Hadan's
BIWEEKLY READER
Links to Headlines
Friday, June 18, 2004--Latest and, alas, LAST ISSUE

(NB The "Weekendreader" has gone bi-weekly, thus the "Biweekly Reader";
also, click on the buttons on the left to go to respective articles.)



QUO VADIS, AMERICA
(OPINION & ANALYSIS)

The article George Orwell... meet Franz Kafka briefly recapitulates the US' use of torture as an instrument of (war) policy and outlines the present US administration's sense of being above the law.
However, also read it as an indication to which extent the present US administration has been expending its international credibility (e.g. contempt for the UN, disregard of the Geneva Conventions, ?) as leader of the Western World and alienating many friends in the process.
And do read it as the QED to the question of the modus operandi of PNAC's New World Order.
(For further details see The US Senate Judiciary Committee's latest hearings, which included testimony from AG John Ashcroft regarding the use of torture and controversial documents--prepared by the Justice Department--effectively stating that the US President as Commander in Chief is above the law.)

The Plain Truth
"It's hard to imagine how the commission investigating the 2001 terrorist attacks could have put it more clearly yesterday: there was never any evidence of a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda, between Saddam Hussein and
Sept. 11.
..."
(Also note that UNMOVIC's--United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission-- latest report states, among others, that items usable in Iraqi weapons programs had been removed and were found in scrap-yards outside Iraq, including a site in the Netherlands that contained a missile engine.)
From Le Monde (Sunday, May 9, 2004).
US NEWS

MICHEAL MOORE; and a HOLLYWOOD condemnation
Who is behind the campaign to deter theater owners from showing Michael Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 9-11"?
Documentarian kept quiet after filming U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqis
Movie rottweiler turns on Blair
Producer condemns Hollywood films
"Hollywood is a machine, 90% of whose product is garbage," said Alfonso Cuaron, producer of the latest Harry Potter film. Hollywood makes "the world's worst cinema," he told reporters.
RONALD WILSON REAGAN
Reaganite by Association?
His Family Won't Allow It
Gloves off in Reagan stem war
The family of former President Ronald Reagan declared political war on the White House yesterday over President Bush's ban on stem cell research.
Effigy of Ronald Wilson Reagan on legal US tender?
What do Americans think of it?
Why Not? Reagan's Falsified Obituary
HALLIBURTON
Halliburton 'mismanaged $8bn in Iraq'
GOP refusing to allow testimony on Halliburton spending
Senator takes aim at acquisition revolving door
Lawmakers next week may take up a proposal that would place new limits on where federal procurement officials can work after they leave government.
TERRORISM TRIAL
US judge puts Jewish leader on trial
A US judge has ruled that a leader of an armed Jewish group must stand trial for allegedly plotting to bomb a Los Angeles mosque. The Jewish Defence League's Earl Krugel is also accused of attempting to blow up the office of an Arab-American congressman.
NAFTA and IMMIGRATION--NAFTA: AT BEST A MAASTRICHT TREATY WITHOUT THE SCHENGEN AGREEMENT
'Made in Mexico' uniforms chafe Border Patrol agents
ADMINISTRATION NEWS
The Madness of King George
Cheney Lying About Halliburton Involvement
Powell: No One 'Cooked The Books'
A State Department report that incorrectly showed a decline last year in terrorism worldwide was a "big mistake," Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday.
Powell Says Politics Were Not Behind Flawed Terror Report
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell on Sunday blamed mistakes in data collection, not political considerations, for a "very embarrassing" State Department report that said terrorist attacks worldwide had decreased in 2003 when, in fact, they had risen significantly
Group Urges Voters Not to Choose Bush
Retired Officials Say Bush Must Go
INTELLIGENCE WATCH/JOB MARKET
This Spy for Rent
ME NEWS
Mending America's image in the Arab world: a reforming challenge for Washington

IRAQ

Reserve, Guard forces take more older soldiers to Iraq
Iraqis fail to regain control of oil revenue
The latest Iraqi attempts to recover control of the country's oil revenues from the United States appear to have hit a dead end with a special delegation being rebuffed in its bid to secure UN help.
Iraq oil - the target for years
US policy towards Iraq has always been shaped by the country's rich oil resources, its strategic location on the Gulf and its regional weight. Based on current estimates, Iraq's oil reserves stand at about 115 billion barrels, equivalent to the total oil reserves of the US, Canada, Mexico, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China and the whole of Asia.

(Caption reads "ONE Weekend a Month MY ASS"; source unknown.)

SAUDI ARABIA; OPEC and OIL PRODUCTION
Saudi prince: Zionism to blame for terror attack
Official says Israel, supporters share bin Laden's objective
How did Khobar attackers manage to escape?
Analyst: Jihadists infiltrating Saudi forces
Unrest could spread to other Gulf countries
Jordanian Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez has warned that instability resulting from armed attacks in Saudi Arabia could spread to other Gulf countries and also affect Jordan.
OPEC unable to increase production
OPEC is to urge producers outside the cartel to increase global oil production and cool high prices in response to attacks on Iraq's oil facilities.
ISRAEL
Bible 'leads to Israeli oil bonanza'
Israel has expropriated thousands of acres of Palestinian farmland deep in the West Bank
Israel plans new West Bank settlements
Israel is considering building thousands more homes in West Bank settlements, in line with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to keep large chunks of the territory but give up Gaza.
$300,000 for Israeli settlers who agree to quit Gaza Strip
Al-Aqsa chief ready to call cease-fire
"I will have no problem in stopping attacks after an Israeli retreat in our sector and when they (the Israelis) no longer come in every day with their tanks to kill us," Zakaria Zubeidi, commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the Jenin area, told Israeli public radio.
MEDIA WATCH
Fox News censured for rant at BBC
Fox News, the US news network owned by Rupert Murdoch, has been found in breach of British broadcasting rules for an on-air tirade that accused the BBC of "frothing-at-the-mouth anti-Americanism".
Limbaugh announces end of 10-year marriage
Conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh announced Friday that he and his wife, Marta, were divorcing.
Limbaugh on Divorce (scroll down once page opens)
CULTURE, SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY
5,000-year-old necropolis under Cairo
Sheep like smiles say researchers
New mice experiment indicates possible link between mercury exposure and autism
Grand Canyon In Deep Trouble
Nanotech guru turns back on 'goo'
Soft drinks, especially non-colas and iced tea, hurt hard enamel