August 19, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

The Colorado Green Party, McKinney/Clemente, and The DNC Protests (The Mahatma X Files) August 18, 2008

South Central Farmers Demand Ethics Investigation of Local Officials: Citing an apparent conflict of interest, the South Central Farmers are demanding that California's State Attorney General investigate the sale of the site of the South Central Farm by Los Angeles city officials to local developer Ralph Horowitz for a trucking center for women's clothing manufacturer and retailer Forever 21. (Los Angeles Indymedia) August 18, 2008

Eddie Boyd Jr., an auto salesman who had been the Green Party candidate for Maryland governor in 2006, died of lung cancer Monday at Good Samaritan Hospital. "Eddie was the first Green Party candidate for governor in Maryland history as well as the first African-American candidate to ever run in a gubernatorial general election," said Myles Hoenig, Mr. Boyd's former campaign manager. (Baltimore Sun) August 16, 2008

Policing of Climate Camp a Major Attack on Democratic Rights in Britain: A week-long climate protest camp in north Kent has ended, amidst widespread claims of disproportionate and aggressive policing. Around 100 people were arrested over the course of the protest, 46 of whom have been charged, mostly with obstruction offences. The multimillion-pound policing of the camp marked a significant attack on democratic rights and civil liberties. (World Socialist Web Site) August 15, 2008

Resistance in Egypt: Egypt has the biggest working class in the region with a long, militant history of industrial struggle. (MR Zine) August 18, 2008

Petition: Urgent Help In Ensuring The Safe Return of Haitian Human Rights Activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine (Petition Online)

August 11, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Cindy Sheehan On The Ballot: Cindy Sheehan qualified Friday for a November showdown with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, collecting the signatures needed to get on the ballot as an independent candidate for Congress in California. (San Francisco Chronicle) August 9, 2008

Georgia, Russia, and the USA: The "New Cold War" Escalates: The US ruling class, in pursuing its "new Cold War", has introduced an infernal logic of mutual escalation, so that even if this crisis simmers down, a new one is bound to emerge soon. The much-vaunted new world order is increasingly resembling the old one, but with more nuclear weapons and less stability. (Lenin's Tomb) August 9, 2008

President Morales Wins Bolivian Election: President Evo Morales of Bolivia won a resounding victory in a recall vote yesterday after calling a referendum to break a political stalemate and revive his leftist campaign. More than 63 percent of voters in this bitterly divided Andean nation ratified the mandate of Mr Morales. (Times Online) August 11, 2008

Exit Polls: Morales Ratified by Larger Margin than in 2005: The Morales-García Linera duo got more than 7 percentage points above 53.7 percent that they needed. (MR Zine) August 8, 2008

Israel's Siege of Collective Punishment: Imagine if Chinese-Americans visiting relatives were prevented by the Chinese government from returning to America. Or if an American traveled to Iran and was then forbidden from reaching an airport to come home. This happened to me at the hands of Israel, supposedly America's closest ally in the Middle East. I am a US citizen from Olathe, Kansas. I am also a Palestinian born in Gaza. I traveled to Gaza last December to care for my ill father. Israel trapped me there for four months. Yaser Wishah comments. (Electronic Intifada) August 7, 2008

Greens Launch Effort Against Electoral College Manipulation Of Presidential Elections In US: The Green Party of the US says that the outcome of the 2008 presidential election may be affected by the antidemocratic apportionment of Electoral College votes, with the popular vote misrepresented by the winner-take-all system of assigning votes to electors. (GP.org) August 5, 2008

Ecuador: Chevron Battles Government, Indigenous People (Green Left Weekly) August 10, 2008

Let's Not and Say We Did: The New Consensus on Iraq

A "flexible timeline" is not a timetable, and continuing the occupation is not ending it.
By Anthony Arnove, Socialist Worker, August 1, 2008

The Wall Street Journal reports that the "The Bush administration's embrace of a flexible timeline for pulling U.S. troops from Iraq has accelerated negotiations between Washington and Baghdad over a long-term security pact."
Every day, it's becoming clearer that the Bush administration, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are reaching a new consensus, which can be summed up as "let's not and say we did."
Let's not end the occupation. Let's not withdraw all the troops. Let's not resolve the fundamental problems created by the U.S. invasion and occupation. But let's all pretend we did (or will soon enough, though certainly never "precipitously," so leave us alone).

Continue reading 'Let's Not and Say We Did: The New Consensus on Iraq'. . .

July 23, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

"The Democratic Party of today is a corporate/imperial war party. End of story": An Interview with 'Savage Mules' Author Dennis Perrin (Green Left Infoasis) July 19, 2008

A Review of 'Savage Mules': Dennis Perrin’s “Savage Mules” is a slashing attack on the Democratic Party so badly needed in a time when so many false hopes are now invested in the party of “peace” and “progress”. “Savage Mules” is a pithy, sharp and funny survey of Democratic presidencies (and failed bids) going back to Woodrow Wilson that takes no prisoners. While it was written prior to the rise of Obamamania, it would certainly provide a useful corrective to a “change” campaign that seems to be recycling the centrism of the past 30 years at least. (The Unrepentant Marxist) July 23, 2008

First All-Women-of-Color Presidential Ticket in US History: Green Party Nominee Cynthia McKinney and Running Mate Rosa Clemente on War, Democracy and Hip Hop (Text, Audio, or Video) (Democracy Now!) July 21, 2008

No U-turn. Obama's Stance on Iraq is Chillingly Consistent: Tactical differences and issues of style aside, Obama's message on occupied Iraq is deeply troubling - not because it has U-turned but because it has been consistent. His 300 foreign policy advisers are making sure that he will not stray from protecting US imperialist interests, even if it does mean launching new wars and bolstering puppet regimes and corrupt dictatorships throughout the "greater Middle East". (Buzzle) July 21, 2008

Solar Thermal Power Coming to a Boil: After emerging in 2006 from 15 years of hibernation, the solar thermal power industry experienced a surge in 2007, with 100 megawatts of new capacity coming online worldwide. (Inter Press Service) July 23, 2008

Lessons From The Picket Line: A five-day strike by 8,500 service workers in the University of California system--in defiance of a judge's temporary restraining order--ended July 18 with workers even more determined to continue their fight for a decent contract. (Socialist Worker) July 23, 2008

Mall of America Starbucks Workers Join The IWW: The nation’s largest mall, Minnesota’s Mall of America, now has one of the county’s first organized Starbucks coffee shops. (Workers Independent News) July 23, 2008

July 16, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

History Made in Chicago: With the nomination of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente the Green Party is now free to become the real radical alternative party that it should be. (Organizing Notes) July 12, 2008

From Politics of Hope to Politics as Usual: The heady days of Obamamania have given way to one big Obummer."We're beginning to understand why Barack Obama keeps protesting so vigorously against the prospect of 'George Bush's third term,'" a recent Wall Street Journal editorial said. "Maybe he's worried that someone will notice that he's the candidate who's running for it." (Socialist Worker) July 9, 2008

'This Is Like Apartheid': ANC Veterans Visit West Bank: Veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle said recently that the restrictions endured by Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories was in some respects worse than that imposed on the black majority under white rule in South Africa. (The Independent UK) July 11, 2008

US Organized Labor Gets Its First Openly Gay National Union President: New York based United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has been elected to succeed Edward McElroy as President of the American Federation of Teachers. The election makes Weingarten the first openly gay labor leader to be president of a national labor union. (Workers Independent News) July 16, 2008

Animal Advocate Detained, Searched, Questioned at Canadian Border about Activism (Green is the New Red) July 15, 2008

AUDIO: Mumia Abu-Jamal on One Empire, Unchanged: Increasingly, the US Presidential election looks like a political contest between the same old thing and the same thing with a new face. McCain and Obama have sworn their allegiance to a husky nationalism that imposes political and military hegemony over much of the world. (Prison Radio) July 9, 2008

June 21, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

500,000 Flee Iraq: Half a million Iraqis fled their homes last year creating the worst refugee crisis in the world, a new report says. The US took 1,500 - less than half the number it promised to resettle. (Mirror UK) June 20, 2008

Medical Tests Prove Abuse, Torture In Iraq, Gitmo: Medical examinations of former terrorism suspects held by the US military at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, found evidence of torture and other abuse that resulted in serious injuries and mental disorders, according to a human rights group. (Jerusalem Post) June 18, 2008

Nationalise Big Oil, Enemy of People and Planet: The union and environment movements must fight side by side against the devastation the Shells and Exxons are wreaking on our planet and the livelihoods of its peoples.
(Socialist Alliance) June 2008

Charges Finally Dropped Against Fr. Gerard Jean-Juste in Haiti: The Court of Appeal of Port-au-Prince has announced the dismissal of all remaining charges against Father Gerard Jean-Juste. The Catholic priest is a prominent supporter of Famni Lavalas, the political party of ousted Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide. (HaitiAnalysis) June 19, 2008

Ice on Mars: Excited scientists have hailed the discovery of water ice on Mars as a major breakthrough in the search for life on the planet. (Press Association) June 21, 2008

EU Treaty Rejected in Ireland: The pro-corporate European Union Lisbon treaty has been rejected by voters in a referendum in the Republic of Ireland. (Green Left Weekly) June 14, 2008

June 18, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

For Mass Transit, Mass Investment: With record ridership and fuel prices, subways, trains, and buses are strapped. (Christian Science Monitor) June 16, 2008

Co-operatives Turn Idle Landed Estates Green in Venezuela (Inter Press Service) June 14, 2008

U.S. Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney's Call to Action in Support of Dennis Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment Against Bush (RunCynthiaRun.com) June 2008

Essential Information On Carbon Trading From The Corner House: A great source of analysis and comment on global carbon trading is The Corner House, based in Britain. These are just some of the documents, presentations and videos available on their website. Highly recommended. (Climate and Capitalism) June 17, 2008

Fallujah's Legacy (Lenin's Tomb) June 16, 2008

U.S. Democrats to Back Down on Iraq War Conditions: Democrats in the U.S. Congress, who came to power last year on a call to end the combat in Iraq, will soon give President George W. Bush the last war-funding bill of his presidency without any of the conditions they sought for withdrawing U.S. troops, congressional aides said on Monday. (Reuters) June 16, 2008

Calif. City Halls Swamped With Same-Sex Couples Seeking Marriage Licenses (365Gay.com) June 17, 2008

Retirement for Seven Lab Chimps: The last seven chimpanzees at a Penn. research facility have been permanently retired and head to sanctuary. It's time the country's remaining 1,200 chimps living in laboratories are similarly relieved. (HSUS.org) June 13, 2008

June 11, 2008 - What the Heck is Goin On? Some News, Views, and Info

Kucinich Offers Impeachment Articles Against Bush: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) introduced 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush on Monday night, reading the resolution into the Congressional Record. (CBS News) June 9, 2008

AUDIO/VIDEO: Allen Ginsberg & Paul McCartney "A Ballad of American Skeletons" or "An American Ballad of Skeletons" Live at the Royal Albert Hall, October 16, 1995. (Youtube)

Corporations Tracking Who Activists Are Dating: We’ve recently learned that Burger King has been spying on human rights activists, and the FBI would like to be spying on vegan potlucks. Not to be outdone, it looks like the Society of Toxicology commissioned a “threat analysis” to try to get smart about, among other things, who activists are dating. (Green is the New Red) June 6, 2008

Eliot, Maine Voters OK Wind, Solar Energy Systems: Voters in Eliot approved two new ordinances permitting wind and solar energy systems in town. (Maine Today) June 11, 2008

Labor-Environmental Coalition Testing of Water Contaminated By Dupont in New Jersey (Workers Independent News) June 10, 2008

The Blue-Green Alliance, Good Jobs, A Clean Environment, and A Safer World: The United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club are working toward a future of green jobs for America in the Blue-Green Alliance as we wrestle with finding a solution to global warming. (Workers Independent News) June 11, 2008

Obama the Hawk: Barack Obama's hard-line speech at the AIPAC conference wasn't just pandering to the pro-Israel lobby, but a statement of his real position on foreign policy issues. (Socialist Worker) June 11, 2008

Climate change: Carbon Capture From Power Stations Must Start Soon, Say Scientists (The Guardian) June 10, 2008

June 8, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Life, Liberty, Water: As climate change and worldwide shortages loom, will people fight over water or join together to protect it? (Yes! Magazine) Summer 2008

World's Biggest Solar Farm Going Up In Portugal (The Guardian) June 6, 2008

Venezuela, along with Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia, criticised the final declaration of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Summit in Rome on Thursday, arguing that the document failed to identify the true causes of rising food prices, such as agricultural subsidies and unequal trade policies imposed by developed countries. (Venezuelanalysis) June 6, 2008

Stop Funding Torture! An Open Letter Urging Action by Congress (StopFundingTorture.com) May 2008

Obama and the Occupation of Iraq: People who believe Barack Obama will end the occupation of Iraq are likely in for a rude awakening. Despite talking about withdrawal from Iraq, his plan would keep troops in the country for years to come, likely well beyond his potential first term. (ZNet) June 8, 2008

Senate Considers $455 Billion in Nuclear Subsidies: The Senate is considering providing the nuclear industry with over $500 billion in subsidies for new nuclear power development. The subsidies are included in a much-touted bipartisan climate change bill. (Democracy Now!) June 6, 2008

Water Activists Slay Corporate Behemoth, Felton, CA’s Victory to Control Water Resources: Their victory is one in a series of setbacks for corporate water interests. (Food & Water Watch) June 2, 2008

June 4, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

The 2nd of May Revolt at the UN Forum on Indigenous Peoples: The United Nations censors indigenous people at a forum for indigenous people (w/ links to video) (Climate and Capitalism) June 2, 2008

From Kennedy to Obama: Liberalism's Last Fling: John Pilger refers back to his travels with Robert Kennedy to describe the false hopes offered by those, like Barack Obama, who exploit the appeal of liberalism then present a very different reality. (JohnPilger.com) May 29, 2008

The American Electoral Charade: Two candidates with almost identical positions on virtually every issue fight to exhaustion over non-substantial concerns for months, and will doubtless soon celebrate having achieved "unity." Those citizens that want to abolish the American oligarchic form of government should vote for the Green Party, and put Cynthia McKinney at the head of the ticket. (Black Agenda Report) June 4, 2008

Dirty Deeds in Bolivia: Bolivia’s right-wing extremists who have been doing their best to rip their own country apart for the past two years rather than accept the rule of their constitutionally elected President Evo Morales finally have showed themselves in their true colours. (Bolivia Rising) June 2, 2008

Blackwater: From the Nisour Square Massacre to the Future of the Mercenary Industry (w/ audio and Video) (Democracy Now!) June 2, 2008

West Coast Winter Soldier: “Enough Is Enough, It’s Time to Get Out”: Dozens of veterans from the U.S. occupation of Iraq converged in Seattle over the weekend to share stories of atrocities being committed daily in Iraq, in a continuation of the "Winter Soldier" hearings held in Silver Spring, Maryland in March. (Inter Press Service) June 2, 2008

Whalemeat Traders Defying Ban: Icelandic and Norwegian companies have begun exporting whalemeat to Japan (BBC News) June 2, 2008

June 2, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

New Round of Climate Talks Open Today With Big Agenda, Small Hopes (Canadian Press) June 1, 2008

Iraq Death Toll 'Above Highest Estimates': The real number of the dead is far higher than even the highest declared in death tolls, many Iraqis say. (Inter Press Service) June 2, 2008

Local Indigenous Leaders Beaten and Publicly Humiliated in Bolivia (Inter Press Service) May 27, 2008

The Crime of Indigenous Insubordination in Bolivia (MR Zine) May 31, 2008

Rank-and-file Members to Challenge Stern at SEIU Convention (Fight Back!) May 2008

Where does Andy Stern want to take labor? Turns out that the man hailed as the savior of the U.S. labor movement for the 21st century is an old-school labor bureaucrat after all. (Socialist Worker) June 2, 2008

Egyptian Protests: Falling Wages and High Prices (The Bullet) June 2, 2008

New Labour's Time Is Up: From the start New Labour was pledged to consolidate the Thatcherite paradigm rather than offer anything different (Guardian Unlimited) May 27, 2008

May 30, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

The global biodiversity crisis that threatens life on Earth is driven by economic policies that fail to value nature, a new report finds. (Inter Press Service) May 30, 2008

Loss of Biodiversity Threatens Livelihoods of World's Poorest (London Independent) May 30, 2008

The Climate Change Threat To US Crops and Water (The Guardian UK) May 29, 2008

Greem Party candidate Cynthia McKinney Statement on Hunger Strike to Oppose US Star War Deployment in Czech Republic, Poland: Cynthia McKinney today sent a letter of solidarity to citizens activists in the Czech Republic who's hunger strike is focusing attention on efforts by the Bush Administration to escalate a new arms race with its deployment of Star Wars installations in Eastern Europe. (AllThingsCynthiaMcKinney.com) May 30, 2008

Cynthia McKinney & The Green Party Option (Nadir's Blog @ Think MTV) May 8, 2008

Statement by Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions to 2008 Chevron and ExxonMobil Shareholder Meetings (ZNet) May 30, 2008

Florida Farmworkers Chop Up Burger King (MR Zine) May 30, 2008

May 26, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Her Voice, Our Voices: Roslyn Zinn R.I.P. (Rebel Frequencies) May 22, 2008

Utah Phillips R.I.P. Some Thoughts From David Rovics (Songwriter's Notebook) May 25, 2008

Billions Wasted on UN Climate Programme: Energy Firms Routinely Abusing Carbon Offset Fund, US Studies Claim (The Guardian) May 26, 2008

Discredited Strategy: Increasing allegations of corruption and profiteering are raising serious questions about the UN-run carbon trading mechanism aimed at cutting pollution and rewarding clean technologies (The Guardian) May 21, 2008

South Africa is All of Us: The situation is the culmination of policies that have made the rich richer, and the poor poorer. But "the ruling elite is not South Africa. There are many within South Africa who are in solidarity with those under attack, and are opposed to the conditions that feed xenophobia." (Pambazuka) May 22, 2008

Moles Wanted: In preparation for the Republican National Convention, the FBI is soliciting informants to keep tabs on local protest groups (Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages) May 21, 2008

ILO: Workers In Israeli-Occupied Gaza And West Bank Suffering (Workers Independent News) May 26, 2008

Unionists Granted Bail in Zimbabwe (Green Left Weekly) May 23, 2008

May 19, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Plans For New Coal Plants Under Fire In UK: Protesters are to launch one of the hardest-hitting environmental campaigns for more than a decade over plans to build a new generation of coal-fired power stations in the UK. (London Observer) May 18, 2008

I Give Up, Says Brazilian Minister Who Fought To Save The Rainforest: In a letter to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ms Silva said that her efforts to protect the rainforest acknowledged as the "lungs of the planet" were being thwarted by powerful business lobbies. (The Independent UK) May 15, 2008

The Emergence of Real Trade Unionism in Wal-Mart Stores in China (China Labor News Translations) May 4, 2008

Comments on the Strike Movement in Egypt (International Socialist Review) May-June 2008

Women - The Guardians of Potato Biodiversity in Peru (Inter Press Service) May 16, 2008

Iraq Veterans Describe Atrocities to US Lawmakers (OneWorld.net) May 17, 2008

Santa Ana, California Labor Rally: HEY, ARNOLD! NO BUDGET CUTS! (Los Angeles Indymedia) May 15, 2008

Revolt in Mahalla

As food prices rise in Egypt, class struggle is heating up.
By Hossam El-Hamalawy, International Socialist Review, May-June 2008

Egytian police cracked down in early April on the Nile Delta town of Mahalla—home to the biggest textile mill in the Middle East with its labor force of 27,000—aborting a strike, as the town erupted in two bloody days of street uprisings that left at least two young men killed by President Hosni Mubarak’s U.S.-backed regime. Solidarity protests in Cairo and the other provinces were also squashed by the security services, which rounded up hundreds of ordinary citizens and dissidents, including bloggers and organizers.
A strike had been called by the left-leaning Textile Workers’ League in the Ghazl el-Mahalla textile mill for April 6, to pressure the government into raising the national minimum wage that has not moved from a pathetic $6.40 per month since 1984. The workers were demanding an increase to $222 per month, as well as other demands related to food allowances, industrial safety, and work conditions.
Ghazl el-Mahalla is at the heart of the ongoing strike wave, the biggest to engulf Egypt since the end of the Second World War.

Continue reading 'Revolt in Mahalla'. . .

Is There Really Any Difference Between Hillary and Condoleezza?: Some Questions for "Feminists for Clinton"

By Kathleen Barry, Counterpunch, April 25, 2008

Several noted feminists have been using their mailing lists to get out the vote for Hillary Clinton. This is my response to them.
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Does sisterhood have such a thin veneer that all of those Iraqi lives are forgetten in order to have a woman in the White House? Then why not Condoleezza Rice? Is there that much difference between them?

Read all of 'Is There Really Any Difference Between Hillary and Condoleezza?: Some Questions for "Feminists for Clinton"'. . .

Hillary Clinton Threatens to “Obliterate” Iran

By Joe Kay, WSWS, April 24, 2008

Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s pledge to “obliterate” Iran if it attacks Israel marks a sharp escalation of threats against that country and its entire population.

Continue reading 'Hillary Clinton Threatens to “Obliterate” Iran'. . .

Iraq, Impeachment, and the Democrats

By Cindy Sheehan, Dissident Voice, April 20, 2008

[Pelosi], too, is frustrated with the ongoing war in Iraq but believes that impeachment would be divisive and distract Congress from improving the lives of working families.
– spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi: Drew Hammill

The above quote from House Speaker, and my opponent, Nancy Pelosi’s spokesperson would be hilarious if it were not so damn tragic. The quote was in an article about my recent visit and speech to students, faculty and the community members at CSU San Marcos. I wonder how long Drew stayed awake to think up this quote, and I wonder if Drew and Speaker Pelosi think that we, the American people, are too stupid to realize that our lives have been “improved.”
After five years of warfare on the people of Iraq; almost eight years of warfare on the American public and about 15 months of the reign of the Democrats in Congress, working class families of America have paid the heaviest price.
The human cannon fodder that BushCo believes is so expendable and that Pelosi funds, come mostly from the working class. Over 4000 American soldiers are dead and not one of them has been named Pelosi, Bush, Cheney, or Hoyer. Not one has been plucked out of the boardrooms of mortgage bankers or war profiteers.

Continue reading 'Iraq, Impeachment, and the Democrats'. . .

Petreaus & Crocker, Obama & Clinton: No Matter Who Wins, the War Goes On

By Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report, April 16, 2008

Both Clinton and Obama get big aplause from Democratic audiences pledging to withdraw combat troops from Iraq. But do either of them intend to end the unjust, illegal and genocidal war in which more than a million have perished? The questions Obama and Clinton asked, and failed to ask of Crocker and Petreaus, America's civilian and military satraps in Iraq, as well as the published statements of their advisors illuminate their actual intention --- to continue the war and occupation under a Democratic administration in 2009.

Continue reading 'Petreaus & Crocker, Obama & Clinton: No Matter Who Wins, the War Goes On'. . .

Five Years On, Fallujah in Tatters

By Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail, Inter Press Service, April 14, 2008

Fallujah remains a crippled city more than two years after the November 2004 U.S.-led assault.
Unemployment, and lack of medical care and safe drinking water in the city 60 km west of Baghdad remain a continuous problem. Freedom of movement is still curtailed.
The city suffered two devastating U.S. military attacks during 2004. Many of the buildings were destroyed, or heavily damaged. Several collapsed under the heavy bombing, and were never rebuilt. The heaps of concrete slabs and piles of rubble remain where they were.
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The city remains sealed. Many residents refer to it as a big jail.
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"The brutal destruction of Fallujah by the American army was not followed by any reconstruction, as if the city is being punished for its attitude against the occupation," said an engineer in Fallujah, Kaltan Fadhil.
Water and electricity supply, health facilities and roads were provided "in a way that only made some people who collaborated with Americans richer," he said. "It was no more than repainting some buildings to make them look nicer for a while, and then new contracts were announced to rehabilitate what was already rehabilitated."

Read all of 'Five Years On, Fallujah in Tatters'. . .