Jordan Watch : Top 25 Censored Stories in Global Media 2006

The most important added value of the Information technology revolution is that it provides access to news that does not make the news in the corporate controlled mainstream media. One of the most important sources of alternative media is the Project Censored organization, that follows and monitors the most important news and features that expose important facts that corporate media does not want to you to know about.

The full package of the top 25 censored news can be accessed here

This is a summary of the contents of the 25 stories, and some of them are truely shocking:

1. Future of Internet Debate Ignored by Media

Throughout 2005 and 2006, a large underground debate raged regarding the future of the Internet. Referred to as “network neutrality,” the issue has become a tug of war with cable companies on the one hand and consumers and Internet service providers on the other.

2. Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran

As recently as January of 2005 and a decade before Halliburton sold key components for a nuclear reactor to an Iranian oil development company in violations of US sanctions.

3. Oceans of the World in Extreme Danger

Sea temperature and chemistry changes, along with contamination and reckless fishing practices intertwine to imperil the world’s largest communal life source.

4. Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in the US

The number of hungry and homeless people in US cities continued to grow in 2005.

5. High-Tech Genocide in Congo

The world's most neglected emergency is the ongoing tragedy of the Congo, where six to seven million have died since 1996 as a consequence of invasions and wars sponsored by western powers trying to gain control of the region's mineral wealth

6. Federal Whistleblower Protection in Jeopardy

Special Counsel Scott Bloch, appointed by President Bush in 2004, is overseeing the virtual elimination of federal whistleblower rights in the US government.

7. US Operatives Torture Detainees to Death in Afghanistan and Iraq

The American Civil Liberties Union released documents of forty-four autopsies held in Afghanistan and Iraq October 25, 2005. Twenty-one of those deaths were listed as homicides. These documents present irrefutable evidence that US operatives tortured detainees to death during interrogation.

8. Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act

In December 2005, Congress passed the 2006 Defense Authorization Act which renders Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) “operational files” fully immune to FOIA requests, the main mechanism by which watchdog groups, journalists and individuals can access federal documents.

9. The World Bank Funds Israel-Palestine Wall

Despite the 2004 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision that called for tearing down the Israel-Palestinian Wall—construction of the Wall has accelerated using World Bank funds.

10. Expanded Air War in Iraq Kills More Civilians

A key element of Bush’s drawdown plans in Iraq includes increased uses of airpower. Expanded air strikes will likely lead to increased civilian deaths.

11. Dangers of Genetically Modified Food Confirmed

Several recent studies confirm fears that genetically modified (GM) foods damage human health.

12. Pentagon Plans to Build New Landmines

The US plans to resume production of antipersonnel landmines.

#13 New Evidence Establishes Dangers of Roundup

New studies reveal that Roundup, the most widely used weed killer in the world, poses serious human health threats.

14. Homeland Security Contracts KBR to Build Detention Centers in the US

Halliburton’s subsidiary KBR has been awarded a $385 million contingency contract by the Department of Homeland Security to build detention camps in the United States for immigrations surges and “news programs.”

15. Chemical Industry is EPA’s Primary Research Partner

The American Chemical Council is now EPA’s leading research partner

16. Ecuador and Mexico Defy US on International Criminal Court

Ecuador and Mexico have refused to sign bilateral immunity agreements (BIA) with the US, in ratification of the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty, despite the Bush Administration’s threat to withhold economic aid

17. Iraq Invasion Promotes OPEC Agenda

The US occupation of Iraq has been used by the US to acquire access to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

18. Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story

Research by Brigham Young University physics professor, Steven E. Jones, concludes that the official 9/11 explanation for the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings is implausible according to laws of physics

19. Destruction of Rainforests Worst Ever

New developments in satellite imaging technology reveal that the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed twice as quickly as previously estimated

20. Bottled Water: A Global Environmental Problem

Consumers spend a collective $100 billion every year on bottled water in the belief—often mistaken—that it is better for us than what flows from our taps. Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year.

21. Gold Mining Threatens Ancient Andean Glaciers

Barrick Gold, a powerful multinational gold mining company, planned to melt three Andean glaciers in order to access gold deposits through open pit mining.

22. Billions in Homeland Security Spending Undisclosed

More than $8 billioninHomeland Security funds has been doled out to states since the September 11, 2001 attacks, but the public has little chance of knowing how this money is actually being spent.

23. US Oil Targets Kyoto in Europe

Lobbyists funded by the US oil industry have launched a campaign in Europe aimed at derailing efforts to enforce the Kyoto Protocol against global warming

24.Cheney’s Halliburton Stock Rose Over 3000 Percent Last Year

Vice President Dick Cheney’s stock options in Halliburton rose from $241,498 in 2004 to over $8 million in 2005, an increase of more than 3,000 percent

25. US Military in Paraguay Threatens Region

South American countries are concerned that a massive air base at Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay is designed to be a US military stronghold in the region.