When Rumsfeld isn't busy rearming a third world nation, which he helped create, even though the guns were stolen. His day involves the oversight over America's WMD proliferation prevention initiatives (Don't mention Saddam), the latest is called CONPLAN 8099. Which involves:

"Offensive operations, including potential conventional and nuclear attacks against WMD sites; elimination operations, in the event that offensive operations pose an “unacceptable risk” to civilians of U.S. and allied forces; interdiction of WMD materials during transport; WMD consequence management; cooperation with allies on WMD non-proliferation efforts; threat reduction work to eliminate WMD arsenals".

Perhaps a greater risk to the world is weapons of not so much destruction, support for oppressive regimes and arms dealing. Currently Somalia is gripped in a civil war between American backed warlords and the Islamic Tribunals. Although, the economic and military backed American side is loosing. What's considered a front in the war on terror is going wrong, and badly.

Mogadishu Is Not Kabul
Mogadishu takeover faces opposition from residents
Somalia Militia Installs Religious Court
Bush Hawks Down
Islamic Militia Takes Control of Somali Capital

A lot has been written about Hugo Chávez; depending on where you look it is either excessively positive or overwhelmingly negative. He has polarised a media and why not? He is an outspoken, fiery larger than life leader. Survivor of a coup, and winner of several elections, Donald Rumsfeld has also done the age old comparison of political targets likened Hugo to Hitler.

Accused of clamping down on the press and freedom of expression, can also be seen as an attack on the rich owned media who are anti-Chávez because he doesn't want to line their pockets, and groups funded by the US State Department namely Sumate, who are seeking Chávez's removal. He also started a Latin American version of Al-Jazeera, Telsur which is independent media outlet set up to rival CNN style media, presenting a different picture of Venezuela.

Recently Channel 4 showed a report from Venezuela that among other things, attempted to say that Chávez was loosing his mind, increasingly paranoid, a threat to democracy, and as a consequence America and the world. The report was quite rightly ripped apart by John Pilger who described it as "one of the worst, most distorted pieces of journalism I have ever seen, qualifying as crude propaganda."

Earlier this week Chávez was devoting money from a windfall in oil revenue towards foreign aid in the region, an estimated $3 billion and is seen as buying influence. But when the G8 last year pledged an extra $50 billion in aid to Africa by 2010 it was seen as elevating poverty, a step in the right direction. Is Chávez merely demonstrating how easy it is to help out other countries without the use of summits and conditions of payment?

As for the national resources Chávez recently took control of three oil fields, one previously under control of the French oil giant Total, the other from Chevron Texaco and the final one was taken from Eni. They have been ordered to pay $182.2 million in taxes. So when a country as privatised its industries and they are in the hand of one company, like oh say Shell in Nigeria then its fine because it is under the auspices of 'globalisation and free trade' it is a good thing? Is people sharing in the wealth of their country wrong?

According to the Telegraph it is in order to fund "social reform programme, arms purchases and to engage in anti-US diplomacy, selling oil at below market rates to detach Latin American nations from Washington's orbit." A simple comparison America's 'human right and democracy program' is pegged at $1.4 billion, military aid comes out at $5 billion with a majority of money going to just three countries Israel, Egypt and Colombia others include Pakistan, Jordon and Indonesia.

Humanity is made of grey areas, Chávez's military build up is slightly worrying, but it is only in response to threats from the north, and the complete exclusion of opponents may eventually back fire. So long as Hugo doesn't go Castro he will be a benefit to his people for the long term. The Latin American increasing rejection of the Washington Consensus, neo-liberal globalisation, and puppet democracies within the context of historical remembrance of imposed dictatorships can only be beneficial to humanity. Another world is possible.

The Danger of Hugo Chávez's Successful Socialism
Chavez rules out return to cheap oil

Force feeding GM food to the world; the supranational WTO with heavy US backing has ruled that parts of Europe have broken trade rules by banning the import and growing of GM crops. Thankfully the EU told the WTO to 'piss off', yet the respective countries population won't be able to voice their opinion using that age old tradition of democracy.

The issue is important to people, they tend to have an opinion, and with the increase in organic food sales people are voting with their wallets.

What has been exposed is the power of the biotech industries lobbying machine, and the intentions of the WTO to over ride the fragile democracy that exists.

Bizarre goings on, coincidences and possible conspiracy, weird, weird, weird.

French President Chirac has threatened to nuke terrorists, I have no idea how you bomb an international network with no official nation state. What prompted this outburst?

The CIA manage to bomb a village killing civilians and possibly some top Al-Qaeda people in a targeted strike, and Osama Bin Laden resurfaces does that now justify the bombing?

Iran - Before the latest round of verbal fighting and relatively unnoticed the Observer uncovered a story relating to a British company attempting to sell 1,000kg of zirconium silicate to Iran, a chemical that can be used to create nuclear weapons, it got as far as Bulgaria (The Iranian take on events). Hilary Clinton is making her push for the Republican nominee for president in 2008 by calling for sanctions on Iran. China and Russian will never agree to sanctions if Iran gets referred to the security council, while Israel continues to have kittens laying blame for recent bombings on Iran and Syria, and is preparing for war. Iran meanwhile is withdrawing assets from Europe and has threatened to lower its oil output to OPEC (Iran also wants to deal oil in Euros, the only country to do that is Iraq, other countries to suggest this are Syria and Venezuela). This may be a fight that the west can not win.

Jack Straw has been caught in a quandary over rendition flights, thank to a memo leaked to the New Statesmen.

While nobody was looking the Lords defeated both the "glorification" terror law and ID cards legislation, and China continues to crush an uprising.

It is strange to watch, a hard for battle at the ballot box ends in a win for one side or another, and analyses instantly look to the market to gauge the reaction. The votes are in for the Sri Lankan presidency and the man chosen to do the job has got there by aligning himself with nationalist and Marxists.

As the AFP notes fairly quickly this caused the 'benchmark All Share Price index plunge 176 points', in an article entitled 'peace hopes dim as socialist PM wins Sri Lanka presidency'. Which is in contrast to an AP news item stating 'Sri Lanka president-elect wants peace talks'.

Why is there an assumption that this would lead to more tensions with the Tamil Tigers? Both articles are date stamped for around the same time so the information was readily available. Is Sri Lanka getting the South American treatment? A vote for the markets is a vote for peace.

President-elect pledges to work for "dignified peace"

Just when you thought Democracy couldn't be pushed any further, the arms industry and government collude over something small and another matter that is bloat and the connotations are wide spread.

Libya - A few days after George Bush signs presidential orders 2005-39 and 2005-40, which allows the destruction of chemical weapons and the refurbishment of American C-130 aircraft, bought by Tripoli in the 1970s, Libya's oil industry was opened to corporate bids.

The winners are such luminary human rights and environmental practitioners BP, Exxon, Total and China's CNBC. (CSR Index for 2005, BP is 1st, Shell 2nd, is CSR a myth?)

Saudi Arabia - This is the biggie, it encapsulates both human rights and the biggest arms manufacturer in Britain, and how it can be possibly justified against a supposed back drop of 'freedom and Democracy'. Two Saudi dissidents are being expelled in exchange for a £40 billion BAE arms contract, giving them a supply of Typhoon Eurofighters.

This was half heartedly denied, with an added 'but' they have been in talks, the French however, have offered their own deal for Dassault’s Rafales. In other words there will be a deal and governments from around the globe are lobbying for the arms industry.

Aren't you just brimming with pride to live in a Democracy?

Sign it you bastards! Iraq needs a constitution, without it, it wont have Democracy, the elections weren't enough, we need a piece of paper that looks a lot like the US version. Do it now, agree completely with everything, we need a binding document, sign fuckers, sign.

What! Nothing about women? It must adhere to Islamic law and the tenets of Democracy? My brain can't fathom such contradictions, and the Ba'ath party is banned for life, fuck them, we must have closure...

Iraqis Submit Charter, but Delay Vote
Birth of a new Iraq, or blueprint for civil war?
Iraq's Assembly Is Given Charter, Still Unfinished
'3 days insufficient' to resolve disputes over Iraqi charter
Text of proposed constitution
U.S. Concedes Ground To Islamists On Iraqi Law

Did you see the statistics? Did you see the statistics? One in four terror suspects is, if the media is to be believed, a benefit grabbing slacker who just happens to be an asylum seeker. Kick them out! Kick them out! All of them, no exceptions. Close the hospitals and schools, it isn't worth it, I said do it! One in four! That is so much, no body mentions the make up of the other three quarters but who really cares, it's smaller. Can't you see the asylum seekers are the problem, because there is more of them, we need scapegoats to save use from ourselves...

UK zeroed in on asylum seekers
Asylum claims down 21%, figures show
Britain lowers terror alert

While much of the media was distracted by the US death count in Iraq lurching ever closer to 2000, the Sh'ite Militia exercised its newly found Democratic rights to instigate a coup and unseat the unelected mayor of Baghdad.

This follows the America rights nice little statement of 'its effort to help bring freedom and self-determination to Iraq'. A coup certainly is self-determined, it is regime change learnt from the masters.

With their silk undies firmly in a bunch the Bush administration have already backed of from the phrase 'global struggle against violent extremism', and is now back using the word 'war' closely followed by 'the' and 'terror'. In a speech about domestic issues at the Gaylord Texas Resort (No I didn't just make that up) he used the term war no less than 15 times, the New York Times counted 'at least 13', then probably fell asleep...

John Reid MP - "I do not accept, when the report says we have made ourselves more of a target because of involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq and our efforts to tackle al-Qaeda, that there is another alternative which is easier and better."

Jack Straw MP - "The time for excuses for terrorism is over. The terrorists have struck across the world, in countries allied with the US, backing the war in Iraq and in countries which had nothing whatever to do with the war in Iraq... They struck in Kenya, in Tanzania, in Indonesia, in the Yemen, they struck this weekend in Turkey which was not supporting our action in Iraq."

Royal Institute for International Affairs - "There is no doubt that the situation over Iraq has imposed particular difficulties for the UK and for the wider coalition against terrorism. It gave a boost to the al-Qa'eda network's propaganda, recruitment and fund-raising, caused a major split in the coalition, provided an ideal targeting and training area for al-Qa'eda-linked terrorists and deflected resources and assistance that could have been deployed to assist the Karzai government [in Afghanistan] and to bring Osama bin Laden to justice. Riding pillion with a powerful ally has proved costly in terms of British and American military lives, Iraqi lives, military expenditure and the damage caused to the counter-terrorism campaign."

Joint Terrorist Analysis Centre - "Events in Iraq are continuing to act as motivation and a focus of a range of terrorist-related activity in the UK."

Abu Hafs al Masri Brigades - (1) "This is the last message we send to the European countries. We are giving you one month for your soldiers to leave the Land of the Two Rivers. Then there will be no other messages, but actions, and the words will be engraved in the heart of Europe."

(2) "Our attack in the heart of the infidel British capital is nothing but a message to all European governments that we will not rest until all the infidel troops leave Iraq. This is a warning to all those who follow the policies of the president of infidel America"

Ken Livingston - "You've just had 80 years of western intervention into predominantly Arab lands because of the western need for oil. We've propped up unsavoury governments, we've overthrown ones we didn't consider sympathetic"

Hamid Karzai - "Had the world paid attention to Afghanistan at that time, from 1993 to 2001, perhaps we would have had the Twin Towers standing, perhaps today we would not have had the bombings in London ... and other parts of the world."

Osama Bin Laden - "Why are we fighting and opposing you? The answer is very simple... Because you attacked us and continue to attack us."

There you have it, in their own words.

Small - Medium - Large - Huge

It is mounting, an ever increasing lurch from the American media to stop sugar coating news and performing sexual favours for the Bush Administration.

It has been slow in happening, even the American people are starting to feel the abject disillusionment for W like the rest of the world, as the Presidents detachment from what is really happening becomes ever more extreme and desperate.

The Presidents approval rating is the lowest since Nixon during Watergate.

The Public Deception Campaign
Why George Went To War
Let Them Eat War
CIA 'knows Bin Laden whereabouts' Pakistan says Bin Laden Whereabouts Unknown
What is Bush's Agenda in Iraq?
Don't Dismiss Downing Street
Bush spurned secret 2002 N. Korea overture-report
Fixed Is Fixed and Proof Of Deception, Not Intention
Iraq is now a terrorist training ground, CIA says
Democracy at Risk - The 2004 Election in Ohio
Afghanistan bleeds
Interrogators Cite Doctors' Aid at Guantánamo Prison Camp
Top five Gitmo falsehoods
Bush's Empathy Squeeze
Why so Lame?
Wash. Times misleadingly touted Bush U.N. visits as refutation to Downing Street memos
Democrats Reject White House Offer on Bolton
China's image better than US
Unleashing the Resistance
Taliban Death Toll Rises
The War Before The War
US hawks rooting for hardline Iranian candidate
US 'in talks with Iraq with Iraq rebels'
Most Americans oppose return to military draft, finds poll

The house of Bush looks unstable, he has entered the most uncomfortable period of his administration, and is currently at his lowest point in terms of popularity than ever before. The American people are turning on most of the policies which got him re-elected, the War on Terror now stands at 50-50 for and against, it is 60-40 against the war in Iraq, with no exit strategy and no progress the ghosts of Vietnam loom large.

Domestically the social security policy is unpopular and doomed, environmentally individual states are taking their own stances and signing up to Kyoto, even the Governator is taking radical steps, Corporations are stepping out of line and cutting emissions. The science he held so dear has been exposed as 'softened' by a former Exxon executive who has now resigned.

Globally it looks even worse, as Gordon Brown cements his place in history's good books by elevating the debt of some of the worlds poorest nations, Bush and Blair came to an 'agreement' in principle far removed from any promises of help that would make a difference.

A report was released detailing the distribution of military aid that went so completely against “the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world”. Including such shining examples of absolute tyranny Algeria, Angola, Colombia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nepal and Uzbekistan making the actions of Reagan in the 80's look like a tea party by comparison. Considering it is the same gang of crooks and thieves with a different moron as the head, nobody should be surprised.

That memo is finally getting attention in the US, it has taken a month but it is finally going somewhere a hearing is set for June 16th. There is even more evidence to what everyone knew just couldn't prove, there has also been another leak today a briefing paper from July 2002 in which it "said that since regime change was illegal it was “necessary to create the conditions” which would make it legal". Bush and Blair predictably deny the allegations, it doesn't look good for either of them. The 'impeachment' word is being tossed around , which has increased since it was found $700 million was illegally shifted (Source) to start the war.

Who said politics was boring?