26개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban 'Communist' Party, publishes since three years the so-called Reflections of Fidel Castro (Reflexiones de Fidel)... Here's his latest column, published last Friday (6.04):
The Empire and Lies
I was left with no alternative other than to write two "Reflections" on Iran and Korea, which explain the imminent danger of war with the use of nuclear weapons. I have also expressed the opinion that one of them could be overcome if China decided to veto the resolution that the United States is promoting in the United Nations Security Council. The other is dependent on factors that escape any possibility of control, due to the fanatical conduct of the state of Israel, converted by the United States into its current condition as a strong nuclear power, which does not accept any control whatsoever on the part of the superpower.
In June 1953, when the first United States intervention to crush the Islamic Revolution in defense of its own interests and those of its close ally the United Kingdom took place, which resulted in Mohammed Reza Pahlevi assuming power, Israel was a small state that had not yet seized almost all of Palestinian territory, part of Syria and more than a small part of neighboring Jordan, defended up until then by the Arab Legion, of which not a trace remained.
Today the hundreds of rockets with nuclear warheads, supported by the most modern aircraft supplied by the United States, are threatening the security of all the states of the region, Arab and non-Arab, Muslim and non-Muslim, that are in the reach of the wide radius of action of Israeli missiles, which could fall within a few meters of their objectives.
Last Sunday, May 30, when I wrote the Reflection "The Empire and drugs," the brutal attack on the flotilla transporting provisions, medicines and other items for the one and a half million Palestinians besieged in a small fragment of what was their own homeland for thousands of years, had not yet taken place.
The vast majority of people invest their time in and struggle to confront the necessities that life imposes upon them, including food, the right to recreation and study, and other vital problems of their closest family members; they do not have time to search for information about what is happening on the planet. They can be found anywhere, with noble expressions on their face, trusting that others will take charge of finding solutions to the problems overwhelming them. They are capable of rejoicing and laughing. Thus, they bring happiness to those of us who have the privilege of observing with equanimity the realities threatening us all.
The extremely strange fabrication that North Korea had sunk the South Korean Cheonan corvette – designed with cutting-edge technology, endowed with a wide-ranging sonar system and underwater acoustic sensors – in waters opposite its coast, blamed North Korea for the appalling act that cost the lives of 40 South Korean marines and inflicted dozens of injuries.
It was not easy for me to unravel the problem. On the one hand, there was no explanation as to how it was possible for any government, however much authority it enjoys, to utilize command mechanisms to give orders to torpedo an ensign ship. On the other hand, I did not believe for one second the version that it was Kim Jong II who gave that order.
I lacked the elements needed to reach a conclusion, but I was sure that China would veto a draft resolution in the Security Council to sanction North Korea. On the other hand, I was in no doubt whatsoever that the United States is unable to avoid the use of nuclear weapons on the part of the incontrollable government of Israel.
Late in the evening of June 1 the veil over what really happened began to lift.
At 10:30 p.m. I listened to the content of an acute analysis by the journalist Walter Martínez, who produces the sterling "Dossier" program on Venezuelan television. He came to the conclusion that the United States had made each part of Korea believe what each side was affirming about the other, with the objective of solving the problem of the return of the territory occupied by the Okinawa base, as demanded by the new Japanese leader, reflecting the wishes of the country. His party gained enormous backing in the elections due to that promise of his to secure the [U.S.] withdrawal from the military base installed there which, for more than 65 years, has been a dagger thrust in the heart of Japan, now a developed and rich country.
Via Global Research the really amazing details of what happened have come out, thanks to an article by Wayne Madsen, an investigative journalist working in Washington DC, who circulated information from intelligence sources on the Wayne Madsen Report website.
Those sources, he affirmed, "…suspect that the March attack on the South Korean Navy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette, the Cheonan, was a false flag attack designed to appear as coming from North Korea."
"One of the main purposes for increasing tensions on the Korean peninsula was to apply pressure on Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to reverse course on moving the U.S. Marine Corps base off Okinawa. Hatoyama has admitted that the tensions over the sinking of the Cheonan played a large part in his decision to allow the U.S. Marines to remain on Okinawa. Hatoyama's decision has resulted in a split in the ruling center-left coalition government, a development welcome in Washington, with Mizuho Fukushima, the Social Democratic Party leader threatening to bolt the coalition over the Okinawa reversal.
"The Cheonan was sunk near Baengnyeong Island, a westernmost spot that is far from the South Korean coast, but opposite the North Korean coast. The island is heavily militarized and within artillery fire range of North Korean coastal defenses, which lie across a narrow channel.
"The Cheonan, an ASW corvette, was decked out with state-of-the-art sonar, plus it was operating in waters with extensive hydrophone sonar arrays and acoustic underwater sensors. There is no South Korean sonar or audio evidence of a torpedo, submarine or mini-sub in the area. Since there is next to no shipping in the channel, the sea was silent at the time of the sinking.
"However, Baengnyeong Island hosts a joint U.S-South Korea military intelligence base and the U.S. Navy SEALS operate out of the base. In addition, four U.S. Navy ships were in the area, part of the joint U.S-South Korean Exercise Foal Eagle, during the sinking of the Cheonan. An investigation of the suspect torpedo's metallic and chemical fingerprints show it to be of German manufacture. There are suspicions that the U.S. Navy SEALS maintains a sampling of European torpedoes for sake of plausible deniability for false flag attacks. Also, Berlin does not sell torpedoes to North Korea, however, Germany does maintain a close joint submarine and submarine weapons development program with Israel.
"The presence of the USNS Salvor, one of the participants in Foal Eagle, so close to Baengnyeong Island during the sinking of the South Korean corvette also raises questions.
"The Salvor, a civilian Navy salvage ship, which participated in mine laying activities for the Thai Marines in the Gulf of Thailand in 2006, was present near the time of the blast with a complement of 12 deep sea divers.
"Beijing, satisfied with North Korea's Kim Jong Il's claim of innocence after a hurried train trip from Pyongyang to Beijing, suspects the U.S. Navy's role in the Cheonan's sinking, with particular suspicion on the role of the Salvor. The suspicions are as follows:
"1. The Salvor engaged in a seabed mine-installation operation, in other words, attaching horizontally fired anti-submarine mines on the sea floor in the channel.
"2. The Salvor was doing routine inspection and maintenance on seabed mines, and put them into an electronic active mode (hair trigger release) as part of the inspection program.
"3. A SEALS diver attached a magnetic mine to the Cheonan, as part of a covert program aimed at influencing public opinion in South Korea, Japan and China.
"The Korean peninsula tensions have conveniently overshadowed all other agenda items on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visits to Beijing and Seoul."
Thus, in an amazingly easy way, the United States managed to solve an important problem: to liquidate the National Unity government of the Democratic Party of Yukio Hatoyama, but at an extremely high cost:
1- It deeply offended its South Korea allies.
2- It highlighted the skill and rapidity with which its adversary Kim Jong Il acted.
3- It emphasized the prestige of the Chinese power, whose president, with full moral authority, moved personally and sent China’s principal leaders to converse with Emperor Akihito, the Prime Minister and other eminent Japanese figures.
Political leaders and world opinion have proof of the cynicism and total lack of scruples that characterize the imperial policy of the United States.
Fidel Castro Ruz
Junio 3 de 2010
11 y 16 a.m.
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/reflections-i/23reflex1-junio.html
Related stuff:
☞ Pyongyang: Cheonan was false-flag sinking (Asia Times, 6.04)
☞ Cheonan Conspiracy Theories (Marmot's Hole, 6.03)
☞ 'There was no Explosion. There was No Torpedo' (IMC S.K., 5.30)
And - last but not least - please keep in mind(^^) that...
☞ Police (will) hunt for Cheonan rumors (K. Times, 6.01)
Oops... a protest ('press conference') in front of the Israeli embassy on Shabbat???
Well, it's just a "great idea" - at least it ensures that the recipient of the protest (the Israeli ambassador and his staff) isn't "at home"!!
Anyway, here some articles, related to the protest's subject:
☞ Hamas refuses flotilla aid delivered by Israel (Guardian, 6.03)
☞ The day the world became Gaza (al-Jazeera, 6.03)
☞ We are all Gazans now (Asia Times, 6.02)
☞ 'A war for world’s future' (Yedioth Ahronoth, 5.31)
Yesterday's regional/local elections in S.Korea
AND THE WINNER IS... (surprise, surprise!) THE RULING CLASS
But (unfortunately) the ruling class in S.K. isn't the working class...
According to K. Herald out of the total 228 electoral districts picking lower-level administrative chiefs, the DP scored victories in 92 districts while the GNP secured 82 posts. Independent candidates won 36 posts while the LFP and the minority Democratic Labor Party garnered 17 posts and three posts, respectively.
Related articles:
☞ Opposition parties secure significant victory in elections (Hankyoreh)
☞ Voters Fire Warning Shot at Government (Chosun Ilbo)
☞ DP basks in election victory; GNP grapples with debacle (K. Herald)
☞ GNP leaders to resign after election defeat (Yonhap)
☞ Followers of late former President Roh return to politics (K. Times)
Rev. Moonsu, a Buddhist monk burnt himself to death Monday to protest the so-called "Four Major Rivers Restoration Project"!!
Yesterday's (conservative/reactionary) JoongAng Ilbo reported the following:
Monk immolates himself in rivers protest
Locals found the 47-year-old monk Moonsu of the Jogye Order, Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, dead near a stream in Gunwi County, North Gyeongsang, at around 3 p.m. on Monday. He left a suicide note inside his clothes that read, “The Lee Myung-bak administration must stop its four rivers restoration project immediately, eradicate corruption and do its best for poor and underprivileged people instead of the rich.” The note also stated that the monk felt sorry for his family as well as fellow Buddhists.
Last year, president’s administration started the four rivers project to restore the nation’s major rivers - the Han, Geum, Nakdong and Yeongsan. The project has met fierce criticism from opposition parties and civic groups, which protest that ecosystems in and around the rivers will be ruined by this project. They also insist that the government is wasting valuable tax money on a futile effort.
Police said they confirmed that Moonsu bought gasoline from a gas station at around 7:20 a.m. on Monday and seemed to have set fired to himself. “Looking at various evidence, we suspect that he burnt himself to death.”
The monk entered the Buddhist priesthood in 1986 and went on to practice in temples including Haein and Tongdo. From 2006 to 2007, he was the head monk at Daesan Temple in North Gyeongsang.
The local Buddhist community mourned their loss as the Jogye Order sent monks to North Gyeongsang, where Moonsu was found. The Jogye Order announced its official stance on the monk’s death yesterday, stating, “We are truly mourning the loss of monk Moonsu and wish him a peaceful passage to death.”
Around 20 Buddhists from various groups including the Buddhist Ecology Federation held a press conference at Jogye Temple in central Seoul yesterday.
“Monk Moonsu’s self-immolation threw an important question toward us as religious people concerning the value of life,” said monk Sugyeong, head of the Buddhist Economy Federation during the press conference.
Meanwhile, voices of opposition toward the government’s four rivers project became stronger yesterday. The Busan citizens’ group against the four rivers project held an emergency press conference in front of Busan’s city hall urging a halt to the restoration. The civic association Geumganggwon, composed of 45 different groups from the Daejeon, North and South Chungcheong and North Jeolla areas, also held a press conference in front of South Chungcheong provincial office to state their opposition to the project.
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2921282
FIRST RESPONSE ENGLISH EDUCATORS
Press Release (May 30, 2010)
FREED (First Response English Educators) is a first response support network for teachers and it has particular concern for the newest newcomers among teachers in South Korea. It provides information and consultation regarding settlement and employment. FREED is also an affiliate of TEA-KOR, an anti-imperialist network for teachers established in 2007.
FREED upholds the values of human rights and peace. We enjoy the support of the Busan Human Rights Counseling Center (Busan Ingwan Sangdam Center) .
With this press release, we want to address some current issues related to human rights and peace. Many education issues have come to our attention lately. Also, we wish to communicate a message of concern for peace in the region.
The crackdown against migrant workers
Many migrant workers from poor countries come to work in Korea at the invitation of employers and many employers take advantage of them by not properly documenting them. FREED discourages undocumented employment. However, we object to methods of enforcement that violate human rights and democratic practice. South Korea companies have accepted migrant workers without the regular monitoring of employers over the years but initiates periodic crackdowns unjustly. We think that employers and faulty government regulations are largely responsible for the lack of documentation. We express solidarity with all workers, including teachers and all migrants. Workers without documentation should be documented and amnesty granted until documentation is completed.
The MEST dismissals
FREED upholds the civil rights of all, including the political freedoms of freedom of association and the freedom to organize. How can an election be legitimate if the incumbent candidates use the mechanisms and power of the state to persecute the supporters and members of opposing parties? We support democratic participation in the political process. We support the calls for the reinstatement of the public school teachers dismissed for political involvements.
The arrests of labor leaders
Furthermore, we strongly object to the arrests of legitimate union staff and representatives in the KTU and other unions. This is profoundly undemocratic and hypocritical of the state officials responsible for ordering these dismissals. We demand their release and an end to such persecution of labor organizers. We urge freely negotiated settlements to all outstanding collective agreements in the public and private sectors.
The dismissed university lecturers
FREED joins in the call for the reinstatement of the thousands of laid-off university lecturers. We object to the mass lay-off of all the part-time and casual employees in multiple sectors, which was done so that employers could avoid the expenses of newly implemented employment regulations pertaining to part-time and casual workers with over two years of continuous employment. We sympathize with other teachers working in deplorable and stressful working conditions with over-work and under-payment. As foreign teachers, we often experience such hardship ourselves and we see no reason or justification for such poor conditions and hardship. Overwork is rampant in Korea and more work could be spread around by limiting full-time workers to five-day work weeks and eight-hour work days. It would serve the economy and employment relations to ensure that employees are all compensated fairly with proper benefits.
Corruption in education institutions
Our condolences go out to the family and colleagues of Seo, the hourly lecturer who committed suicide on May 25th. His suicide note told of extensive corruption and abuse at his institution. He was paid a very low salary and was forced to pay a price to obtain employment and described his work relationship to a professor as that of a slave. He reported participating in fraudulent practices and then committed suicide out of shame and stress. His case speaks to abhorrent and corrupt conditions in the education system. The government needs to address this problem squarely and thoroughly. FREED would actively support such efforts.
Peace (*)
Finally, we would like to echo the calls for calmness and a peaceful resolution to the conflict between North and South Korea without military action and foreign interference. There should be a careful investigation of the Cheonan disaster by a credible third party. With concern for the welfare of all, we look forward to a reunited Korea and a region without nuclear weapons.
http://www.freedteachers.org/content/freed-press-release-teachers-and-all-workers-rights
* Somehow related:
☞ S. Korea: migrant workers and the anti-war movement (PeaceNews, 2003)
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