Dear Kitty. Some blog

From BuzzFlash in the USA:

Sarah Palin “Going Rouge” Coloring Book: Receiving National Attention as a Great Comic, Hands-On Parody of Palin’s “Going Rogue” Book

By Julie Sigwart and Michael Stinson

This video is called Scores killed in Nato air strike in Afghanistan - 4 Sept 09.

From The News in Pakistan:

7 Afghan security forces killed in NATO air strike

Updated at: 1845 PST, Saturday, November 07, 2009

KABUL: Seven members of the Afghan security forces were killed in a NATO air strike that also injured international forces in remote western Afghanistan, the Afghan defence ministry said on Saturday.

The Afghan statement comes as NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it was investigating an incident in Badghis province Friday in which more than 25 international and Afghan forces were wounded.

Five of the 25 wounded were US soldiers injured in what a Western military official, speaking anonymously, said was friendly fire. …

The incident is believed to have taken place during a clash involving ISAF and Afghan soldiers searching for two paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division who went missing Wednesday during a routine supply mission.

Local police said a party looking for the two missing soldiers clashed with Taliban and that alliance aircraft were called in to provide support.

The defence ministry made no reference to a clash between the joint forces and Taliban militants.

Police said the casualties occurred when the air strike mistakenly targeted international troops.

At least eight Afghans working with US forces have been killed in a Nato air strike in north-western Afghanistan, the defence ministry in Kabul says: here.

See also here.

Prospect of More U.S. Troops Worries Afghan Public: here.

Returning veterans often have a hard time adjusting to civilian life and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) Foundation is helping them find an outlet to tell their stories: here.

From Al Jazeera:

Tunisian blogger detained

Riahi has reportedly not been released, nor granted access to her lawyer who is unaware of the charges

A Tunisian blogger and drama teacher, Fatma Riahi, known online as Arabicca, has been arrested by the country’s police, Al Jazeera has learned.

Riahi was summoned to appear before the Criminal Brigade of Gorjani in Tunis on Monday, where she was questioned about her online activities, sources said.

Riahi was then released in the evening, only to be summoned again the following day and escorted by police officers to her home in Monastir, 160km from the capital, Tunis, for a house-search, the sources said.

Police confiscated her computer as evidence, and gained access to her online social-network accounts.

Riahi has neither been released from custody in Gorjani police station, nor granted access to her lawyer, Laila Ben Debba, who has spoken to her only for a few minutes, Al Jazeera has learned.

…

If prosecuted, Riahi could face criminal defamation charges that potentially carry a prison term of to up to three years.

Political satire

Authorities are investigating whether Riahi is hiding behind the pen-name of Blog de Z, a controversial Tunisian cartoonist blogger whose political satire has enraged the government.

Blog de Z’s most recent post was published three days after Riahi was first taken into custody.

RSF said on Friday: “Since her arrest, Fatma’s rights have been violated. The Tunisian authorities are using the pretext of her arrest in an attempt to discover the identity of anonymous Tunisian bloggers.

“We demand the authorities drop the charges against Fatma Arabicca and release her immediately.”

Riaihi deleted her blog three days before her arrest and her Facebook account has been removed.

‘Free Arabicca’ campaign

Lina Ben Mhenni, a friend of Riahi, told the Los Angeles Times in an email on Friday: “We talked about the Criminal Brigade [summoning] her, her worries, but we were optimistic as we know that she didn’t do something wrong.”

A “Free Arabicca” campaign blog has been launched by fellow Tunisian bloggers in support for Riahi, as well as a facebook page.

Global Voices, a blogger advocacy website, ranks Tunisia just behind Iran as one of the most repressive countries towards bloggers and online activists.

Zouhair Yahyaoui, one of Tunisia’s most famous imprisoned former bloggers, was arrested in 2000 after inviting readers to vote on whether Tunisia was a “republic, a kingdom, a zoo or a prison”.

Yahyaoui died of a heart attack in 2003 after reportedly being severely tortured.

Journalist jailed

In another development, France voiced concern on Friday over the fate of a Tunisian journalist and vocal critic of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the Tunisian president, who was arrested last week for allegedly assaulting a woman and faces trial.

Taoufik Ben Brik was detained on October 29 and is being held in a town outside Tunis pending trial later this month.

RSF said in a statement last week that the charges were bogus and that Ben Brik was too ill to stand trial.

US unemployment rate surges to highest level in 26 years: here.

This Reuters video from Germany says about itself:

Nov 5 - Thousands of German Opel workers go on strike to protest against GM’s decision to keep European unit Opel.

On Wednesday, thousands of Opel workers took part in protests throughout Germany directed against the massive job cuts to be implemented following General Motors’ decision earlier this week not to sell Opel to auto supplier Magna: here.

France: A decades-long series of corruption scandals, bound up with oil and arms deals, constitute the essential legal background to the Clearstream Affair: here. And here.

In this music video from Austria:

ANTI-FLAG’s Justin Sane joined the international student protests for a free and better education in Vienna, Austria, by performing a version of The Clash - Should I Stay Or Should I Go at the occupied Auditorium Maximun of the University of Vienna. Join the INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS at unsereuni.at (German), http://unsereuni.at/?lang=en (English) or get more information on it at zurPolitik.com (German).

Students in Austria are engaging in strikes and protest actions with the central demand: “More money for education, not the banks and corporations”: here.

This video from the USA is called Rethink Afghanistan (Part 4): Civilian Casualties.

From British daily The Morning Star:

Afghan villagers take to street over NATO airstrikes

Friday 06 November 2009

Hundreds of Afghan citizens have taken to the streets after NATO airstrikes and rocket attacks killed 10 people, including at least three children.

In the village of Korkhashien in Helmand province, angry villagers said that an overnight rocket strike killed nine civilians, including at least three children, as they harvested corn in their fields.

A convoy of vans and station wagons carrying the corpses drove from the governor’s office to a central market, where villagers condemned Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Western occupation forces that are propping him up.

“Death to Karzai - death to the foreigners,” they yelled as passers-by looked through the car windows at the blanket-covered bodies.

NATO insisted that the target of the strike was a group of people believed to be planting a bomb and that it was investigating the allegations.

In Khost province, hundreds demonstrated on Thursday against an overnight airstrike that killed a resident of Baramkhil village.

Mandozayi district government head Walishah Hamat said that the dead man was innocent.

Meanwhile, the top UN official in Afghanistan Kai Eide urged Mr Karzai to crack down hard on corruption or risk losing the support of the West.

Mr Eide said: “There is a belief among some that the international commitment to Afghanistan will continue whatever happens. That is not correct - it is the public opinion in donor countries that decides the strength of that commitment.”

Britain: The mother of the most senior of five soldiers gunned down by a “rogue” Afghan policeman has called for British troops to be brought home: here.

This music video is called Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up Live In Dortmund, Germany.

From British daily News Line:

Friday, 6 November 2009

MASSIVE IRISH STRIKE ACTION

‘We’re expecting a big turn out tomorrow for the nationwide demonstrations,’ an Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) spokesman told News Line yesterday.

He added: ‘The purpose of the Get Up Stand Up Campaign launched by ourselves with the support of all affiliates on the island of Ireland is to oppose the government and the way it is handling the crisis in favour of the banks.

‘The government has done nothing for jobs. And cutting incomes, including social welfare in a recession is not only morally wrong, it’s madness.

‘It will turn a recession into a depression.

‘Demonstrators will be carrying banners and placards saying “Banks 54m euros – jobs zero”.

‘Tomorrow is just the start of our campaign leading to the Budget.

‘There will be stoppages and 24-hour strikes to follow.’

The Get Up Stand Up Campaign website says: ‘We believe there is a fairer way.

‘Where are the plans to protect peoples’ jobs, or create new employment?

‘Where are the plans to protect peoples’ homes from repossession? And where are the plans to protect vital services at a time when greater numbers will come to depend on them?

‘The course of action proposed by government is both unworkable and unfair.

‘To cut peoples’ incomes in a recession invites economic freefall and to impose the greatest burden on low and middle income earners is unjust.

‘They played no role in causing this crisis and should not be presented with the bill.

‘This crisis demands fresh thinking. So far all we’ve seen are reruns and reheats of the same failed policies that have brought us to this sorry pass.

‘This crisis demands that people get active and get involved. Get Up, Stand Up!

‘Show your solidarity. March with us on November 6th!’

Demonstration reports: here.

Over 5,000 young Greek workers on so-called ‘training’ schemes in the public sector, demonstrated on Thursday in Athens and in other main cities against a government decision to immediately sack them: here.

This video is called Afghan Massacre - The Convoy of Death.

A US Army major reportedly about to be deployed to Afghanistan opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas Thursday, killing 12 and wounding 31 others: here.

From British daily The Guardian:

Fort Hood shooting: Major who shot 13 dead is still alive …

It is believed that the dead included troops making their final arrangements for deployment to Iraq.

The largest US military base in the world stayed closed yesterday after an army psychiatrist trained to help personnel deal with post-combat stress shot dead 13 soldiers about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan: here.

Mass shooting at Fort Hood: collateral damage from Iraq and Afghanistan wars: here.

Right-wingers have been looking for a fresh excuse to scapegoat Muslims, and Fort Hood gave them one: here.

Editor’s Note: The horrific shooting Thursday at Fort Hood that claimed 13 lives and hospitalized another 30 people has set off a great deal of speculation as to why the alleged shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, did what he did. See here.

This video from the USA is called Breaking News: 7 dead, 12 injured in Fort Hood shooting.

From The Age in Australia:

Seven dead in Texas military base shooting

November 6, 2009 - 8:20AM

The US Army says seven people were killed and 20 wounded in two shootings at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas this morning.

An Army spokesman at the Pentagon says the shootings began about 1.30pm Thursday (6.30am Melbourne time) at a personnel and medical processing centre at Fort Hood.

The spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Banks, says two shooters were apparently involved. There is no word yet on who they were, nor on identities of the dead.

Lieutenant Colonel Banks says the second incident took place at a theatre on the sprawling base.

He says it is too soon to tell whether there is any link to battle stress or repeated deployments. The army is suffering a record high suicide rate and other signs of stress from fighting two wars.

From CNN in the USA:

Two gunmen in military uniforms shot and killed as many as nine people and wounded as many as 20 at Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday, officials said.

One of the shooters has been apprehended, Fort Hood spokesman Sgt. Maj. Jamie Posten told CNN.

“At this point we’re looking for the other shooter,” Posten said. Asked for a description, he said, “we’re trying to develop that information.”

From KVAL News in the USA:

12 dead, 31 wounded at Fort Hood. All involved, including confirmed shooter and two suspects, are U.S. soldiers.

According to ABC news, one of the suspect soldiers is a major.

From Roger Sutton in Britain:

Obituary: Ernesto Leal Jimenez

Wednesday 04 November 2009

Ernesto Leal Jimenez was born to communist parents on January 11 1938. At that time they were on the run, persecuted by the government of Arturo Alessandri for their part in organising the peasant struggle for better living standards.

His father, a self-taught man, was the Communist Party organiser for southern Chile and he and his wife were denounced as agitators and forced into clandestinity from their home in Valvidia.

Eventually they settled in in the small industrial and naval town of Talcahuano, where Ernesto’s birth was registered.

His father helped set up neighbourhood committees to support communities in gaining access to clean water, better sanitation, housing and education.

Thus Ernesto grew up in a family passionately committed to protecting and promoting people’s rights and freedom.

He loved the sea and at 17 became an ordinary seaman. He probably would have remained in the navy for many years had he not been caught up in a police raid in the early 1960s.

Copies of banned works - including essays by Karl Marx - were found in his possession. This was an offence under naval law and after a brief court martial he was discharged from the navy in disgrace.

Back in Talcahuano he worked for his father servicing navy ships and rejoined the Young Communist League, where he was elected political secretary.

The early 1960s were an exciting period in Chilean politics - Salvador Allende had embarked on a highly successful presidential campaign - and Ernesto rapidly rose to be in charge of regional affairs at the central committee of the Young Communist League. His recollections of working alongside the likes of Gladys Marin were an incredible source of pride to him.

In 1964 he married family friend and militant student activist Sonia Riquelme, with whom he had four children, Ernesto Jr, Juan, Rossana and Sonia.

It was during the Popular Unity government of Allende that he began working with the Chilean TUC but, like many Chileans, his life changed forever after the 1973 coup which brought down Allende’s socialist government.

During the violent repressions post-coup, he was arrested and tortured by the navy for his trade union involvement.

He never recovered from the beatings and electric shocks inflicted on him while he was detained.

Eventually released, he was exiled and threatened with the death penalty if he ever returned to Chile. He left for Argentina and was joined by his family in Buenos Aires.

Surrounded by horrific repression in Argentina he had to come to terms with losing everything, including his beloved country, while staying alive and trying to find a better life for his family.

In 1977, under the auspices of the UN, Amnesty International and British trade unions, he and his family were granted political asylum and provided with a home in Cowdenbeath by the Scottish NUM.

Then followed a move to Edinburgh, where Ernesto worked as a welder in the shipyards of Leith and joined the GMB union.

Those were the days of Margaret Thatcher and soon the yards were being closed and Ernesto “got on his bike” and found a job in the Faslane naval yards. But he was sacked when it was learned that his wife was outside the gates protesting against nuclear missiles!

Aberdeen and the Rob Caledon shipyards was his next port of call. He was blacklisted for being a trouble-maker following his participation in the unsuccessful struggle against its closure but through his union managed to get a job in the Loch Kern yard, welding the massive steel plates for the oil rigs.

In the late ’80s he moved back to London to work in the city’s building boom but when that ended it proved very hard to get a new job. He went on to work as cleaner in the old Evening Standard building, witnessed the way cleaners were treated by sub-contractors, and began to organise them under the auspices of the T&G.

During this time he met Rosa Ramirez, also a cleaner and a Chilean exile, who took part in setting up the Latin American Cleaners Union.

He was really proud of “el sindicato” and the way its membership had grown not just in London but across the country.

While in London he was a key member of the London May Day Organising Committee ensuring the full participation of the Latin American communities. He worked closely with GLATUC and was a leading figure in fighting the Pinochet dictatorship - reminding everyone of the first September 11 massacre, the coup against Allende.

A tireless worker for his class, Ernesto was a quiet figure who commanded respect from all sections of the movement.

On Ernesto’s son, also called Ernesto: Is a refugee from Pinochet the victim of a witch-hunt? Here.