to back an immediate

ceasefire. On Friday Rice described the plight of Lebanon as part of the

“birth pangs of a new Middle East.â€

 

U.S. Rushes to Send More Bombs to Israel

The United States is helping to restock Israel’s military arsenal. The New

York Times reports the Bush administration has agreed to send a rush delivery of

satellite and laser-guided bombs to Israel. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz says

Israeli officials believe they have approval from the United States to keep

attacking Lebanon for at least another week. However Britain has broken ranks

with Washington.

 

UK Foreign Minister Criticizes Israel’s Military Tactics

Britain’s Foreign Office Minister, Kim Howells publicly criticized Israel's

military tactics and urged the United States to 'understand' the price being

paid by ordinary Lebanese civilians. Meanwhile Syria and Saudi Arabia have

offered to help secure peace plans.

 

UN Official Accuses Israel of Violating Humanitarian Law

On Sunday the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland toured

Beirut and condemned Israel’s actions as violations of humanitarian law.

 

Jan Egeland, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator: " What I see is a

disproportionate response in my view, virtually whole blocks being levelled to

the ground in southern Beirut. Mostly residential houses as I could see it. We

were trampling on a school box when we went through rubble. But of course

Hizbollah blending into the population and continuing to fire missiles to Israel

- they have to stop it. These are violations of humanitarian law and the

civilians should be shielded, civilians are protected people, they are not the

targets. "

 

Journalists, Ambulances, Refugees Come Under Attack

Reports out of Lebanon indicate Israel is widening its assault. Israeli ground

troops have seized the Lebanese hilltoptown of Marun al-Ras. Heavy fighting was

reported this morning between Israeli troops and Hizbollah fighters. Over the

weekend Israeli warplanes knocked down telecommunication towers handling much of

Lebanon’s cell phone, television and radio communications. A technician

working for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation was killed. In a separate

attack a 23-year-old photojournalist named Layal Najib was killed by an Israeli

missile. She worked for the Lebanese magazine al-Jaras and Agence France Press.

Refugees fleeing southern Lebanon have repeatedly come under attack. On Sunday

an Israeli helicopter fired at a minivan carrying 16 civilians. Three people

died. All of the passengers were fleeing the village of Tairi, which Israeli

forces had ordered residents to evacuate. Reuters is reporting six Lebanese Red

Cross paramedics were wounded late on Sunday when Israeli warplanes hit their

vehicles. On Sunday Israel also bombed the southern port city of Sidon for the

first time. Thousands of refugees had been seeking shelter there. Early this

morning the Israeli military shelled a Palestinian refugee camp in southern

Lebanon. One local hospital in the southern city of Tyre received 41 wounded

patients on Sunday. All of the casualties are believed to be civilians who were

attacked while trying to seek safety. The hospital's director said: This is the

worst day we've seen. The death toll in Tyre has been so high that carpenters

are reportedly running out of wood for coffins. Bodies are stacked three or four

high in a truck at the hospital morgue. Peter Bouckart of Human Rights Watch

said " They have been hitting civilian cars all over the place. I have been in

many war zones, but this is one of the most dangerous places I have seen.â€

 

UN Unable to Deliver Humanitarian Aid

In Sidon, a top city official, Abdul Rahman Al-Bisri, said the area urgently

needs assistance.

 

Abdul Rahman Al-Bisri: “But we are not receiving any help at all from the

international community, international community. NGOs, international NGOs have

just appeared now in town, they are still assessing the situation but I am

afraid that the response will be too little too late. "

The United Nations refugee agency announced on Sunday that tons of humanitarian

aid material have been stuck in Syria because there is no safe route to reach

people driven from their homes. 80 percent of Lebanon’s highways and 95

percent of bridges have been damaged.

2,500 Protest War in Tel Aviv

International protests against the Israeli war on Lebanon continued over the

weekend – including in Israel. More than 2,500 rallied on Saturday in Tel

Aviv. Meanwhile the Israeli press has reported Israel has begun building news

detention centers to jail anyone captured in Lebanon. Israel is already

imprisoning about 11,000 Palestinians.

 

Israeli PM: Attacks Will “Last a Very Long Timeâ€

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that the current

Israeli offensive against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah would " last a

very long time.â€

 

Hezbollah Continues to Fire Rockets Into Israel

Over the weekend Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into northern Israel. Two

residents of Haifa were killed in a rocket attack on Sunday. So far Hezbollah

has killed 17 Israeli civilians. About 20 Israeli soldiers have also died

fighting in Lebanon. Dan Gillerman, Israeli’s ambassador to the United

Nations, said Hezbollah must be destroyed.

 

Dan Gillerman: " This cancer must be excised. It cannot be partially removed or

allowed to fester. It must be removed without any trace or as cancers do and

will it will return striking and killing again. "

Israel has suggested it may back a plan for international troops to patrol

southern Lebanon.

Report: Israel Drew Up Plans to Attack Lebanon Over a Year Ago

Meanwhile the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting Israel’s attack on Lebanon

is based on well-developed plans. More than a year ago, a senior Israeli army

officer began giving PowerPoint presentations, on an off-the-record basis, to

diplomats, journalists and think tanks, setting out the plan for the current

operation in revealing detail. In his talks, the officer described a three-week

campaign which involved ground troops being sent in during the third week.

 

Israeli Warplanes Bomb Buildings in Gaza

In Gaza, Israeli warplanes bombed a series of buildings overnight suspected of

being used by Palestinian militants. Over the past three weeks about 115

Palestinians have been killed. A majority of them have been civilians.

 

 

Nearly 60 Die in Car Bombs in Iraq

In Iraq, a series of car bombs killed about 60 people on Sunday. 36 civilians

died in a marketplace bombing in Sadr City. Another 20 civilians died in the

northern city of Kirkuk after a car bomb exploded outside a courthouse. Saturday

was also a bloody day in Baghdad. Two American soldiers were killed , seven

Shiite construction workers were gunned down and five Sunni civilians were blown

up. The bombings came as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was preparing to

travel to London and Washington to meet with Tony Blair and President Bush. In

London al-Maliki condemned Israel's destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure and

vowed to push for a ceasefire. British reporter Patrick Cockburn says Iraqis are

terrified in a way that he has never seen over the past three decades. The

United Nations estimates that 6,000 civilians were killed in Iraq in May but

Cockburn says the violence has been far worse during the past month.

 

Iraqi Speaker Accuses U.S. Forces of Committing Butchery

Meanwhile Iraq's parliament speaker Mahmud Mashhadani accused U.S. forces in

Iraq of butchery. At a UN-sponsored conference on reconciliation, Mashhadani

said " Just get your hands off Iraq and the Iraqi people and Muslim countries,

and everything will be all right.†He went on to say " What has been done in

Iraq is a kind of butchery of the Iraqi people. " Mashhadani also criticized US

support for the Israeli attacks against Lebanon.

 

U.S. Soldiers Ordered to “Kill All Military Age Malesâ€

Here in the United States, four U.S. Army soldiers accused of murdering three

Iraqis have said they did so under orders to “kill all military age males.â€

Lawyers for the soldiers say that two senior officers — a colonel and a

captain — have acknowledged that they gave that order. The soldiers are

accused of detaining three Iraqi men and then allowing them to be released

before shooting them. One of the soldiers claims a sergeant was upset that the

Iraqi men had been captured. The sergeant reportedly said “Why did you take

them prisoner? Why didn’t you kill them?†Legal experts say an order to kill

all military-age men would be clearly unlawful, and any officer giving it would

be liable for any action taken.

 

Saddam Hussein Hospitalized After Hunger Strike

In other news from Iraq, ousted president Saddam Hussein was hospitalized over

the weekend. He has been on a 17-day hunger strike to protest his trial. His

lawyers say the U.S. military is now force feeding him. Three of his seven

co-defendants have joined him in refusing food.

 

American Bar Association: Bush is Undermining the Constitution

The largest lawyers group in the country is warning that President Bush is

undermining the constitution by claiming he has the authority to ignore laws

passed by Congress. A new report by the American Bar Association criticizes the

president’s use of what’s known as signing statements. Since he took office

President Bush has issued over 750 signing statements – more than any

president ever. ABA President Michael Greco said " We will be close to a

constitutional crisis if this issue, the president's use of signing statements,

is left unchecked. " Bush has used signing statements to challenge laws including

a congressional ban on torture, a request for data on the USA Patriot Act,

whistle-blower protections and the banning of U.S. troops fighting in Colombia.

 

 

If George Bush said that the Earth was flat, the headline would read, " Views

Differ on Shape of the Earth "