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by JackRiddler » Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:03 am
by JackRiddler » Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:30 pm
http://www.thenation.com/print/article/ ... iti-cables
Release of Secret Haiti Cables
The Editors
June 1, 2011
Drawing from a trove of 1,918 Haiti-related diplomatic cables obtained by the transparency-advocacy group WikiLeaks, The Nation is collaborating with the Haitian weekly newspaper Haïti Liberté on a series of groundbreaking articles about US and UN policy toward the Caribbean nation.
Haïti Liberté, published largely in French and Creole, is working with WikiLeaks to release and analyze the Haiti-related cables, which will be featured in a series of English-language Nation pieces, written by a variety of freelance journalists with extensive experience in Haiti and posted each Wednesday for several weeks.
The cables from US Embassies around the world cover an almost seven-year period, from April 17, 2003—ten months before the February 29, 2004, coup d’état that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide—to February 28, 2010, just after the January 12 earthquake that devastated the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding cities. They range from “Secret” and “Confidential” classifications to “Unclassified.” Cables of the latter classification are not public, and many are marked “For Official Use Only” or “Sensitive.”
The cables that form the basis of the articles in this series are being published in their entirety on the WikiLeaks site. However, in some cases, names will be redacted for safety reasons.
While not revealing any intelligence or military operations, and not comprising a complete set of all Port-au-Prince Embassy communiqués, the cables offer a penetrating look into US strategies and maneuvering in Haiti during the brutal coup years (2004–2006) and the period after President René Préval’s election (2006–2010). We see Washington’s obsession with keeping Aristide out of Haiti and the hemisphere; the microscope it trained on rebellious neighborhoods like Bel Air and Cité Soleil; and its tight supervision of Haiti’s police and of the United Nations’ 9,000-man military occupation known as the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
Embassy officials offer candid assessments of other ambassadors and of Haitian politicians, UN officials, and other public figures. Sometimes their analysis is illuminating; more often, their assessments range from arrogant, pedantic or self-serving to false, tendentious or just plain ridiculous.
What emerges is an extraordinary portrait of Washington’s aggressive management of Latin America’s first sovereign nation—and its bare-knuckled tactics on behalf of US corporate interests there. But the cables also show how Washington’s designs are met with fierce resistance from the Haitian people. And they reveal how Haiti is a key arena for North-South struggle and East-West intrigue. Washington squares off against Caracas and Havana, particularly over oil, while Beijing and Taipei engage in fierce diplomatic arm-wrestling that threatens to derail the UN military mission in Haiti.
This release is part of the latest phase of WikiLeaks activity. Originally, WikiLeaks distributed the 251,287 leaked US Embassy cables and the Afghan war logs it obtained last year by providing them to large Western newspapers like the New York Times and the Guardian and the German magazine Der Spiegel. Since late December, WikiLeaks has selected media outlets in other countries—well over fifty now—and provided them with the US Embassy cables relevant to their country or region. Where they have been published, these disclosures have almost invariably generated major headlines, but typically they have received scant attention in the United States.
By partnering with Haïti Liberté, and placing the cables in context for a US audience, The Nation hopes to heighten the impact of the Haiti releases in the United States and internationally—and to advance the WikiLeaks mission of transparency in government that we regard as critical to democracy.
Let Them Live on $3 a Day: The US Embassy aided Levi’s, Hanes contractors in their fight against an increase in Haiti’s minimum wage.
http://www.thenation.com/article/161057 ... live-3-day
Cable Depicts Fraudulent Haiti Election: Confirming what Haitians already knew, a WikiLeaks document shows how US and international donors staged the phony presidential election.
http://www.thenation.com/article/161216 ... i-election
The PetroCaribe Files: The fight Big Oil lost in Haiti (for now).
How the US tried—and failed—to scuttle a Venezuelan oil deal even though it would bring huge benefits to Haiti's impoverished people.
Dan Coughlin and Kim Ives
http://www.thenation.com/article/161056 ... ribe-files
On Background: From WikiLeaks to WikiHaiti: Now that WikiLeaks is collaborating with media organizations across the globe, a huge trove of previously-unpublished State Department cables are coming to light.
http://www.thenation.com/article/161047 ... -wikihaiti
by seemslikeadream » Thu Jun 23, 2011 1:48 am
5 WikiLeaks Revelations Exposing the Rapidly Growing Corporatism Dominating American Diplomacy Abroad
One of WikiLeaks' greatest achievements has been to expose the exorbitant amount of influence that multinational corporations have over Washington's diplomacy.
June 21, 2011 |
One of the most significant scourges paralyzing our democracy is the merger of corporate power with elected and appointed government officials at the highest levels of office. Influence has a steep price-tag in American politics where politicians are bought and paid for with ever increasing campaign contributions from big business, essentially drowning out any and all voices advocating on behalf of the public interest.
Millions of dollars in campaign funding flooding Washington's halls of power combined with tens of thousands of high-paid corporate lobbyists and a never-ending revolving door that allows corporate executives to shuffle between the public and private sectors has blurred the line between government agencies and private corporations.
This corporate dominance over government affairs helps to explain why we are plagued by a health-care system that lines the pockets of industry executives to the detriment of the sick; a war industry that causes insurmountable death and destruction to enrich weapons-makers and defense contractors; and a financial sector that violates the working class and poor to dole out billions of dollars in bonuses to Wall Street CEO's.
The implications of this rapidly growing corporatism reach far beyond our borders and into the realm of American diplomacy, as in one case where efforts by US diplomats forced the minimum wage for beleaguered Haitian workers to remain below sweatshop levels.
In this context of corporate government corruption, one of WikiLeaks' greatest achievements has been to expose the exorbitant amount of influence that multinational corporations have over Washington's diplomacy. Many of the WikiLeaks US embassy cables reveal the naked intervention by our ambassadorial staff in the business of foreign countries on behalf of US corporations. From mining companies in Peru to pharmaceutical companies in Ecuador, one WikiLeaks embassy cable after the next illuminates a pattern of US diplomats shilling for corporate interests abroad in the most underhanded and sleazy ways imaginable.
While the merger of corporate and government power isn't exactly breaking news, it is one of the most critical yet under-reported issues of our time. And WikiLeaks has given us an inside look at the inner-workings of this corporate-government collusion, often operating at the highest levels of power. It is crystal clear that it's standard operating procedure for US government officials to moonlight as corporate stooges. Thanks to WikiLeaks, here are five instances that display the lengths to which Washington is willing to go to protect and promote US corporations around the world.
1. US officials work as salespeople for Boeing. The merger of state and corporate power is striking in a slew of cables detailing US State Department officials acting as marketing agents on behalf of one lucky corporation. Earlier this year the New York Times revealed details about how US diplomats have actively promoted the sale of commercial jets built by the US company Boeing.
Hundreds of cables from WikiLeaks show that Boeing had a sales force of US diplomats that went up to the highest levels of government, even going as far as sabotaging sales for Boeing's European rival Airbus. Enticing deals for the jetliners were offered to heads of state and airline executives in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Turkey and other countries. The WikiLeaks documents also suggest that demands for bribes, or at least payment to suspicious intermediaries, still take place.
In a deal that was valued at about $3.4 billion, the US Embassy in Istanbul pushed for the sale of Boeing jetliners to Turkish Airlines (THY), according to a cable from January 2010. In return, the president of Turkey asked the Obama administration to let a Turkish astronaut sit in on a NASA space flight.
The most puzzling and ironic tidbit in the cable is the US ambassador's bewilderment at the "conflation of USG-GOT interactions and what is ostensibly a commercial sale between private firms," which he complains is "an unwelcome, but unsurprising degree of political influence in this transaction." The accusation that inappropriate political influence exists among the Turkish government and a private airline is laughable considering that the US State Department is the one pitching the sale on behalf of a private firm.
The cable goes on to say, “We probably cannot put a Turkish astronaut in orbit, but there are programs we could undertake to strengthen Turkey’s capacity in this area that would meet our own goals for improved aviation safety. In any case, we must show some response to the minister’s vague request if we want to maximize chances for the sale.”
In November of last year, Saudi Arabia announced a deal with Boeing to buy more than $3.3 billion worth of airliners, a deal that WikiLeaks reveals was preceded by years of intense lobbying by American officials of the highest order.
In late 2006, then President George W. Bush wrote a personal letter he had hand-delivered to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, practically begging the king to buy as many as 43 Boeing jets to modernize Saudi Arabian Airlines and 13 jets for the Saudi royal fleet.
King Abdullah responded by asking the US government and President Bush to trick out his private airplane with the same high-tech equipment used on Air Force One. He hinted that if the US fulfilled his request, he would make a large purchase of Boeing planes for the royal family's fleet and Saudi Arabian Airlines. And lo and behold, King Abdullah got his airplane upgrade, and Boeing made billions.
A cable from early 2008 details a plan that successfully sabotaged an Airbus sale. In December 2007, the Bahrain-owned airline Gulf Air announced plans to buy a new fleet of Airbus planes. Boeing officials alerted the State Department, which immediately intervened urging them to buy from Boeing instead. Following months of intense lobbying by the ambassador, the crown prince and king of Bahrain agreed to kill the Airbus purchase. They ordered Gulf Air to reopen negotiations with Boeing, ultimately winning the deal valued at $6 billion, which was signed while President Bush was visiting Bahrain.
2. US diplomats by day — Monsanto henchmen by night. Boeing isn't the only multi-billion-dollar corporation US diplomats have been shilling for. In a cable from late 2007, former ambassador to France, Craig Stapleton, advised Washington to launch a military-style trade war against any European Union country that opposed genetically modified (GM) crops.
"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory," he wrote.
Stapleton was reacting to efforts by France to ban a Monsanto GM corn variety. He specifically asked Washington to punish the EU countries that did not support the use of GM crops.
"Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices."
An embassy cable from 2009 written by the ambassador to Spain directly cites meetings with Monsanto executives, showing that US diplomats were taking orders directly from GM companies.
Monsanto's director for biotechnology for Spain and Portugal briefed embassy officials about the region, complaining that "Spain is increasingly becoming a target of anti-biotechnology forces within Europe. If Spain falls, the rest of Europe will follow."
In a random insult thrown into the cable, the ambassador says, "Within the agriculture sector, only left-wing farmers' unions have negative opinions of GMOs."
The cable ends with a dramatic call for intervention by the US government on behalf of Monsanto: "ACTION REQUESTED: In response to recent urgent requests by [Spanish rural affairs ministry] State Secretary Josep Puxeu and Monsanto, post requests renewed US government support of Spain's science-based agricultural biotechnology position through high-level US government intervention."
3. Pharmaceuticals + US diplomats = best friends forever. In October 2009, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa issued a decree to improve access to medicines and support public health programs through a protocol that would reduce drug costs. Cables from US embassy personnel in Ecuador to the U.S. Department of State show the United States, multinational pharmaceutical companies, and three ministers within the government shared information and worked to undermine Ecuador's emerging policy.
In a cable dated October 13, 2009, before the decree was issued, the US ambassador was troubled by Correa's plans because it would prioritize local production and eliminate pharmaceutical patents. In other words, Ecuador was about to makes changes that would negatively impact the profits of US pharmaceutical companies.
Immediately following word of Correa's plans, the US embassy staff met with local representatives of US pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Merck, Sharp and Dohme, Scering-Plough, and Wyeth to share strategies that would prevent or limit Ecuador's licensing changes.
US concerns intensified as revealed by a cable written days later, which refers to meetings with "well-placed contacts" with "potentially sympathetic ministries." In what sounds like attempted blackmail, Minister of Health Caroline Chang -- one of the "well-placed contacts" described as an ally — assured multinational pharmaceuticals that she was looking into financial irregularities and business dealings of some of the local producers with the intent of gaining some leverage.
Despite efforts to undermine Ecuador’s access protocol, Ecuador issued its first compulsory license in April 2010, enabling generic imports of the HIV/AIDS drug ritonavir.
4. Washington 'hearts' abusive mining companies in Peru. From Bolivia to Venezuela to Peru, American diplomats are obsessed with securing the profits of multinational mining corporations at the cost of indigenous rights and the environment. At least that is the impression given by WikiLeaks cables that detail the eruption of anti-mining protests near the Ecuador border against the mining firm Minera Majaz.
In August 2005, a group of protesters in northern Peru marched to the site of a copper mine operated by the firm Minera Majaz, a subsidiary of the British mining company Monterrico Metals. Of the hundreds of people who converged at the mine site from the surrounding communities, 28 were brutally tortured and three were shot, one of whom bled to death.
But you wouldn't know this from the WikiLeaks US embassy cables that describe the protests. The tone is one of sympathy for the mining company, while depicting the protesters as dark and sinister "militant anti-mining protesters" maliciously sabotaging Majaz.
In a cable following the protests, J. Curtis Struble, the former US ambassador to Peru, toes the Majaz line that communists and unions were to blame for sowing the seeds of rebellion, an accusation that reeks of Washington's typical red-baiting of anything opposed to abusive corporate practices in the developing world.
"The anti-mining forces in action in Majaz represent a strange group of bedfellows indeed -- the Catholic church, violent radical leftists, NGOs, ronderos and perhaps narcotraffickers. Working behind the scene are a combination of the Peruvian Communist Party/Patria Roja, national teachers, union SUTEP and perhaps opium poppy traffickers," says Struble.
Struble's glowing profile of the mining company reads: "Majaz has spent $20 million exploring for copper for over a year, building roads and providing services and employment to area residents. Militants still deny access to most of the pipeline route."
Not once does Struble acknowledge the long history of devastation that mining companies have caused throughout the region, such as pollution of the local water supply and land, the use of brutal paramilitaries in assassinating indigenous leaders who challenge them, or the displacement caused by theft of indigenous lands.
Just days after the blatant human rights violations committed against the protesters, another cable reveals that the US and Canadian ambassadors hosted a meeting with representatives from several international mining companies in Peru. Struble expresses his pan to reinforce security in the mines, to avoid the closing of highways by demonstrators which would disrupt commerce, and to encourage the Peruvian government to prosecute the protesters.
5. Diplomats as corporate spies. A more recent US embassy cable dated March 17, 2008, reveals that US diplomats spied on indigenous activists and their supporters who were organizing anti-summit protests against the European Union-Latin American Heads of State summit that was scheduled in Lima that year.
US ambassador to Peru James Nealon identified specific indigenous activists and tracked the involvement of Bolivian President Evo Morales, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Bolivia Ambassador Pablo Solon, prominent Quechua activist Miguel Palacin Quispe and other influential community leaders.
What do all these people have in common? Their unwavering support for indigenous rights and the environment along with their successful organizing tactics and popularity among indigenous populations, which has Washington's corporate masters shaking in their boots.
Nealon describes the anti-summit groups as "a variety of radical Peruvian social movements and European anti-globalization NGOs," citing specific peasant and indigenous groups along with the names of prominent organizers who the US embassy was keeping tabs on. The cable is riddled with insulting references to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales, particularly Morales and his supporters. One Bolivian social leader is described as a "pro-Morales ideologue" and another as a "top Evo Morales adviser and anti-free trade and globalization guru."
In almost all of the Peru cables, the US government interprets the enemies of corporate power as being enemies of the United States. As a result, leftist activists and community organizers, particularly those who threaten corporate profits, are regularly targeted. Unions, environmentalists and indigenous communities that challenge multinationals are consistently regarded with disdain and viewed as hostile villains. The US government's propensity at conflating threats to corporate interests as threats to US interests should alarm anyone who values democracy.
What don't we know about?
Besides getting a good laugh at watching pathetically corrupt diplomats whore themselves out to corporate executives, these cables give us a rare glimpse at American diplomatic subservience to corporate behemoths regardless of the costs to people and the environment.
It appears that the collusion between corporate executives and US diplomats is taking place at an ever accelerating rate around the globe, yet more and more, these shady endeavors are shrouded in secrecy. Transparency and accountability have taken such a devastating blow over the past decade, that whistleblowers and media outlets such as WikiLeaks are the only mechanisms left still capable of shedding light on the consequences of the unbridled corporate influence infecting our government.
With tens of thousands of WikiLeaks embassy cables still waiting to be published, there’s sure to be hundreds if not thousands of episodes involving US corporate and government collusion that have yet to be discovered.
by seemslikeadream » Thu Aug 25, 2011 11:34 am
Cables Reveal Propaganda, Disinformation Efforts by US
One cable explains US policy as "making the stories and bringing them to journalists - and not the other way around"
by John Glaser, August 24, 2011
State Department diplomatic cables released this week by WikiLeaks reveal propaganda efforts aimed at countering negative public perceptions about American wars and the torture regime in Guantánamo Bay detention center.
One cable detailed a trip to the Sudan by US Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture Tony Hall aimed at “spotlight[ing] the U.S. Government’s role as a humanitarian leader.”
“Facing off in a world media environment dominated by themes like Iraq and terrorism, USUN-Rome mounted a month-long blitz that promoted a positive American story,” reads the cable. The trip entailed “a coordinated media outreach plan” that “reached targeted audiences in Europe and the Muslim world with the story of U.S. generosity.”
The cable notes that the UN delegation’s officers “worked to ensure that the Ambassador’s party included journalists from The Washington Post, Cox News Service, VOA, The Economist, Sunday Times of London and Knight-Ridder.” And another “press conference organized by the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum produced additional coverage by the Associated Press, Agence France- Presse, Al Ayam, Alwan, Sudan Tribune and Middle East Broadcasting Corp.”
Summarizing the Ambassador’s visit to the starving and war-ravaged Sudan, the cable notes approvingly that the positive media attention achieved the mission’s goal. “Together, these efforts reflect the mission’s goal of taking the offense to win hearts and minds by making the stories and bringing them to journalists – and not the other way around.”
In another, much more specific case of propaganda and control of disseminated information, the US Embassy in Bahrain provided an “action request” to the Bahraini government to lie about the treatment of an innocent Bahraini man in custody in the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.
Press reports published in October 2005 detailed the torture an abuse of Bahraini detainee Juma al-Dossary, including forced nudity, sexual abuse, and solitary confinement without charge or trial. The reports noted that al Dossary, among others, had resorted to going on a hunger strike in response to his treatment.
In response to the media exposure of the mistreatment, the US Embassy contacted the Bahraini government to make an “action request” for “talking points” to relay to the Bahraini public and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Embassy has talking points on the hunger strikes,” the cable reads “but requests talking points to respond publicly to questions about the treatment of al-Dossary, as well as any points that could be conveyed privately to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to the diplomatic note.”
Shortly after this action request was made, the Embassy put out a statement denying that al-Dossary was abused or that he was kept in solitary confinement. The statement also claimed that al-Dossary had access to excellent medical care, and insisted that the treatment of detainees held in Guantánamo Bay were “humane.”
As the release of these diplomatic cables prove, the US government undoubtedly engages in massive amounts of conscious deception in order to coax public opinion away from a reality-based understanding of US policy. The strategy is to spin media attention toward reporting that US policy mimics humanitarian concern, but not to actually move US policy in a more humanitarian direction.
by Plutonia » Tue Aug 30, 2011 1:05 am
by Plutonia » Tue Aug 30, 2011 1:17 am
NYT: WikiLeaks Leaves Names of Diplomatic Sources in Cables
By SCOTT SHANE
Published: August 29, 2011
WASHINGTON — In a shift of tactics that has alarmed American officials, the antisecrecy organization WikiLeaks has published on the Web nearly 134,000 leaked diplomatic cables in recent days, more than six times the total disclosed publicly since the posting of the leaked State Department documents began last November.
...
State Department officials and human rights activists have been concerned that such diplomatic sources, including activists, journalists and academics in authoritarian countries, could face reprisals, including dismissal from their jobs, prosecution or violence.
cont: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/us/30wikileaks DOT html?src=tp
by wintler2 » Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:11 am
by JackRiddler » Sat Sep 03, 2011 3:43 pm
http://wlcentral.org/book/export/html/2214
2011-09-02
Polish CIA prison: US and Poland had been trying to "put story to rest"
#wlfind
A new Wikileaks release 05WARSAW4030 finally proves that the United States and Poland colluded in their efforts to silence questions about a CIA prison in Masovia.
This is what the cable says:
"[FM] Meller's staff expects that the renditions and "CIA prisons" issue will continue to dog the Polish government, despite our and the Poles' best efforts to put this story to rest. In response to sustained media pressure, PM Marcinkiewicz announced December 10 that his government will order an internal probe "to close the issue." Meller anticipates being asked about renditions by the Polish press while in Washington, and the MFA has asked that we remain in close contact to coordinate our public stance."
In another cable 05WARSAW4037 from the same year, the issue is brought up again:
"[Polish government official Schnepf] noted the GOP's need to find tangible benefit from the mission to gain public support for a continued Polish presence in Iraq. Schnepf also suggested that media reports about alleged CIA prisons in Poland might further undercut this public support."
In hindsight, the assessment that this issue will continue to dog the Polish government was certainly right. Earlier this year, a complaint against Poland was filed with the European Court of Human Rights, amongst others for a failure to investigate the CIA prison. A criminal case which was launched in Poland in 2008 is still ongoing.
The wording of the cable strongly suggest that the US and Poland were trying to influence the press coverage on the matter. How this was to be carried out is not detailed. In fact, very few cables on the topic exist, compared to, for instance, a similar case in Lithuania.
When looking at this text, two events come to mind that would fit the bill. A few months ago, a Warsaw investigator was removed from the case, after it became known that he was planning to file charges, amongst others for crimes against humanity. A part of his case files were subsequently obtained and covered by Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, which triggered a criminal investigation that involved interrogations of journalists.
For our previous coverage please see this page.
by JackRiddler » Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:44 pm
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/security/20 ... -40093837/
This story was printed from ZDNet UK, located at http://www.zdnet.co.uk/
Wikileaks: Microsoft aided former Tunisian regime
By David Meyer, 5 September 2011 13:35
NEWS
Microsoft provided IT training to law enforcement officials in Tunisia while the country was governed by a repressive regime, embassy cables published by Wikileaks show.
According to a cable sent by the US embassy in Tunis on 22 September, 2006, Microsoft was so keen to get the Tunisian government to drop its policy favouring open-source software that it agreed to set up a "program on cyber criminality" to cover training. The deal also entailed the company giving the Tunisian regime, headed by President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, the original source code for Microsoft software.
The cable was made public last week by Wikileaks as part of a massive and largely accidental publication of unredacted US embassy messages. In it, embassy officials told Washington there was a risk the training could be used to further oppress the Tunisian people.
"Through a program on cyber criminality, Microsoft will train government officials in the Ministries of Justice and Interior on how to use computers and the internet to fight crime. As part of this program, Microsoft will provide the GOT [Government of Tunisia] with original source codes for its program," the cable read.
"In theory, increasing GOT law enforcement capability through IT training is positive, but given heavy-handed GOT interference in the internet, Post questions whether this will expand GOT capacity to monitor its own citizens," it continued.
The cable ended with the observation that "ultimately, for Microsoft the benefits outweigh the costs".
Tunisia 'not free'
Freedom House's assessment of Tunisia in 2010 rated the country as 'not free'. It noted that Ben Ali "tightly controlled" elections and that the government harassed and imprisoned bloggers, journalists and political opponents. At the start of 2011, Ben Ali's regime was overthrown, kicking off the so-called Arab Spring.
The partnership agreement between Tunisia and Microsoft was signed at a forum in South Africa in July 2006. At first, neither party would give the embassy any information about the terms of the deal. In September, however, Microsoft Tunisia's director general Salwa Smaoui gave an overview to the US consulate's Economics Office (abbreviated in the cable as 'EconOff').
In addition to giving the Tunisian government access to its source code — most likely to allay fears about the company's "American-ness", according to Smaoui — Microsoft agreed to establish an 'Innovation Centre' in Tunisia for "developing local software production capacity". The cable notes that this would address the regime's concerns over local employment.
The company appears to have agreed to train handicapped Tunisians in IT. Smaoui suggested this was probably in view of the fact that the Tunisian leader's wife, Leila Ben Ali, ran a charity for handicapped Tunisians.
Microsoft also offered to help the government "upgrade and modernise its computers and networking capabilities", according to the embassy.
Ultimately, for Microsoft the benefits outweigh the costs.
– US embassy cable
"In turn, the GOT agreed to purchase 12,000 licences to update government computers with official Microsoft software, rather than the pirated versions that have been commonly used, according to one Microsoft employee. Since 2001, the GOT adopted an open software policy, using only free software programs.
"Additionally, future GOT tenders for IT equipment will specify that the equipment must be Microsoft-compatible, which is currently prohibited by the Tunisian open software policy," the cable added.
In early 2010, the US warned that state censorship of the internet was increasing in Tunisia. When the revolution came a year later, the government briefly tried to suppress online information about the dissent that would topple it within days.
Open-source opposition
The Tunisian cable is just one of several that appeared last week, providing details of Microsoft's efforts against open-source rivals. For example, a cable sent in February 2010 described how Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) met with Thai officials to argue that their government was wrong to promote open-source software as a way to fight piracy.
Another cable, sent from the Caracas embassy on 16 June, 2006, outlined Microsoft's opposition to a draft Venezuelan law that mandated open-source software for governmental use. It revealed that a Microsoft general manager had shown US EconOff officials an internal memo from Venezuela's state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
According to the cable, the memo "claimed that all US software companies had a 'back door' mechanism whereby the US government could at any time access information, citing the supposed Calea Law (United States Law of Assistance in Communications for Security Systems)".
"The memo made a claim that the [US government] simultaneously shut down all Microsoft operating systems in Iraq before attacking, and then detailed various NSA and CIA hacker programs. The memo concludes that [Venezuela] should not contract any services from American providers," the cable continued.
Microsoft was unable to provide comment about any involvement with the Tunisian regime or its dealings with the PDVSA internal memo at the time of writing.
Copyright © 1998-2011 CBS Interactive Limited. All rights reserved
by JackRiddler » Thu Sep 08, 2011 11:56 pm
Global - 30 new revelations from #wlfind
http://wikileaks.org/30-new-revelations ... lfind.html
29th August 2011
Belarus (2005)
US Embassy staff in Belarus accused by state-controlled TV channel of espionage & revolutionary activities. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/11/...
Burundi (2010)
Quota system of female representation in government is not leading to improvement in women’s rights because they are placed in their elected positions by their male-led parties to meet quotas, and they feel constrained by and beholden to their party leadership. Professional women opt out of political life, leading to those represented in government lacking the education and work experience of their male counterparts. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/...
China (2008)
Nuclear safety at risk due to cheap, out-of-date technology. Cable highlights US lobbying and says that cheap, out-of-date technology is ’vastly increasing’ risk of nuclear accident. 20 out of 22 nuclear reactors being built in 2010 bypass technology that ensures automatic shutdown without human intervention in the event of a natural disaster. http://www.wikileaks.org/cable/2008...
China (2009)
"The following is neither an overstatement nor is it hyperbole. It is a fact. The contaminated waters of the Pearl River and other water sources in Guangdong are as serious a threat to the region’s health and economic sustainability as the decline in exports, the closure of small and medium enterprises and the increasing utilization of land for nonproductive reasons." Local residents in some heavily polluted areas display effects such as cancers and bone diseases stemming from exposure to high levels of arsenic, cadmium and other toxins. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/01/...
China (2009)
Ambassador says "a peaceful resolution of the threat posed by North Korea might cause China to call for an end to the U.S. base presence on the Korean Peninsula" and expresses concern that in the future, Chinese leaders may exert economic pressures on U.S. allies like Thailand or the Philippines to choose between Beijing and Washington. The cable proposes strengthening military collaboration in order to ’promote trust’ between the US and China. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/01/...
China (2006)
Wal-Mart has unions in China but not in the US. The cable goes on to say that "The Wal-Mart unions have more to do with the role of politics in the ACFTU (Federation of Trade Unions) than with advancing workers rights." Wal-Mart hopes to showcase what a good employer it is, and hopes to eliminate some of the "hard knocks" it has received in the local and foreign press. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/08/...
Colombia/Haiti (2010)
In 2010 US tried to outsource small arms sale to Haiti through Colombia, Colombia declined. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/...
DRC (2008)
The government does virtually nothing to prevent children risking their lives for $1-2/day in mining sector. Many are suspected former child soldiers who have not reintegrated, others are victims of trafficking. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2008/08/...
East Timor (2009)
"On three occasions, in 1975, 1999 and 2002, Timor-Leste has been ill-prepared for full sovereignty." The reluctance to hold guilty parties accountable shows a lack of faith in the stability of Timorese society and creates a culture of impunity that threatens to undermine the rule of law and perpetuate the violent political environment. In this context, the United States is seen as an honest broker and does not have the same historical baggage as Australia, Indonesia, Portugal and the United Nations. The cable speculates on the leaders of the next political generation. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/08/...
France (2006)
UNESCO staff see the World Digital Library as expansion of America Cultural Hegemony - "Washington may want to assess how much of an obstacle some UNESCO member states’ attitude is towards Google and U.S.-initiated global cultural ventures." http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/08/...
Germany/France (2006)
The cable discusses Airbus A-380 competition with Boeing, as well as Forgeard/EADS crisis: Noel Forgeard’s unceremonious exit from the French co-CEO slot at EADS was for the good of the company, according to one of the embassy contacts in EADS, who described Forgeard as "an over-ambitious ’maniac’. The German-half of EADS never knew if he acted with the backing of the French government, or was promoting his own agenda. This was especially true last year when he attempted to abolish the shared French-German leadership structure at EADS and claim the top job for himself." This power-grab was probably driven by prestige. The contacts in EADS told the embassy that "from the German perspective, it made sense to preserve co-leadership at EADS for the time being because, as the French made the current mess, it should, after-all, be cleaned-up by a Frenchman." The cable also states that British BAE Systems was viewed from EADS’ perspective as a ’schizophrenic partner" that never quite knew "if it was a European company, or a quasi-U.S. firm. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/07/...
Greece (2005)
The scenesetter cable discusses the Greek public’s negative opinion toward U.S. policy: US perceived historical favoritism toward Turkey, American support for the former Greek military junta, our actions in Iraq, and US policy to recognize Macedonia by its constitutional name. In addition to this, "93 percent of Greeks opposed the war in Iraq and a large majority (80 percent) believe the U.S. plays a negative role in the worldwide fight against terrorism (incredibly enough)... This prevailing ttitude is based on a sense of insecurity about Greece’s place in the world and a traditional belief in the country’s victimhood at the hands of great powers." http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/03/...
Guyana (2006)
The embassy requested the establishment of a DEA Office in Guyana: "Guyana is well on its way to narco-statehood" and is involved in ’drugs for arms’ financing for insurgent groups like the FARC. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/05/ 06GEORGETOWN489.html
Ireland (2007)
The Irish Government decided that the importation of genetically modified (GM) animal feed is acceptable under its GM-Free Ireland policy. In a comment, the cable explains that had Ireland banned the importation of GM animal feed, Irish cattle and dairy farmers would have incurred significantly higher costs over the winter, which would have been passed on to consumers. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/11/...
Israel (2005)
A cable describes institutionalised discrimination and the denial of public services to its own Bedouin citizens. Despite their citizenship and the fact that Bedouins "continue to serve voluntarily in the IDF and otherwise support the state, media commentators and Israeli politicians often refer to the threat of a second ’intifada’ coming from the Negev Bedouin." The 70’000 Bedouins of the Negev community have never been included in GOI land planning, do not qualify for provision of any public services, and therefore do not officially exist on Israeli maps. Many Bedouin are life-long residents of these communities, but are considered squatters by the government. Without legal status, these communities receive no government resources, including municipal services and infrastructure development. The cable describes squalor and poverty of one of the villages under the heading "Is this Israel?". The Government of Israel decided to forcibly relocate Bedouin communities in order to create a ’buffer zone’ around an airbase because they feared Bedouins may acquire anti-aircraft missiles for use against Israeli aircraft, or to prevent vandalism and theft. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/02/...
Israel (2008)
Netanyahu told the US ambassador in 2008 that he could ’deliver two thirds of the Israeli right-wing’ on anything the US agrees with the Palestinians, whether on process or interim agreements. Another cable describes Israel’s political leaders: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likes to centralize control and keeps his own counsel, but he may advance the peace process. Interior Minister Eli Yishai is a loud opponent of the peace process and Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon is a controversial figure who Netanyahu regrets ever bringing into Likud. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2008/11/... Reported in Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/print-editio...
China (2007)
US Oil Firm ConocoPhillips warned about a conflict of interests in environmental emergencies. The firm is currently blamed for a spill in China’s Bohai Sea. CNOOC, the Chinese partner in the joint venture, "is essentially the company’s partner, service and parts provider, and Chinese government interlocutor. These overlapping responsibilities are a conflict of interest for CNOOC and hamper the effectiveness of the joint venture." http://www.wikileaks.org/cable/2007... As reported in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environme...
Israel (2009)
Lieberman "unabashedly advocates transfer of Irsaeli Arabs" and suggests Egypt should give Gaza some of its territory. Lieberman is described as a "staunch supporter of the settlement project and a stern nationalist." The ambassador told Lieberman that "separating between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs is vital in order to maintain Israel’s security and preserve its Jewish identity." Lieberman "characterized PA President Mahmud Abbas as "very weak," and predicted that Hamas will "use" Abbas as a fig leaf of legitimacy for two-to-three years and then "throw him out." The Ambassador said that Arafat had left a lasting negative impact on the evolution of Palestinian society. Lieberman "characterized Hamas as disciplined, with a track record of delivering services, and less corrupt than Fatah." Lieberman said that he now worries about the influence of Hamas in Israel. "Within two years," Lieberman said, "Hamas will take over" the Israeli-Arab population. Lieberman argued that to avoid conflict, Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs must be separated. Lieberman acknowledged that this is "more complicated." On the status of Arab-Israelis, Lieberman advocated that all Israelis be required to take a loyalty oath, and that those who refuse be stripped of their citizenship - this would mean practically all Israeli Arabs (except Bedouins in the North) and some ultra-Orthodox jews. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/02/... As reported by Ynetnews: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,...
Italy (2002)
Political Director of Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised US ambassador on best strategy to avoid a unified EU position against US attempts to conclude bilateral immunity agreements with EU states, which exempt US citizens from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC). While Italy would agree to sign the agreement, the Political Director explained that Italy’s public support and flexibility was constrained by "a strong and vocal domestic constituency in favor of the Court" and the fact that Italy had been the host of the signing of the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. "The notoriously unreliable and partisan Italian press" may lead the Italian public to believe that the agreement would undermine the ICC or contravene the treaty’s intent - and that statements made by the US risk making the Italian government’s job more difficult "in this public relations minefield". http://wikileaks.org/cable/2002/08/...
New Zealand (2006)
Former NZ Prime Minister David Lange’s private papers included a copy of highly classified documents. When he died the documents were archived and publicly accessible. Among the cables was correspondence with the US Embassy in which the U.S. Ambassador at the time expressed concerns that NZ anti-nuclear legislation "had eroded trust in New Zealand, thereby threatening intelligence cooperation." The New Zealand Star Times labelled the Ambassador’s language "a clear threat" and "bully tactics". The cable goes on to say that "The Star-Times article is an embarrassment to the Government and to the Prime Minister personally, since she is the Minister charged with intelligence oversight. It "raises questions about the Government’s competence and its "non-aligned" credentials." The Prime Minister instructed that the story be killed "as quickly as possible, so that she does not have to face questions about the U.S.-NZ intelligence relationship". The US Embassy would only address the issue with the press by speaking to "select journalists on our view of the former Ambassador’s comments about the importance of trust, stressing the difference between an honest diplomatic exchange on matters of mutual concern and "bullying." The embassy also spoke of strategy to "exploit while we can" a discussion on the U.S.-New Zealand relationship (and the late David Lange’s lack of veracity) in the press. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/01/...
Nigeria (2009)
Niger Deltans live and swim in crude oil spills. Environmental scientists described how communities in the Niger Delta live in the oil spills, walking through the oil daily. A scientist had seen young boys "swimming in the crude" topping the water of a creek. On average, officials estimated three oil spills take place every day in the Niger Delta; the total number of spills reported by their agency annually is from 1,250-1,300, although the area covered by the spills is not known. Exposure to the components in crude oil are well known, and include lungs-, liver-, kidney-, and colon cancer, as well as asthma, blood diseases, mongoloidism and premature births. Children are at higher risk because their short stature places them in the heaviest concentration of the vapor zone above the exposed crude oil. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/03/...
Philippines (2005)
Ambassador calls Philippine National Police ’a mess’ and fears in the absence of reform Philippines will enter a disastrous human rights climate and undermine efforts to combat terrorism, narcotics trafficking, human trafficking. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/04/... As reported in ABS-CBN News: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/0...
Rwanda (2007)
Rwanda’s Police Commissioner justified to US embassy extra-judicial killings of common criminals, including a man accused of stealing electrical cable, by saying they were ’of extreme criminal character’ and had ’genocide ideology’. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/05/...
South Korea (2010)
Korea sells "experimental" Nuclear Reactor to Jordan, wants to sell to Turkey and the UAE. Korea is constructing 10 nuclear power plants and plans to build six more by 2020. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/12/...
Spain (2009)
U.S. Lobbying by Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), succeeded in having President Obama put pressure on President Zapatero regarding internet piracy in a 13 October 2009 meeting. In the meeting with Obama, Zapatero cited Spain’s track-record of attracting foreign investment and suggested ’improving’ IPR laws to attract more foreign investment. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/10/...
Sudan (2007)
Minister of Energy admitted Sudanese National Intelligence Security Services connections with private oil field security. The cable details reports that private security forces with ties to NISS essentially act as a militia controlled by the government, often better equipped than the army. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/07/...
Turkey (2005)
Letter from Armenian President to Turkey’s President regarding establishing diplomatic relations and opening borders with no pre-conditions. The cable’s comments address Turkey’s three excuses for not opening the borders (Armenia’s insistence on Genocide recognition; Armenians have not reaffirmed Turkey’s territorial integrity; the unresolved Nagorno Karabakh conflict), and revisionist efforts by Turkey regarding the Armenian genocide, such as Parliament’s calls on third countries (such as the UK) to "revisit, review and revise their own archives". http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/04/...
UN Geneva (2007)
UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions letter to US Mission regarding five cases of murder and manslaughter by US army personnel that were not submitted to court martial. One of them concerns the killing in Iraq in 2003 of Mazen Dana, a journalist who had worked for Reuters for ten years, who was shot because his camera was mistaken for a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG). An investigation by the military had concluded that the incident had been an "accidental death", and the soldier would not prosecuted for any crime because he believed Mr. Dana was a hostile combatant and the "soldier thought the device was a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) Launcher, but it was later determined to be a news agency videocamera."
The Special Rapporteur stated that: "While I do not wish to prejudge the accuracy of these allegations, I would note that, if they were accurate they might give rise to concern about the extent to which your Government is consistently imposing effective penal sanctions for grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and, more generally, consistently prosecuting and punishing the unlawful use of lethal force." http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/05/...
US State Department (2010)
The global shortage of Helium-3 (He-3), an isotope used for nuclear security and safeguards, stymied the global Megaport and SLD nuclear smuggling detection initiatives. The supply of He-3 will soon be short of projected demand by a factor of 10. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/01/...
UAE (2009)
UAE telecom giant (owned 60% by UAE government) Estisalat installs spyware developed by US Firm SS8 for local Blackberrys. Estilat denied that the "performance enhancing patch" was spyware, but Canadian Blackberry developer RIM refuted this and gave instructions on how to remove it. The spyware was installed after Etisalat sent a text message to Blackberry users: "Etisalat is always keen to provide you with the best BlackBerry service and ultimate experience, for that we will be sending you a performance enhancement patch that you need to install on your device." The story was reported in Arabic as well as the English-speaking press, although few publically speculated why and at whose bequest Etisalat had been installing Spyware. http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/08/...
by JackRiddler » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:02 am
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2001/10/01MANAMA3641.html
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
01MANAMA3641 2001-10-29 14:45 2011-08-30 01:44 SECRET Embassy Manama
R 291445Z OCT 01
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3409
INFO GCC COLLECTIVE
AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
AMEMBASSY ANKARA
AMEMBASSY ALMATY
AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
AMEMBASSY LONDON
AMEMBASSY PARIS
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
AMEMBASSY BEIJING
AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
COMUSNAVCENT
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 003641
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - ADDED DUSHANBE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/11
TAGS: PGOV PREL AF BA
SUBJECT: AMIR TO SECRETARY POWELL ON AFGHANISTAN'S
FUTURE: GET A GOVERNMENT ON THE GROUND
REF: A) STATE 187567 B) MANAMA 3624
(U) CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR RONALD E. NEUMANN. REASONS
1.5 (B)(D)
¶1. (S) SUMMARY. BAHRAIN'S AMIR WELCOMES THE U.S. FOCUS
ON REPLACING THE TALIBAN AND FORMING A BROAD-BASED
GOVERNMENT. HE URGED THAT WE GET SOME FORM OF
GOVERNMENT ON THE GROUND QUICKLY TO BECOME A LEGITIMATE
SPOKESMAN FOR AFGHANISTAN AND TURN THE TALIBAN INTO
INSURGENTS. WITH SUCH A STEP HE THINKS THE LENGTH OF
THE WAR WILL BECOME LESS IMPORTANT, AND WITHOUT IT THE
PUBLIC PROBLEM WILL GROW. HIS PS: CAN'T YOU DO
SOMETHING ON PULLING THE PLUG ON AL JAZEERA? WE DO NOT
RECOMMEND THIS. END SUMMARY.
¶2. (S) DURING THE CALL BY SECRETARY OF THE NAVY GORDON
ENGLAND ON BAHRAIN'S AMIR SHAIKH HAMAD BIN ISA OCTOBER
29, THE AMBASSADOR REVIEWED SECRETARY POWELL'S ORAL
MESSAGE ON AFGHANISTAN (REFTEL A). THE AMIR AGREED WITH
THE THRUST OF CREATING A BROAD-BASED GOVERNMENT KEEPING
THE UN IN THE LEAD ON ASSISTANCE, AND THE REMOVAL OF THE
TALIBAN ("ESSENTIAL"). HOWEVER, THE AMIR FOCUSED HIS
ATTENTION ON THE NEED TO MOVE SPEEDILY TO PUT AN AFGHAN
GOVERNMENT ON THE GROUND. HE MADE CLEAR THAT IT IS THE
SYMBOLISM AND NOT THE REALITY OF CONTROL THAT HE
BELIEVES IS ESSENTIAL.
¶3. (S) HIS RECOMMENDATION IS, ESSENTIALLY, TO GET AS
BROAD BASED A GROUP AS POSSIBLE, AND GET THEM ON TO THE
GROUND, AND CALL THEM A GOVERNMENT. HE DOES NOT BELIEVE
IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THEY BE IN KABUL. THEY COULD BE
CLOSE TO THE BORDER AND DEALING WITH REFUGEE ISSUES.
ALTERNATIVELY, THEY COULD BE IN MAZAR-I-SHARIF IF THE
TOWN CAN BE SEIZED. THE AMIR'S POINT IS THAT ONCE A
GROUP CALLING ITSELF THE AFGHAN GOVERNMENT CAN BEGIN TO
SPEAK FROM THE SOIL OF AFGHANISTAN THEY CAN RAPIDLY TAKE
ON THE MANTLE OF AUTHORITY, AND PUSH THE TALIBAN INTO
THE ROLE OF INSURGENTS FIGHTING IN THE HILLS. THIS WILL
ALLOW A COUNTERPOINT TO THE POPULAR VIEW THAT THE U.S.
IS WAGING WAR ON, RATHER THAN TO LIBERATE AFGHANISTAN.
¶4. (S) SUBSIDIARY POINTS MADE BY THE AMIR INCLUDED THE
NEED TO PROTECT THE NEW GOVERNMENT WITH ISLAMIC, NOT
U.S. FORCES, AND THE RECOMMENDATION THAT SITES FOR
DISCUSSING AND LAUNCHING SUCH A GOVERNMENT INCLUDE
CONSIDERATION OF SAUDI ARABIA, PREFERABLY MECCA, TO GIVE
IT A HOLY CAST. HE THOUGHT TURKEY, AND PERHAPS,
PAKISTAN WOULD BE HELPFUL.
¶5. (S) THE AMIR ALSO LAID INTO AL JAZEERA WITH EVEN
MORE THAN HIS USUAL GUSTO. HE DECLAIMED AT LENGTH ON
HOW DANGEROUS THIS STATION IS, HOW IT IS ESSENTIALLY
ONE-SIDED PROPAGANDA, AND ALLEGED THAT THE AL JAZEERA
CORRESPONDENT IN KABUL (HE WAS SOME UNCERTAIN HERE, IT
COULD HAVE BEEN KANDAHAR) IS ACTUALLY NOT A JOURNALIST,
BUT AN "AFGHAN ARAB." HIS BASIC THRUST WAS TO ASK
WHETHER THE UNITED STATES AND SAUDI ARABIA COULD NOT
SOMEHOW PULL THE PLUG OF ARABSAT AND MAKE AL JAZEERA
OCCASIONALLY DISAPPEAR FROM THE AIRWAVES.
¶6. (S) COMMENT: THE AMIR IS FIXATED WITH THE NEED TO
SHOW POLITICAL MOVEMENT ON THE GROUND IN AFGHANISTAN.
THE FIXATION IS AN ACTION-ORIENTED MANIFESTATION OF THE
GENERAL PUBLIC FRUSTRATION THAT THE BOMBING IS NOT BEING
LINKED, IN WAYS THEY CAN SEE, TO AN ARTICULATED
POLITICAL STRATEGY EXTENDING BEYOND ANTI-TERRORISM. THE
AMIR AND THE PUBLIC HERE WANT TO KNOW ALSO THE
CONDITIONS WHICH WOULD SHAPE AN END TO THE CURRENT PHASE
OF THE WAR. IN THE ABSENCE OF BENCHMARKS TOWARDS WHICH
WE CAN BE SEEN TO BE PROCEEDING, THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN
BECOMES MORE DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN. AS TO AL JAZEERA,
THERE IS NO LOVE LOST BETWEEN THE BAHRAINIS AND THE
QATARIS AND THE GOB HAS NEVER FELT MORE THAN CORDIAL
DISTASTE FOR AL JAZEERA, EVEN AT THE BEST OF TIMES. WE
WATCH AL-JAZEERA REGULARLY. SOME OF THE COVERAGE -- BUT
NOT ALL -- IS BIASED. BUT WHAT IS HURTING US BADLY IS
THE VISUALS, WOUNDED CIVILIANS AND DESPERATE REFUGEES,
NOT THE COMMENTARY. IF AL JAZEERA WAS TURNED OFF, WE
SUSPECT ITS POPULARITY WOULD SIMPLY PASS TO THE EVEN
WORSE HIZBALLAH SATELLITE STATION AL MANAR, WHICH IS
ALSO BROADCASTING CURRENTLY FROM AFGHANISTAN. FINALLY,
ASSAULTING THE MEDIA WOULD DAMAGE OUR OWN CREDIBILITY.
IN SHORT, WE ARE REPORTING THIS VIEW, NOT ADVOCATING IT.
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED
NEUMANN
by Plutonia » Fri Sep 09, 2011 2:08 am
WikiLeaks drops Bombshell on Gold Market; GATA right again!
Posted by Dominique de Kevelioc de Bailleul on Sep 06, 2011 | 7 comments
With an avalanche of ever-tantalizing news stories and upcoming nail-biting scheduled officialdom events in both Europe and the U.S. all hitting the gold market at once in September, discerning the story that could propel some distance from Jim Sinclair’s exosphere target of $1,764 in the gold price weighs heavily in favor of the WikiLeaks story and its potential explosive impact on the price of gold from today $1,900 print to Sinclair’s ultimate target of $12,000+.
Though the European financial crisis soap opera moves from Greece and Portugal to, now, Italy and Germany, shifting temporarily away from France, with Belgium’s dirty laundry on deck in case there’s a lull in the action, the WikiLeaks release of a U.S. State Department internal cables on the subject of Beijing’s plan for undermining the U.S. dollar through the gold market even trumps the Israel/Turkey potential gray-swan military conflict brewing in the Mediterranean (could ex-CIA operative Robert Baer be right about an Israeli attack in the region by the fall?).
The leaked State Department U.S. embassy cable – 09BEIJING1134, published by WikiLeaks exposes both the clandestine operations at the Fed/Treasury as well as reveals who’s been sleeping with the enemy.
According to China’s National Foreign Exchanges Administration, China’s gold reserves have recently increased. Currently, the majority of its gold reserves have been located in the United States and European countries. The U.S. and Europe have always suppressed the rising price of gold. They intend to weaken gold’s function as an international reserve currency. They don’t want to see other countries turning to gold reserves instead of the U.S. dollar or euro. Therefore, suppressing the price of gold is very beneficial for the U.S. in maintaining the U.S. dollar’s role as the international reserve currency. China’s increased gold reserves will thus act as a model and lead other countries toward reserving more gold. Large gold reserves are also beneficial in promoting the internationalization of the renminbi.
And now we all know that Beijing knows of the gold suppression scheme, and that Washington knows that Beijing knows of the scheme. So what does that mean for the gold price?
Zerohedge wrote:
Wondering why gold at $1,850 is cheap, or why gold at double that price will also be cheap, or, frankly, at any price? Because, as the following leaked cable explains, gold is, to China at least, nothing but the opportunity cost of destroying the dollar’s reserve status. Putting that into dollar terms is, therefore, impractical at best and illogical at worst. We have a suspicion that the following cable from the U.S. embassy in China is about to go not viral but very much global, and prompt all those mutual fund managers who are on the golden sidelines to dip a toe in the 24-karat pool.
So, out of the raft of news coming out from across the globe, the WikiLeaks story trumps them all. And, of course, you won’t see this breaking story run on CNBC.
And now for the story behind the story. A score between GATA and Jeff Christian of CPM Group needs to be settled once and for all.
Now that this smoking gun evidence of the gold suppression scheme has been entered atop an already sky-high stack, thanks to WikiLeaks, can there now be any doubt left as to who has been spewing filthy misinformation (some say malicious lies) between the combatants of a two-year-long battle between former Goldman Sachs gang member Jeff Christian of CPM Group and Bill Murphy and Chris Powell of Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) surrounding GATA’s accusations that the COMEX has been the center of a gold price suppression scheme—a scheme which in still in progress?
But if you’ve already been following GATA’s Yeoman’s work of exposing the gold cartel’s borderline-treasonous gold suppression scheme in addition to exposing the cartel’s no. 1 apologist Jeff Christian for his errant ways, this weekend’s leaked cable should come as no real surprise—which brings us to the question of Christian’s credibility as a gold market analyst and, maybe, ultimately, of his character.
If Christian has positioned himself as an authority on the gold and silver market, how did he not draw the conclusion that something fishy was (still is) going on in the gold futures market between two banks which held monstrous-size paper short positions? With the pile of evidence backing GATA, coming from so many credible and official sources, we wonder whether Christian had ever heard of the term Occam’s razor? Or does he suffer from the dreaded “normalcy bias”? Can he, truly, be that naïve?
Are we to believe that Christian actually could be waiting for an admission of guilt by a pack of sociopath white-collar criminals, or is he that unsophisticated or incompetent? or worse?
Read his Caine Mutiny’s Lt. Tom Keefer testimony at the CFTC hearing of March 2010.
Christian’s sophomoric assumptions on several key issues discussed at the CFTC hearing smacks of either a serious case of Dennis Gartman-itis, or demonstrates the dangers of relying upon the judgment of a public-school graduate deficient in his knowledge of basic ancient and medieval philosophy. The principle of Occam’s razor, in this case, points to serious questions to Christian’s loyalty to the gold community, its hard-money advocates and the U.S. Constitution itself.
But don’t be surprised if Christian is still asked to appear on Bloomberg or CNBC as a gold “expert” who stands ready to offer his advice for protecting your money.
However, to gain insight into the core issues surrounding gold (and silver) and the reasons why its price must be suppressed by the Fed, GATA’s Web site, http://www.gata.org, offers the explanations as well as provides a treasure trove of information to help you navigate the ongoing collapse of the West’s fiat currencies.
http://www.beaconequity.com/wikileaks-d ... 5w.twitter
Since When Did US Diplomats Become Microsoft Sales Staff?
from the just-wondering... dept
Another tidbit from the recent dump of State Department cables shows that US diplomats in Bosnia were apparently instrumental in pushing the government there to license Microsoft software:
On December 18, the BiH Council of Ministers and Microsoft finally signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement for access to legal Microsoft applications for all state-level government ministries. Prime Minister Nikola Spiric signed the agreement on behalf of the BiH Government. The agreement obligates the BiH Government to use licensed software, but is only the first step in strengthening the state government's intellectual property regime. Microsoft will now begin negotiations with BiH to purchase licenses for the software applications under the state's purview. This marks a huge success for the U.S. Embassy, which has been working with state-level officials for three years to push for action to ban pirated and unlicensed software from ministry offices. (Note: Federation and RS-entity governments signed separate strategic partnership agreements with Microsoft in 2006. End note.)
They couldn't push more open solutions?
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201109 ... taff.shtml
¶11. (S) Maliki blasted the Saudis in particular. "If they (the Gulf Arabs) want to talk about violence, maybe we should ...
BAGHDAD 00001198 003 OF 003
... have a conference about Saudi Arabia. Most terrorists here are Saudis . . . The Saudi people have a culture that supports terrorism. The Saudi government cannot control it, and they cannot get rid of the terrorist institutions that are creating and funding terrorism. I told Vice President Cheney that (Saudi) Prince Muqrin is funding a Sunni army to oppose the Shia army . . .
http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.ph ... AGHDAD1198
#wlfind Pacific Rim mining co implicated in murders, cover up of anti-mining enviros in El Salvador, gov't calls "consipiracy theory"; "anti-mining group's version of events ignores the murders of two other, pro-mining individuals in Trinidad." Also, if you need a M-16 ... head to El Salvador, apparently. "...it comes as no surprise that the killers used M-16s, because many people in rural Cabanas own such high-caliber weapons." And, the chances of getting away with murder? Roughly 95%. http://bit.ly/oQoZO7
Long post from Deck.ly 2011-09-06T06:03:30 View on Twitter
http://www.tweetdeck.com/twitter/RhiBowman/~tAhM5
[Cable here: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/01/10SANSALVADOR9.html]
... "[FM] Meller's staff expects that the renditions and "CIA prisons" issue will continue to dog the Polish government, despite our and the Poles' best efforts to put this story to rest. In response to sustained media pressure, PM Marcinkiewicz announced December 10 that his government will order an internal probe "to close the issue." Meller anticipates being asked about renditions by the Polish press while in Washington, and the MFA has asked that we remain in close contact to coordinate our public stance." ...
http://wlcentral.org/node/2214
... industry groups such as the MPAA, RIAA and IFPI are pitching their agendas at the highest political levels.
These private groups train law enforcement officers around the world and are used to gather evidence, as if they were law enforcement branches...
http://torrentfreak.com/wikileaks-ice-i ... gle+Reader
...In a number of cases, the US government pressures developing countries to put pharmaceutical company lobbyists on key government committees dealing with drug regulation, IPR policy or drug pricing.
The disclosures go on and on. I am so angry at many of the cables that I can hardly explain how screwed up the U.S. policies are. Some of the disclosures have been blogged here.
http://www.keionline.org/wikileaks
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-lov ... 47806.html
WASHINGTON — Files found at a Libyan government building show strong cooperation between the CIA and Moamer Kadhafi's intelligence agencies, including shipping terror suspects to the North African country for interrogation, a report said.
The Central Intelligence Agency, under the administration of then-president George W. Bush, brought terror suspects to Libya and suggested questions that Libyan interrogators should ask them, the Wall Street Journal said, citing documents found at the headquarters of Libya's External Security agency. ...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... ae603e0.51
A recently released WikiLeaks cable from 2006 reveals 120 Chinese children vanished from Swedish immigration centers within a period of 18 months.
The Embassy of Stockholm believes the disappearing acts were managed by organized traffickers residing in several European countries.
http://www.businessinsider.com/wikileak ... ars-2011-8
by Plutonia » Sun Sep 11, 2011 12:23 am
Severe Abuse At Ministry Of Interior Site 4 Detention Facility
Origin Embassy Baghdad (Iraq)
Cable time Sat, 10 Jun 2006 04:21 UTC
Classification CONFIDENTIAL
Source http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/06/06BAGHDAD1960.html
History First published on Thu, 1 Sep 2011 23:24 UTC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 001960 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2016 TAGS: PGOV [Internal Governmental Affairs], PHUM [Human Rights], MARR [Military and Defense Arrangements], MOPS [Military Operations], DOJ/CRIM/OPDAT, KJUS [Administration of Justice], IZ [Iraq] SUBJECT: SEVERE ABUSE AT MINISTRY OF INTERIOR SITE 4 DETENTION FACILITY REF: A. BAGHDAD 1241 B. BAGHDAD 1019 C. BAGHDAD 4921 05 D. BAGHDAD 5020 05 Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for reasons 1.4 (a) and (d).
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On May, a joint U.S.-Iraqi inspection of the "Site 4" Iraqi National Police (INP) detention complex discovered more than 1,400 detainees in squalid, cramped conditions. Forty-one detainees interviewed had bruising and lash-marks consistent with violent physical abuse. Thirty-seven juveniles were illegally held at the facility, many alleging sexual abuse. Ministry of Interior (MOI) officials appear to have been comfortable engaging in large-scale violence against detainees at a well-known Baghdad facility that had been officially inspected twice since December 2005 (and visited unofficially half-a-dozen times by Post), indicating that MOI's capture-and-confess culture is Unabashedly tolerant of physical abuse. According to latest information from the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT), several other MOI officers have been "detained but not arrested" -- a not-uncommon practice at MOI. Ambassador briefed PM Maliki on the size and seriousness of the Site 4 abuse on June 5. Malik was, in his words, "appalled" at what happened there. END SUMMARY.
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EVIDENCE OF ABUSE
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¶2. (SBU) On May 30, a third joint U.S.-Iraqi inspection of the "Site 4" INP detention complex, located in central Baghdad, discovered more than 1,400 detainees in two separate facilities held in squalid, cramped conditions not uncommon in MOI Commando detention facilities. Forty-one detainees interviewed had bruising and lash-marks consistent with violent physical abuse. Thirty-seven juveniles were illegally held at the facility, many alleging sexual abuse.
¶3. (SBU) On June 1, the juvenile detainees were removed from Site 4 and transported temporarily to an MOI INP facility at Muthanna Airfield. Post is seeking an order from the Higher Juridical Council (HJC) authorizing their transfer to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) juvenile detention facility at Tobchi. Forty-five adult detainees showing marks of abuse were medically-screened, treated, and transferred to the "Site 1" INP facility. An additional ninety were transported to an INP facility at FOB Justice.
¶4. (SBU) On June 5, Post and MNF-I returned to Site 4 (which is now visited daily by MNF-I's Special Police Training Team (SpiTT)) in support of three Iraqi judges tasked by the HJC with taking possession of all detainee files on site. (These files will be stored in HJC offices while HJC staff match files to a Site 4 roster passed to the HJC by Post and MNF-I). MOI personnel initially resisted surrendering the files to the HJC, but after several hours' argument they complied upon presentation of a written judicial order.
¶5. (SBU) Follow-up inspections and interviews by MNF-I have recorded allegations of physical abuse from 315 detainees, many of whom identify the same group of five to six MOI officials as the perpetrators of abuse at the Site 4 facility. A number of detainees have offered to testify in court against their abusers; Post and MNF-I are in contact with judicial officials on this matter. MOI is rumored to have "detained but not arrested" the Site 4 Commander and a handful of unnamed other personnel.
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CENTRALIZATION AND SEVERE OVERCROWDING
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¶6. (SBU) As noted in reftels, severe overcrowding is characteristic of many MOI INP detention facilities. However, the situation at Site 4 has been exacerbated by the recent MOI decision to transfer hundreds of detainees from other Baghdad INP facilities (including Forward Operating Base (FOB) Justice) to two adjoining facilities inside the Site 4 complex, near MOI Headquarters.
¶7. (SBU) As a result, both Site 4 facilities (one BAGHDAD 00001960 002 OF 003 newly-renovated) are well over acceptable capacity. Detainees in Most cells have insufficient space to lie down and must sit entwined, knee-to-knee. Air circulation is poor, and the cellblocks are fetid. The few toilets available are overflowing, and sewage spills onto the floors. Many detainees, who are allowed little or no access to fresh air, suffer from lice, scabies, and infections. Food supply is adequate, but running water is limited to 1-2 hours per evening.
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NATURE OF PHYSICAL ABUSE
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¶8. (SBU) Of the forty-one detainees interviewed on May 30 who displayed bruising, broken bones, and lash-marks, many claimed to have been hung by handcuffs from a hook in the ceiling and beaten on the soles of their feet and their buttocks. A hook was discovered on the ceiling of an empty room at the facility; attached was a chain-and-pulley system ordinarily used for lifting vehicles. Apparent bloodspots stained the floor underneath. (NOTE: The pulley was confiscated and is now at Post. END NOTE.)
¶9. (SBU) A number of juvenile detainees, mostly young teenagers, alleged sexual abuse at the hands of MOI personnel -- specifically, that MOI interrogators had used threats and acts of anal rape to induce confessions and had forced juveniles to fellate them during interrogations. These allegations were also raised independently with inspectors by adult detainees who claimed knowledge of juvenile rapes.
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MOI's REACTION
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¶10. (C) MOI personnel at Site 4 made some desultory attempts to prevent Post and MNF-I from interviewing abused detainees. Site 4 guards initially refused access to the May 30 inspection team, citing MOI orders, and on June 1 guards were caught attempting to hide four abused detainees in a guard tower during a follow-on SPiTT inspection. MOI facility management threatened detainees during both inspections, warning them not to "talk to the Americans."
¶11. (C) MOI officials appear to have been comfortable engaging in large-scale violence against detainees at a well-known Baghdad facility that had been officially inspected twice since December 2005 (and visited unofficially six times by Post), indicating that MOI's capture-and-confess culture is unabashedly tolerant of physical abuse. In the words of MOI official Colonel Adnan (1st INP Division) at Site 4 on June 1, ostensibly investigating abuse, "detainees guilty of some crimes deserve to be beaten."
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THE PERPETRATORS
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¶12. (C) Colonel Ali (Site 4 Commander) and General Adnan Thabit (INP Commander) informed Post and MNF-I some days ago that the "sole" three individuals responsible for abusing detainees at Site 4 had been detained at the MOI Site 1 detention facility. Eleven MOI personnel, including the doctor posted to Site 4, were identified by detainees on June 1 as perpetrators; additional names were provided to MNF-I on June 5.
¶13. (C) COMMENT: It would be difficult, if not impossible, for senior MOI INP leadership responsible for Site 4 to be unaware of the prevalence of detainee abuse at the facility. This is suggested by the large number of detainees with serious physical injuries present at Site 4, the obvious and illegal presence of 37 juveniles, and the fact that hooks and pulleys used to hang detainees from the ceiling were kept in plain sight. END COMMENT.
¶14. (C) According to latest information from CPATT, Colonel Ali and several other MOI officers (primarily from the Special Intelligence Directorate) have been "detained but not arrested" -- a not-uncommon practice at MOI. Detainees currently held at Site 1 are being interviewed by MNF-I. Many of the formerly-abused detainees now at Site 1 have BAGHDAD 00001960 003 OF 003 offered to testify in court against their abusers.
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NEXT STEPS
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¶15. (C) In the immediate future, Post and MNF-I will press the HJC to order the transfer of all underage detainees to the MOLSA facility at Tobchi. We will also show regular presence at Site 4 and at facilities to which Site 4 detainees have been evacuated in order to check on medical needs, availability of food and water, and quality of care offered. The HJC has pledged to review files seized from Site 4 to determine which detainees are held subject to a valid judicial order.
¶16. (C) Ambassador briefed PM Maliki on June 5 regarding the size and seriousness of the abuse at Site 4. Maliki was, in his words, "appalled" at what happened there. He has already appointed a committee headed by the Ministers of Justice and Civil Society to deal with the situation. They will have access to inspect detention facilities, and victims of torture and children will be released.
¶17. (C) We will provide full briefings to the Minister of Justice, the Chief Justice of the HJC, and the Minister of Civil Society and then follow up with them on GOI actions. Post is requesting that the GOI and Iraqi courts: (i) impose immediate administrative sanctions against MOI officials responsible for the facility, pending a judicial investigation and criminal charges; (ii) order the release of all detainees found at Site 4 who are not detained on the basis of a valid judicial order; and (iii) undertake a robust criminal investigation of abuse allegations related to MOI personnel at the Site 4 facility.
¶18. (C) Post also will engage the Minister of Justice to plan for the transfer of Site 4 detainees who merit further detention to MOJ custody. This transfer will require MOJ to take control of and staff the newly-renovated MOI detention facility at Baladiyat, which has a capacity of 750. (NOTE: MNF-I will, if required, set up additional temporary tent housing within the Baladiyat complex. END NOTE.)
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COMMENT
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¶19. (C) COMMENT: While the overcrowding, lack of sanitation, disease, and under-supply of food and water at Site 4 are typical of many MOI detention facilities (and were observed at Site 4 in December 2005 and February 2006), the physical abuse documented by inspectors May 30-June 5 is the most severe and widespread since the November 2005 discovery of seriously-injured detainees at the MOI Jadiriyah "Bunker" facility.
¶20. (C) COMMENT CONT'D: MOI guards and interrogators at Site 4 appear to have engaged in illegal and violent acts openly and with impunity. The frank admissions of MOI personnel that individual detainees merit physical abuse and the lackadaisical efforts to conceal that abuse support the contention -- raised by multiple Iraqi interlocutors -- that today's INP are not only incapable of conducting detention operations to acceptable standards, but are unwilling to do so. END COMMENT. KHALILZAD
http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.ph ... VB7XCK1CRA
by Plutonia » Sun Sep 11, 2011 12:30 am
WikiLeaks cable: US lobbied vs breastfeeding in the Philippines
MANILA, Philippines - The US embassy lobbied against a breastfeeding campaign in the Philippines and blocked revisions in the Philippine Milk Code's Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRRs), according to a US diplomatic cable released by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.
Cable 05MANILA5839, written purportedly by then US Chargé d'Affaires and later Deputy Chief of Mission Paul Jones, said the embassy's economic counselor met with Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Alex Padilla December 12, 2005 to convince the government to meet with pharmaceutical companies first before signing the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRRs) of the Milk Code into law.
The Milk Code and its IRRs regulate the advertising of milk formula for infants. They are based on the International Labor Organization Maternity Protection Convention 183 and the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, as well as the UNICEF's Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding.
"Padilla provided a copy of the latest draft IRRs, noting that several controversial provisions had already been removed," said the cable sent to Washington December 15, 2005.
Padilla told the embassy official that the DOH "really understands the industry's concerns" and discussions with various parties were ongoing. "Padilla agreed to raise Embassy concerns with the Secretary of Health," the unclassified memo added.
"Padilla provided us with an updated draft of the IRRs. He pointed out that the prohibition on using brand names and company logos has been removed for milk replacement products for use with infants over three years of age. DOH also removed an earlier requirement for prescriptions for infant formula products. However, industry still has objections to the IRR," it added.
The cable accused Padilla of making a number of observations and conclusions to support the draft IRRs "without citing any data."
It also claimed that the DOH was "under pressure" from "an influential breastfeeding lobby group" close to Malacañang.
The DOH undersecretary told the US embassy official that breastfeeding rates in the Philippines had declined significantly since 1987 while infant formula sales had increased dramatically.
Padilla also said the Philippines has a high mortality rate for children under 5 years of age and that diarrhea is a significant cause of death for this group. "He singled out infant formula, as a 'major cause of diarrhea' or a significant contributing factor. Padilla could not identify studies that support these statements but promised to provide the Embassy with additional information and data," the cable said.
The cable blamed diarrhea on dirty water and not on lactose intolerance of infants on milk formula.
According to a timeline made by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, the 11th and 12th drafts of the revised IRR were being discussed in public hearings led by DOH and the Bureau of Food and Drugs around the time cable was sent. Public hearings were also being conducted by the Senate, the House of Representatives, and Malacañang.
Pharma industry concerns
The cable said the pharmaceutical industry, through the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), continued to press the government regarding its objections to the revised IRRs through subsequent talks with Padilla.
Padilla then reportedly told the lobby group to talk to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to order the DOH not to sign the IRRs.
The embassy cited the industry's concerns, such as provisions of the IRR allegedly exceeding the original scope of the law, Executive Order 51, signed by then President Corazon Aquino on October 20, 1986.
"Certain provisions seek to prohibit rather than regulate, which is unconstitutional," said the memo written by Jones, who is now serving as US ambassador to Malaysia.
"The draft IRRs define 'infants' as three years of age or less, which exceeds international standards," it added. "The IRRs would ultimately harm the consumer by denying information. It will also damage the milk industry and negatively affect employment."
The cable said "PHAP did a quick analysis of infant formula use in the Philippines and found that the market penetration rate is only about nine percent, which reflects a low level of infant formula use."
The industry lobby group also said "it is common practice in the Philippines, especially among the poor, to feed babies sweetened condensed milk or rice water."
It did not mention figures on breastfeeding rates in the country.
The cable showed the US embassy in Manila taking the side of the pharmaceutical companies in the issue.
It said the "[milk substitute ] industry continues to advocate that it supports breastfeeding as the best choice for infants under six months of age, but that for those mothers who cannot breastfeed, it is important to have a viable, nutritional alternative and adequate information on its proper use."
Aftermath
The PHAP filed a suit against the DOH secretary and all the undersecretaries and assistant secretaries who signed the revised IRRs in 2006.
In 2007, the Supreme Court junked sections 4 and 11 of the Milk Code's IRRs that banned the advertising, promotion or sponsorship of infant formula, breast milk, substitutes and other related products.
It also declared null and void a section on administrative sanctions.
However, the court upheld the IRRs' 56 other provisions.
Key provisions in the revised IRRs that the Supreme Court approved include:
exclusive breastfeeding for infants aged zero to six (6) months;
breastfeeding still appropriate for young children up to 2 years and beyond;
banning of artificial feeding paraphernalia in health facilities;
banning of gifts of any sort from milk companies and manufacturers, distributors, and their representatives to the general public, hospitals, health facilities, and health workers;
prohibition of assistance, support, logistics or, training from milk companies for health workers;
no health care facility should be used to promote breastmilk substitutes and artificial feeding paraphernalia;
donations of products by milk companies to health facilities is prohibited
Approved sanctions on violations of the Milk Code and its IRRs include imprisonment of up to 1 year and a fine of up to P30,000.
The Supreme Court also approved either the suspension or revocation of licenses and permits for any erring health worker, distributor, manufacturer, marketing firm or personnel who violate the code and its IRRs.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/09/10 ... hilippines
by JackRiddler » Wed Jul 18, 2012 3:48 pm
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