Google Earth showed protesters way to conquer parliament “Demonstrators revealed yesterday that they had used Google Earth to plot their protest on the roof of the Houses of Parliament last week against the expansion of Heathrow, writes. The website, which allows users to zoom in on satellite photographs of Earth, “showed us all the walkways, steps and other details we needed to make our way across the roof from the door to the far side where the public could see us”, said Leo Murray, one of the five protesters.” Times Online (3/2/08) Expect governments to soon be ordering sections of Google Earth to be blacked out in the name of ‘national security’. Dick Cheney has already gotten his homestead taken off of the satellite grid. Dick Cheney, Privacy Advocate The Atlantic (10/11/07)

Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Case in Federal Court – Now What? “After years of insisting there is no evidence to link vaccines with the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has quietly conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims. The unprecedented concession was filed on November 9, and sealed to protect the plaintiff’s identify. It was obtained through individuals unrelated to the case. The claim, one of 4,900 autism cases currently pending in Federal “Vaccine Court,” was conceded by US Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler and other Justice Department officials, on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, the “defendant” in all Vaccine Court cases. The child’s claim against the government – that mercury-containing vaccines were the cause of her autism – was supposed to be one of three “test cases” for the thimerosal-autism theory currently under consideration by a three-member panel of Special Masters, the presiding justices in Federal Claims Court. … Many people look forward to hearing more from HHS officials about why they are settling this claim. But whatever their explanation, they cannot change the fundamental facts of this extraordinary case: The United State government is compensating at least one child for vaccine injuries that resulted in a diagnosis of autism. And that is big news, no matter how you want to say it.” The Huffington Post (2/25/08) I’ll admit that after placing the ‘vaccines are making us sick’ story in the conspiracy theory file, that I was wrong.

BLF Strikes Again “The Billboard Liberation Front today announced a major new advertising improvement campaign executed on behalf of clients AT&T and the National Security Agency. Focusing on billboards in the San Francisco area, this improvement action is designed to promote and celebrate the innovative collaboration of these two global communications giants.” Political Art (2/28/08)

Know Your Right-Wing Speakers: Daniel Pipes “Have you ever suspected that your campus may be little more than the intellectual equivalent of an Al Qaeda training camp, dutifully churning out youthful armies of Osama Bin Laden-hugging, America-hating traitors? Well, fear not. Pundit and right-wing crusader Daniel Pipes is keeping an eye on your university and the treasonous activity percolating therein. Thanks to Pipes and his website, Campus Watch, you can rest assured in the knowledge that someone is working to bring your subversive, un-American professors/terrorists to justice, Joe McCarthy-style, and to replace their indoctrination sessions with a curriculum as fair and balanced as FOX News.” Campus Progress (2/27/08)

Ward Connerly Using Deceptive ‘Civil Rights’ Initiatives to Ban Affirmative Action “Recruited by campaign organizers, [Ward] Connerly had the perfect resume for the job: a political pedigree as a regent of the University of California, which automatically focused the debate on education; close ties to large Republican donors; and his race. Better that an African-American man waged battle against affirmative action, not the two white male professors credited with authoring Proposition 209 or the white men who would profit from it. The passage of Proposition 209 was a critical victory in the ongoing nationwide attack on affirmative action for women and minorities. Now, in what he is calling ‘Super Tuesday for Equal Rights,’ Connerly is leading simultaneous efforts in five states to qualify ballot measures for the November election, each claiming to prohibit ‘discrimination’ and ‘preferential treatment.’ These deceptively named ‘civil rights’ initiatives in Missouri, Colorado, Arizona, Nebraska and Oklahoma are actually designed to ban affirmative action for women and minorities in public employment, public education and public contracting. But if Connerly and the initiatives’ other proponents have their way, the term ‘affirmative action’ will not appear on the ballot or be talked about in the campaign — that’s because most voters support the concept. The debate will instead focus on whether ‘unqualified’ minorities are admitted to public colleges and universities over ‘more qualified’ (i.e., white) students.” Ms Magazine (3/5/08)

America Behind Bars: Why Attempts at Prison Reform Keep Failing “Gov. Schwarzenegger’s largely failed attempts at prison reform – e.g. reducing the overall prison population and releasing low-risk, nonviolent offenders early – is a reflection of a larger economic and political dynamic playing out across the country. On one hand, people are starting to realize that bloated prison systems are a resource suck on an already troubled economy. On the other hand, many people – even in that liberal bastion, California – cling to the misguided idea that locking up large numbers of lawbreakers will keep the public safer. That leaves politicians like Schwarzenegger trying to straddle a line between appearing ‘tough on crime’ and pushing for meaningful reform. So far, the former has won out. In many ways, California is a microcosm of the American prison crisis – one that has reached alarming proportions.” AlterNet (3/5/08)

Japan whalers in ‘butter attack’ “Japan’s whaling fleet in the waters off Antarctica has been attacked again by protesters, Tokyo officials have said. Activists from the Sea Shepherd group threw containers filled with a mild form of acid made from rotten butter at a Japanese ship. The group described it as ‘non-violent chemical warfare’, but Tokyo condemned the actions as illegal and said several people were slightly injured.” BBC News (3/3/08) Another incident further escalates the confrontation Whaling protester says Japanese shot him in high-seas clash Agence France Presse (3/7/08)

New book details Chinese spy effort ahead of Olympics “French writer Roger Faligot, author of some 40 intelligence-related books, has penned ‘The Chinese Secret Services from Mao to the Olympic Games’, due out February 29. His findings claim that special teams are being formed at the country’s embassies abroad ‘to identify sports journalists … and to define if they have an ‘antagonistic’ or ‘friendly’ attitude in regards to China.’ Potential foreign spies who may seek to enter China by posing as journalists or visitors will be subject to special surveillance. The same goes for human rights activists who could use the event to demonstrate in favour of causes such as Tibet, where China has violently crushed protests against its rule, it says. That’s not to mention the long list of other issues preoccupying Chinese authorities, including the possibility of an Al-Qaeda attack and protests from the Falun Gong spiritual movement. China has outlawed Falun Gong, which combines meditation with Buddhist-inspired teachings.” Agence France Presse (2/26/08)

Uribe’s Illegal Cross-Border Raid “By all accounts, the midnight attack on the camp of the FARC leaders, a mile inside Ecuadorian territory in the jungle region south of the Putumayo river, was a political decision taken by the Colombian president Alvaro Uribe to put an end to the peace process orchestrated by Chávez. Four Colombian politicians, held as hostages by the FARC for the past six years, were released last week and given a royal welcome in Caracas. Reyes had been among those who organised their freedom. Killed at the age of 59, twenty years older than Che Guevara at the time of his death, Reyes had long been more of a diplomat than a guerrilla commander, though he was often photographed in military fatigues and carrying a gun.” Counterpunch (3/3/08)

Plan Colombia: The Real Destabilizing Force in South America “While some press in the United States question whether Chavez is using this situation as an opportunity to distract Venezuelans from their social problems, this excessive focus on him is in fact distracting people in the US from having a much needed dialogue on their own government’s role in fomenting this so-called ‘Andean Crisis.’ As a result, the tough realities and repercussions from the US government’s support for a military solution in Colombia are being overlooked. Emboldened and armed with the multibillion dollar support of Plan Colombia, the Uribe government has decided to violate international law rather than attempting mediated discussions with the FARC. This is simply the latest controversy to discredit Colombia, already renowned for having the greatest number of human rights violations and politically motivated murders per year in the Western Hemisphere.” CommonDreams.org (3/5/08)

Sunni Insurgents Exploit U.S.-Sponsored Militias “For months, U.S. President George W. Bush and Gen. David Petraeus have been touting the programme of recruiting tens of thousands of Sunnis into U.S.-financed ‘Awakening Councils’ as a master stroke of Iraq strategy which has weakened al Qaeda in Iraq and helps reduce sectarian conflict through ‘bottom up reconciliation’. But the mainstream Sunni insurgents who have been fighting al Qaeda appear to have outmaneuvered U.S. strategists by using Awakening Councils to pursue their interests in weakening their most immediate enemy, reducing pressures from the U.S. military and establishing new political bases, while continuing to mount attacks on U.S. and Iraqi government forces. The biggest question surrounding the strategy from the beginning was whether it the Awakening Councils – called ‘Sahwa’ in Arabic – would be a haven for Sunni insurgents.” Inter Press Service (3/4/08)

State ‘sanctioned’ Kenyan clashes “The BBC has learnt of allegations of state-sanctioned violence in Kenya during the turmoil that followed last December’s disputed presidential poll. Sources allege that meetings were hosted at the official residence of the president between the banned Mungiki militia and senior government figures. The aim was to hire them as a defence force in the Rift Valley to protect the president’s Kikuyu community. The government denied the allegations, calling them ‘preposterous’.” BBC.news (3/5/08)

The Gaza Bombshell This week’s guest on This is Hell, David Ross writes “There is no one more hated among Hamas members than Muhammad Dahlan, long Fatah’s resident strongman in Gaza. Dahlan, who most recently served as Abbas’s national-security adviser, has spent more than a decade battling Hamas. Dahlan insists that abu Dan was tortured without his knowledge, but the video is proof that his followers’ methods can be brutal. Bush has met Dahlan on at least three occasions. After talks at the White House in July 2003, Bush publicly praised Dahlan as “a good, solid leader.” In private, say multiple Israeli and American officials, the U.S. president described him as ‘our guy.’ … According to Dahlan, it was Bush who had pushed legislative elections in the Palestinian territories in January 2006, despite warnings that Fatah was not ready. After Hamas—whose 1988 charter committed it to the goal of driving Israel into the sea—won control of the parliament, Bush made another, deadlier miscalculation. Vanity Fair has obtained confidential documents, since corroborated by sources in the U.S. and Palestine, which lay bare a covert initiative, approved by Bush and implemented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams, to provoke a Palestinian civil war. The plan was for forces led by Dahlan, and armed with new weapons supplied at America’s behest, to give Fatah the muscle it needed to remove the democratically elected Hamas-led government from power. (The State Department declined to comment.) But the secret plan backfired, resulting in a further setback for American foreign policy under Bush. Instead of driving its enemies out of power, the U.S.-backed Fatah fighters inadvertently provoked Hamas to seize total control of Gaza.” Vanity Fair (April 2008)

Extinction Trade “Not only are the Janjaweed poaching and slaughtering thousands of elephants and endangered rhinos, they are even attempting to raid warehouses containing ivory captured from other poachers, killing park rangers in the process.” Newsweek (3/10/08)

Playing with Children’s Lives: Big Tobacco in Malawi “Commercial production of tobacco in Malawi goes back as far as 1889, when settlers from the U.S. state of Virginia introduced the crop. In those days “foreign masters” forced the native people and their children to work in the farms for little or no pay. Over a century later, this exploitation continues — with no end in sight. Increasingly, critics are demanding that the tobacco companies take responsibility for ending the abuses. Given their key role in Malawi’s economy, they wield significant clout. Malawi derives up to 70 percent of its foreign exchange earnings from agricultural crops, and the tobacco industry makes up 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Malawi’s exports account for five percent of the world’s total tobacco exports and two percent of the world’s total production. But the wealth generated by this resource is not spread evenly across the country. The Malawi Tobacco Control Commission (TCC), a local government watchdog for the tobacco market, estimates that it takes $1 for farm workers to produce a kilogram of tobacco, which they usually sell at $.70 for a loss of $.30 per kilo. Hardworking farmers who cannot make a living turn to child labor. TCC’s 2008 campaign is demanding that farmers get a profit at least 15 percent above production costs.” CorpWatch (2/25/08)

Notes
Be sure to catch Chuck Mertz’s interview on This is Hell with David Ross, author of he Vanity Fair article on how Bush’s plan to provoke a Palestinian civil war backfired and increased Hamas’s strength and influence. This is big news in Europe and the Middle East, but has been ignored by U.S. media.

This last week Colombia invaded Ecuador. This has turned into a big publicity coup for Colombian President Uribe, and his backers; the US. Just a few weeks ago leading American agitator Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had been central in arranging for the FARC to unilaterally release a couple longtime hostages. Colombia’s Uribe, instead of welcoming this development, condemned Chavez and broke off any further talks that used him. The world was left with the impression that the FARC might be someone that can be dealt with, Chavez’s image as a leader in South America was enhanced. Then Colombia makes a strike into Ecuador and everything changes, they kill the FARC’s second-in-command Raul Reyes, who just happens to have been France and Chavez’s primary contact for arranging the release of prisoners. That should put an end to any more prisoner releases and dash the hopes of the relatives of those being held, some for years, but, in this PR war, they’re just inconsequential collateral damage. In what is either a great stroke of luck, or quite suspect, the same raid that killed Reyes, turns up two laptops that show that the FARC were attempting to procure uranium to make a dirty bomb. And on those same computers detailed financial support of FARC from Chavez for $300 million, going back to 1992. Quite the treasure trove of damning evidence, transmuting the FARC from a group willing to negotiate and an effective Chavez, into nuclear terrorists and a sinister politician secretly bankrolling them. All-in-all a very serendipitous day for Colombian President Chavez and his friends.

This week’s This is Hell with host Chuck Mertz, was broadcast live on Saturday, March 8th, with a four show at 9 AM (CMT) on WNUR 89.3 FM. The show, is now available in the This is Hell archives. This week’s guests are:

• Ken Silverstein, Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine. He wrote the March issue article “Beltway Bacchanal: Congress Lives High on the Contributor’s Dime”
• Theresa Hitchens, director of the Center for Defense Information where she heads their Space Security Project. She is the author of “Future Security In Space: Charting a Cooperative Course.” And in the March Scientific American, she wrote Space Wars – Coming to the Sky Near You?
• James Suggett, writes at Venezuelanalysis.com. This week he wrote on the tensions between Colombia and their neighbors Ecuador and Venezuela. His writing includes “Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina strengthen ties, embark on ‘true geopolitical shift’” and “OAS supports Ecuador, Venezuela on ‘path of true peace’.”
• David Rose, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a special investigations reporter at The Observer. He wrote Gaza Bombshell which appears in the April issue of Vanity Fair. “With confidential documents, corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, David reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever.”

This week’s irregular correspondents included:

• Kevan Harris, ‘The Radical Pessimist,’ returns
• Jeff Dorchen delivers a Moment of Truth
• Elvis DeMorrow comes creeping out of the Konspiracy Korner

Check out these excellent roundups; for the recent news from all points east, check out Isaac Oommen’s East is East, Nathan Coe’s brand new Labor News Roundup and for the latest in rebel uprisings, read Alfonzo Torrez’s The Rebel Communiqu.

If you knew is posted as an article on Fridays. There is an archive of over 400 blogs that were posted over the last two years. Any comments, suggestions, critiques or leads to articles, are welcomed. If You Knew will soon be announcing some changes, in coordination with the This is Hell website. It does look like this is actually going to happen. Along with articles, Headlines from Hell now includes commentary from contributors to This is Hell, including yours truly.

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