FELLOW-TRAVELLERS

Keith Durham

Keith Durham and his wife Brenda are long-term motorhomers, travelling in a Hobby 650. Self-retired from work in further education teaching and management training, Keith combines his travels with a deep concern for personal freedom and social justice, both of which can be subjugated by economic and political decisions. He expresses this concern in a series of Broadsides, which he describes as 'some unspun facts for busy people who care about the world in which they live'.

If any of his writing grabs your attention, excites or frustrates you, Keith would love to hear from you – email: . In addition to discussing his ideas, he can put you on his emailing list so that you receive future Broadsides directly.

More people are judicially executed in the state of Texas (home of Dubya Bush) than anywhere else in the world, second only to Saudi Arabia.

The 'new Iraqi' puppet government has reintroduced the death penalty after it was abolished following the invasion of Iraq. (NB there is no connection between these two items – honest; well sorta!)

Coalition troops are immune from prosecution by the new Iraqi puppet government. They frequently kill civilians by shooting or in drink driving 'accidents' without fear of prosecution.

Mark Twain once stated the 'the US has no distinctive criminal class – except of course, Congress'. Everyone laughed. He added privately 'that if they'd thought I was serious they would have lynched me.

The Bush Administration has ended a 10 year ban on the sale of assault rifles. This means that anyone in America can again walk into any gun store and buy Uzis, AK-47's and M16's – the same rapid fire weapons used by the military. (See Michael Moore's film 'Bowling for Columbine')

1,200,000 Tibetans have been killed by the Chinese since 1950 – wot no Bush intervention?

1,006 members of the religious group 'Falun Gong' have been tortured to death by Chinese Government in the past 5 yrs.

US Democracy is alive and well. 1,100 people were arrested in New York at the recent Republican Convention for demonstrating against the Bush Administration. 20 blocks were sealed off and helicopters were used to support the 17,000 police. What has Bush to hide or to fear in a world that is now safe since his invasion of Iraq?

AmBush (noun) pre-emptive strike (verb) to strike pre-emptively.

Bush-fire (noun) fire, that once started, rages out of control.

Bush-hog

Weapons of Mass Media

Last week we saw Chechen separatists take hostage men, women and children in a school in Beslan, Russia. The media coverage of this despicable act was continuous from the initial seizure of the hostages through the confused escape and subsequent carnage which followed in its wake.

We witnessed first hand the grief of the parents and relatives standing at the school gate waiting anxiously for news of what was happening. We were kept informed of the number of people held by these 'terrorists' and saw repeated footage of semi-naked, blood-stained children running, walking and being carried from the building amidst sounds of gunfire. We listened intently as the number of people who had escaped rose – 150, 250, 300, 320. The gunfire continued. We saw the relief on the faces of the relatives whose children had survived the ordeal, the grief of those relatives who weren't so lucky and scenes of the destruction inside the buildings. A few days later we witnessed the coffins of the dead and heard reporters describing how a child's favourite doll was placed inside her coffin and the continuous rhetoric regarding the barbarity of this awful incident. We have been treated to scenes of similar carnage caused by the Palestinian suicide bombers and viewed the blood stained bodies being bundled into ambulances and men and women wailing at the funerals of their loved ones.

Other than those who perpetrated this crime, it is difficult to understand how human beings are still capable of inflicting such terror, pain and mental anguish upon others and particularly on children. Perhaps it is right that we in Britain witness such horror and be allowed to express our righteous indignation and vent our wrath against those responsible. Whilst no one can ever condone such atrocities why do we apply double standards and deny the reporting of similar events when we are the perpetrators?

'Terrifying film of women and children showed babies cut in half and children with amputation wounds; a father holding out pieces of his baby and screaming 'cowards, cowards'. Two lorry loads of bodies could be seen including women in flowered dresses; Alia Mukhtaff is seen lying wounded on a bed, she lost all of her children and her husband in the attack. Majeed Djelil, whose wife and two children were killed, can be seen next to his third child whose foot is missing.'

'The scene was a hospital of screaming wounded and floors running with blood. I stepped in the stuff; it stuck to my shoes. In a jammed corridor I came across a middle aged man, his head wound almost indescribable; from his right eye-socket hung a handkerchief that was streaming blood. A little girl lay on a filthy bed, one leg broken the other so badly gouged by shrapnel that the only way the doctors could prevent her moving was to tie her foot to a rope weighted down by concrete blocks.'

Just two examples from the British reporter Robert Fisk of the daily, yes daily attacks on innocent civilians, not by Muslim terrorists but by Christian British and American troops that go unreported in this country. We, yes you and I are responsible for killing over 12,000 Iraqi civilians and who knows how many hundreds of thousands more mutilations?

Due to illegal deforestation, an area the size of a football pitch disappears from the rain forests every two seconds.

Despite UK legislation making it illegal, all the internal doors within the Houses of Parliament were replaced with doors made from hardwood from unsustainable rain forests. At first Tony B.Liar denied this but following pressure from Greenpeace, had to admit that it was true.

1,100,000,000 people do have not access to clean water. This includes 23,000,000 in rural Europe but none in the USA. The basic requirement of clean water is 50litres/day/person; Gambians live on 4.5litres, Americans 500ltrs Brits 200ltrs.

Paul Bremer's excuse for not having stopped bin Laden is 'You need to know not only which house he's in, but which room within the house he's in and not only that, but which way does the door open? Does it open in or out? Does it open from the left hinge or the right hinge? There really is no easy snatch with bin Laden.'

Tony B.Liar's son Euan spent his summer undertaking work experience on the sports desk of Rupert Murdoch's Times. Now I wonder how he got that plum job?

The Democrat senator Edward Kennedy told a Senate inquiry he had been stopped at airports five times because of a similar name appeared on the 'no-fly' list of terror suspects. Today a US plane was diverted because 'terrorist suspect' Cat Stevens was suddenly found to be on board.

The B.Liar's spent their Xmas holiday in Egypt which has an appalling human rights record including torture; they spent summer in the villa of Born Again Christian, Cliff Richard and then in the holiday home of the right wing President of Italy who is currently under investigation for fraud and bribery. It would be nice to think that the money he and his family saved on these 'freebie' holidays was given to charity.

When Osama bin Laden planned and carried out the attacks on the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001, he could not have expected the level of success he would achieve. This single act has disrupted the US economy, cost the country billions of dollars and turned America into the most hated nation in the world.

Across the globe mankind was initially shocked and stunned by the outrageous mass killing of almost 3,000 innocent civilians in New York and none more so than the Americans. This was the first time in modern history that their country had been attacked and with such cunning force. Sympathy went out to the friends and relatives of the victims from all nations and the world held it breath to see how the Americans would deal with their grief.

This attack gave the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) an excuse to pursue their imperialist goals. However, in order to avoid the anti-war activists and public opinion vis-à-vis Vietnam they needed to pick weak targets and defeat them decisively and rapidly. They had to construct a propaganda offensive depicting the enemy as an imminent threat or being engaged in genocide and present it as an act of altruistic good rather than a war.

We all know about the subsequent US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which appeared to fit the criteria. The countries were impoverished as a result of recent wars and sanctions and neither had any serious military power with which to defend itself. Several of Americas top marketing executives were employed by the White House and given a massive budget to demonise the Taliban and Saddam Hussein and to 'sell' the notion of 'bringing freedom and democracy'.

So what went wrong? bin Laden's success has been due to a catalogue of errors by US

· public reaction to the illegal, pre-emptive attack on Iraq based on a false premise

· their inappropriate treatment of innocent civilians and prisoners

· underestimating the Iraqis resentment to occupation

· treating al Qaida as an organisation instead as an ideology.

· not understanding the tribal make-up of Iraq

· the high loss of lives, both Iraqi civilians and US soldiers

bin Laden's attack also impacted on American capitalism

· financial cost of the wars

· Dow Jones, exchange rate etc

· cost of internal security, disruption to airlines

· reduced trade and investment in US; lost jobs

The effects have been -

· Bush now tops a world poll as the biggest threat to world peace.

· The message sent to all other nations - 'arm yourselves with WMD like the N Korea, Iran and Pakistan otherwise you also risk attack'

· Whilst many Americans still can't understand 'why, when we're so good don't people like us', millions more are beginning to recognise the effects of the aggressive and arrogant foreign policy dictated by this radical, Christian, neo-conservative regime.

· US is now impotent; it can't deploy more troops in case civil disobedience increases at home.

In a recent interview George 'Dubya' Bush admitted that God had told him that it was right to invade Iraq. Two things cross my mind 1) why did God appear to be telling both the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury that it wasn't right and 2) in the UK people, who commit mass murder and suggest that God told them to do it, are sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Strange that the Bush/B.Liar governments know how many 'innocent people' Saddam killed but yet, because they 'don't feel that it serves any useful purpose', don't know how many they have killed. (Answer; 15,000-20,000) Little wonder that most of the Arab world believes that US and British lives are worth more than that of an Arab.

That during the Korean War numerous British troops beheaded Korean civilians. This a now a matter of record; our 'brave lads' are shown holding up the severed heads, still dripping blood, whilst their comrades took souvenir photographs. Whilst I am deeply sorry about the fate of Ken Bigley, knowing this, I find it difficult to adopt the moral high ground that so many in the UK seem able to do.

The rich exploit the poor but that by joining War on Want you could help stop millions of innocent men, women and children starving to death – the only reason for their deaths is western greed.

Iraqi prisoners are now being shipped out of Iraq and into Egypt. This country has appalling human rights records and it saves any embarrassment for new Iraqi puppet government in having to explain the Americans treatment of these prisoners

In baseball's 'World Series', only teams from the USA are allowed to compete.

Golf's recent Ryder Cup shows just what can happen if the Americans have some competition.

US style freedom and democracy; i.e. we choose who runs Iraq and we decide which newspapers and TV stations are allowed to operate - the ones who say exactly what we tell them.

As predicted by many anti-war commentators at the time of the US hand-over of sovereignty to the Iraqi people the so called Interim Government is merely a puppet of the US. Trouble is that millions in the US and UK still can't see the strings!

Recently we have thus witnessed US democracy and freedom in action when the US losses its patience. They gave the so called insurgents in Najaf 24hrs to surrender before the US send in their war planes – oops sorry – before new Iraqi government request the assistance of our allies the Americans, to indiscriminately kill as many people as possible. In order that this doesn't get international media coverage the US – oops sorry the new Iraqi government – have closed down the Arab news-agency al Jezeera – you remember the same one the US accidentally bombed in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2002 and the one they again accidentally bombed in Baghdad in 2003. It seems that this TV station is so powerful (unlike Fox News or CNN, both of whom always tell the (Bush) truth and nothing but the (Bush) truth) that it, and not al Qeida, is deemed to be entirely responsible for all the suicide bombings taking place in Iraq. Perhaps the US media and marketing experts, so revered around the world, could visit al Jezeera and learn a few lessons in marketing psychology from this bombed out and impoverished company. They really must have a persuasive message that encourages hundreds of young people to blow themselves up. Or perhaps these young people, like so many of us in the west are no longer prepared to stand by and watch this American administration lie, cheat, kill and take away our freedom in order not only to stay in power but to increase it.

Democratic elections!

Do you remember Bush/B.Liar telling the world that it was not possible to hold elections in Iraq in June despite the requests of the Iraqi people? The rationale being that Iraq was too unstable, and that an interim was to be established. Whilst the whole world can now see that Iraq is far less stable we are told 'the elections will go ahead in January'. Doesn't seem to make sense does it? It does when you realise that all the contracts given to Bush's cronies for the reconstruction of Iraq were illegal under International Law. It was necessary therefore to install this interim government (made up of Iraqis who have spent the past 20 in America) in order that they could then sign these contracts and thus make them legally binding.

I for one can't wait for the 'democratic elections' in Iraq next January – doubtless it will be as fair as the one that Bush didn't win in 2000. I wonder who the US administration has chosen to run the country. Will it be the Shia clerics who represent 60% of the Iraqi population and close ties with Iran? I doubt it. Or will they have imposed some form of proportional representation to reflect the various ethnic and religious factions e.g. Shias, Sunnis and Kurds on the pretext that it is a more democratic process – but yet one that we and the Americans fight hard to avoid for ourselves. Well we don't want any of those nasty socialists in parliament do we?

The grammar and the sentence construction used in the Star, Sun and Mirror are deliberately constructed for those with reading age of 13.5 years; the Mail and Express 15.3 years. I wonder why I've had little response to these A4 newsletters?

Britain and America stand firm in their view of terrorism and that they will not negotiate with terrorists. Why then did so many Americans (of Irish descent) openly and publicly and without the condemnation of the US Government, collect money to fund the IRA which provided guns and bomb making materials that killed innocent civilians both in Ireland and the UK?

The years of talks in Northern Ireland have subsequently led to several IRA terrorists now being offered jobs in the Irish Parliament. Jack Straw, in a recent interview about negotiating the release of Ken Bigley, refused to answer this question

Mohammed Fahim, Abdul Rasul Sayyaff, Yunus Qanooni and Abdul Rashid Dostum, all warlords accused of murders, mass rapes, summary executions and of bombing civilians are set to take up positions in the new Afghanistan Government. Even the US research group suggests that 'the US may still be using warlords in its anti-terror war'.

Since Afghanistan became a model of freedom and democracy following the US bombing in 2002, the poppy crop, which funds the Taliban and floods the world markets with illegal drugs, has doubled and reached an all time high.

Israel has just taken delivery of 500 'bunker buster' missiles from America. Doubtless the Israelis can't be thinking of bombing Iran just to save the Americans doing it – can they? It's good to know that our leaders have made the world a safer place or we might be getting a tadge uneasy.

Like shooting fish in a barrel – it's all too easy!

My mother once told me 'if you're going to tell lies you'd better have a good memory or one day you'll get found out'. How many more days has Tony B.Liar got left? Every time he opens his mouth it's all too easy to see that his arguments just do not stand up.

Strange how when, just as he admitted that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, the 'mass graves' in Iraq have come to rationalise his excuse for invading Iraq. Oh dear Tony I think you're the only you left who doesn't realise that you've lost the plot.

First, you were adamant that SH had chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and yet you were willing to send in British troops without even enough body armour or boots to go round. Iraq had had 177 million pounds of bombs dropped on it in 1990/1 and had endured the worst sanctions ever imposed on any country in the world for 12 years. What sort of military power could SH possibly have built up? You knew and we knew that you were lying about WMD. Second you told us that regime change was NOT the reason for invading Iraq; on February 25 2003 (days before you did so) you told Parliament 'even now today we are offering Saddam the prospect of voluntarily disarming through the United Nations. I detest his regime but even now he could save it by complying with the United Nations demands.' Now you argue that we went to war to stop Saddam and his sons from continuing this brutality, what changed your mind – is it because you've been found to be lying and need another excuse for the illegal invasion?

OK Tony, let's agree that mass graves are outrageous and the people that conspire to fill them are evil. Perhaps though you could tell me what happens to all the bodies of the innocent men, women and children that are vaporised, dismembered and/or buried under the rubble of their demolished homes when British and US planes have finished their bombing raids. Please don't talk of 'smart bombs' or 'precision targeting' from 20,000 feet which kill and maim guilty and innocent alike and then condemn the suicide bombers who perpetrate the same atrocities but with even more precision. The graves being exposed date back to 1987/8, when SH retaliated against a Kurdish uprising (funded and armed by the CIA) – the same year that Donald Rumsfeld gave SH a pair of golden spurs as a present from the people of America as a sign of their esteem. Both the US and UK governments knew about these atrocities 16 yrs ago but chose to do nothing about it.

You and Bush seem to have forgotten the 'Basra Road' incident; two days before the cease fire in the first Gulf War when 3 brigades of the US First Mechanised Infantry Division used armoured bulldozers and tanks fitted with snow ploughs went in and shot surrendering Iraqis, covering the dead, wounded and the living in their trenches. This went on for 70 miles. Amnesty International wrote a report to British and US governments and even the US Brigade Commander Col. Anthony Moreno said 'for all I know we could have killed thousands'.

So who are the bad guys; the ones who kill, maim, rape, torture, imprison indefinitely without trial? Where is the distinction between telling lies and not telling the truth?

i) Osama bin Laden has voted for him … today, Saturday 30 October the BBC World Service announced that a video has been released by Osama bin Laden threatening the US with more 'Twin Tower' type incidents. The US media will be overjoyed at the opportunity to once again condemn 'this evil' in order to justify their country's invasion of Iraq. It also will put the fear of God into the already paranoid, God fearing, right wing, middle class, white Americans i.e. the ones with power and in power; the ones whose votes will count next week (see ii) below) and who will want to see continued 'strong leadership' from a 'war President' – as Bush frequently acclaims himself.

Osama bin Laden knows only too well that Bush has a polarised view of the world (black or white, good or evil, civilised or barbaric, Christian or 'the others', Bush supporter or terrorist) and that he and his Administration equate strength with aggression. Hence, bin Laden threatens (he doesn't need to do any more than that) – those with most to lose are engulfed by fear – they know Bush will 'kick ass' - so they vote for him.

So why would bin Laden want Bush to be President? Propaganda. He knows that warmonger Bush will continue his aggressive response in the Middle East which is readily seen by many as an act of aggression against Arabs and Muslims alike. From US outrage at this video and the renewed call for military action against terrorists (read Arabs and Muslims) bin Laden will recruit thousands more fighters, militants, suicide bombers. Not only that but continued fighting puts a strain on US resources, negatively affects the dollar and balance of payments, the economy and the overall wealth of the country. So long as the bulk of the American people don't wake up bin Laden's strategy he can carry on tossing pebbles into the pond and watch the ripples. Cost so far to bin Laden – making a video tape £5; cost to America of distributing it on his behalf £??? (nice one Osama); the ultimate cost to America ... $ billions plus worldwide alienation.

ii) The Florida Connection … You know the southern State of America, the largest swing State in the US, where, whoever wins Florida is likely to become President of the US. You know the state where Jeb Bush (George's brother) is Governor. You know the one in which in 2000, Katherine Harris was Florida Secretary of State in charge of elections as well as George's presidential campaign chairwoman. You remember she was the woman who paid $4 million to Database Technologies (who in return sent donations to the Republican Party) to remove anyone 'suspected' (not 'known') of being a felon from the electoral roll (except Jeb's wife who was caught by immigration smuggling $19,000 worth of jewellery back into the US from a shopping trip – a felonious offence). You know the State with such an impeccably fair justice system that means 31% of all black men are excluded from voting because of felony records.

Data Tech also was told to remove from the electoral roll people with 'similar' names to any known felons, or any with similar birthdates or similar Social Security numbers. In all 173,000 previously eligible voters were permanently wiped from the list of voters – well over half of whom were black. I'm not suggesting the Bush family are racist but it's a well known fact that 90% of black Floridians vote Democrat. A further 8,000 were wiped from the electoral roll when another state provided their list of 'felons' now living in Florida. This list proved to be false (after the elections) as all those on it had served their time and had their full voting rights restored. The other State? … Texas of course where George Bush was Governor. Even before the counting was finished in Tallahassee, Fox News (owned by right wing publisher Richard Murdoch) declared George Bush the winner and President of the US – the man in charge of Fox News? … John Ellis, cousin of George and Jeb Bush. After numerous recounts Gore was in danger of winning so the Supreme Court stopped the count and declared Bush the winner by 537 votes(4 of the 5 Judges were Republicans and included George Bush's own attorney)

You know, the State where this week 58,000 postal ballot papers have gone missing … and the election hasn't even started yet.

If any of the above has grabbed your attention, excited or frustrated you, Keith would love to hear from you – email: . In addition to discussing his ideas, he can put you on his emailing list so that you receive future Broadsides directly.