THOUGHT FOR THE DAY!

"Imperialism today is taking place in the context of...the 'universalization' of capitalism. It is not now primarily a matter of territorial conquest or direct military or colonial control. It is not now a matter of capitalist powers invading non-capitalist powers in order to bleed them dry directly and by brute force. Now it is more a matter of ensuring that the forces of the capitalist market prevail in every corner of the world (even if this means marginalizing and impoverishing parts of it), and of manipulating those market forces to the advantage of the most powerful capitalist economies and the United States in particular." ... "Military force is still central to the imperialist project, in some ways more than ever."-- Political scientist Ellen Meiksins-Wood, Z magazine Nov 1999, p26

 

CURRENT EVENTS

Jan 06 20:55

A Jewish Defector Warns America

Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to hear a very frightening speech. This speech is an explanation of the plans now being laid to throw the United States into a third world war.

Jan 06 18:58

"What are you doing here?": man asks wife at brothel

A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees.

Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town.

"I was dumfounded. I thought I was dreaming," the husband told the newspaper on Wednesday.

The couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing, the newspaper reported.

Jan 06 13:44

Former Wall St. Journal Editor: "What We Are Witnessing Is A Once Great Power Engaging In Fantasy To Disguise From Itself That It Is A Failed State"

In an article entitled "Will There Be a Recovery?", Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and former editor of the Wall Street Journal editor, Paul Craig Roberts pens the best one-liner of the week:

What we are witnessing is a once great power engaging in fantasy to disguise from itself that it is a failed state.

He's referring, of course, to the U.S.

Jan 06 07:56

240,000 dollars awarded to man forced to cover Arab T-shirt

An airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed Arabic script has been awarded 240,000 dollars in compensation, campaigners said Monday.

Jan 06 07:37

Swindler's List - Judge refuses to jail Madoff after violation of bail

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Imagine my shock.

Folks, they WANT this guy to flee to Israel. A full investigation into Madoff would rip open the whole belly of the beast that is Wall Street.

Jan 06 07:35

POLL - Who do you support ? Israel VS Palestine

Fight the propaganda war!
The site is being attacked by unhappy people. Keep trying if the server is down.

Jan 06 07:19

Greens slam Howard freedom award

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says former prime minister John Howard does not deserve the highest civilian honour from the United States.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

It's not an honor any more if Tony Blair gets one.

Jan 06 07:05

One sociopath pins medal on another

Jan 06 06:46

Some US cities eliminate criminal-history question

Hoping to prevent convicts from being shut out of the work force, some major U.S. cities are eliminating questions from their job applications that ask whether prospective employees have ever been convicted of a crime.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Odd how we don't have that question for political candidates!

Jan 05 23:23

Russian carrier to train near Greece

I was wondering why those undercover cops were infiltrating the Greek rioters, inciting the demonstrators during the recent street protests in Greece.

Jan 05 21:21

New video shows BART officer shooting Hayward man in the back

While the man is lying face down on the ground, one officer appears to be seen pulling out a gun and firing a single shot into his back.

Jan 05 20:36

The Credit Crunch that Isn't -- Another Political Fast One

What is at work is another political "fast one" to rationalize and justify the growth of the interventionist-welfare state.

Jan 05 14:41

Woman Accused Of Cannibalism 'Deeply Ashamed'

An attorney for a woman accused of killing, dismembering and cannibalizing her ex-boyfriend says she's ashamed for doing a "horrible thing."

Webmaster's Commentary: 

"Look, he kept saying, 'eat me' and I misunderstood just what it was he wanted me to do, your honor!"

Jan 05 14:18

Obama picks Panetta for CIA director

Leon Panetta was Bill Clinton's chief of staff and Iraq Study Group member.

Jan 05 13:56

The President we just didn't have to have

WE LIKE our failed presidents to be Shakespearean, or at least large enough to inspire Oscar-worthy performances from magnificent tragedians like Frank Langella. So here, too, George W. Bush has let us down. He is not a memorable villain so much as a sometimes affable second banana whom Josh Brolin and Will Ferrell can nail without breaking a sweat. He's the reckless Yalie Tom Buchanan, not Gatsby. He is smaller than life.

The last poll on Bush's presidency found that 79 per cent of Americans will not miss him after he leaves the White House. He is being forgotten already, even if he's not yet gone. You start to pity him until you remember how vast the wreckage is. It stretches from the Middle East to Wall Street to Main Street and even into the heavens, which have been a haven for toxins under his passive stewardship.

The discrepancy between the grandeur of the failure and the stature of the man is a puzzlement.

Jan 05 10:01

Swindler's List - The Bernie Madoff collectibles hit eBay!

Jan 05 07:13

Britain in grip of longest cold snap for 10 years

Britain is in the grip of the longest cold snap for more than 10 years as forecasters predict another week of freezing temperatures.

Jan 05 03:50

In Declining American Economy, Frugal is the New Cool

Forget the bling, the Hummers, the glitz and glamour: Frugal is the new cool in a declining economy where those who know best are tightening their belts.

Jan 04 12:42

Richardson to withdraw as Commerce nominee

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, tapped in December by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of Commerce, has withdrawn his name for the position, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state.

Jan 04 01:18

Hamas Provoked Attacks, Bush Says

President Bush issued a sharp condemnation of Hamas on Friday, accusing the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip of provoking Israeli military action with rocket attacks and then increasing the death toll by hiding among civilian populations.

Jan 03 20:06

Bush chuckers target shoe discount

A Chinese shop is giving discounts to customers who hit an image of George Bush by throwing shoes.

Jan 03 14:40

Not everyone can be a Rivero, or a Rense

I don't have much influence, but I am making an effort at Yahoo forums. I have quite a few, besides the ones shown below. I used to be brain-blind about Israel,too. I use my own graphics for impact, so they include a lot of info. I am currently using a graphic from rense. com, because it says so much. I don't know if it is really allowable, so it may not get to stay. I am ashamed of the lack of US Christian voices, but I know they are as generally brain-washed by US Zionist-dominated media as are US Jews themselves by their own media. Be glad, those who have been freed from gov/edu/media/church/synagogue propaganda bondage. Everyone is vulnerable to being seduced by slick, and continual mis-representation. And "they" never stop the attack!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/us_israel_crimes/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christian_zionists_deceived/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/explicitly_exposing_the_msm/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/water_walkers/?yguid=225298015

Jan 03 10:49

Oregon to Penalyze Good Gas Mileage

The state of Oregon is apparently piloting a program in which drivers will be taxed according to how many miles they drive, rather than how much fuel they buy. Compared to the status quo, this effectively penalizes hybrids and rewards vehicles that get bad gas mileage.

Jan 03 06:53

Wishful thinking?

Jan 02 21:06

False Diagnosis of Deflation

My conclusion is that the USFed and the Federal Reserve Banks themselves are orchestrating a collapse of sorts for the USEconomy. Their purpose is unknown, but if the Great Depression Era is any teacher, this elite group of banksters harbors great lust for consolidated power.

Jan 02 19:23

Icicle sculpture created by cars

It has been created by cars splashing through a puddle and shooting water on to the branches of a tree.

As the water ran off it created scores of icicles and has formed an ice sculpture.

The 10 foot-high icicles were created on the outskirts of Skelmersdale in Lancashire.

They are a beautiful reminder of just how cold the start to the year has been.

Jan 02 12:13

Another Year of Oppression

At the end of this month, we'll usher in a Democratic president who will join a Democratic Congress -- a wholesale guarantee that this single-party control over the federal government will only result in further growth of the state.

Jan 02 09:02

US is the World’s Number One Sponsor of World Terrorism

In a ‘manual’ which is officially to be released only to ’students from foreign countries on a case-by-case basis only’, the US Army outlines a program of what it now calls ‘irregular warfare’, in fact US state sponsored terrorism, insurgency, and PSYOPS.

Jan 02 07:55

9 Muslim Passengers Removed From Jet

Officials ordered nine Muslim passengers, including three young children, off an AirTran flight headed to Orlando from Reagan National Airport yesterday afternoon after two other passengers overheard what they thought was a suspicious remark.

Members of the party, all but one of them U.S.-born citizens who were headed to a religious retreat in Florida, were subsequently cleared for travel by FBI agents who characterized the incident as a misunderstanding, an airport official said. But the passengers said AirTran refused to rebook them, and they had to pay for seats on another carrier secured with help from the FBI.

Jan 01 18:01

San Francisco: Man fatally shot by BART police officer

BART officials said officers were responding to the station at about 2 a.m. after the operations control center reported an altercation aboard a Dublin/Pleasanton-bound train, said BART spokesman Jim Allison.

The train arrived at Fruitvale and passengers began getting on and off.

The victim was shot on the platform when a BART police officer's firearm discharged, Allison said. The critically injured man was taken to Highland Hospital where he died this morning, the Alameda County Coroner's Office said.

While witness accounts reported by news organizations indicate Grant was on the ground and handcuffed when he was shot...

Jan 01 13:03

Uncle Jay Explains: Year-end! 12-22-08

Jan 01 11:38

South African activist Helen Suzman dies at 91

South African anti-apartheid activist Helen Suzman, who won international acclaim as one of the few white lawmakers to fight against the injustices of racist rule, died Thursday. She was 91.

Jan 01 08:57

Happy New Year to Everyone in our Home on Earth !

Dec 31 09:59

The 2008 "WTF?" Awards

As 2008 stumbles to the finish line like the last member of "The Wild Bunch" to eat the dirt, it's time to pause and reflect on the past twelve months. Yet, how to do so without using George Carlin's famous "Seven Words" a thousand times in five minutes? There's only one course to take. It's time for the "2008 'WTF?' Awards!

Dec 31 08:53

READER: WHY DID THINGS CHANGE?

READER: WHY DID THINGS CHANGE?

I don't get it. There have been crooked, dirty dealing, child molesting, evil people all down through the ages. And a few bad kids. But they were not everywhere--on every bus, at the grocery store, teaching school, preaching at a local church.

When I was a kid, most us us were TRAINED. That is, we were taught how to behave properly, what to do and what not to do, how to be respectful, how to handle money, how to shoot a gun and handle an axe and a knife, how to wash and dry dishes, how to make beds and a whole lot of other stuff. We were required to do our homework. Otherwise, we were pretty much left alone.

Most older people were ?old. Some were gruff, some were kind. Some were misguided prudes or martinets. These could be problems, but they were generally not evil problems. Very few people were mean or bad to kids.

Dec 30 21:59

Former drug officer launches 'KopBusters' TV show

'KopBusters' is a reality TV program that aims to sink crooked officers.

Dec 30 15:15

Chabad committee formed to help Rubashkin defense

“We are a group of guys who, No. 1, are looking to help Rubashkin get out on bail,” committee member Rabbi Shea Hecht told JTA. “And No. 2, to voice our concern because we believe that much of this attack is not just an attack on the Rubashkin family and Agriprocessors, but it's really an attack on kosher food. And it's questionable if it's one step beyond that -- an attack on Jews.”

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Oh puh-LEEZE; next they'll say Rubashkin only did what he did because of the painful memory of the Holocaust!

Dec 30 12:03

Girl dies on cold walk; dad charged with murder

After the truck got caught in the snow, authorities allege Aragon let the children out to walk to their mother's house while he and another adult stayed behind to free the vehicle.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

This is tragic, but no reason to be in a court. The father did not intend harm to come to his children.

And he has a perfect defense in that the corporate media has been telling him for years that the world is getting warmer.

Dec 30 00:08

Tens of Thousands Protest Facebook Ban of Breastfeeding Photos

A photo of a baby breastfeeding is obscene, says Facebook, and it has banned all breastfeeding photos on its social networking website. Photos of babies drinking melamine-contaminated infant formula out of Bisphenol-A plastic baby bottles, however, are perfectly acceptable.

Dec 30 00:05

For the Love of Chrysler

Chrysler decided to use $100,000 of taxpayer money to buy a full-page "Thank You" ad in USA Today.

Dec 29 21:50

"The Revolution: A Manifesto' Amazon Most Loved Book of the Year

Ron Paul's seminal book on the princples of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, sound money and peace, has been rated Amazon's "Most-Loved" book of the year.

Dec 29 18:22

As if Things Weren't Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

I know I linked this story before, but THIS one is in the Wall Street Journal!!!!!!!!!!!

Dec 29 17:00

Bristol Palin Welcomes Baby Boy "Tripp"

The baby's name is Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, according to Jones

Dec 28 19:19

WE ARE ALL PALESTINIANS

Dec 27 22:45

John Edison, Jr: Victim of Lies, Perjury, and Corruption

After being smeared as a rapist in the media, extricated from friends and family, and forced to miss more than three months of school, Edison faced 51 years in a penitentiary for a crime he not only didn't commit, but one that police and prosecutors almost certainly knew he couldn't possibly have committed but pursued anyway.

Dec 27 21:30

The Federal Reserve Plan: Steal the Value of Your Money and Give It to Banks

Banks devalue all existing money when they create new money. They reduce its purchasing power. Devaluing everyone else's money is a form of theft, because the new money banks created obtains the purchasing power that the other money has lost.

Dec 27 16:37

Selling more bailouts and the death of us all too.

The Week in Review | Debt Sweat | Printing Money – and its Price | PETER S. GOODMAN | New York Times | Dec 27, 2008

So it may seem perverse that in this new era of reckoning — with consumers finally tapped out, government coffers lean and banks paralyzed by fear — many economists have concluded that the appropriate medicine is a fresh dose of the very course that delivered the disarray: Spend without limit. Print money today, fret about the consequences tomorrow. Otherwise, invite a loss of jobs and business failures that could cripple the nation for years.

Dec 27 08:41

Cops accused of Toys for Tots thefts ‘tarnished’ police’s image, official says

The four District of Columbia police officers reportedly caught on tape stealing from Toys for Tots “tarnished” the department’s image, a police official said.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Actually, that's about the usual burnish these days.

Dec 27 01:25

Oahu Suffers Major Power Outage

Honolulu Suffers Major Power Outage as Obama Visits
By Vanessa Kaneshiro / Honolulu Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008

Dec 26 18:55

Building collapses at Severstal plant in Dearborn; no injuries

Dec 26 16:24

Thousands injured trying to open plastic packaging

What you need to know about opening clamshell plastic packaging:

- Always clear the area of people
- Use heavy duty, utility scissors with blunt tips
- Wear protective gloves to protect both hands
- Always cut away from yourself
- Don’t use your legs to keep the product stable; you may end up inflicting serious injury to yourself.

Dec 26 15:30

Iranians hold shoe-throwing contest in capital's university

Iranians in the capital were invited to throw their shoes at a poster of U.S. President George Bush after the country's traditional Friday Muslim prayers were over. The event was held at Tehran University.

Dec 26 14:49

'Santa' shooting kills at least 6 in LA

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Latest body count is nine, including 'Santa' himself.

Dec 26 09:59

France's first woman in space hospitalized after suicide attempt

The first French woman in space has been hospitalized after she tried to take her own life, according to published reports.

Dec 25 16:32

Perseverance gets toys to the Pine Ridge reservation

This is the Christmas that almost wasn't for about 500 children on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation.

A truck filled with toys broke down about halfway along its 480-mile journey from Omaha. The driver climbed out and made some calls but found no help. So he smacked this and pushed that and, somehow, the engine started back up.

Dec 25 16:28

Room at the inn: Hyatt in downtown Dallas welcomes the homeless

Participants are given a night in a warm, clean room at the Hyatt. They get new clothes and time to shower before an afternoon banquet. Later, Pizza Hut and Chick-Fil-A provide dinner and snacks for the men and women in their rooms.

Dec 25 10:16

A Diaper Change You Can Believe In

Why, exactly, are thousands of God-loving Spaniards paying almost twenty bucks for Barack Obama to relieve himself in their nativity scenes? Somewhere between tradition and transition lies perhaps the funniest Christmas story you'll learn this season.

Dec 25 10:10

Casinos might owe Fry's for exec's losses

Should the casinos have suspected something was wrong prior to Siddiqui's arrest Friday?

"At what point or under what circumstances should the casinos be held accountable?" posited William Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if Fry's lawyers are all over this."

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Save court costs; bring back dueling!

Dec 25 09:52

FROM ALL OF US TO ALL OF YOU…..

From all of us here at DesertPeace, our Associates, our Friends, our Extended Family…..
All the best wishes for this Holiday Season… be it Eid Al-Adha, Chanukah, Christmas or Kwanza….
May 2009 usher in a new era of Peace and Justice throughout the world we live in…
An end to ALL hostilities!

Dec 25 07:57

International criminals

There is pressure building on the incoming Obama Justice Department to somehow adjudicate the war crimes committed by the George W. Bush administration, starting at the top. The political problem is that these crimes also implicate leading Democrats, thereby rendering true justice nearly impossible.

Dec 25 07:12

Army Officials Say Many More Active-Duty Troops Are Needed

One has to wonder just where these additional 30,000 troops are supposed to come from without a draft.

Things are getting so desperate for some people, due to closing businesses, that an "economic draft" in some of the hardest hit may well have recruiters calling businesses which are failing to discuss a time and place where they can approach potential recruits as that business's doors are closing.

Dec 24 09:52

Most levee repairs lagging

Webmaster's Commentary: 

"Look, it's either those stupid levees or executive bonuses for my buddies at AIG, Ford, Chrysler, GM, and the rest of them there! You can't afford to pay for them both, so I had to decide. That's my job. I'm the decider! I am only thinking of what's best for you!" -- Official White Horse Souse

Dec 23 22:53

Amtrak trains delayed by bitter cold, snowstorms

On one of the biggest travel days of the year, hundreds of Amtrak passengers bound for holiday destinations hunkered down in waiting rooms - some for nearly 24 hours - as snowstorms and Arctic cold delayed their trains and disrupted other Christmas traffic.
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Humans just have to be responsible for this. They're upsetting our plan for carbon taxing. We'll have to have cold tax too! -- Al Bore

Dec 23 22:50

Woman linked to Ohio corruption probe found dead in home

CLEVELAND (AP) — A woman linked to a corruption investigation in Cuyahoga County has been found dead in her home in Cleveland.

Dec 23 08:45

History will vindicate Bush administration, Rice says

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged Monday that the Bush administration fell short of goals it had set for itself but maintained that history would prove it right.

"Over time I think that the fact that America has stood for the Arab world and for the Arabs to have the same rights and the same ability to live in freedom as we have, that that will ultimately be respected," Rice said.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

Can this woman be so delusional as to make these statements, particularly about the Arab world's perception of the Bush presidency with an absolutely straight face?!?!

What the Arab world understands full well is the fact that the US can never be perceived by them as "an honest broker in the Middle East".

They full well understand the "Svengali effect" of Israel on US foreign policy. That effect engendered an attack on Iraq, because Iraq was an alleged "existential threat" to Israel. And no matter that the attack and occupation of Israel has proven to have been justified by a pack of lies, that was what we had to do: kill and maim Iraqis so the Israelis wouldn't have to soil their hands doing it.

They are desperately trying to do the same regarding Iran, although hopefully, the next administration will be much less carnage-prone than the current one when it comes to wars without end.

And her comment about "...Hamas wreaking havoc in Gaza...". Secretary Rice, when was the last time you planted your designer-shoe clad feet on the ground in Gaza to get a real assessment of what is happening there? Does the word "never" have a good chance of being an apt description?

As well documented by UN Human Rights Commission Documents you have probably studiously ignored, because of the Israeli siege, the people of Gaza are starving; some are eating grass just to survive. Malnutrition in children under 5 leaves irreversible damage.

Of course, this is one of the outcomes Israeli politicians understand will happen to the children of Gaza.

The medically fragile and ill (including infants) are being denied access to medical care which could save their lives. Y

ou must have some family member with a kid, or an infant, somewhere. Imagine knowing that care to save their lives was possible, but that child was not being allowed to access that care because they are the wrong ethnic group???

Does that not have some resonance for you, Madame Secretary?!?

I have a news flash for you: when a legendary champion of human rights, the Bishop Desmond Tutu, makes the observation that what is going on in the Israeli treatment of Palestinians is tantamount to apartheid, this guy should be afforded at least a little "street cred" for his opinion.

And now for the "coup de grace" for Gazan Palestinians, courtesy of the IDF. There will be an assault coming, in the very near future, which may well wipe out scores of non-combatants (who are, courtesy of malnutrition and illness) going to be one heck of a lot easier to "pick off" because of their weakened physical state. Israeli diplomats have been instructed to fan the world in a "charm offensive" to justify this impending slaughter.

But this time, Madame Secretary, something will be different. This carnage will be covered from cellphone cameras, other cameras, and be all over the net in a matter of minutes from when it happened.

The world will then see who is truly responsible for the "havoc" in Gaza.

Dec 23 08:37

The GOP winter blunderland

You have to hand it to the Republicans. Seriously. You have to. If not, they'll beat and belittle you, take whatever you have, anyway, and then insist you never had it in the first place.

Dec 23 08:29

Sex slavery: Living the American nightmare

The woman, Maribel Rodriguez Vasquez, was the sixth member of her family to be rounded up in the two-year multi-agency investigation. Vasquez, five of her relatives and three other Guatemalan nationals were charged with 50 counts, alleging that they lured at least a dozen young women — including five minors as young as 13 years old — to the United States with promises of good jobs, only to put them to work as prostitutes. All remain in custody as investigators attempt to unravel the complex case.

Dec 23 08:13

Judge denies former Agriprocessors CEO release

Magistrate Jon Scoles on Monday denied a release for former Agriprocessors CEO Sholom Rubashkin pending his trial.

Prosecutors allege Rubashkin tried to tamper with evidence when he was released from jail after earlier charges of harboring illegal immigrants, document fraud and identity theft. Rubashkin pleaded not guilty to those charges and is being held at the Dubuque County Jail.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

There is a concern that Rubashkin might flee to Israel where he would be an automatic citizen. There is an extradition treaty between the US and Israel, but apparently Israel rarely honors it.

One more interesting point about this story. Rubashkin and his associates were operating a meth lab out of their meat packing plants but this apsect of the case has vanished from the already-slim media reports about the Agriprocessor scandal.

Dec 23 08:11

CALIFORNIA BROKE? State Could Run Out Of Money In Two Months, Says Official

California's chief financial officer warned Monday that the state would run out of money in about two months as hopes of a Christmas budget compromise melted into political finger-pointing by the end of the day.

Webmaster's Commentary: 

It is apparent that in the halls of power in Sacramento,that the needs of the people of California - and the need for intelligent, tough choices - have absolutely no relevance to the "male-attribute-measuring" contest going on between the Governor and the Legislature.

Were I a California voter at this point, I would vote every single incumbent out of office the next possible chance I had.

Dec 23 08:02

Odd bumping noise heard on Denver plane's tape

Investigators trying to determine why a Continental Airlines plane veered off a runway and skidded into a ravine heard an odd bumping and rattling noise on the flight's recorders shortly before it tried to take off.

Dec 22 18:06

Malaysian minister's praise for man who threw shoes at President Bush

Despite his country's close relationship with the United States, Rais Yatim's government has always opposed the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq.

Now Mr Rais has talked in laudatory terms about Muntadar al-Zeidi, whom he called "that remarkable reporter who gave President Bush his final farewell last week".

He went on to say: "That shoe-throwing episode, in my view, is truly the best weapon of mass destruction to the leader who coined the phrase 'axis of evil' to denote Iran, Iraq and North Korea."

Dec 22 18:03

Bush shoe-thrower 'tortured into writing letter of apology'

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush was tortured into writing a letter of apology, his brother said today.

Muntazer al-Zaidi was wrestled to the ground after throwing his shoes during a news conference held by the US president and the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, on 14 December.

The investigating judge in the case said last week that Zaidi, who will stand trial on 31 December, was beaten around the face and eyes. Zaidi's brother, Uday, said the journalist suffered worse injuries, including a missing tooth and cigarette burns to his ears, and would sue.

Dec 22 18:02

Stampede for 'Bush shoe' creates 100 new jobs

Their deployment as a makeshift missile robbed President George Bush of his dignity and landed their owner in jail. But the world's most notorious pair of shoes have yielded an unexpected bonanza for a Turkish shoemaker.

Ramazan Baydan, owner of the Istanbul-based Baydan Shoe Company, has been swamped with orders from across the world, after insisting that his company produced the black leather shoes which the Iraqi journalist Muntazar al-Zaidi threw at Bush during a press conference in Baghdad last Sunday.

Dec 22 11:49

Iraq shoe-thrower's brother says he'd do it again

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush says he would do it again and that he was forced to write a letter of apology after being tortured in jail, the journalist's brother claimed Monday.

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Let's hope his aim is better the next time.

Dec 22 11:49

Iraq shoe-thrower's brother says he'd do it again

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush says he would do it again and that he was forced to write a letter of apology after being tortured in jail, the journalist's brother claimed Monday.

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Let's hope his aim is better the next time.

Dec 22 08:48

Country Without Mercy

What kind of people have we become when we exercise no oversight over a criminal justice (sic) system that destroys the lives of i