The World News--contributions welcome, the story behind the story Options

[0jijaji0]

Date: Mar 27, 2007 3:32 PM

US launches show of force in Persian Gulf

Ireland On-Line – The US Navy today began its largest demonstration of force in the Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, deploying two aircraft carriers and conducting simulated aerial attacks.

Manoeuvres involving 15 US warships and more than a hundred planes were certain to increase tension with Iran, which has frequently condemned the US military presence off its coastline.

The exercises began only four days after Iran captured 15 British sailors and marines whom it accused of straying into Iranian waters near the Gulf. Britain and the US Navy have insisted the British sailors were operating in Iraqi waters.

Aboard the carrier USS John C. Stennis, F/A-18 fighter jets rocketed off the deck in one of a dozen rapid-fire training sorties against enemy shipping and aircraft.

“These manoeuvres demonstrate our flexibility and capability to respond to threats to maritime security,” said US Navy Lt. John Perkins as the Stennis cruised about 80 miles off the United Arab Emirates.

“They’re showing we can keep the maritime environment safe and the vital link to the global economy open.”

At US 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, US Navy Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl said the US manoeuvres were not organized in response to the capture of the British sailors – nor were they meant to threaten the Islamic Republic, whose navy operates in the same waters.

He declined to specify when the Navy planned the exercises, but added they would last several days.

Aandahl said the US warships would stay out of Iranian territorial waters, which extend 12 miles off the Iranian coast.

A French naval strike group, led by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, was operating simultaneously just outside the Gulf. But the French ships were supporting the Nato forces in Afghanistan and not taking part in the US manoeuvres, Aandahl said.

Overall, the exercises involve more than 10,000 US personnel on warships and aircraft making simulated attacks on enemy aircraft and shipping, hunting enemy submarines and finding mines.

“What it should be seen as by Iran or anyone else is that it’s for regional stability and security,” Aandahl said. “These ships are just another demonstration of that. If there’s a destabilising effect, it’s Iran’s behaviour.”

The US drills were the latest in a series of American and Iranian war games. Iran conducted naval manoeuvres in November and April, while in October the US Navy led a Gulf training exercise aimed at blocking nuclear smuggling.

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?...amp;p=zy456yy66

[0jijaji0]

Witch’s dismissal nothing to do with faith

Mar. 23, 2007
A witch was accused of using her beliefs as a scapegoat for her being sacked from her teaching job, an employment tribunal was told today.

Sommer De La Rosa, 34, a practising white witch of the Wiccan faith, is claiming unfair dismissal after being fired from her job as a teaching assistant at the Dorothy Stringer school in Brighton, East Sussex.

She claimed she was banned from discussing her faith and wearing a pentagram - a symbol of her faith.

But the school claims she was sacked for her poor attendance. She had 21.5 days off during her six-month probationary period.

Ms De La Rosa worked in the religious studies and music department of the school for eight months until May last year.

The Hove tribunal heard that Ms De La Rosa received advice on discussing her faith with pupils just once, and the subject was only ever raised again by her.

Ms De La Rosa accused her line manager Ros Stephens of being “openly discriminatory” because she “compared my religion to communism stating that it could lead to complaints of tainted teaching methods”.

She said: “This made me feel like a freak and that my beliefs were wrong.”

But Ms Stephens told the tribunal: “I was saying ‘if you have a strong belief then maybe it’s just best not to mention it at all because it’s leading you into unknown territory’.”

She accused Ms De La Rosa of using a meeting to discuss her poor attendance record to talk about her faith.

She said: “It was dominating the whole meeting which was meant to be about attendance.”

Explaining her communism analogy, she said: “My father was a communist in the 1920s and ’30s and fought against fascism and had very strong convictions about what was right. He was a school teacher. He would always go back to his political convictions.

“The way the meeting was progressing, wanting to talk about religion, reminded me of that. It was not meant to be offensive either to my father or to Sommer.”

Ms Stephens said that Ms De La Rosa was employed as a departmental assistant and her duties were primarily to provide sick cover for teachers.

The tribunal continues.

Witch’s dismissal nothing to do with faith

[0jijaji0]

Ominous Signs Suggest Iran War Close

Seizure of British marines could be "Gulf of Tonkin" long yearned for by warmongers

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Tuesday, March 27, 2007

As tensions surrounding Iran's seizure of 15 British navy personnel continue to build, ominous signs that war is nearing give an indication that this could be the new "Gulf of Tonkin" Bush and Blair have long yearned for to justify air strikes on Iran.

The U.S. has escalated war games in the area, "The manoeuvres involve the USS John C. Stennis and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, marking the first time the two strike groups have operated in a joint exercise under the US Navy's Fifth Fleet," reports the AFP.

Russian news outlets are reporting that such activity represents, "Heightened U.S. military preparations for both an air and ground operation against Iran," that closely resembles the situation immediately before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has given the Iranians just days to return the marines safely before harsher steps are taken.

It's difficult to know who to trust concerning exactly whose waters the marines were in, Iraq's or Iran's, when Ahmadinejad's slender grip on power survives only by feeding his own population war propaganda, while Bush and Blair have become the very iconography of deceit in the modern age.

A high ranking Iraqi official expressed his surprise that British forces were even operating in the area.

Brigadier-General Hakim Jassim, commander of Iraq's territorial waters, told the BBC: "Usually there is no presence of British forces in that area, so we were surprised and we wondered whether the British forces were inside Iraqi waters or inside Iranian regional waters."

Former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, slammed the spin and rhetoric Tony Blair has cased the crisis in, pointing out that the Royal Navy boarded the ships not to conduct inspections on weapons smuggling, but to look for tax evaders.

"In international law the Iranian government were not out of order in detaining foreign military personnel in waters to which they have a legitimate claim," said Murray, adding "For the Royal Navy, to be interdicting shipping within the twelve mile limit of territorial seas in a region they know full well is subject to maritime boundary dispute, is unnecessarily provocative."

What seems to be unfolding are similar circumstances that led to the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon last summer, where two Israeli soldiers were "kidnapped" after they had crossed the border into Lebanese territory.

It seems highly unlikely that the Iranians would risk further international condemnation by kidnapping British marines in Iraqi waters, but whatever the truth, the fact remains that the "coalition of the killing" are no strangers to violating international rules defining sovereignty and kidnapping foreign nationals for political gain.

Bush has green-lighted the CIA policy of globe-hopping to snatch terror suspects off the streets of foreign countries, the most high profile case being Islamic cleric Abu Omar in Milan in 2003.

On January 11, U.S. military forces raided an Iranian consulate in Arbil and detained five Iranian officials who are still prisoners to this day.

Bush and Blair's denouncements of Iran's actions are accompanied by more than a whiff of hypocrisy and if this situation continues to escalate it may become the "Gulf of Tonkin" they have long yearned for to justify ordering air strikes against Ahmadinejad's nuclear and military facilities.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/march...0307iranwar.htm

[Dhyana]

This is a topic for the news articles selected by Jijaji, that cover other parts of the world than India and whereabouts (for that there is a separate topic.)

[0jijaji0]

Thank you Dhyana....

[Dhyana]

Thank you Dhyana....

You are welcome

[0jijaji0]

Operation Bite - April 6 Sneak Attack by US Forces On Iran Planned

Russian Military Sources Warn

General Ivashov Calls For Emergency Session Of UN Security Council To Ward Off Looming US Aggression

By Webster G. Tarpley
3-25-7 WASHINGTON DC -- The long awaited US military attack on Iran is now on track for the first week of April, specifically for 4 AM on April 6, the Good Friday opening of Easter weekend, writes the well-known Russian journalist Andrei Uglanov in the Moscow weekly "Argumenty Nedeli." Uglanov cites Russian military experts close to the Russian General Staff for his account.

The attack is slated to last for twelve hours, according to Uglanov, lasting from 4 AM until 4 PM local time. Friday is a holiday in Iran. In the course of the attack, code named Operation Bite, about 20 targets are marked for bombing; the list includes uranium enrichment facilities, research centers, and laboratories.

The first reactor at the Bushehr nuclear plant, where Russian engineers are working, is supposed to be spared from destruction. The US attack plan reportedly calls for the Iranian air defense system to be degraded, for numerous Iranian warships to be sunk in the Persian Gulf, and the for the most important headquarters of the Iranian armed forces to be wiped out.

The attacks will be mounted from a number of bases, including the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia is currently home to B-52 bombers equipped with standoff missiles. Also participating in the air strikes will be US naval aviation from aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, as well as from those of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. Additional cruise missiles will be fired from submarines in the Indian Ocean and off the coast of the Arabian peninsula. The goal is allegedly to set back Iran's nuclear program by several years, writes Uglanov, whose article was re-issued by RIA-Novosti in various languages, but apparently not English, several days ago. The story is the top item on numerous Italian and German blogs, but so far appears to have been ignored by US websites.

Observers comment that this dispatch represents a high-level orchestrated leak from the Kremlin, in effect a war warning, which draws on the formidable resources of the Russian intelligence services, and which deserves to be taken with the utmost seriousness by pro-peace forces around the world.

Asked by RIA-Novosti to comment on the Uglanov report, retired Colonel General Leonid Ivashov confirmed its essential features in a March 21 interview: "I have no doubt that there will be an operation, or more precisely a violent action against Iran." Ivashov, who has reportedly served at various times as an informal advisor to Putin, is currently the Vice President of the Moscow Academy for Geopolitical Sciences.

Ivashov attributed decisive importance to the decision of the Democratic leadership of the US House of Representatives to remove language from the just-passed Iraq supplemental military appropriations bill which would have demanded that Bush come to Congress before launching an attack on Iran. Ivashov pointed out that the language was eliminated under pressure from AIPAC, the lobbing group representing the Israeli extreme right, and of Israeli Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni.

"We have drawn the unmistakable conclusion that this operation will take place," said Ivashov. In his opinion, the US planning does not include a land operation: " Most probably there will be no ground attack, but rather massive air attacks with the goal of annihilating Iran's capacity for military resistance, the centers of administration, the key economic assets, and quite possibly the Iranian political leadership, or at least part of it," he continued.

Ivashov noted that it was not to be excluded that the Pentagon would use smaller tactical nuclear weapons against targets of the Iranian nuclear industry. These attacks could paralyze everyday life, create panic in the population, and generally produce an atmosphere of chaos and uncertainty all over Iran, Ivashov told RIA-Novosti. "This will unleash a struggle for power inside Iran, and then there will be a peace delegation sent in to install a pro-American government in Teheran," Ivashov continued. One of the US goals was, in his estimation, to burnish the image of the current Republican administration, who would now be able to boast that they had wiped out the Iranian nuclear program.

Among the other outcomes, General Ivashov pointed to a partition of Iran along the same lines as Iraq, and a subsequent carving up of the Near and Middle East into smaller regions. "This concept worked well for them in the Balkans and will now be applied to the greater Middle East," he commented.

"Moscow must expert Russia's influence by demanding an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to deal with the current preparations for an illegal use of force against Iran and the destruction of the basis of the United Nations Charter," said General Ivashov. "In this context Russia could cooperate with China, France and the non-permanent members of the Security Council. We need this kind of preventive action to ward off the use of force," he concluded.

http://www.rense.com/general75/bite.htm

[babu]

Miraculous peace sign appears on capitol hill, scientists baffled

miraculous peace sign

"PICTURES OF THE MIRACLE!!!

News of the MIRACLE ON CAPITOL HILL is spreading like wildfire around the world. Many people feel that this is a sign from Heaven, perhaps indicating the critical nature of the present age and the need for peace. There is still no physical explanation for the peace sign that appeared overnight on the west lawn of the US Capitol, the same spot where James Twyman and others conducted a ceremony of peace commemorating the Season for Non-Violence. "The Children's Cloth of Many Colors," a mile long quilt made by children from around the world to express their longing for peace, had rested on the spot the previous day, and the next morning the miraculous sign appeared."

[0jijaji0]

With five private jets, Travolta still lectures on global warming

His serious aviation habit means he is hardly the best person to lecture others on the environment. But John Travolta went ahead and did it anyway.

The 53-year-old actor, a passionate pilot, encouraged his fans to "do their bit" to tackle global warming.


Happy landings: John Travolta's plane collection parked at his home in Florida

But although he readily admitted: "I fly jets", he failed to mention he actually owns five, along with his own private runway.

Clocking up at least 30,000 flying miles in the past 12 months means he has produced an estimated 800 tons of carbon emissions – nearly 100 times the average Briton's tally.

Travolta made his comments this week at the British premiere of his movie, Wild Hogs.

He spoke of the importance of helping the environment by using "alternative methods of fuel" – after driving down the red carpet on a Harley Davidson.

Travolta, a Scientologist, claimed the solution to global warming could be found in outer space and blamed his hefty flying mileage on the nature of the movie business.

entire story ---> here

[0jijaji0]

Friday, March 30, 2007

Justice: Colorado Style

The Government continues to prosecute those who obey their laws:

Would Branson give consent to these officers to conduct a warrantless search of his home in Thornton?

Well, of course he would consent - especially after, as Branson tells it, the dozen or so armed cops explained, in detail, the needless tragedies that would befall his home if they were forced to go through the trouble of returning with a warrant.

In they went.

The police, naturally, knew exactly what they were looking for and quickly seized about a dozen marijuana plants Branson was growing in the backyard.

Charged with felony cultivation and possession with intent to distribute, the 38-year-old Branson, who is in a 20-year fight with HIV, is now facing a maximum six years in prison.

Branson, who had no previous criminal record, claims that a physician named Dr. Cynthia Firnhaber verbally recommended medical marijuana to him in 2002 to help ease his pain.

"That or pick out a hospice which you'd like to die in," Branson alleges the doctor told him.

Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2000, but you need the written recommendation of a doctor, and Branson only had oral recommendation because the doctor worked for the University of Colorado, and they could lose federal funding if they gave out medical marijuana prescriptions.

Branson says he'll commit suicide if convicted or forced to stop taking marijuana.

Sadly, this case is far from unique. The government really seems to enjoy finding people who are suffering and using semi-illegal drugs to ease their suffering, then prosecute them and take the drugs away, and watch them suffer in pain in prison. And for what? We kill our own innocent civilians, nearly 1 out of every 150 people is in prison, and the drugs have not stopped flowing. The drug war is ridiculous, and it's tearing apart our country.

[0jijaji0]

"My Sweet Lord," a chocolate statue by artist Cosimo Cavallaro of a naked Jesus hangs at Ranieri¿s Sculpture Casting studio Thursday, March 29, 2007 in New York.

Artist's Chocolate Jesus Raises Ire

By LARRY McSHANE
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 29, 2007; 5:36 PM

NEW YORK -- The Easter season unveiling of an anatomically correct chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ, dubbed "My Sweet Lord" by its creator, has infuriated Catholics preparing to observe some of their holiest days of the year.

The 6-foot sculpture by Cosimo Cavallaro was to debut Monday evening, four days before Christians mark the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. The final day of the exhibit at the Lab Gallery inside Manhattan's Roger Smith Hotel was planned for Easter Sunday.

"This is one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever," said Bill Donohue, head of the Catholic League, a watchdog group. "It's not just the ugliness of the portrayal, but the timing _ to choose Holy Week is astounding."

The gallery's creative director, Matt Semler, said the Lab and the hotel were overrun with angry telephone calls and e-mails. The gallery was considering its options, he said.

"We're obviously surprised by the overwhelming response and offense people have taken," said Semler, adding that the Holy Week timing was a coincidence.

The artwork was created from more than 200 pounds of milk chocolate, and it features Christ with his arms outstretched. The Cavallaro creation does not include a loincloth.

A publicist for the gallery said the artist was not available for comment.

Cavallaro, who was raised in Canada and Italy, is best known for his quirky work with food as art: Past efforts include repainting a Manhattan hotel room in melted mozzarella, spraying 5 tons of pepper jack cheese on a Wyoming home and festooning a four-poster bed with 312 pounds of processed ham.

link to entire story

[0jijaji0]

Crisis escalates over Iran's seizure of British sailors

LONDON (AFP) 18 minutes ago
The crisis over Iran's seizure of 15 British naval personnel escalated Saturday after Iran aired television footage of another British sailor "confessing" to trespassing in its waters.

The government of British Prime Minister Tony Blair received strong support from both the United States and the European Union as the crisis entered its second week and showed no sign of ending.

At the White House, spokeswoman Dana Perino said Friday that Washington had "very serious concerns" over Iran's broadcasting footage of the personnel and their alleged confessions.

Perino reiterated the US call for Iran to "immediately and unconditionally" release the 15, but said there was no indication the standoff would be resolved militarily, adding everyone "believes that it can be solved diplomatically."

Washington has been conducting naval exercises in the Gulf involving aircraft carriers and is spearheading a drive to stop Iran from pursuing its nuclear programme.

Iran insists the programme is peaceful despite US fears it hides efforts to build nuclear weapons.

Tehran has so far refused to bow to mounting world pressure to release the naval personnel who are now being held in a secret location.

Britain insists they were on a routine anti-smuggling patrol in Iraqi waters under a UN mandate but Iran says they were in its territorial waters.

The United States also rejected any suggestion that the 15 personnel detained by Iran for the past week could be swapped for five Iranian officials held by US forces in Iraq since January.

The standoff has become "a dangerous test of wills in the Gulf," according to an editorial in the Financial Times.

"Escalation, by either side, with the narrow waters of the Gulf already boiling with warships, carries huge risks," it warned. "Iran still needs to be confronted with a reasonable menu of rewards and penalties for its behaviour by a united international community."

EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Germany deplored the seizure of the Britons as a breach of international law and threatened to take measures if they were not released soon.

Although Iran warned European nations not to inferfere, the EU foreign ministers expressed their "unconditional support" for London.

The EU move came after Britain, which on Thursday secured a less strident UN Security Council condemnation of the Iranian action, vowed it would work to further isolate Tehran over the crisis.

Blair voiced his "disgust" at the latest broadcast of the captive Britons and Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said she saw no sign that Iran was seeking to solve the crisis.

"We've got to pursue this with the necessary firmness and determination but also patience," Blair said.

"I would like to apologise for entering your waters without any permission," a Royal Navy serviceman, identified as Nathan Thomas Summers, said in an interview broadcast on Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam television.

The interview was interspersed with images of the sailor sitting with two of his comrades, including the only woman among the captives, Faye Turney, smiling, and with bowls of fruit and flowers in front of them.

Echoing fears in Britain that the personnel are being coerced into "confessing," Roy Summers told The Sun newspaper that his son was reading from an Iranian script, though he expressed relief to see him "alive and well."

Britain's Foreign Office denounced the parading of its personnel on Iranian television as "outrageous."

Firing off new volleys in the propaganda war, Iran also released a third letter attributed to Turney, saying she had been "sacrificed" to the policies of Britain and the United States.

Turney's latest letter, released by Iranian authorities in London, calls for British troops to withdraw from Iraq.

In the first footage of the group aired on Wednesday, Turney was also shown saying they had trespassed into Iranian waters, but again the circumstances of the communication were not disclosed.

Britain has already frozen most ties with Iran, a move Tehran blamed for its decision not to free Turney as promised earlier this week.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Britain must apologise.

However, Britain said it was giving "serious consideration" to a diplomatic note from Iran which protests at the sailors' "illegal act" but does not call for an apology.

Both Britain and Iran have produced maps and global positioning system (GPS) coordinates to back their cases over where the sailors were when they were seized at gunpoint on March 23.

The crisis has sent oil prices surging towards seven month highs, topping 69 dollars in London trade on Friday.

link

[0jijaji0]

Resist the war drive against Iran

By George Galloway

03/30/07 "ICH" -- -- The capture by Iranian forces of 15 British sailors in the Gulf brought shrill, bellicose headlines last weekend and calls for retribution.

The anti-war movement has done a superb job in winning a clear majority against the war and occupation in Iraq.

But no one should believe that because the case against the “war on terror” is so overwhelming then no British government can garner support for another military misadventure.

The capture of the British sailors has all the hallmarks of the kind of incident that has been used in the past as a reason either for war or for escalating confrontation.

In 1949 the British gunboat HMS Amethyst was fired on in the Yangtze river in China. There was much outrage in Britain at Mao’s People’s Liberation Army, which was on the verge of taking power, for shooting at the ship. There was little questioning of what a British ship was doing on a Chinese river.

Whether or not the British sailors were in Iranian waters is disputed. But what is not in dispute is that Britain has joined the US in pouring warships into the Gulf while pressuring and threatening Iran.

Reliable US sources have reported that special forces are already operating in Iran.The Stop the War Coalition has rightly argued that the occupation of Iraq threatens to generate a wider regional war.

The commander of the ship HMS Cornwall unwittingly captured the mentality of imperial occupation when he said the sailors had been captured in “our waters”. He meant the waters belonging under international law and treaty to the Republic of Iraq.

In addition to the immediate argument that this incident is not worth yet more bloodshed and war, it is vital to challenge this imperialist delusion.

Part of that is simply asking the obvious question: imagine if Iran occupied France, had scores of warships in the Channel, was reported to have commandos operating in the home counties, and was pushing for sanctions against Britain – how would public opinion, the media and the British government react?

What makes anyone think Iran is any different?

Secondly, as propagandists try to gloss the “war on terror” in fake humanitarianism, more and more people need to shout out the single greatest lesson of the anti-war movement.

It is not the business of Western governments and the corporations that back them, steeped in the blood and sweat of hundreds of millions of people across the globe, to bring “order” to the “savages”.

It is the business of those of us who live in those imperialist states to do all in our power to stop their militarism and to act in solidarity with those around the globe fighting for a better world.

Everywhere you go this week, make sure people are asking: what on earth are British gunboats doing in Iraqi or Iranian waters in a place called the Arabian or Persian Gulf thousands of miles from home?

It is up to all of us to oppose the war drive against Iran. Can you start a discussion at work or college, arrange a Stop the War meeting, get a letter into your local paper, petition on the streets?

And as the People’s Assembly in London agreed last week, if there is an attack on Iran, we will need civil disobedience in every community, walkouts in every school, protests and strikes in every workplace.

If George Bush bombs Iran, we should bring this country to a standstill.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17447.htm

[0jijaji0]

Is Marijuana Kosher for Passover?

Jacob Sullum | March 30, 2007

As I see it, the short answer to this question, posed in Tuesday's Jerusalem Post, is yes. Here is the long answer:

On Passover, which begins Monday night, Jews commemorate the Exodus from Egypt, during which the Israelites were in too much of a rush to let their dough rise and therefore had to pack unleavened bread, by refraining from "leaven" (chometz). In addition to obvious things like bread and cake, this category includes foods that might have ingredients derived from chometz or that might otherwise be contaminated by chometz. The rabbis, in what is known as "building a fence around the Torah" (also known as "making Judaism more of a pain in the ass than it has to be"), extended the prohibition further, decreeing that kitniyot—legumes, seeds, and even certain vegetables that are said to resemble chometz in some way (because they rise when mixed with water, say, or because they can be ground into something like flour)—also should be avoided. The kitniyot ban has never been followed by Sephardic Jews, and it is increasingly questioned by Ashkenazim as well, especially in Israel. But evidently there are enough Israeli pot smokers who observe the kitniyot ban for the headline question to have arisen.

Leaving aside the legitimacy of the kitniyot rule and the arbitrariness of its application, I don't see why it would prohibit possession or consumption of marijuana on Passover. If an edible seed is prohibited because it could be ground into something resembling flour, that doesn't mean the plant that grows from the seed is prohibited. For example, if coriander and mustard seed count as kitniyot (which they supposedly do), that doesn't mean you can't have cilantro or mustard greens on Passover. It should follow, then, that deseeded marijuana is OK even if hemp seeds (and foods made with them) are prohibited.

Still, I like the twist that Israel's marijuana legalization party put on the controversy:

Israel's Green Leaf Party ("Aleh Yarok") said it was not taking any chances. Following an inquiry by the Post, a spokeswoman for the party said the group was sending out an e-mail to members warning them about hemp's possible kashrut problems.

"We are warning our people not to eat anything with hemp products if they follow the practice of kitniyot on Pessah," said party spokeswoman Michelle Levine. "We are considering announcing a ban on everything containing hemp just to be on the safe side. We are going with the rabbis on this. People should remove all cannabis and hemp from their homes."

Levine said one of the party's main arguments for cannabis legalization was biblical references to it.

"We would like to ask people... if it's listed as not kosher 'for Pessah,' [doesn't] that mean it must be kosher the rest of the year?" said Levine.

http://www.reason.com/blog/printer/119408.html

[rhapsodieff]

Resist the war drive against Iran

By George Galloway

03/30/07 "ICH" -- -- The capture by Iranian forces of 15 British sailors in the Gulf brought shrill, bellicose headlines last weekend and calls for retribution.

The anti-war movement has done a superb job in winning a clear majority against the war and occupation in Iraq.

But no one should believe that because the case against the “war on terror” is so overwhelming then no British government can garner support for another military misadventure.

The capture of the British sailors has all the hallmarks of the kind of incident that has been used in the past as a reason either for war or for escalating confrontation.

In 1949 the British gunboat HMS Amethyst was fired on in the Yangtze river in China. There was much outrage in Britain at Mao’s People’s Liberation Army, which was on the verge of taking power, for shooting at the ship. There was little questioning of what a British ship was doing on a Chinese river.

Whether or not the British sailors were in Iranian waters is disputed. But what is not in dispute is that Britain has joined the US in pouring warships into the Gulf while pressuring and threatening Iran.

Reliable US sources have reported that special forces are already operating in Iran.The Stop the War Coalition has rightly argued that the occupation of Iraq threatens to generate a wider regional war.

The commander of the ship HMS Cornwall unwittingly captured the mentality of imperial occupation when he said the sailors had been captured in “our waters”. He meant the waters belonging under international law and treaty to the Republic of Iraq.

In addition to the immediate argument that this incident is not worth yet more bloodshed and war, it is vital to challenge this imperialist delusion.

Part of that is simply asking the obvious question: imagine if Iran occupied France, had scores of warships in the Channel, was reported to have commandos operating in the home counties, and was pushing for sanctions against Britain – how would public opinion, the media and the British government react?

What makes anyone think Iran is any different?

Secondly, as propagandists try to gloss the “war on terror” in fake humanitarianism, more and more people need to shout out the single greatest lesson of the anti-war movement.

It is not the business of Western governments and the corporations that back them, steeped in the blood and sweat of hundreds of millions of people across the globe, to bring “order” to the “savages”.

It is the business of those of us who live in those imperialist states to do all in our power to stop their militarism and to act in solidarity with those around the globe fighting for a better world.

Everywhere you go this week, make sure people are asking: what on earth are British gunboats doing in Iraqi or Iranian waters in a place called the Arabian or Persian Gulf thousands of miles from home?

It is up to all of us to oppose the war drive against Iran. Can you start a discussion at work or college, arrange a Stop the War meeting, get a letter into your local paper, petition on the streets?

And as the People’s Assembly in London agreed last week, if there is an attack on Iran, we will need civil disobedience in every community, walkouts in every school, protests and strikes in every workplace.

If George Bush bombs Iran, we should bring this country to a standstill.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17447.htm

George Galloway (UK member of parliament for the "respect" party") is hardly the most impartial of observers and is prone to hyperbole and exaggeration. The man is in my opinion an idiot and has a record of sucking up to repressive regimes, including that of Saddam Hussein. You may recall at one stage, there were accusations of him taking money from Saddam Hussein, although these were disproved in court. He is prone to distorting history to serve his marxist philosophy.

In the case of Amythest, which he quotes, the ship was there to rescue British personnel. At that time the nationalist government of china was one of Britain's allies.

On another note implying that the iranians are savages is hardly likely to win him many friends in Tehran. It behoves everyone to remember that Iran is the successor state to the Persian Empires and has a long and proud history as a power in the region and was civilised when the ancestors of George bush were running around in animal skins.

[babu]

week in review

[0jijaji0]

Tsunami alert for Australian coast

April 2, 2007 - 8:09AM

A tsunami warning has been issued for Queensland's Barrier Reef Islands and Willis Island in the Coral Sea after a strong earthquake off the Solomon Islands.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near the Solomon Islands at 6.40am (AEST) today and was centred about 350km west-north-west of the capital Honiara at a depth of 10km.

The quake's strength was later calculated at up to 8.1 on the Richter scale, based on updated calculations.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology's National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre in Melbourne said a possible tsunami could affect Willis Island at 8.30am and Cooktown in far north Queensland about 9.30am.

People were warned to move out of the water and away from low lying foreshore areas and then listen for further advice from state emergency service authorities.

But the bureau said the warning was based on the earthquake and it was not known if a tsunami was generated.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology later extended the tsunami warning to Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island and the whole eastern coast as far south as Tasmania.

Barry Hirshorn from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said he had been hearing rumours of 20 houses washed away close to the epicentre of the quake, but further away the tsunami was down to less than half a metre.

He said a warning had gone out for the north-east coast of Australia.

"All we can say is that both ourselves and Geoscience Australia and the met (meteorological) services are all anxiously checking water level readings," he told the Seven Network.

"That (water levels readings) will give us our next step."

However Geoscience Australia says the tsunami will not pose any problems for residents on the far north Queensland coast.

A Geoscience spokeswoman said the resulting tsunami would be between 10 and 20cm, posing little threat to residents in isolated areas.

"It's not a really big (threat) for the coast of Australia," she said.

Geoscience duty seismologist David Jepsen said the quake had occurred in an area of frequent seismic activity.

There had already been one aftershock, the strength of which had not yet been determined, Dr Jepsen said.

"It's on the plate boundary between the Pacific and Asian plates, so these quakes are common," he said.

Geoscience had alerted the Bureau of Meteorology at 6.55am and the bureau would be checking tide gauges to ascertain the tsunami's effect, Dr Jepsen said.

[0jijaji0]

Earthquake Details

Magnitude 8.0
# Date-Time Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 20:39:56 (UTC)
= Coordinated Universal Time
# Monday, April 2, 2007 at 7:39:56 AM
= local time at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 8.453°S, 156.957°E
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region SOLOMON ISLANDS
Distances 40 km (25 miles) SSE of Gizo, New Georgia Islands, Solomon Isl.
200 km (125 miles) S of Chirovanga, Choiseul, Solomon Islands
345 km (215 miles) WNW of HONIARA, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
2145 km (1330 miles) NNE of BRISBANE, Queensland, Australia

[0jijaji0]

Keith Richards: 'I Snorted My Father'

Apr 3 2007 - LONDON (AP) - Keith Richards has acknowledged consuming a raft of illegal substances in his time, but this may top them all.

In comments published Tuesday, the 63-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist said he had snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine.

"The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father," Richards was quoted as saying by British music magazine NME.

"He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared," he said. "... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."

Richards' father, Bert, died in 2002, at 84.

Richards, one of rock's legendary wild men, told the magazine that his survival was the result of luck, and advised young musicians against trying to emulate him.

"I did it because that was the way I did it. Now people think it's a way of life," he was quoted as saying.

"I've no pretensions about immortality," he added. "I'm the same as everyone ... just kind of lucky.

"I was No. 1 on the `who's likely to die' list for 10 years. I mean, I was really disappointed when I fell off the list," Richards said.

___

On the Net:

Rolling Stones:

http://www.rollingstones.com/home.php

[Dhyana]

Wow. jijaji. Your news service is not only reliable, it's fast! You definitely bet Angrezi to it.

Actually, it seems like our other members desirous of posting news would be well advised to look up your news outlet first, to avoid exposing themselves as slow on the uptake...!