Perhaps the two most feared words in the English language today are “suicide bomber”; the propaganda machine in the west ensures that these two words continue to strike fear and terror into the hearts of the civilian population. Circumstances occasionally present all of us with unusual opportunities. When a young man who claimed the above distinction wished to make known his story it would have been a dereliction of my profession to refuse the request. The public interest is not served unless both sides of a story are made available.

The republic of fear is born again. The state of terror now gripping Iraq is as bad as it was under Saddam Hussein. Torture in the country may even be worse than it was during his rule, the United Nation's special investigator on torture said yesterday. Patrick Cockburn reports from Arbil on a situation 'totally out of control'.

The one glaring undeniable fact regarding the Bush administration is the fact that they have failed in ALL their endeavours – in other words they have done nothing right. The latest display of neo-con ineptitudes by John Bolton and Condoleezza Rice regarding their tactical inaction during the conflict in South Lebanon reveals the essential ideology/philosophy of the neo-cons – not only [to], ‘GIVE WAR A CHANCE; but also, WAR IS THE ANSWER’! [Thank you John Lennon.]

A well-known method of subjugation utilised by conquerors and rulers alike is, “divide and conquer”; this strategy applies equally in times of war and peace. It may surprise many but this method remains the principal means of social control in today’s western societies. The primary divisive structure today is the (separate, ‘closed-door’) nuclear family and the principal divided unit is the psychically isolated, competitive individual. [It should be noted that the ‘individual’, as distinct from the group, is a relatively recent social creation.]

Even before the events of 11 September 2001, the heads of state in the United States and Britain concentrated and consolidated executive power and tried to constrain judicial autonomy. Democracy in the West may now be more formal than real. The governments of the US and Britain rule by appealing to fear, mobilizing nationalist sentiment and playing on deep racial and ethno-religious prejudices. Analysis by Philip Golub including comparison with developments in France.

Local councils—Units of Popular Power—are being set up in the hope that their members, and the small groups they represent, will take responsibility for changing their lives. The councils’ charge is to coordinate and integrate activities of local missions, urban land, and cultural committees. Venezuelans are developing the means to exercise co-responsibility with the state.

Australia takes the idiot news of the week award once again. ‘Onya Oz for not laughing the Prime Minister, John Howard, and the imbecile leader of the opposition, Kim Beazley, out of Parliament and office for their ridiculous and illogical attempts to gain political advantage by exploiting the underlying racism and cringe mentality in the local ‘culture’.

Not to be backgrounded in world events, the new Hitler youth Pope of Rome, Ratzinger (by any other name) spouted his ultra-right-wing divisionist diatribes to the world today – are there any Muslims out there? Ratzinger’s highly inflammatory references to a previous crusading Pope’s diatribes against Islam were intended to inform the world that he has not forgotten his Nazi past, Ratzinger has left little doubt as to what he really represents – there is no cause for concern, however, as he is in ‘good’ company; neo-cons, Zionists and other ultra-conservative groups welcomed confirmation from the Pope that he is one of them. However, Ratzinger’s credentials as a representative of his God and saviour, the Prince of Peace Jesus Christ, took a severe battering today.