THE HANDSTAND

DECEMBER 2007



STOPPRESS STOPPRESS STOPPRESS !!!
Indian Embassy, 6 Leeson Park, Dublin 6

PRESS RELEASE

Announcing a 24-hour Awareness Vigil

from Monday 17th December 10 am, until 10 am Tuesday 18th December.

outside the Indian Embassy, 6 Leeson Park, Dublin 6

to demand an end to the violent coercion of villagers in West Bengal.

We in Ireland are only too familiar with the way big multi-nationals (like Shell) can occupy tracts of countryside, with collusion of government, and attempt to trample the people’s rights in the name of economic progress.

 

The West Bengal government is mounting a terror campaign to quash peasant unrest in the remote rural area of Nandigram, 70 km south-west of Kolkata.

 

In early January 2007 the people of Nandigram rose up in revolt after learning of government plans to seize 10,000 acres of land for a Special Economic Zone to be operated as a ‘chemical hub’ by the Indonesian-based Salim Group.  The government had invoked the colonial Land Acquisition Act, thereby threatening the people’s right to survive with dignity, which is the most sacred of the rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

 

  • On January 6th – 7th, vigilante thugs invaded Nandigram (with the tacit support of the police) to terrorize the populace.  6 people died in the confrontation. 
  • On March 14th, 14 people were killed and 75 injured by police.
  • In a week of violence beginning November 6th, 8 persons were killed and scores injured in another attack by armed vigilantes.
  • The Irish Times reported that the Indian army was called out to quell protests that had spread to the streets of Kolkata.
  • At least 10,000 villagers have fled the Nandigram area.
  • According to a report by the All-India Fact Finding Team (consisting of academics, trade unionists, human rights advocates), “women have been raped and molested, many families have faced death & devastation, and all the communities in the area have suffered.  Women, screaming in pain and anguish, were emphatic in their demand that the W. Bengal Home Minister should be held responsible and punished for the cold-blooded murder of women and children.”      
  • Outside the 13th Kolkata Film Festival in November, protestors (including film directors, artists and writers) demanded the “immediate stoppage of mass killing” by state-government vigilantes in Nandigram:  police used baton charges and arrests to break up this peaceful protest.

 

We invite anyone who would like to know more about the Nandigram outrage to join us on our Vigil.

 

PRO Margaretta D’Arcy, Contact Number 0879 675 750. 

Stockhausen

Memorial concert

 

on December 22nd 2007

at the Suelztalhalle, Kuerten, 8:00 p.m. Uhr.

 

FREUDE / JOY for 2 harps

 

Intermission

 

ENGEL-PROZESSIONEN / ANGEL PROCESSIONS(8-track tape projection)

 

 

Admission free

 

An event organized by the

Stockhausen Foundation for Musicand the Community of Kuerten

 



terrible loss: Stockhausen died on Wednesday
The German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen known for his ground-breaking work in electronic music and aleatory (controlled chance) in serial composition is no longer. He was 79 and died in the German city of Kürten, in Nordrhein-Westfalen so the Stockhausen Foundation led by his ex-wife Mary Bauermeister announced on Friday. No cause of death was diclosed.

Having composed 362 individually performable works, Stockhausen was one of the most important artist in the avant-garde movement after World War II. After a short career in non electronic music in March 1953 he moved to the NWDR studio in Cologne to work on electronic music. The first result of that were two "Electronic Studies", respectively recorded in 1953 and 1954.

Stockhausen also caused lots of commotion with un unorthodox way of woring and thinking. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, Stockhausen declared that the attacks were "Lucifer's greatest work of art". However, most of the press only printed the words "works of art".

Stockhausen was a source of inspiration for many electronic musicians like Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre and so on. A commemorative concert will take place soon at the Sülztalhalle in Kürten. Programme, time and date will be announced. A memorial booklet can be downloaded here.

Stockhausen's last controversial work was the Helicopter String Quartet, where four members of a string quartet performed in four helicopters flying independent flight-paths over the countryside near the concert hall. The sounds they played were mixed together with the sounds of the helicopters and played through speakers to the audience in the hall.
www.side-line.com


The Congressional Quarterly confirms a possible rebellion of both Democrats and Republicans against passage of the National Defense Appropriations Act, H.R. 1585, with hate bill attached. This threat is causing Democratic leaders to seriously consider stripping the controversial hate bill from the arms bill.  CQ says: House Democratic leaders plan to decide in the next day or two whether to include the provision, aides said. It is considered vital by many in the Democratic constituency who have been lobbying House leaders to include it in the final defense bill. But the provision could jeopardize the whole bill. In the House, liberals upset over war spending could join forces against the bill with conservatives concerned about the hate crimes language. The Senate vote could be tight, too, because in late September only 60 senators - the bare minimum needed - voted to overcome a filibuster of the hate crimes amendment. If the decision is made by Tuesday on whether to include the provision, the conference report could come to the House floor as early as Thursday, aides said.   Click for CQPolitics article. ( http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=cqmidday-000002635125    - This means the arms/hate bill might be voted on as early as Thursday, Dec. 6th. I think Democratic loyalty to the hate bill is much stronger than to an arms bill that provides no conditions for withdrawal from Iraq. I could be wrong, but lovers of freedom should call House members immediately, assuring them there is wide public support for a "no" vote against National Defense Appropriations Act, H.R. 1585, with hate bill attached. If this arms/hate bill passes, it will go to an increasingly uncertain fate before a President who may succumb to overwhelming pressure. Signing it, he will also sign away our freedom of speech.   Be safe!  Call NOW 1-877-851-6437 or 1-202-224-3121 http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=cqmidday-000002635125

Analyst: New NIE shows US intelligence has 'rediscovered its spine'
"The leadership is protecting the analysts from the kinds of political pressure that distorted the intelligence assessments before the Iraq war and up until very recently."

Mike Aivaz and Jason Rhyne
Published: Tuesday December 4, 2007

Newly declassified portions of the latest National Intelligence Estimate, which indicate that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, prove that the US intelligence community is finally showing some spine, according to one nuclear analyst.

Appearing on the BBC World news program, Joseph Cirincione (above right), the director of nuclear policy at the Center for American Progress, said that the US military and intelligence agencies were reasserting themselves as President Bush enters the final year of his administration. Cirincione agreed with the BBC host that intelligence had "rediscovered its spine."

"And they of course are now dealing with a lame-duck president...and you're seeing first the military reassert the integrity of its institutions, and now the intelligence agencies," he continued. "So both are now saying 'go slow on Iran, there is no good military option here.' And now, there isn't really an imminent threat. We have time to let diplomacy work."

Cirincione also suggested a change in strategy from intelligence community leadership since the publication of the 2005 NIE, which found that Iran was determined to acquire a nuclear weapon.

"Well, I think what you've seen is a change in the leadership of the intelligence agencies since the 2005 assessment, and this may be a very good sign that the agencies are now more professional," he continued. "The leadership is protecting the analysts from the kinds of political pressure that distorted the intelligence assessments before the Iraq war and up until very recently."

The new NIE's findings would severely undermine a case for US armed intervention in Iran, according to the analyst.

"It definitely undercuts the case for military action," said Cirincione. "It strengthens the case for direct diplomatic engagement."

Earlier in the segment, the BBC's North American editor, Justin Webb, said he had spoken with a former top White House staffer who was fuming about the NIE revelations.

"I talked just a few hours ago to a very senior former adviser to the Bush White House, someone who knew about these things when he was there, and he was hopping mad," Webb reported. "He said that the rug had been pulled from under the Bush administration, and that the possibilities of the administration being able to take action if it wanted to take action at some point in the future had been significantly reduced."


Mass tree-planting in Indonesia

Indonesia is trying to plant nearly 80 million trees in a single day, in an attempt to set a new world record and deflect criticism about deforestation. Police, soldiers and local officials joined President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the nationwide project.

The plan is part of a campaign launched at UN climate change talks last year. A World Bank report puts Indonesia as the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter - owing to deforestation, land clearing and forest fires.

President Yudhoyono took part in the planting of more than 1,000 native
trees in Bogor, west Java.


Palestinian Security Paradox - a "PARADISE" FOR ISRAEL that International Governments Ignore

By David Ignatius                                               

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402032.html

JERUSALEM -- Here's a safe prediction in advance of the Annapolis peace conference scheduled to take place in a few weeks: The Palestinians won't be ready to fulfill their obligation to provide security in the West Bank under the "road map to peace."The Palestinian Authority simply doesn't have the people, the training or the equipment to maintain order in the territories.Why is this so? The answer, in part, is that the Palestinians haven't built up their security forces because the Israelis haven't permitted them to do so. And they haven't trained or equipped these forces, as envisaged under the road map, because the United States has failed to provide the necessary funds.

Security is the magic word. No peace deal will work until the Palestinians are able to provide security that Israelis can trust. But right now, people are paying lip service to this idea rather than actually helping the Palestinians build a credible force.If Annapolis is to be anything more than another exercise in frustration, Americans, Israelis and Palestinians should face this problem directly. The peace conference is premised on expectations about security that are unrealistic and can't be fulfilled. If the Israelis really want the Palestinians to take more responsibility for curbing terror and maintaining order, they will have to allow them the resources and training to learn how. That's risky, but the alternative is permanent Israeli occupation, which nobody wants.

The new Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, understands that Israelis want evidence of security in exchange for creating a Palestinian state. So this month he deployed 300 members of his National Security Forces to Nablus, the biggest and toughest city in the West Bank. He wants them to impose order, as the Israelis demand. But so far, the Israelis have hindered parts of this effort. For example:

1. Permission was denied for Palestinian security forces to use body armor that had been donated by the British government. The Israelis objected that the armor could stop Israeli bullets.

2. Permission was denied for the Palestinians to operate round-the-clock in Nablus to pursue criminal gangs there. The Israelis cited their own need to conduct nighttime anti-terror operations.

3. Permission has generally been denied for Palestinian forces to enter "Area B" villages under Israeli control to pursue criminal gangs that use these areas as havens. One exception was made several days ago.

4. Permission is unclear for extension of an amnesty program for members of the militant al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. More than 100 Palestinians had taken this deal and agreed to give up their weapons and remain in compounds for 90 days. The 90 days have passed, but the Israelis haven't allowed the men's release and are considering the issue on a case-by-case basis.

When President Bush announced the road map in April 2003, it assumed a tripartite cooperation on security that has never materialized. In Phase I, the plan envisaged "implementation, as previously agreed, of U.S. rebuilding, training and resumed security cooperation plan." In this joint effort, "restructured/retrained Palestinian security forces and IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] counterparts [will] progressively resume security cooperation," the document pledged.To carry out the road map, the Bush administration in 2005 created the office of U.S. security coordinator, reporting to the State Department. Since late 2005, that post has been filled by Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton. But until recently, his office has had little money from Congress to carry out its responsibilities. That's because Congress, mistrusting the Palestinians, wouldn't appropriate the funds.

The spigot was finally opened in August, when the Bush administration persuaded Congress to appropriate $86 million for Palestinian security. That will include $25 million to train and equip a 700-man battalion of the Palestinian National Security Forces in Jordan, starting this winter. Unfortunately, those troops won't graduate for many months. Other projects in the pipeline include $9 million to rebuild training centers in Jericho, $6 million to create a strong Palestinian Interior Ministry and money to train a Palestinian Presidential Guard in Egypt. But because so much time has been lost, the benefits are months away.

Fayyad wants to build a strong security force that can stop terrorism -- but one that Palestinians will see as their own rather than something imposed by America or Israel. That's a goal everyone should share, but it won't be a reality when the Annapolis conference convenes. If people are serious about security in a future Palestinian state, they need to let Palestinians learn to do the job.

The writer is co-host ofPostGlobal, an online discussion of international issues. His e-mail address isdavidignatius@washpost.com.


SOME MORE LIES FOR THE AMERICANS TO SWALLOW:
Watchdog group: 24 Roadblocks?Only two W. Bank roadblocks removed recently

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/924208.html

By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent


Only two of the 24 roadblocks that Israel claimed to have removed recently were in fact removed; many never existed to begin with, the Machsom Watch watchdog organization said Tuesday.



Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Israel had removed 24 West Bank roadblocks in order to bolster the Palestinian Authority by making life easier for Palestinians.

However, Machsom Watch activists conducted their own check and concluded the following:

* While the army reported removing 11 dirt roadblocks around Hebron, they never existed to begin with.

* Three dirt roadblocks near Salfit also never existed; the same is true of two roadblocks between Al-Abed and Anabta, near Tul Karm.

* The checkpoint near Herodion, which was also on the list, was actually removed two years ago.

* At the Jitt Junction near Kedumim, two roadblocks were supposedly removed to allow pedestrian (but not vehicular) traffic through the junction.

However, Machsom Watch said, pedestrian traffic is still not being permitted.

The organization noted that since the Israel Defense Forces refused to give it the list of removed roadblocks, it relied on information from a third party that obtained the list from the IDF.

No response was received from the IDF spokesman by press time.

Last month, Barak told American officials that Israel has lifted 24 dirt roadblocks and one permanent obstacle on West Bank roads in an effort to make it easier for Palestinian civilians to move in the area.

He said that the roadblock changes were being made without publicity, as was common in the past.

Barak also told the American officials last month that Israel is weighing a series of measures that would make it easier for Palestinian businessmen and traders to conduct business.