Pacific Free Press was launched in March 2007 by Dutch-Canadian Richard
Kastelein of V.O.F. Expathos, in the Netherlands along with Chris Cook- CFUV radio journalist and Editor in Chief of Pacific Free Press. Cook is based in , Victoria, British Columbia.
The site is a sister to Atlantic Free Press and Brick Ogden an American Expatriate in Amsterdam has been a key supporter of this project.
The mission of Pacific Free Press is simple: to dig out nuggets of truth from
the slag-heap of lies, ignorance and witless diversion that has buried
public discourse today. Pacific Free Press provides a new venue for
disseminating hard news and insightful, fact-based analysis of the
harsh realities too often ignored or distorted by the mainstream press.
by Gilad Atzmon According to Haaretz, the Shin Bet security service, the (IDF) Military Advocate General, the Defence Minister Barak and the Prime Minister Olmert himself are all backing the demolition of terrorists’ homes.
Not much can be said; at last, Jews start to agree on something among themselves, not only do they agree, they even compete among themselves to be the most outspoken about it.
They all want to lead the current Hebraic belligerence championship. Each of them tries to shape and reshape an authentic image of vengeance.
An Independence Day look back at the radical influence of Thomas Paine, the
often-overlooked founding father whose words sparked the American Revolution.
Campbell River Fish Farm Escape Threatens Fraser Salmon Run
by Salmon Coast Field Station
On Canada Day, a Marine Harvest fish farm net released 30,000 farmed
Atlantic salmon into the Campbell River putting them right in the path
of wild juvenile salmon swimming down the Campbell River.
The farmed fish are not indigenous to the coast and will place undue
pressure on the native stock that is already reeling from sea lice and
warmer sea temperatures.
McCain Presidency Touted by Vietnamese Former Keeper
by C. L. Cook The BBC's Andrew Harding reports from Vietnam his conversation with a former "Hanoi Hilton" jail keeper who, Harding says, supports the presidential run of his former inmate, John McCain.
Tran Trong Duyet is quoted by BBC News, speaking from his home in Haiphong, about his "good friend" John McCain, while flipping through sentimental black and white photos taken of the two while McCain was a P.O.W.
The cordial relationship Tran describes runs counter to the familiar McCain campaign narrative of an embattled Navy pilot, shot down and taken prisoner over enemy territory, bravely resisting torture and refusing a deal his super-wealthy family arranged for his freedom to instead stay in Hanoi and serve as a Stoic, selfless inspiration to his fellows.
Civil Liberties Association Decries Secret Consultations
by BCCLA
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is calling on the Premier to direct the Solicitor General and Attorney General of British Columbia to throw out a controversial confidentiality agreement parties are made to sign to participate in the consultation process about proposed amendments to the Police Act.
The government invited the BCCLA and others to participate in consultations, but then demanded that participants keep secret everything said and done both before and after the introduction of any bill in the Legislative Assembly.
Six Questions for Paul Alexander, Author of Machiavelli’s Shadow
by Scott Horton
Paul Alexander is a former reporter for Time magazine who has also written for Rolling Stone, the New York Times Magazine and various other publications.
He is also a radio talk show host for WABC and the author of a series of popular biographies, including one of the most appealing portraits of John McCain, Man of the People, published in 2004.
Alexander hones his skills as a biographer with a headline-grabbing look at the life and career of Karl Rove entitled Machiavelli’s Shadow, just out.
DOJ Refuses to Turn Over Bush/Cheney CIA Leak Transcripts to Congress
by Jason Leopold The Justice Department has said it will not comply with a subpoena demanding that FBI transcripts of interviews with President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney regarding their possible roles in the exposure of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson be turned over to a congressional committee investigating the matter.
“If such agreements,
conditions, and understandings were not memorialized in writing, I
request that you submit a written description of the date and terms of
any such agreements, conditions, and understandings.”
Henry Waxman, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued the subpoena earlier this month in the latest chapter of a standoff over what Bush and Cheney told a special prosecutor about the case in 2004.
Raytheon, Boeing, Rice to Convergence in Prague
by Laray Polk
On July 8, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to arrive in Prague. Concurrent with her visit, a conference will be held on anti-missile defense featuring representatives from Raytheon and Boeing.1
The nature of the conference is obvious; it is an opportunity to garner support for the U.S. installation of the X-band radar by appealing to potential industry partners and the scientific community within the Czech Republic.
According to a recent report in Ceské Noviny, increased receptivity can be attributed in part to initial fears that “involvement [with the radar and base] would only be limited to auxiliary work such as fencing off the construction site, construction of the base buildings, removal of snow, maintenance of roads and waste disposal.”2
On June 16 I was the co-recipient of the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism with Mohammed Omer in London. Omer is a 24 year-old Palestinian with whom I felt, and feel, honored to have shared this award.
During my brief talk while accepting the award, I told the audience I could not think of anyone else I would rather share the award with. Omer’s work from his Gaza homeland has been a beacon of humanitarian reportage; his work serves as a model of peace and attempted reconciliation with Israel for the youth in his occupied territory.
Unlike me, Omer’s journey to London to receive the award was next to impossible.
No Peace at the Border for Pastors: Humanitarian Goods for Cuba Seized in Texas
by C. L. Cook At approximately 9:30 am local time today, the 19th annual Caravan to Cuba convoy attempted to cross from the United States into Mexico at McAllen, Texas. At this hour, U.S. border authorities are holding up the 'Friendshipment" while agents search for and confiscate all donated computers.
There is so far no indication U.S. authorities will prevent other essential items included on America's broad embargoed materials list passing through the checkpoint, or harass further American and international volunteers en route via Mexico to the Caribbean island nation.
The BBC's Andrew Harding reports from Vietnam his conversation with a former "Hanoi Hilton" jail keeper who, Harding says, supports the presidential run of his former inmate, John McCain. 
Paul Alexander is a former reporter for Time magazine who has also written for Rolling Stone, the New York Times Magazine and various other publications. 
On June 16 I was the co-recipient of the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism with Mohammed Omer in London. Omer is a 24 year-old Palestinian with whom I felt, and feel, honored to have shared this award.
At approximately 9:30 am local time today, the 
