Michael TE. Klare
reports on a "time travel" story, one that takes
us to 2025
where US power is starting to wane. Wake up and
see that it is already happening in
2009.
(102609d)
So, according to Nick
Mottern,
the "great game" or, as I've been calling it,
the "great" war has its oily roots
exposed. We
see quotations from 1998 that are illustrative
and demonstrative. The "pipelineistan" update is
useful, the races are on. But is the jig up?
Well, that's anyone's guess. (102209b)
Asif
Haroon Raja has regional perspective on the
"Af-Pak"
theater. If
you think it is complex already then you won't
mind reading his take on things, very exciting.
(101809i)
And now, from Luke Haring
reporting from Moscow, we get the
europerspective on this "event" as Hillarsaurus
Rex goes to the Ruskies to parley, well, they
are in agreement, except on Iran, others don't
like their pipeline plans, we're not going to
nag them about human rights, they are not "going
our way" when it comes to Georgia and we scrap a
missile system, not that it is any real loss,
except a form of face, anyway, which still
counts for something, just ask the lousy Brits.
So, whadda we get? Well,
maybe MORE than diddly but what? Right on, read
on read the facts mam, just the
facts
(101309a)
Paul R. Pillar, a CIA and
intel expert has this salient quote:
"The
preparations most important to the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks took place not in training camps
in Afghanistan but, rather, in apartments in
Germany, hotel rooms in Spain and flight schools
in the United States."
(101109c) He
does not mention that most all of the 9/11 group
was from Saudi Arabia. So, if we are in
Afghanistan to "root out AQ" which we've done,
prevent their using the place as a haven, which
we've done, and weaken them generally, which
we've done, then what is the real reason we ARE
there?
From Truthout Newswire:
Robert
Fisk brings the long term in to immediate focus
when talking of a raft of nations wanting to
decouple the dollar from oil.
The
theoretical implications being fiscally dire ,
however the salient data points of his article
are here, note the word "clash" and its context:
The Americans, who are aware the meetings have
taken place - although they have not discovered
the details - are sure to fight this
international cabal which will include hitherto
loyal allies Japan and the Gulf Arabs. Against
the background to these currency meetings, Sun
Bigan, China's former special envoy to the
Middle East, has warned there is a risk of
deepening divisions between China and the US
over influence and oil in the Middle East.
"Bilateral quarrels and clashes are
unavoidable," he told the Asia and Africa
Review. "We cannot lower vigilance against
hostility in the Middle East over energy
interests and security."
(100609b)
From Truthout Newswire:
Robert
Fisk brings the long term in to immediate focus
when talking of a raft of nations wanting to
decouple the dollar from oil.
The
theoretical implications being fiscally dire ,
however the salient data points of his article
are here, note the word "clash" and its context:
The Americans, who are aware the meetings have
taken place - although they have not discovered
the details - are sure to fight this
international cabal which will include hitherto
loyal allies Japan and the Gulf Arabs. Against
the background to these currency meetings, Sun
Bigan, China's former special envoy to the
Middle East, has warned there is a risk of
deepening divisions between China and the US
over influence and oil in the Middle East.
"Bilateral quarrels and clashes are
unavoidable," he told the Asia and Africa
Review. "We cannot lower vigilance against
hostility in the Middle East over energy
interests and security."
(100609b)
Chan Akya reports on the
"terrorists of south Asia. The
angry young men are being played, of course, but
it seems that once a terror group gets its
funding then, of course, other players want to
play also, and
as time changes so do the players playing the
"teams" so no wonder we have the chaos we do in
Pakistan, for instance. (100509a)
Pepe Escobar writes on
Pipelinistan's European connection.
Apparently
the various pipeline plans in the works, working
and being dreamt of are the pawns being used in
the great game currently played by the players
in the region,
not just Russia and the US, though they are the
"heavies". Russia has the edge while US plans
seem to be in the "pipe dream" phase still.
This, as Pepe says, is the story that under
girds much of what is passing for "real news" in
Asia these days, the Georgian war, Iran,
Afghanistan and Pakistan to name a few.
(100209a)
Ed
Kinane reports on the new base that US drone
pilots use. It is in New York City.
New Yorkers
may not, as a whole, be aware of this, have any
influence over the whether or not the pilot's
can be based there or thinking about this issue
in terms of blowback, read 9/11.
(093009a)
Michael
B. Farrell reports on the string of terrorist
arrests in the
US.
Speculation is thin, timing may be everything
and the Patriot Act is nearing its time for
renewal. You speculate. (092709d)
Adam
Entous reports on the "debate" over Iranian
involvement with Afghanistan's
resistance.
Whether or not it's a fact, the "take away
point" is that Iran COULD decide to ramp things
up if threatened or attacked.
(092109b)
Bryan
Bender writes about a US company seeking to
amend a proposal in the UN that would limit the
number of bomblets a cluster bomb could
have. They
argue that since 99% of their bomblets go off
that their weapon is clean. Amazing. The article
is stunning in its subtle portrayal of greed and
what is acceptable in terms of collateral
damage. (092009c)
You may well remember
Muntazer al-Zaidi, if not by name then by shoe.
This
piece contains some of what he said by way of
explaining why he threw his shoes at G.W.,
"the snarfing
turd whacker" Bush. (091909f)
Gareth Porter has it that
the
IAEA has ignored the possibility that the
evidence used to suggest that Iran was forging
ahead with a nuclear program was
forged.
(091509a)
Sreeram Chaulia has this
"mountain
out of a mole hill" story concerning the
"adventure of a hijacked ship called the Arctic
Sea, the cooling off of US Israeli relations
under Obama and the possibility that Israel may
be seeking out Russian interest in common
issues,
perhaps such as Iran becoming nuclear.
(091409e)
William Rivers Pitt
presents a piece that looks at columnist George
"the fag monster" Will. Who
once championed excesses that were beyond even
George "whore mouth" Bush.
Now, however,
he's against the wars he cheered on. Amazing.
(090609a)
Peter
J. Brown, wars in space? Killer micro
satellites?
Once far fetched now, innovation, makes the
impossible possible (090109g)
Jeremey
Scahill, reports on "flushing
Blackwater"
which is just the most visible rotten apple on
the tree. (083009a)
M.K. Bhadrakumar, reports
on the
confusing moves and countermoves that the US and
Russia are engaging in relative to the Asian
heartland.
Alliances flip flop, motives are inscrutable and
the game is definitely on.
(082409d)
From
today's Slate: 08/16/09 we have the digest,
Iran, Afghanistan and
more.
(081609m)
Reza
Kahlili has it that the US should support the
"voices of change" in Iran.
He worked for
the CIA undercover in Iran, saw horrible things
and now, ignoring the fact that the protesters
themselves have, and for some time, said the US
has NOT been helpful in their cause, in fact, US
efforts to help them have only backfired. What's
a super power to do. (081109p)
Mark Townsend reports from
Jolly
Olde Englande that extraordinary rendition
flights through, over or landing on British
territories
must have a
paper trail but the problem is finding the
papers. As in the US with millions of emails and
disappearing video tapes of torture, well,
things DO get lost. (080809e)
M.K. Bhadrakumar reports
on the thrusts and parries
in
the Great Game unfolding in Central
Asia.
(081109m)
Dahn
Jamail reports on the "homeland effect" the
collateral damage that returning
veterans of
the current wars have on themselves and those
they know. I might point out that the figure of
300K PTSD cases is lower than other figures I've
read and the backlog in dealing with that
"effect" was predicted as the war began. Yet
nothing was done about it in terms of
preparation. It was going to be a cakewalk, a
few weeks long, or maybe months remember Rummy
Dumdum's words? (081109h)
A
catch all of headlines and nut shells from ICH
dated
07/31/09. Just
browse along and see what the world looks like
to someone who is looking.
(073109j)
From Lukery at Daily Kos,
we heart that
Bin Laden worked with the US and its allies up
to 9/11, when,
of course, "the world changed". Some interesting
details, but who is surprised, really, after all
he was "our man." (073109i)
Abdujalil Abdurasulov
reports from Tajikistan
where the conflicts of Pakistan and Afghanistan
may be
spreading. New
US supply routes are probably the ultimate
target of the resistance.
(073109d)
Jeremy Scahill reports on
the allegations that Blackwater's
owner, Erik Prince, has been accused of murder
and the
company of various forms of corruption seated
from the top on down, or so it seems.
(080509a)
From the Mainichi Daily
News we see the figures that
52%
of the wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan have
TBI, traumatic
brain injuries. The total wounded in these wars
has one consider that the number of TBI patients
may be one to two hundred thousand.
(072609e)
Greg Miller reports on
the
continuing saga of "limp dick" Cheney
and his hidden
hit squad. (072609d)
From Tom Dispatch we can
read of David Bromwich's take on
how
America's "self image" regarding its military
and "entanglements overseas" has changed, and
radically so, from our founding
principles,
our original "mission" to free our people from
the then European blight on constant warring.
Part of this is due to a numbing acceptance of
"wars being normal" note the plural.
(072209e)
William
Rivers Pitt talks about the brouhaha regarding
the torture
scandal, all
the more salient now that a US soldier is in the
hands of the Taliban and may face "enhanced
interrogations" as Ronald "dickwad" Dumbsfeld or
G.W. Jackass, or John Poo have called them
(072209a)
Eric Margolis, gives
an
overview of the politics of assassination in US
policy. He
also says, of course, that the US is not alone
in this behavior. (072109e)
Jeremy
Scahill reports on the Cheney Hit Squad
stories.
What's new, it seems, is that hit squads or
targeted assassinations are not at all new. I
guess we knew that, such things happen when you
topple governments for decades.
(071609b)
Arrundhati Roy poses the
musical and million dollar question:
What
happens after a nation "gets democracy"? What
happens when it "goes
bad"?
Interesting food for thought here, and a long
time in coming. (071509f) Although she talks
mainly of India and Pakistan much of what she
says applies to the good old US of A.
Seymour Hersh reports on
Cheney's
personal assassination squad
and how Bush,
in a way, told the nation about it and got
cheers, really. Amazing, no? (071509a) From Greg
Miller we have another story,
LA
Times, reports that although the program was
secret, for years, it has been
scrapped.
(071509c)
Maurice
Ulrich, writes about the vast struggle for
equality and
the debate over what equality means.
(071409f)
Joseph
Stiglitz gives us some outline of the cost of
the current
wars. The
figures are not really in, but they'll be
staggering nonetheless (070709e)
Gareth
Porter, gives word on how Washington, the FBI
and other agencies, seemingly did was was
necessary to ignore Bin Laden and Al
Qaida on Saudi
Arabia's word, despite knowing better. (070309f)
Another
part of the
story
(070309g) shows how Al Qaeda was let off the
hook. And
here is how the scapegoat was
found,
packaged and sold American
(070309h)
Dafna Linzere and Peter
Finn discuss the future of Gitmo
and the "legacy" of G.W.Dumbass' sickly
administration,
another mess
Obama has to hold his nose and clean up.
(062809b)
Steve Weissman reports on
how American
influence in Iran has been and is ongoing and
how this is muddying the water regarding the
popular protests
going on. One
might speculate that some in the West prefer Mr.
A, the current president, because he's so
"helpful" in demonizing the country.
(062809a)
Michael Schwirtz reports
that
Kyrgyzstan has reversed
itself and is
allowing the US to continue to use is Manas air
base.
(062309d) this has been a bit of a pawn between
the conflicting ambitions of Russia and the US.
Jamie Doward, Gaby
Hinsliff and Mark Townsend give some details to
the memo, mentioned long ago, which may see the
light of day, that concerned
the prewar
decision by Blair and Bush to "go
military"
even if it meant provoking Iraqi fire on
disguised US
aircraft.
(062209a)
Mind, this is while they were both talking about
diplomacy and such like.
Nuclear
devastation? You've all seen movies depicting
it, but you
don't have to go to the movies to see it, it's
already happening and, conveniently enough,
right here in the U.S. of A. Of course we do
export the poison, at the point of a gun no
less, to Iraq and other nations.
(062009h)
My comment
to the comments on this article is: Time is
short folks. This is but one tale of hundreds.
By that I mean instances where government policy
is an important factor in the death rate in the
population ruled by that government. The US
alone has a quarter million deaths a year
attributable to this. Think of the dead from the
following: a lack of real health care or medical
incompetence, the use of legal drugs and
cigarettes, the use of handguns, industrial
accidents, some car accidents and so forth,
those who disappear each year, children and
adults. The effects of poverty. Americans kill
more Americans than anyone else
does.
Many
governments around the world have similar clean
up jobs to do. And this is not meant to excuse
the US from its role in the advertence or
inadvertence of DU pollution.
Lisa
Lambert reports that the jobless rate has
jumped, and so
one of the touted "green sprouts of recovery"
has withered. Not a good sign at all, really.
(062009g)
Jeremy Scahill illuminates
how the
Ir-Af-Pak war is now fully a
Democrat/Obama
affair. They had a chance to shut it down or, at
the very least, pare it back, but they did not.
It is full steam ahead and "away we go!"
(061709e) John Nichols covers the
32
House Dems that do not back bad wars or busted,
corrupt banks.
(061709d)
Jason
Leopold reports on the "legalization of
torture". In
this article Bush, itself, is seen as more
connected to the "torture thing" than he's ever
let on. Someday justice will prevail in this
world. Someday may come soon, not soon enough
for me or for those the US had run through a
gauntlet of vicious and horrific experiences
which, ultimately, provided scant "bang for the
buck". (061709c)
Tom Englehardt reports on
the latest neologism, the Ir-Af-Pak war, meaning
the theater of operations including Iraq, Iran,
Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Obama, he
says, is charming and disarming
but
the plain fact is that we are "into" man
hunters and
the kind of counter insurgency that we "went
for" in Vietnam.
(061509b)
Michael Winship answers
the question:
Just how many
contractors are in the Af-Pak, Iraq wars?
nearly
a quarter million and the number is
growing, just
as under Bush.
(060609i)
Glenn Greenwald reports on
the reports that report how DOJ lawyers agreed
to the "torture techniques" however, if one
reads the actual emails cited, one can see that
the NYT reporters Scott
Shane and David Johnston were rather free of the
basic facts
when writing their article.
(060709e)
A look at Slate's news
paper coverage, Bin
Laden speaks, attempts to upstage
Obama in the
Mideast, something about the Bush Admin's
"understanding" concerning West Bank Building
and some interest in interest rates increasing
(060409a)
UN Calls for Inquiry on
"Unacceptably
High" Civilian Death Toll in Sri Lanka?
So why do we
hear nothing regarding Iraq or Afghanistan? What
has happened to any investigation regarding
Gaza? (053109a)
Jason Leopold's article
has the Abu Ghraib controversy getting a bit of
a boost. The article has it that General Taguba
says he saw the video and photographic
evidence
of rape and
sodomy. This
was a couple of years back.
(052909a)
As if the "Georgia
Adventure" will end, the headline is that
Georgia
will become a NATO member,
at some point,
somehow. Specifics are not forthcoming, but war
games are going on. Russia is not pleased but,
for now, little is to be done.
(052509d)
Pepe Escobar has it that
the
success of one pipeline's means the other is
defeated. So
the US and NATO loose out while our competitors
may, for a time brag, but the kicker is that
Balochistan's dreams become all the more
poignant. (052809e)
Something
of the mess that is
Guantanamo.
Prisoners which we admit are held illegally
cannot be released. Prisoners that are known to
be innocent are retained because no one knows
where to send them once they are released.
(052309b). Gee, thanks George, "old limp dick"
Bush for saving us from these vital
threats!
This
is the "soft invasion" the "soft conquest"
that of the
destruction or replacement of a nation's
culture. Iraq suffers from this but it is a
problem that goes back decades as does some
pithy commentary in this article a very
worthwhile brief by Dahr Jamail.
(052709a)
I
wonder what Cheney the "limp link" would make of
the rape photos being repressed?
I mean would
Donald Dumbsfeldt think it was "the kind of
prank that college kids pull?
(052809a)
The
expanding Af-Pak war, the six ways it is
stretching itself, and the US, as bit more than
one would
expect.
(052209b)
The
March of Fools, how a big organization, such as
a government, can make silly mistakes,
such as
Vietnam and repeat them, as with Afghanistan,
decades later (052109b)
So,
not only does Obama not shut down "Gitmo", the
courts say he can still imprison without
evidence indefinitely
(052109c)
Closing
Guantanamo is a "dead duck", the Senate having
prevented just that.
In my mind the
arguments used for defending this "inaction" are
particularly weak. The very existence of the
prison is harmful to our international image and
endangers our troops because its existence is a
recruitment tool for the those fighting US
military forces. (052009b)
http://www.truthout.org/051509J
Why Cheney, aka the "dickless wonder" or "Mr.
Short link" is being such a lout mouth these
days, could Sy Hersh be right? that he's trying
to get ahead of the torture scandal, the parts
we have not yet seen the "hard core kid sodomy"
and "mother rapes" and so forth?
(051809a)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/18-13
And who were the persons that saw to it that
torture became a part of the interrogation
methods employed by the US armed forces? We know
the 13 names, and they are here
(051809d)
Some
pursue the "torture" 12. Here is why it is a
good idea. I
wouldn't mind Bush the dumber doing the perp
walk. That would be cool.
(052209d)
Cheney, "the short link"
Dick blabbers on but does make one correct
remark, amazing I know. He
admitted that one of the reasons "they" hate us
is our foreign policies and our support for
Israel.
(052209c)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/19-6
Are we in for
a "long war"? There are words of caution being
heard by congress, but to
what effect?
(051909d)
For
those who thought Obama meant what he said about
shutting down Guantanamo or ending torture, this
story is a
disappointment.
We have a new term: "being IRF'ed" or "IRF ing"
as it were. Smashing noses, heads in toilets,
smashing faces, breaking bones, blinding, and
much, much more! All while medical personnel
look on, lovingly and who then repair the
damages done. (051609b)
Rummy
Dumb Dumb's boys have a history of shoot
outs,
or rather shoot ups. It is a sad history
actually, and seems to be counter productive, as
one might put it. (051609c)
How
about lying to congress and, by that means, to
the American
people? Will
the CIA be held to account?
(051509d)
No matter
what
the wing nut /aluminum foil cap contingent of DC
and Tel Aviv
the reasoning
against making a strike on Iranian nuclear
facilities still stands (050509c)
http://www.truthout.org/050309Z
What is FUD?
An acronym for "fear, uncertainty and doubt".
The means for manipulating millions many times.
The identification of a problem does not mean it
is cured. The ruinous effect of the public's
distrust of the information it receives is
evident each time anyone asks, "Where did you
hear that?" (050309a)
It
seems that we must have a paper trail leading
from the torture cells to the office
cubicles
(051209b)
And
what does the "common man" the "man on the
street" think of
torture, well,
as I 've said before until there is access to
the process that formulates that questions we
may not have a clear idea.
(051209c)
In a letter to a friend:
Now that that
is said, be wary. Be careful and cautious. For
although we do have a new administration and I
am very glad the election went as it did, in the
fact that anywhere from 4 to 6 million voters,
most all democratic, were not counted one way or
another. We have severe problems that are
currently being masked by the recent surge in
the markets which is, essentially, based only
upon the current bailout programs, however
misguided and ineffective they might be
ultimately. As long as there is a flooding of
cash the "top of the pyramid" will remain stable
and belief in the dollar, domestically and
globally, will stand. If that changes we'll have
a problem which makes recent reports of China
scaling back markedly on its purchasing of US
debt worrying. Also, both wars are currently
being expanded, not contracted. In Iraq, the US
is not doing the expansion so much as the
insurgents are as a developing blood feud
between the US backed government and the US
backed groups that have been called the
Awakening Councils, ramps up. The war in
Afghanistan can no longer be called that, it is
being called the Afgan-Pak theater, because this
cross border conflict is now impinging on both
Kabul and Islamabad. Look for changes there and
soon. We have global warming and just this
weekend I made note of the rainfall pattern in
San Francisco. When I arrived here 35 years ago
the wet season began sometime in late November
and persisted through February and into early
March. During the last few years I have noticed
it shift and this year the wet season began in
February and we're still having rain in May.
This is a large shift. My thinking is that
global warming will bring more rain to
California in general and, with warmer
temperatures, the state could see an even better
growing season and an expansion of the areas
suitable for growing crops. This would be true
in the near term, the five to ten year
frame.
Of course you,ve heard
of the swing flu event. This sort of thing may
occur more often as microorganisms, of various
types, take advantage of the warming and expand
their ranges into human areas or visa versa.
Latest on the polar melting: we may have an ice
free Arctic in as few as five
years.
http://www.truthout.org/042809T
The phrase "the American Century" is falling
away, according to this writer, because the
thing itself is ending. (042809d)
So he writes to his friend
Jimmy:
Thanks, as always, for
the ranting, bug eyed, scatological take on the
current scene being played upon the worlds
stage. Is it much ado about nothing? Are we
waiting for Godot? Who is the playwright and who
has the copyright? What ARE the reviewers
saying? Do we get ANY good press? Do we deserve
it? And what is it that stinks so damned much I
choke when I patrol the news?
My pet theory is that
chaos, all this chaos, is working FOR some set
of people. Oh, we can trace the money easily
enough, after all the Federal Budget is a public
document, but that wouldn't be the whole story,
not by a long shot, as you would noddingly
agree, even as you read this. No, there IS some
set of people who love this gang banging foreign
policy of ours, they're making out hand over
fist. My take is that these people are fascists,
and while we might have the American kind, the
English kind, the Euro kind, the Russian,
Chinese and the Zionist kind, maybe it is more
than that. Maybe there has been some
consolidation in the West as one might infer
from the growth of NATO and its far flung
enterprises. Maybe the democracies of the west
have been co-opted for the perverse purposes of
some dark cabal bent on obtaining world
domination, even if it means doing it in
disguise while prompting everyone else in the
world to fight each other. They'd then garner
profits and influence to the point where they
get their new age to finally dawn. And while it
remains to be seen just who these folks are, we
can see some of it, easily, Bush's connection to
the NAZI regime, the heavy influence of the
Zionists, such institutions as the independent
central bank and deep connections with most all
the previous colonial powers. The tool used to
ruin the United States has been the
deterioration of the rule of law, personal greed
and the systematic corruption that has been
brought to fester in the heart of every portion
of every public institution. Also we the people
have little real information, no real power to
change our representatives decisions and only
minuscule access to influence the course of
government. We have a shadow government still,
perhaps we always have.
So what do I say about
it? What does anyone care about what I say about
it, or anything for that matter. So why do I
write? Why do I not only persist but persevere,
seemingly as if it mattered, I mean to anyone,
besides myself, or, really, even, to myself?
I mean what IS up with that?
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2149215320090421
Seems like the ongoing disagreement between the
US and Israel, regarding the "nation building"
of Palestine keeps "nosing up" in to the news.
(042209a)
http://www.truthout.org/042009J
Hypocrisy your
name is G.W. "jackass" Bush, "the brainless,
ball-less wonder. Here we see what we thought of
the Geneva conventions before Iraq and then
after. What is that they say about the goose and
gander? The pot calling the kettle black?
(042009a)
http://www.truthout.org/042509A
President George W. Bush ... issued a written
determination on February 7, 2002, "that Common
Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which would
have afforded minimum standards for humane
treatment, did not apply to al-Qaeda or Taliban
detainees." So, this OK for torture, does that
mean he'll be held to account for it? Obama?
Hello? (042509a) And here we have the nicely
dovetailing:
fact that torture does not really
work,
something that was known at the time GW Jackass
made that written determination, decider my
pimply buttock! (042509b)
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175058
It seems that
US signals to Iran and Israel need to be clear
and unequivocal as the potential for an open
rift with the US regarding policies toward the
Palestinians and any idea of attacking
Iran.(041309c)
Take a happy jaunt back to
the "big day" when this "great" war started,
9/11, when you read this page that talks about a
building in china that had
far more flames than any of the 9/11 buildings
and yet it did not
collapse.
There are problems with the 9/11 fabrication,
but you can check out the video on the page for
yourself. (040909e)
http://www.truthout.org/033009L
Graveyard thinking in the Obama teams? An once
over of the cost of shifting to the Afgha-Pak
war. (040209f)
The
new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan
- reminds us
that 'al-Qaeda and its allies - the terrorists
who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks' -
continue to be active in both nations we are
warned that al-Qaeda still seeks to kill 'as
many of our people as possible' and is 'actively
planning further attacks on the US homeland from
its safe haven in Pakistan thus 'our men and
women fight and die our national security - is
at stake" (040209a) Closely
related to that story is this, illustrative of
one of the problems US policy faces in the
area (040209c)
http://www.truthout.org/032909Z
Spain has an official need to talk to some of
our Bush Administration people about torture.
What I want to know is when will they go after
the beg weenie himself? (032909b)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/index.html
The Information Clearing House, dated 03/2709,
has an interesting set of headlines and briefs.
Obama talks about Al Qaida's intent to attach
the US and that we need to eliminate it. Sound
like Bush's words to you? Does that matter?
Banking crisis to come, Israel expands it's war
against Palestine to Sudan and more chaos to
come. (032709e)
http://www.truthout.org/032509C
Pipelineistan, the region of central Asia
crisscrossed with pipelines, loaded up with
petroleum and being contested by both the west
via the US and NATO and the east, via the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization, comprising
Russia, China, India and the stans as well as
Iran. (032509e)
http://www.truthout.org/032309A
there is a lot of evidence concerning the CIA
torture of prisoners, we may not need the video
that was destroyed when it was supposed to be
saved. (032309b)
http://www.truthout.org/031209J
Cheney's "assassination ring" is being
uncovered. (031209a)
http://www.commondreams.org/headline
/2009/03/01
The latest wrinkle in the economy's downturn is
that recruitment for the army is up, way up, in
comparison to recent quarters or years.
(030109a)
The
ICA page of this date: 02/21/09 has a raft of
briefs about the current global
status. Lots
of problems are outlined and the solutions seem
brief. (022109d)
http://www.alternet.org/rights/42458/
The war on US citizens, the Military Commissions
Act of 2006. (021609f)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/KB06Ag02.html
A series of developments, Iran's launch of a
satellite, the base closure in Kyrgyzstan, a
blown bridge in the Khyber Agency and more.
(020609f)
Kyrgyzstan's
leader wants the US base to
close. Says
things haven't changed at the Manas Base. so is
ti just posturing or does Russia's billions in
aid man a pay off? Some more on that , it seems
there is a delay in a vote, but this is a one
man show so
bargaining must be going
on.
(020509g)
Now
it seems Kyrgyzstan's
decision to close the base is
final, yet the
US says talk is happening and there is an offer
from a neighboring state to replace the base.
(020609c)
So
it seems push IS coming to shove, albeit
peaceably thus
far. The US
and Russia replay Kipling's Great Game.
(020409d)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7871216.stm
Then we get a "whoah baby" moment, with the
nation's legislative body weighing in to
consider the bribes .. oh, uh .. offer.
(020409g)
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/600/42/374358.htm
Seems like the base will close and Russia is
making an offer for transport, but won't allow
lethal cargo nor, it seems troops going to and
from the theater. (020809b)
This
war's cost, some 400,000 American casualties,
has come home,
in the form of disability, health care needs and
many other forms of support. (012909a) - oh,
yes, it was predicted.
Europe's
News:
Labor
unrest is scattered in Europe but the trend is
for more as
the economic downturn becomes more and more
painful. (020409b) There is, the UN's emailed
newsletter, dated 01/26/09, stories are about
Iceland's government failing due to the economic
crisis and reports of restless crowds in eastern
Europe. These developments, coinciding with the
riots in Greece.
Spain::
Here
is the skinny on the
Spanish judges who are making waves the world
over, especially in the US, China and Israel.
The Spanish government is catching flack and
those opposing the activist judges say that
unless there is some direct connection to Spain
or Spanish citizens then the case cannot go
forward. To
those I say that when Al Qaida bombed the trains
in Spain that put the any aspect of the US war
on terror and the middle east on the table. As
to China, I'd say this, what if there were
Tibetans in Spain who have become citizens? I
think that would serve, no?
(052509e)
France:
An
outpouring of millions protest the current
government's methods for dealing with the
economic
crisis.
(032009b)
Greece:
Some
unrest continues, annoying attacks on police
stations and
personnel.
(020409f)
Ireland:
It
seems the global downturn has raised the
"unprintable" ire of many
here. Just as
in other countries bankers get bailouts and the
common folk are charged on the bill
(022109a)
Bosnia:
Nigel
Morris reports a warning to the EU regarding
Bosnia. Forces
are at work, Russia included, to undo what was
done and to "make a new difference". Peace is
not really peaceful. (081309d)
Muddle
East News, Central Theater:
Gaza,
Israel,
Lebanon,
Palestine
and Syria
The
area in general:
Al
Jazeera has a story
concerning
the "effectiveness of US policy in the Muddle
East, housing
demolition's in East Jerusalem.
(102709b)
From
Ken Shulman we have a report on the "other key"
to a lasting Middle East peace, which happens to
be water. With
populations on the rise, water fall diminishing
we can see a increasing possibility of
chaos
taking a more active role in how the nations
treat with each other. (092409b)
Ira
Chernus reports on the changing nature of the
debate concerning what
an "anti-Semite" is among people in Israel and
the US.
(063009h)
Via
Tom Dispatch we hear Ira Chernus speak of
the
continuing sea change in the perspective of US
citizens regarding Israel and
Palestine.
There has been a significant shift but some
essentials remain static.
(062609c)
Rory
McCarthy illuminates the criticism leveled by
President Jimmy Carter at NuttyYahoo's recent
speech responding to President Obama's Cairo
speech. Jimmy
thinks things are worse off for what the "Big
Nut" said, but I have to ask: "Are we surprised
yet?"
(061609c)
NuttyYahoo
says a Palestinian state is on the
table, but
with limitations and not that the Palestinian
street accepts such limits however welcome a
state may be (061409a)
Ira
Chermus reports on the growing chances for
Israeli Palestinian peace, not because of what
is happening "over there" but because
of
a sea change in the opinions of the American
Jewish population's
opinion.
(060909f)
Michael
Scheuer has an analysis of Osama's reaction to
Obama's speech. The
upshot is Obama provided a "scorecard" if you
will that will allow Osama et al to evaluate
progress. So now, it's "show
time".
(060909c)
Daniel
Luban reports on the "three state" solution to
the muddle east sit/com: Gaza goes to Egypt, and
the west bank goes to
Jordan. The
idea is taking hold in the radical right of the
US and Israel because its appeal lay in solving
the problem without really solving it. Foisting
it, instead, upon the two aforementioned
neighbors of Israel who don't like the idea one
bit. I report on it because it shows the
perversion to which the "thinking" of the far
right has fallen to. (060709a)
Noam
Chomsky talks about the current "policy gap"
between the US and Israel. Stories recently
reporting on disagreements between the two
allies. However, this
article shows that nothing much has really
changed while the Palestinians in both Gaza and
the West Bank have an ever worsening
situation.
(060809c)
The
US and Israel in a public disagreement over an
issue that is both immediate and
substantive?
Seems like Paul Richter and Christi Parsons and
Richard Boudreaux have the word on this
(052909b
More
on the developing rift between the
US
and Israel vis-a-vis the "Palestinian
Problem"
(042309c)
"Bin
Baddin‚ just won't stay quiet, but he talks
and the world
listens,
somewhat, these days, but Gaza is the "cause
celebrate"(031409a)
It
seems that a looming disagreement between the US
and Israel is taking shape
as the two
nations move in different directions as regards
Iran, Palestine and the region in general.
(022009c)
And
this later story outlines
how this disagreement is taking
form.
(030309c) Part
two, more details
(030309d)
As
the US makes some "positive noise" in and about
the middle east Israel's right wing tilt makes
for "interesting
times"
(021509c)
Turkish
flags being waved enthusiastically by
Arabs? Yup,
Davos made a hero out of the leader of Turkey
after he berated The Big
Jew.(020509f)
Another
day another set of attacks … seems like
peace to me
(020109e)
Obama's
speech to the Arab world was done with a Saudi
based media company, he backed Israel and
ignored the Palestinian side of the
issue. Sounds
like a new way forward to
me!(012909c)
http://www.truthout.org/012809A
This is a recap of the most recent "exchange"
between Hamas, allegedly and Israeli forces. The
US has a "big diplomat" in the region; if in 6
months or certainly a year, if nothing has
changed; the prospects of an orderly and
rational resolution to the problem will dwindle
&endash; I don't think that the Arabs or
Palestinians have much more patience.
(012809d)
Five
questions for consideration when looking at the
"solutions" for the "Palestinian Problem"
(012709e) So
what if this was the "whole idea" that if the
"Muslim world" were to "explode" it would first
assault those nations that are both closest to
it and having "a history" with them: Russia,
India and China for example. All of them have
Muslim minorities, which can be encouraged in
their restlessness. Right now, that may have
been the meaning of the Bush presidency,
creating a ruckus in the back yards of several
of America's global competitors. A multi
generational regional ruckus, one that will grow
with time and which will continue, as it does
now, being self-fueled. Fascists in the US must
be mighty satisfied at this turn of events. Why,
all the US has to do is "pull out" of Iraq and
Afghanistan to unleash a torrent of chaos and
unrest in a vital region of the world. Clean up
will be profitable. So, maybe Bush served well
enough, indeed?
Saudi's
making noise, or is it talking tough, or what
passes for tough from
them?
(012409c)
The
analysis purports to show how the IDF achieved
"all of its goals" in
Gaza In the
press just before and during the war many things
were said or claimed to be the goals Hamas being
dealt a death blow, the cessation of rocket and
mortar attacks and the sealing of the border
between Gaza and Egypt so that tunnels and arms
shipments would be halted. As far as I can tell
none of these were achieved. Yes, Hamas was
forced into a kind of cease fire reversing
itself on its insistence that they'd fight on
until Israeli forces left, and they made false
claims regarding their effectiveness. Yes
Israeli forces managed to improve their tactics
to keep their losses low and do damage. But no,
it seems, nothing much has changed at this time
regarding the three objectives. Hamas is not
currently firing into Israel, but one wonders
how long this "peace" will last or how long the
north or east "fronts" will remain calm.
(012409a)
Well
so much for the calm and "quiet" southern border
area.
(012409b)
The
day of and the day after a cease-fire was
separately announced by both sides rocket fire
from Gaza went into
Israel. Even
Israeli commentators admit that the war was just
a war and that if it made any change in the
situation it was for the worse.
(011809a)
A
post war post mortem, as it were, Hamas did not
do the damage that Hezbollah was able to
wreak. My
thought is this: terrain. Gaza is small, low,
and mainly flat in comparison to
Lebanon.(011909b)
Gaza:
Alice
Walker writes of what she saw when she went to
Gaza after the
recent "war" as it has been called. Women's life
is hard in many places, harder still here. A
good article that gives details rich with life
itself. (072609g)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KA27Ak01.html
"Ghosts" getting set to retaliate against
Israel. Time will tell if the report is just
speculation or if Hamas does have "tens" of
bombers inside Israel already.
(012609e)
http://www.truthout.org/012309K
One of Israel's chief war aims was to destroy
the tunnels used to transport goods into Gaza,
well, clearly that objective failed.
(012309a)
Israel:
Paul Craig Roberts
reporting on the possibility that Israel is
going to, someday, attack Iran with tacit US
support have been around, this
is the latest bit of
speculation.
(102709c)
Yuvai
Goren and Dan Even report on a horrific murder
of nearly an entire
family. It is
a tragedy and I am hoping hat this is not the
latest uptick in the Palestinian/Israeli
conflict. If it is proven to be so, peace
efforts for the region will take a serious blow.
(101809f) The story depicts a huge effort to
determine the nature of the perpetrator and the
security forces are involved.
Simon
Tisdall reports on the backsliding away from
peace in the middle east
region. From
Turkey to Egypt and Israel to Jordan the slide
continues to build momentum. Another infitada?
Another "kind of war"? The emotions run high and
Obama's promised efforts for peace work against
time on a slippery slope.
(101809e)
Dan
Williams illuminates the "newest" Israeli
thinking on
Iran which may go like this: They cannot really
hurt us, after all and besides we're about to
talk to them so we're cooling the rhetoric, for
now. " (093009d)
Jonathan
Cook reports on what I call the "purity"
movement in
Israel, where
Jewish girls or women are being monitored as to
whether or not they're relating to Arab or "god
forbid" Palestinian boys or men.
(092609c
Ben
Buchwalter provides
an overview of the Zionist movement and Israeli
history,
despite the errors sprinkled through, it is an
overview of memories troubling enough to bring
tears. (091909i)
Ira
Chernus has a piece on
the Holcaust still being a political
football, how
that came to be, why it persists and so forth.
(090509x)
I got curious and sought
out
a listing of the UN resolutions concerning
Israel and in regards to which Israel stands in
violation of.
Hey, there are lots and lots of them. Now the
Israelis are complaining that Hezbollah stands
in violation of one of them, admittedly more
recent and salient, perhaps, but still Israel
seems like the pot which is calling the kettle
black. (081609o) and my favorite is the first,
dating from 1947 calling for separate states -
and they who are currently the most capable of
implementing the resolution are standing
resolutely in its way - nice!
And
here is a bit of clarification, the listing of
those resolutions they stand in violation
of.
(081609p)
Then John Austin, an MP
from England has another way to look at it; so
how
many times has the US has come to Israel's
rescue by the US using its security council
position to
veto any potential UN action?
(081609q)
From
the PNN, a digest of incidents involving
Palestinians and Israeli
military
(081609n)
Robert Dreyfuss covers the
"red
light" the US has been giving Israel regarding
an attack on
Iran. Though
the article does mention a recent joint military
exercise between the air forces of those two
nations, the focus of which was refueling.
(080209d) Amos
Harel, has the Haaretz article dovetailing the
account:
(080209f) Another
source gives some
details
(080209g)
Yossi Melman reports on
that long ago day when South Africa in
cooperation with Israel
tested a nuclear
device.
(080209e)
From
Pat "the holy roller" Buchanan we hear his
argument against Israel's striking Iran's
nuclear
facilities.
The ground has been covered before what is
interesting is that he thinks they're still
thinking of doing that. (073109h)
Ethan
Bronner has
a report from a group of Israeli
fascists who
are busy with taking part in the continuing
conquest. Eventually push will come to shove,
even if it is years hence and has nothing to do
with Obama and the US. (073009c)
Uri
Avnery describes the military procedures used by
Israeli's in the recent "Gaza
War", looks
like the by word was "anything goes". And it
did. (072109f)
PNN
has some coverage
on the recent reports that the Israelis are
planning to remove 23
"outposts",
illegal settlements. (072109c)
Jeffrey
Heller covers
a spark in the US - Israeli relations regarding
East Jerusalem
and some new
housing units being planned.
(090719b)
Mohammed
Assadi, reports on the growing rift between
Israel and the US regarding the establishment of
a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The US wants
that while the Silly Mr. NutandYahoo hasn't seen
the light. Perhaps he IS a fly up his father's
ass after all. (061009b)
Could
just be a politician shooting off his mouth from
the hip,
could be another brainless wonder running
another nation into the ground, so, I ask you,
"NuttyYahoo" threat or
menace?
(052509g)
You
know, if you just read the headlines you'd think
Israel is making something of a turn about due
to US
pressure,
reading the article makes it clear that lines
are being drawn and in such a fashion as the
US's Obama may not be pleased with
(052109d)
Israel
considers the "nightmare
scenario"
which contains attacks against Iran and
Pakistan, hardly likely, but the press
disseminating this is indicative of what passes
for thinking (050608a)
Regarding
Iran and Israel, the much touted "Obama
difference"
may be fading
away to be replaced by more of, essentially, the
same. Punishment for Iran and no state for the
Palestinians. (050109c) And,
if you were curious, the drumbeat continues as
well,
officially.
(050109e)
The
most interesting thing about this is that, if
recent history is any guide,
analysis would show that Israeli policies are
the root of Hezbollah's strength.
And so any
victory it has in Lebanon's upcoming elections
will be ironic to say the least and "exciting"
to say the most. (042409d)
The
word
is that there has been something of a rift
appearing between the US and
Israel. Maybe
this is a "shifting sand" factor to be
considered. (041909d)
A
sign that the conflict is far from being over as
a car bomb is
neutralized.
(032209b)
As
stories from the archive would make
clear,
there are emerging differences between the US
and Israel the
demolition of housing belonging to Arabs is an
example of one divisive issue.
(032209a)
The
current election brings "Nut n'Yahoo" to the
brink of power.
Known as a
"fart mouthed fly up his father's ass", he is
now a serious contender for the Fascist faction
of the Israeli Reichstag.
(020809d)
Israel's
soon to be new leader will have "to talk" with
Obama and the
issue of Iran will come up. There are
differences between the old time allies and this
article speculates on the problems they face
(020609d)
Nut'n-Yahoo
leads in the polls; says that Israel did not "go
far enough" against
Hamas. It
seems as though the US goal is not on his table,
so you have to wonder what the hell is?
(020409f) Then too his main opponent plays
tweedle dumber to his tweedle
deesterness
Check
me if I'm wrong but wasn't Israel's most recent
invasion of Gaza meant to stop the rocket and
mortar fire?
Wasn't there a
cease fire? Doesn't this news story seem to show
that very little has changed? Status quo seems
to be ongoing attacks and counter attacks with
no end in sight. (020109d)
A
bit of fighting resumes, not much, but it may be
that both sides are promising a bit
more.
(012709h)
Lebanon:
I
don't know if you could really call this "news"
but when
Ben Gilbert describes the breakdown of the
"government" of
Lebanon,
perhaps temporarily, one wonders if this is a
surprise to anyone and so newsworthy?
(091409a)
Khirbet Silm
reporting
from southern Lebanon. A heated verbal exchange
exposes the fact that both sides are prepared to
act, violently,
if it comes to
it. What appears to some to have been a weapons
cache exploded in the area caused some heated
"debate" between the parties
(081509a)
Sami
Moubayed reports that the
government of Lebanon is changing composition
with March 8th
turning the tables on March 14th if the
Jumblatt's defection from the current government
is 100%. (081109k)
Nicholas
Blanford, reports that the elections
in Lebanon didn't result in a gain for Hezbollah
and thus are viewed as a set back for the Syrian
Iranian crew, their
backers. So
the West pulls one out of the fire.
(060809a)
Kaveh
L. Afrasiabi reports that
the election in Lebanon will heavily favor
Hezbollah and thus give Iran more presence
there. A sea
change portends if Iran's military aid makes its
presence known. (060209e)
Recent
visits to Lebanon by high US officials "support
and independent Lebanon" only. I know, stop
laughing, who
believes that? Somebody, I guess. The election
is important because it pits a US backed
coalition against one backed by Syria and Iran.
(052409a) Oh, and US aid will be reviewed after
the election's results. Sounds neutral to me,
you?
And
if you want insight into how elections and votes
are bought and sold, read this
article.
(052409b) And
they pay voters hundreds if not thousands of
dollars for their votes, they are no
pikers.
(052409c)
The
Syrians and Iranians back their party in the
Lebanese
elections.
Last report has it that this may well come to
pass, then, Iraq will settle into place, perhaps
after a blood bath, and then there'd be a new
block of nations to contend with, and one that
is inimical to Israel or the US for that matter.
(050509e)
Palestine:
Besides
the sacking of the PA's ambassador to Russia,
the
article mentions an arms deal to supply the
PA.
(040809b)
Syria:
Muddle
East News: Western Theater: Egypt, Kurdistan,
Turkey
Afghanistan:
Glenn
Greewald provides us with an
unsavory
parallel, that of Iraq with Afghanistan, instead
of looking farther back to Vietnam. Even
Dumbsfeldt knew better, or knew as
well.
(102009b) And, mentioned in passing, is another
disturbing parallel, that of the US with both
England and Spain as their empires crumbled.
Hal
Bemton and Hashim Shukoor write from Kabul and
cite a
particular in order to illuminate the general,
that is to say the economic downturn in that
country,
despite recent stories that portray a robust
economic upturn. (101609a)
Gul
Rahim Niazmand from Kunar
Afghanistan reports that the district is well
run, by the
Taleban.
(101209f)
Eric Margolis, from Common
Dreams
writes of the "misperceptions" that guide US
military and foreign policy in
Afghanistan,
the myths that are believed has the US painting
itself into a corner and there little sign of
change. (101109b)
Robert
Naiman reports on the recent Afghan election,
the prospects for any resolution of the conflict
and some ideas that may
work
(101109d)
Melvin Goodman reports on
the
myths driving US policy in
Afghanistan,
some of them are familiar to those who recall
similar sounding advice form experts when
Vietnam was getting under way.
(100809a)
From Jean MacKenzie of the
Global Post, we hear about a
very important source of funding for the
Taliban, the US military and, by extension, the
US taxpayer.
Allied forces want to create work for Afghani
companies so they set up contracts,
unfortunately the "bribe factor" and the
"protection money factor" have a siphoning
effect and that which is siphoned off winds up
in the hands of the enemy.
(100809b)
From
Steve Weissman we hear of "the
general's own words" as he makes a "modest
proposal" for a force of some 4 to 500 thousand
troops in Afghanistan
a goal to be
produced by an escalation plan that tops out in
2014. Why isn't hat headline news?
(100609a)
From
Steve Weissman we hear of "the
general's own words" as he makes a "modest
proposal" for a force of some 4 to 500 thousand
troops in Afghanistan
a goal to be
produced by an escalation plan that tops out in
2014. Why isn't hat headline news?
(100609a)
Melvin Goodman reports on
the
myths driving US policy in
Afghanistan,
some of them are familiar to those who recall
similar sounding advice form experts when
Vietnam was getting under way.
(100809a)
From
Jean MacKenzie of the Global Post, we hear about
a
very important source of funding for the
Taliban, the US military and, by extension, the
US taxpayer.
Allied forces want to create work for Afghani
companies so they set up contracts,
unfortunately the "bribe factor" and the
"protection money factor" have a siphoning
effect and that which is siphoned off winds up
in the hands of the enemy.
(100809b)
Amin
Jalali reports on an attack resulting in the
deaths of 8 US soldiers, 2
Afghan
soldiers and the capture or disappearance of
several dozen Afghan police. THe war goes on
(100409b)
Julius Cavendish reports
that the Aghans
have cause and facts to support their contention
that their election was fixed not only during
the election but
after by the
very agency that purports to support open, free
and fair elections. (100309b)
Norman
Solomon, reports on rage.
Afghani rage, the kind that wonders what the
hell is all the damage about and why, why can't
a person find food and shelter
when all they
ever did wrong was live in a place that was a
war zone. Obama said these words not so long
ago: "Know that your people will judge you on
what you can build, not what you destroy." I
hope that he's right in one way, and certainly
not in another. (100109d)
John Englehardt reporting
from TomDispatch,
introduced by John Feffer, Afghanistan has been
touted as NATO's test, if that is so, then it is
not doing well at
all. In fact,
the conflict is straining the cohesion of the
alliance, not that Bush didn't have a similar
effect which broke the ground for today's
difficulties. (093009c)
Paul
Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould report on the
Afghan election being "handed" to
Karzai, this
despite widespread and widely recognized fraud.
This "selection" comes on top of Bush's errors
when he and his minions assembled the current
government in spite of traditions, wants and
preferences of the Afghan people.
(093009b)
Gareth Porter reports on
"the
fear of blame" factor in the decision making
process regarding troop requests for
Afghanistan.
The article
contains a sprinkling of comparisons to a very
similar factor that was salient in the
deliberations concerning escalation in Vietnam.
(092909f)
Alexander Cockburn talks
about how insanity
trumps common sense in Afghanistan now as it did
in Vietnam decades
ago. The few
facts in this article are disheartening and are
being, essentially, ignored.
(092909e)
Here
is the "for public consumption" statements from
US leaders, military, civilian and so
forth.
(092809h) Regarding an "exit" strategy from
Afghanistan.
P. J. Tobia describes
the
complex situation in one Afghan province where
arms are being shipped, in
or not, a mini
war portends, the Taliban are NOT involved and
this is a nation in progress?
(092209b)
Syed
Saleem Shahzad reports on the opposition to the
US efforts in Afghanistan
have combined
their efforts. (092109g)
Simon Tisdall says that if
McChrystal does get the troops he wants,
40,000
in the news - this article mentions 30K, AND we
do not see substantial improvement in say a
year's time, then, Simon says, we should get
out.
(092109f)
Sam
Stein reports on the Reich wing nutjobs and
their opinions of what is happening in
Afghanistan.
Obama and some Repuglcians are fairly close on
what they think should be done, reality
notwithstanding. (092109e)
Ann
Jones covers the status of the ANA, the Afghan
National Army. Her essential question is this:
where is it?
Recently, as we know, the US marines went into
Helmand province in an offensive. If the ANA was
at some 90,000 strong, why wasn't more than some
600 used? One wonders. (092109d)
Robert
Fisk, there is a consensus slowly forming
regarding progress in Afghanistan and that is
that there is not very much of
it, in fact
things are sliding the other way. The US,
however, does not appear to understand that and
acts as if a difference can still be made with
guns and boots. (091909g) While I would like to
see a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan its
advent is years away maybe decades.
(091909g)
William
Dowell, will it never end? The resistance in
Afghanistan targets soft things too
the work of
aid agencies are being impacted as they are
viewed as "being in league" with the occupation
forces. (091909c)
Virginia
M. Moncrieff has a report that nearly all of
Afghanistan has a Taliban
presence. That
they have the momentum and the west's efforts
are in tatters. Time will tell how close we are
to an ending there. (091109e)
John
Nichols reports on the "problem of Afghanistan"
now that "our man" may have secured a win
with
"controversial means" (he cheated) and a recall
is being called for. (091109c)
Norman
Soloman reports after visiting Kabul. Guns are
on the street and the
"mayor of
Kabul" has less and less to call his own. Time
may be short. When will we understand what we're
doing? (090909b)
Jonathan
S. Landay reports from an ambush in
Afghanistan.
(090909c)
Tom
Engelhardt reports on the "metrics of war" and
how the one in Afghanistan needs more than a
"way of measuring success".
Then come the
measures we already know about and they paint a
sorry picture. (090809h)
M.K. Bhadrakumar, reports
on the recent incident in Afghanistan where many
civilians were killed.
This has caused some name calling among NATO
members, highlighted the enemy being on
something of an offensive
and moving
strategically toward its end all while NATO
weakens. (090809f)
From
the BBC we have a report of "clear and
convincing" evidence of Afghan election fraud.
There is a
recount being called for, discarded ballots and
more. It seems that the Afghans have learned how
to "run" an election from the "best", the US.
(090809b)
Hal
Bernton reports on further "inconsistencies" or
"problems" with the Afghan
election,
seems that in some places "everybody" voted for
Karzai and in some of these places there were
more votes than people, probably due to the true
enthusiasm that the common Afghan has for voting
(090709c)
From an AP reporter in
Dahaneh, Afghanistan
a description of a
firefight:
(090609e) Part
two of the
story
(090609f) Part
three of the
story
(090609g)
Joseph
Galloway asks the memory question of the day: do
you remember the
Powell Doctrine? This is a simple set of eight
questions that were designed to help US policy
makers when considering military
action. These
eight questions have not been answered by
anyone, as far as I know, when considering
either Iraq or Afghanistan. So why not now?
(090609c)
Ray McGovern illustrates
one
of the problems that the US is having in
Afghanistan and that is this: there is no clear
definition of
purpose, a
means to achieve that purpose therefore nor a
means to measure progress toward that purpose,
but a big jackass says that we'll "know it when
we see it." (090309g)
Dexter Filkins reports on
how Afghanistan's
election took a lesson from the US where the
victory goes to the one who "cheats fair and
square"
(090309b)
M.K.Bhadrakumar has
coverage of the
Afghan election, the "wizard" may have surprised
those who opposed him, mainly the
US, but the
results are not all in and it remains to be seen
what anyone will make of them, or if "respect"
follows. (090109e)
Nancy
Youssef reports that the
Afghanistan effort suffers from a "lack of
enthusiasm from the
public" as
well as a need for as much as 45,000 more
troops. Yikes! (090109a)
Kim
Sengupta
reports from Kabul for The Independent - an
escalation may be in the
cards, some
20,000 more boots may be touching down in
Afghanistan. This is on top of the rise already
in place. Time will tell, no?
(082909b)
David
Lindorfff has us see that Afghanistan is really
spelled
V-i-e-t-n-a-m.
The central government is corrupt, powerless and
pointless. The population is less and less "on
our side" and we are putting more and more men
and resources into the fight. When will we ever
learn? (082809b)
Peter
Graff reports on the "election" in Afghanistan,
it seems it is in dispute
already.
(082509b)
Laura
King reports on the growing controversy
regarding the Afghan
election.
Claims of fraud are growing as are claims of
"victory". Combine those items with a voter turn
out that was substantially lower than that of
the first election and the uptick in violence we
can sense a "problem" is at hand.
(082409c)
Paul
Tait and Sayed Salahuddin report on the
perception
that the election in Afghanistan had widespread
irregularities
and the two
leading contenders saying that they'll respect
the result and claiming victory.
(082309a)
Anand Gopal and Matthew
Rosenberg report that
both of the leading contenders in Afghanistan's
election are claiming that they hold the lead
and thus may
exciting their supporters prior to a "real"
determination. (082209b)
From the BBC we hear
of
reported fraud and the possibility of a run off
between the two top contenders in
Afghanistan.
Voting rates were very much down from the last
election. (082209c)
Carlotta Gall and Stephen
Farrell reporting for the NYT
regarding
the Afghan election and its peaceful
nature.
(082009a)
Syed
Saleem Shahzad reports on Karzai's deal making
with warlords.
In other stories the warlord Dostum has promised
a half million votes in exchange for ?
(082009b)
Gareth
Porter reports on the possibility or nature of
corruption
in the election system being used in
Afghanistan, not to mention the rising
violence and
the difficulty of placing poling stations in
much of the country. (081909e)
Hamid
Shalizi's article shows the fight in Afghanistan
touches in and about the
capital.
However the election will go forward and despite
media claims that the election will be
disrupted, I doubt it will be seriously enough
for the US and its allies to declare it so.
(081109c)
Laura
King reports on the casualty levels in
Afghanistan.
They are rising as are tensions and so forth.
The elections are coming, the elections are
coming. (080809c)
Golnar Motevalli has
coverage to the most recent iteration of
the
"whack a mole" problem as it appears in
Afghanistan,
(081109d)
Jessica
Silver-Greenberg, Theo Francis and Ben Levisohn
collaborate on an
article that shows banks have not learned their
lessons, risky loans are not a thing of the
past, and 40
billion dollars worth have been let this year so
far. (080709c)
Paul Tait's story is
illustrated by
a map of Afghanistan which shows
"progress",
well perhaps a lack of it.
(080509e)
Rukmini Callimiachi,
reports
on the repercussions of Afghan poppy eradication
efforts.
Without replacing the income lost to the farmers
they fall into poverty, prey to radical anti
government forces and support them, leave the
country or become bankrupt. The central
government becomes less and less popular in the
areas that were once outside of the Taliban's
range of influence. (080309c)
Hamid
Shalizi, reports on the violence
in
Afghanistan, July had the highest US casualty
rate in some
long time and the upcoming election is seen as a
test, as is the offensive in Helmand province.
In three months time we'll be able to look back
and, if the smoke has cleared, see what is what
or what. (080209a)
Aziz
Ahmad Shafe, Mohammad Llyas Dayee and Aziz Ahamd
Tassal report on
the mixed reaction and progress in Afghans
Helmand
province. A
hint of progress is welcome as is the smiles
from some of the people (072709f)
A
book review by Christopher Hitchens,
the
brief is good for an outline of some salient
features of the Afghan
conflict. Some
good news and some bad. (072009g)
From
Ann Jones reporting out of Kabul we see how
"democracy gone
wild" plays
out; it is beyond bizarre; the facts are in and
names are named but the truth, the people and
peace are not part of the picture.
(071609g)
From
Ann Jones reporting out of Kabul we see how
"democracy gone wild" plays out;
it is beyond
bizarre; the facts are in and names are named
but the truth, the people and peace are not part
of the picture. (071609g)
Nancy
A. Youssef reports on the recent "big" operation
in Helmand.
The whack a mole problem continues.
(070809b)
From the BBC we hear
specifically that the US
marine operation in Helmand province,
Afghanistan is meant to break the
stalemate that
had existed previously and so turn the tide of
the war. There are no specifics in this article
but that statement is worthy of being in the
archive. (070309a)
Peter
Graff reports from Afghanistan a large scale
marine attack on the Helmand
River valley
is meant to demonstrate a capacity for decisive
victories which will turn the tide of the war.
(070109i)
Jason Leopold reports
on
the murders at Bagram AFB in
Afghanistan.
Does the US need this kind of revelation? Yes,
so that it's cleaned up. No, because it enrages
the people we are trying to "bring peace to".
(062609f)
Barry
Schweid reports from the UN that in Afghanistan
drug production is
down
(062609b)
From
Associated Press we read that the US is phasing
out funding for opium eradication and pumping up
funds for alternative crops and drug
interdiction instead. These ideas have been
floating around for years while Bush the Dumber
diddled his bunghole, however,
maybe
it is not to late for these ideas to be tried.
(062809c)
An
Afghan effort to help them help themselves with
what may be described as lightly armed local
observers who can call for
help.
(060209a)
This
is a plug for a book called: "Invisible History:
Afghanistan's Untold
Story"
(053109f)
Khushal
Arsala and Stephen Zunes give us
some
overview of the failing steps that led us to the
impasse, at best, which we now call the current
war effort in
Afghanistan
(053109e)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104228704
The deadly strike in Afghanistan, arguments
continue about who did what, but the threat was
to a provincial capital and, at least, it is
safe for the moment. (051809c)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/17-3
In the Afghan theater of the "Great War" the US
has little hope of achieving what it wants, much
less what it hopes.(051709c)
The
problem with the Afghan war, well maybe a
central problem that is to say, is
the
seemingly hard to ignore fact that they just
don't want us there and most don't get why we
don't get it
(051209d)
When
they say corruption goes all the way to the top
in Afghanistan, they mean just
that, look at
the "Mayor of Kabul's" running mate, for example
(050609c) And this "government"
does not need to have incendiary incidents by
its ally put
the people in a heat, do they?
(050609e)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KD22Df02.html
A sample of the kind of attack being suffered in
Afghanistan (042309e)
http://www.truthout.org/041609M
A brief on the
complexity of the problems facing Pakistan is
followed by a series of ideas. I love these
pieces, the ideas sound good and you know no one
is listening, or reading.
(041909c)
http://www.truthout.org/041409K
This article supports the notion that we may
well again be going into a war, reviving one in
this case, without due consideration or hard
questions being asked. (041409b)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KD10Ak04.html
So, let me get this story straight, we find this
guy, train him. The Pak's train and supply him
to drive the Ruskies out of Afghanistan, then
he's valuable against the Taliban after the US
boots out. After that he's forced into exile and
the CIA attempts to kill him, then he goes back
into Afghanistan, turns against the US and we
put a 25 million dollar price on his head all
while he has a big role in the Afghan government
and wages war against NATO forces. This is the
man the US is turning to for help in the war?
Yup! (041009a)
The
"supply problem" continues long after it was
revealed and
in time, presumably, before the "Afghan Surge"
begins. Time enough to tamp down the action?
(040509a)
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/03/28-1
Dissent is not heard when the administration
holds hearings. Maybe that should change?
(032909b)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/03/28-5
Do we see parallels between Afghanistan and
Vietnam? Is Obama's "new" approach going to make
a difference? (032909a)
http://www.truthout.org/032809Z
Obama's "new approach" is not completely new and
the pronouncement held no real surprises so one
wonders if it will make any real difference?
(032809a)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/22/us-afghan-plan-to-bypass-karzai
With Karzai being ineffective the allies are
seeking to place a "governor" on him. This will
be "welcome" by Karzai and only serve to boost
his status, not! (032309c)
The
US Govt. claims that the drone attacks are
having "good effect"
in the
prosecution of the war effort.
(032209c)
Attacks
and casualties
continue.
(031509a)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/11/AR2009031104232.html
The troubles of Afghanistan never cease, this is
the political side of the equation,
(031209c) And
more chaos, just a bit of
it
(031209d)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/afghanistan.kabul.security/
Word is that Kabul is quietly being invested, as
it were, and what's being done to stop it?
(031209e)
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/255/story/62197.html
Making the same mistakes the Soviet Union are
we? That is what is posed in this article.
Certainly there ARE differences between the
Soviet and US efforts, but the bottom line seems
to be that the people don't want us there, and,
uh, why are we there? (021609b)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KB13Df01.html
The adjustments are just about made, talks are
wrapping up and soon both sides will have at it
with renewed gusto! (021509e)
http://www.truthout.org/020909A
The bad news is not good, but the causes lie in
the past. What is ahead is anyone's guess.
(020909c)
http://www.truthout.org/020509J
The loosing of this war will be painful, but how
long will we wait for it?No one seems to know.
(020509a)
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2009/01/29/obama-and-the-afghan-narco-state/
The narco-state needs to be tackled. How it can
be done is already known and there are
"innovative" solutions that would be cost
effective in comparison to what is being done
now. We'll see what time brings.
(013109b)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KA27Df01.html
The great game gets just a touch hotter. The US
wants a new supply route, Russia declines to
help, the US does a run around, but Karzai, the
US man in Kabul, is now playing footsie with
"the Bear" and seems to want their military aid
too. Howzaboutdemapples?
(012609d)
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7870340.stm
Well more details, the US
VP "Joe" does not like Karzai and the Kabul
Mayor knows he faces challengers backed by a
frustrated US. Does Moscow get a toe in here, a
shoe or the proverbial camel's nose.
(020509h)
Iraq:
Saad
Shalash reports on the big bombs in Baghdad.
Sure things are better, but ...
(102509a)
Huma
Yousef reports on the
sparks of violence are still blown into flames
in Anbar
province. A
trio of car bombs signal disagreement but
between which parties? No one seems to know,
though everyone speculates.
(101209b)
From
Truthout we hear that Iraq suffered a day of
bombings. The
current trend is a slowly increasing rate of
attacks by "X" against "X" for whatever reasons.
(092909b)
Martin
Chulov reports on the Iraqi drought; it is
severe. If
you count global warming's effect as man made
and the upriver dams built in neighboring
countries the recipe for an unfolding disaster
is understood. (082809c)
Sam
Dagher reports on the
spectacular attacks in Baghdad where US
soldiers, witnessing the destruction following
new protocols - only stood by, waiting for any
request to help,
that request
never came however. (081909c)
Daniel Politi has today's
Slate, wherein the tidbits include
the
ongoing uptick in violence in Iraq, attempts to
ignite fighting
- one
speculates that taking down the barriers in
Baghdad may be premature, the Dems surprised at
the resistance to health care and a quadrupling
of the US budget deficit.
(081109n)
Sami Moubayed has it that
the
Kurds are putting pressure on the Iraqi
"government"
and what they want is "everything" or so it
would seem as far as Kikurk is concerned.
Independence is also "on the table" from my take
on this. (081109l)
Gareth
Porter has it that there is much more than meets
the eye.
The story is a straight forward look at a
confusion as to who is fighting whom and why in
Iraq (080709d)
Jamal al-Badrani has a report on the violence in
Iraq. There
is something of an uptick and that's not good to
hear is it?
(080709b)
Dahr
Jamail's article talks about the rising violence
in Iraq.
Sunni and Shia violence, though in something of
a different form, is resurgent. What's an
occupier to do? Stay the course?
(080709a)
Sinan Salaheddin reports
from Baghdad
that the concrete barriers are coming down.
It is a good
sign. People probably like the change.
(080609d)
Maya Schenwar reports on
the July 30th referendum of the Iraqi people to
verify the agreement made by the governments
involved to keep the US forces in Iraq until
2011 or so. What you did not hear the results?
That's
because the referendum was not held. It's called
buying time.
(080509d)
From
Liz Sly we see a report on the ecological
troubles in
Iraq. This
story centers on dust storms but the arable land
is vanishing and water shortages are common;
they use the term "dust bowl" to describe the
place that once was bread basket.
(073009b)
From
Liz Sly we hear about the unexpected "Change"
party, one that wants just that in
Kurdistan.
They are active and it is good to see real
democracy in action. (072409d)
Mike
Tharp reports from Iraq. The
"Fertile Crescent" it was once called now
imports most all the food that its people eat.
Heavily
subsidized food from the US has been an issue
covered in other stories, this talks about the
Iraqi government's own role in the demise of the
"family farm" (071809f)
Mike
Tharp reports that
in the two weeks subsequent to the pull back
from Iraqi cities the US has not been called on
once for
operational support, now that's some kind of
progress - although there is violence and the US
forces do supply other assists.
(071509b)
Sami
Moubayed reports from Iraq on
how
Kurdish ambitions and the roles of Iraq's
neighbors all combine to make for interesting
complex and unstable
conditions.
(071309g)
Kim
Gamel and Patrick Quinn, report that we've moved
out of the Iraqi
cities, sort
of. The Iraqi's celebrate, of course, but one
wonders what will happen now.
(063009c)
Patrick
Quinn, has, perhaps the answer to that question,
car bombings
and four US
military personnel dead - a foretaste?
(063009d)
From Iraq
the BBC we hear of
continued violence, the security minister is
killed by a
suicide bomber and more.
Thus the Bush
"Somalia Policy" plays out its throes or
whatever. (061809a)
Zaid
Sabah and Nada Bakri tell of an important Sunni
politician being gunned
down. Just a
bit more instability being evidenced ... what
will come of this? (061409d)
Maliki
went ballistic when he understood about the
nature of the
photos, now I
wonder, did HE see them? If so, how were they
described? Who delivered that information?
That's why Obama "changed his mind".
(060209b)
Sinan
Salahedin, writing for AP says
that
the Kurds are exporting oil to the world,
finally. The Baghdad government is getting its
share too. Sounds
friendly.
(060109f)
Dahr
Jamail continues coverage of the reemergence of
the Iraqi
resistance.
Because of broken promises, inefficiency, lies
and deceit on the part of the occupying forces
and the Iraqi government itself. Violence is up
and the US is talking about another decade of
"presence" in the forsaken land.
(053109c)
The
Sunni fighters that the
US organized turn the tide against the
resistance in Iraq as well as Al Qaida are now
targeted by the Iraqi
government,
violence is on the uptick and, well, it was made
in the USA. (052309c)
Seems
like violent events uptick in Iraq as US troops
prepare to
relocate.
Although they are still targeted most of the
deaths are Iraqi, of course. The article
mentions that various groups attack Sunni
militiamen, but it does not mention that the
central governments forces are one of the
groups. (052109a)
What
certainly looks like the old "double cross" is
playing out in
Iraq, as the
one time US backed Sunni groups are targeted by
the government, violence has its uptick.
(050609f)
Attacks
against US troops in Iraq are on the rise, how
do I know? Casualties are
up. The Sabwa,
an originally US backed Sunni based militia has
been hung out to dry and is now, not only
striking back, but by its absences is allowing
Al Qaida something of a reprise. Meanwhile
border issues with Turkey, Iran and what many
already call Kurdistan, well, burgeon. (050409a)
Then there is this, the
idea of changing the withdrawal plan is not what
the Iraqi "government"
wants.
(050409b) Hmmm, I wonder that kind of
convergence they're heading for, "over
there"(050409b)
http://www.truthout.org/042709R
The new violence in Iraq is due to, drum roll
and cymbal rash, Tunisians.
(042709c)
Says
here that the uptick in the death count in
Baghdad has been coming on since
January.
(042509c)
http://www.truthout.org/042409A
the uptick in the death and casualty rates in
Iraq are due to a burgeoning struggle between
two forces with a history of US support,
interesting that it is bubbling up now, just as
we are planning to leave. The kicker is that Al
Qaida seems to be partaking and having some
thing of a comeback. (042409b)
http://www.truthout.org/042309B
An uptick in Iraq attacks? The Shia's are
targeted in these and perhaps this is a portent
of problem, made in the USA, that we'll need to
address before we bug out of there
(042309b)
http://www.truthout.org/042109A
Another change in Iraq's course? Do we see some
"blow back" from our setting up parallel
militaries? (042109b)
http://www.truthout.org/041509A
The disconnect between the reality of what
Baghdad or Iraq is like is belied by the US
media's focus on the low level of attacks.
(041909b)
What
happens when the Awakening group and the Iraqi
government forces fight?
We are
beginning to find out which American ally can
hold the street! (033009a) And
here is more on that
story
(040109a) And here are some particulars
as
well as an idea of the scale of the
problem.(040209g)
http://www.truthout.org/040609R
This is even more on that, the fighting spreads,
but, at this point, it is still small scale
(040609a)
http://www.truthout.org/032709S
This month bombings are in the
news!
http://www.truthout.org/032709S
This month bombings are in the news. This uptick
is unsettling and causes the "man on the street"
to take pause (032709a)
Still
unresolved at this time, the fate of Kikurk
and the
"Kurdish Question" remain a bone of contention
for all who are involved with Iraq
(031009e)
Money
matters, and here we have, probably a series of
corruption schemes that stole billions of
dollars from the
US efforts in
this country. (021609e)
This
may be the first example of success that can be
claimed for the US effort in
Iraq - an
election that was virtually free from violence.
If this is the first of many, the future may
view the US effort differently, given a good
deal of time and the establishment of electoral
happiness. (020109b)
Some
of the results provide a form of legitimacy to
some office
holders,
notably the head of state, and then others too.
One bears to much recent knowledge to hope that
this election portends many others that proceed
just as peaceably and are as widely welcomed.
Indeed, if peaceful transitions of power, via
transparent democratic processes takes route
Bush may have some kind of credit due him,
though one can hardly believe that the course he
took was plan A. (020509c)
The
Kurds are going to be challenged, probably
successfully regarding some of their
expansionist dreams, but the true gem, is
Kikurk and the
likelihood that it will fall under Irbil's sway
makes for another drama (012809a)
It
seems democracy delayed will not be deferred,
but violence is a
risk.
(012809b)
And
it seems that claims go far back for everyone,
though the oil that is underneath has bee there
longer than
anyone.
(012809c)
Iran:
Julie Pace reports that
Iran
has rejected an offer from the west that "seemed
so alive, just yesterday". Why did I expect that
ANYTHING had
changed?
(102309a) Mark
Heinrich has more on this story from
Reuters
(102309b)
Mordchai
Shualy makes the point that if the US is SO
worried about Iran maybe they should look at,
um, the
others.
(102209a)
Fredrik
Dahl and Reza Derakhshi report on
a
deadly attack on Irans elite military makes for
accusations, unveils the "Balochi" jigsaw piece
to the regions "puzzle of
peace" and
more. Suspicions abound as the mullahs mull
(101809a) And
from the BBC we hear that Pakistan is also a
suspect in this
bombing.
(101809g)
Amazing but the dance does
go on.
Just after prior stories run the round of news
outlets up crops this one highlighting not what
Iran has but what it COULD
have.
(100309f)
In
case you have forgotten Pepe Escobar
reminds
you, the "Iran Dance" is still on, not only that
it is a "full tilt boogie".
Western
leaders want the "talk" or do they? Only time
will tell what happens or what does not happen.
(100109f) This is the chatter that precedes the
talks Louis
Charbonneau and Parisa Hafezi report that
everyone at the talks wiut Iran in which
everyone seems to be saying nice things so it is
a "feel good" moment that "eases
tensions
(100109g)
Gareth
Porter takes a look at the "coverage" of the
"new Iranian nuclear facility"
but the facts,
the facts the US itself possess and the
statements made, again by US officials seem at
odds with one another. (093009e)
Iason Athanasiadis reports
from the Global Post on a
spate of protests in Iran indicating that the
resistance is not "over" the election.
(092909c)
From
Truthout's newswire we have the latest on the
"dance" performance featuring the US and
Iran. The
headline reads: "harsh sanctions" and buried in
the text is the same old, same old, Russia and
China have business interests, etc. This time
around the US is going after insurance and
reinsurance companies that "cover" shipping into
and out of the country. The word "blockade" is
not mentioned but I think that is the effect
that is wanted. (092909a)
Simon
Tisdall reviews the economic relationships Iran
has not only with Russia and China but with its
other
neighbors.
These "valuable" friendships" protect Iran from
harsh realities and force the US to utilize
financial methods to isolate Iran.
(092909i)
Fredrik
Dahl and Hossein Jaseb describe the "run up" to
the next "meeting with
Iran" it seems
the dance continues on if the public
pronouncements are any guide, I know, I laugh at
that as well, but what CAN you say. Going in
it's "same old, same old" so what is to be
expected? (092809c)
David E. Sanger and
William J. Broad from the NYT say that the
US
now demands that the newly revealed Iranian
nuclear facility be opened to
inspections
and a list of other demands as well. As with
other steps in this "dance" one wonders what
will happen if Iran, respectfully, declines or
plays games. Recall that China is playing its
hand here as did Russia, until very recently. So
what will become of the "demand"? (092709a)
Tom
A. Peter reports that at the same time as this
is happening Iran is testing missiles and Israel
is getting more than a bit
livid, wanting
someone, meaning the US, to "do something".
(092709c)
From
the BBC we hear that Iran revealed the location
of another Iranian nuclear
site.
Headlines used the words "outraged" when
referring to western leaders, and more was
mentioned about sanctions but other articles
indicate that China may well not go along in the
security council and so the dance goes on.
(092509d)
From
AFP, the dimwits
of congress are still dreaming of "dealing with
Iran". So does
Israel, but the problem with that is the
problems with it, meaning the chaotic blow back.
(091109d)
The
word "stalemate" has been used to describe the
situation between the US and Iran regarding
nuclear development.
Threats are
made. Sanctions are pending. Oh, tough ones at
that. This story has been playing well for
years. The basics are these Iran is doing what
it wants to do as is Israel. The US does not
like that. Oh, the US does what it likes to in
the world. So maybe push will come to shove.
(090809c) For
a look at what has been considered, consider
this month's old
story.
(090809d)
From
Time comes some coverage of Neda
Soltan. Her
grave still gets visited and the unrest remains
as government abuse has come to light
(090309c)
Yossi
Melman has it that the Iranians
are working on components of a nuclear device
according to the
IAEA.
(083109a)
Michale
Klare, reports on the ongoing. Some are thinking
that preventing Iran from importing gasoline is
a "stiff measure" that is short of war.
However,
it is also thought that the calculus of what
"Iran would do" remains the same. So what is a
super power to
do?
(082309h)
Thomas Erdbrink reports
from Iran where
the grave of Neda Soltan
was a focal
point of a clash and in other places where
demonstrators are beginning to fight back baton
with baton. (073109f)
Oliver
Roy looks at a Foucault's reaction
and
"look" at the Iranian revolution of some years
ago to provide
some perspective to what is going on now.
(092909d)
Pepe
Escobar reports on the Asian Game, oil, gas,
nuclear development, the dollar hegemony being
challenged, the Iranian election and
more.
(072709g)
Borzou Daragahi reports on
Iran's
Mousavi who is stepping up his support for
resisting the
current "president" of Iran.
(072609f)
From
the BBC we hear of new protests in Iran
and some
unique techniques of demonstrating as well as
"old" standby's: roof top noise.
(072109b)
From
Ian Black and Saeed Kamali Dehghan
we
hear more on Fridays events in Teheran protest
and
repression, and a call from Rafsanjani to say
that the nation is in crisis and that the
election's results were not believed.
(071809c0
Robert
Tait of the Guardian says that
the
Iranian government's figure of 20 dead during
the post election upheaval maybe
low, perhaps
there are triple digit figures that are more
accurate. (071609j)
Steve Weissman provides
a
perspective on the meddling of the US in Iranian
internal
affairs.
Mousavi may be what he is, as could the protests
be what they are, but I suspect much is not as
it seems. (070609d)
From
the BBC on Iran we hear of further dissent in
the ranks of the clerics,
that prisoners
have been released and that "harsh" statements
are being made all around
(070509b)
From Reuters we have word
that Khatami
has denounced the Iranian
election;
apparently he did not pull any punches.
(070209a)
Borzou Daragahi and Ramin
Mostaghim report on Iran, what might be called
the
resistance is off the streets but not
inactive. The
government threatens to arrest Mousavi, or
rather the Basij do. It's not over.
(070109d)
Reese
Erlich covers the ground in considering he
likelihood of CIA
involvement
with the protest in Iran. The conclusion is that
the CIA is not "making and shaping events".
However, I assert that although the protests and
the upheaval may not be inspired by the west,
the US is actively engaged in doing what it can
with covert operations, however ineffective they
may be. (070109b)
Steve Weissman, reports on
the Iranian struggle. The role of the US and
England is outlined, the
"nerd factor" is
personalized
and the Iranian govt. may seems vindicated when
it talks of outside interference.
(063009a)
Ian
Black reports on the Iranian/EU diplomatic row,
it seems both
sides are standing tall, just a matter of time
to see who, if either, blink.
(063009b)
Stephen
Zunes responds to a previous article referenced,
"Nonviolence
101" in this he counters much of what was said.
However, what is admitted, that is to say the
involvement of the US in Iranian affairs, is
still important, even if besides the point.
(062909b)
From Tom Dispatch we read
Dilip Hiro's take on the events in Iran,
essentially when
Khamanei became partisan he lost his cache of
being a fair
arbiter of
Iran's affairs. There is a bit of history too,
good to be reminded, of how the election of 2005
was effected to allow Ahmadinijad to win, then
too there are demographic changes that portend
further "evolution" in Iran.
(062909a)
Perhaps I spoke to soon,
the
Gulf Daily News reports of some fresh protests
in Teheran.
The number of protesters was put at 3,000. This
happened Sunday. (062809h)
Nazila
Fathi reports from Teheran where it is quiet,
as they say in
the old movies, "yeah, too quiet." Which means
that people are not out and about and "normalcy"
has not returned. Protests are over, the streets
are patrolled and time ticks
(062809g)
Fredrik
Dahl reports on the "quiet" of Teheran,
the looming
decision by the ruling group comes tomorrow,
Monday. But the headliner is the detention of
several British embassy staff.
(062809e)
Stephen
Zunes responds to a previous article referenced,
"Nonviolence 101"
in this he
counters much of what was said. However, what is
admitted, that is to say the involvement of the
US in Iranian affairs, is still important, even
if besides the point. (062909b)
From Tom Dispatch we read
Dilip Hiro's take on the events in Iran,
essentially when
Khamanei became partisan he lost his cache of
being a fair
arbiter of
Iran's affairs. There is a bit of history too,
good to be reminded, of how the election of 2005
was effected to allow Ahmadinijad to win, then
too there are demographic changes that portend
further "evolution" in Iran.
(062909a)
Perhaps I spoke to
soon,
the Gulf Daily News reports of some fresh
protests in
Teheran. The number of protesters was put at
3,000. This happened Sunday.
(062809h)
Nazila
Fathi reports from Teheran where it is quiet,
as they say in
the old movies, "yeah, too quiet." Which means
that people are not out and about and "normalcy"
has not returned. Protests are over, the streets
are patrolled and time ticks
(062809g)
Fredrik
Dahl reports on the "quiet" of
Teheran, the
looming decision by the ruling group comes
tomorrow, Monday. But the headliner is the
detention of several British embassy staff.
(062809e)
Mary Louise Kelly, reports
on Martin Indyk that back in
1979 Martin Indyk predicted that the Shah would
fall, however the CIA "knew
better" and we
all know how that went. More on that problem
comes to light (062609l)
Johathan
S. Landay reports on the gathering that honored
Neda Soltan a
young woman killed during the protests and whose
death has become a marker in the world
evidencing tyranny. (062609h)
The Slate Page from June
26th, 2009; the overview is interesting the
field of possible Repuglican
presidential candidates is reduced by a third as
two implode,
Khamenei says the elections shall stick
(062609d)
Chip Cummins story updates
the
Iran situation, protests continue but are
smaller; one of the presidential candidates
drops out of
the protest, but it's really not surprising.
Maybe the democracy movement is "down for the
count" (062609e)
From
the Associated Press comes some coverage of
the
women's efforts in the Iranian protests
and the role
of the martyr Neda Soltan
(062609a)
Nazila
Fathi and Alan Cowell report that the
"great
bearded one" has decreed that there will be no
new election
and, to make his point, groups of dissenters are
being dispersed, some reports say by live
ammunition fired over their heads.
(062409j)
John
Lichfield, from Paris, reports that opposition
leader Mousavi is under 24 hour guard.
(062409h)
Azadeh
Kian provides an overview of
the
divisions in Iranian society that have been
reshuffled and
reoriented before, during and certainly now
after the results. The legitimacy of the Iranian
government is becoming the issue.
(062309h)
Chris
Hedges reminds us, after all,
that
Iran had democracy and the US, stomped it
out, installed
the Shah and the rest is history. We have no
real moral standing with Iran; we've F - - - ed
them pretty badly over the past 50 years and
continue to do so . (062309j)
From
Eurasianet we see that Rafsanjani
is believed to have some
moves in mind
that might unseat Khomeini and Mr. A. the
current "newly elected" president.
(062309g)
From the
BBC we hear that Iran's Guardian Council has
said there were
no major polling
irregularities.
Odd, considering some of the basic facts of the
case and other governmental statements which
seem contrary to this. (062309f)
From the
IBTimes re Iran - a Revolutionary
Guard commander defies Khamenei's
orders to use
force on the demonstrators.
(062309b)
From
CNN we see that more confusing
and
conflicting statements are being made by the
Iranian
government
regarding the election's
results.
(062309c) Oh, yes, regarding the vote count how
is it possible to KNOW the results in Iran only
two hours after the polls mostly closed? A main
reason the results are suspect.
This
article posted by the IBTimes, UK, has it that
Iran's clerics are considering
the
removal of Khamenie and
Ahmandinejad,
sounds far fetched to me. From what I understand
of the Iranian form of government it could be
done. (062209i)
Jeffrey
Fleishhman and Ramin Mostaghim pass on the
Iranian government's admission that there are
voting
flaws in some 50 cities in
Iran. Some of
those important to the dissident movement,
though arrested, have been released, press
restriction continues as does violence and the
government is partially at odds with itself as
is the ruling class of religious figures.
(062209h)
Andrew
Hammond, provides us with some
of the reactions of Iran's
neighbors. He
reports some "gloating", however, as he said,
and I agree, the ultimate outcome of what
happens in Iran may be that the people in those
neighboring countries may see that there are
ways to change their governments as well.
(062209e)
Parisa
Hafezi and Fredrik Dahl cover the Iranian
government's most recent
moves.
(062208d)
Andrew
Sullivan gives some coverage to the uniquity of
Iranian event.
Tech is
helping the people in the streets. Would that
this had happened in 2000 in the US. G.W.
Jackass would not have been "elected".
(062209b)
Joshua
Mitnick explains why, after all he's said and
done, that Ahmadinejad
is preferred
over Mousavi
in certain Israeli circles.
(062109b)
From this
page you can get up
to the minute postings from Iran gathered from
Twitter, there
are video links and so forth.
(062009e)
Thanks to
Charlie Szrom, here is a
summary of a debate between Mousavi and
Ahmadinejad
(062009c)
And here,
Lara Setrakian, looks at the
differences
in each candidate's
platform. It
seems that they both agree on keeping the
nuclear research going.
Outside of that they both have populist appeal
and support, but it is a culture war as much as
anything else pitting an urbanite against a
hardscrabble, "real man" kind of guy.
(062009d)
Here is my
comments to some of the comment's
left:
This
refers to two letters from a website I visited,
their comments follow mine.
Listen
folks, both candidates want to keep the nuclear
program. That is what the "fuss" with the US and
or the "West" is all about. Both either have
supported surrogate forces in foreign lands.
Neither want's to be beholden to the West and
both have Iranian pride at the heart of their
campaigns. This is not to say the fascistic
subset of the Western ruling classes wouldn't
want to have change, why not? But the essential
issues will remain. The US has been violently
meddling, for varied reasons, granted, in the
region for the best part of a century, we are,
therefore, viewed as not different from any
empire in the past. Mr. "Keep the Change" seems
to forget how "Bush the Dumber" created the
messes he delineates in his fevered attempt to
shift blame and vent paranoia. His species will
soon be extinct, thank god. As for
"HopeSprings", well, we survived, barely, our
nutjob, certainly they can have one for eight
years too, who steals elections and ruins his
nation's reputations, enrages neighbors and
conspires to inflame foreign intrigues. Yes,
they could do better, but we in the US have no
place to speak from in that
regard.
Iran, the
region and the world would be a lot safer and
stable if the Iranians vote this nutjob out. On
top of everything else, can you imagine this guy
questioning his opponent's wife's academic
credentials at a presidential debate?
Ahmadinejhad is a very sick dude. Let's hope the
Iranian people do the right thing. If there is
justice, this guy's next assignment should be to
be a tour guide at the U.S. Holocaust
Museum.
hopesprings52 Jun-11
Sounds
like Ahmadenijad's opponent took the words right
from Obama's campaign playbook. Hope, change,
blah blah blah. The ONLY difference between
Mousavi and Obama is that Mousave promises to
"liberalize" Iran and take away some of the
outdated control the government has over it's
citizens. And Obama, well he's just the
opposite, he want's the government to control
everything from health care, to banks, to the
auto industry, the tobacco industry, the unions,
the firearms industry, etc. Mousavi won't be
allowed to win. Our election last November
proved that pie-in-the-sky promises and money
can put a totally lost individual in the most
important leadership position in the world. Just
like ACORN and the "New Black Panther Party"
used trickery and intimidation tactics to get
this bozo Obama elected, Ahmadenijad's henchmen
will be posted at all the polling places to send
the same message and intimidate the Iranian
voters. Looks like Obama might just get his
chance to "sit across the table face to face"
and appease Ahmadenijad and the rest of HIS
muslim world
Keep_The_Change Jun-12
Read this
to see details of
the effects Obama has had on the Iranian
election,
whether intentional or not.
(062009b)
As Aki
Akbar Darini and ZNasser Karimi have it,
The
"Giant Beard" has
spoken.
Khomeini backs the election and thus,
Ahmadinejad.
Violence
broadens but red is not yet running in the
streets. The "legit" govt. says that there is
Western influence in the events, and I would not
doubt that certain Western interests are more
than happy at the turn of events and are
working, even now, to make vital gains in the
region. (062009a) What "turning point" do we see
here? The technology factor is important, what
the opposition lacks is a command and control
com network to manage events on the street,
marshal forces and or have "coordinated" mob
actions. The Iranian govt. has taken action to
prevent this from happening thus
far.
Nazila
Fathi and Alan Cowell update us on Iran's
events. Khamenei
stands behind
Ahmadinejad.
This portents repression the authors feel; it
may be so. (061909d)
William
Rivers Pitt favors us with a quick overview of
the Iranian week.
Speculation
is that Obama's approach to Iran may have been
part of the "equation of hope" that propelled
the opposition candidate to such heights and the
candidate's own promise of change, hope will do
that, meanwhile Bush the Jackass' effects in the
region are in decline but certainly not at all
gone. The election was, at best, questionable.
The question now remains is, how far with the
government go to "enforce" it; and what will
happen when they do. Short term and long term
interesting "concerns" abound.
(061909c)
Robert
Parry reports on
sampling done before the Iranian
election and
say that their results match what happened in
the election. They also debunk a few myths
circulating widely in the west. So, it could be
that the election was "good".
(061809g)
Scott
Peterson, reports on the Iranian election and
disagrees with Mr. Parry.
(061809i)
Robert
Dreyfuss reports on the unrest in Iran. The
thinking is that the power structure is
changing. Ahmadinejad's
organization may be stronger than the cleric's
in charge of
the government.
The
resistance is stronger than anyone expected.
Push may come to shove and then, well, who knows
what will come of it. (061809e)
Matthew
B. Stannard writes about a "techie" in San
Francisco who is part of the IT community
helping Iranians cope with their election
results.
Essentially he
assists them in working around government
information providers. This is a very hopeful
sign, that, as he said, "The regime probably
doesn't recognize it, but I can tell you, the
marriage of civil disobedience with the social
networking savvy is the death of despotism in
these places. "If you combine these two, you
have a very potent force." (061709g) I just
can't help but say it, the Iranians are teaching
the US how to protest a stolen election. Would
that this trend hit here. A measured statement
that, for one must understand the dangers as
well.
Warren
P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay report on
the
continuing upheaval in the wake of the Iranian
election, now
a major cleric has denounced the results further
fanning the conflagration.
(051709a)
And
Juan Cole has some of the figures regarding the
election being fixed, but, as I say, the US
election that put Bush in and those held during
his term were not fair.
Even the
vaunted election of 2008, in which Obama won,
some 6 million to 8 million votes were not
counted (061409f)
Maya
Schenwar reports on the ripple effects still
disturbing the peace after the Iranian election.
It's not over
till its over may well be the best description
of the state of affairs as protests and rioting
continue, influential people call for
investigation or question the legitimacy of the
result. It may come to nothing, it may spark a
quiet revolution or even a noisy one, thought
that is not seen as likely.
(061609a)
Parisa
Hafezi and Fredrik Dahl, update the situation:
the election will not be annulled but some
recounting will take place.
This may or
may not serve the interests of the people as
they see it, what remains to be seen is what
happens next. (061609d)
Patrick
Martin has it that the "surge" of those
committed to social change in Iran had latched
onto a presidential candidate and they're
insisting that he won.
The problem
for the current regime is to not only defuse
this but cool down the culture war now
burgeoning while the choices for repressing it
are few. (061509c)
Ian
Black and Matthew Weaver cover the reaction in
Iran after the election. The
US could learn a thing or two, they protested
their "rigged" election with a huge protest and
gunfire was not absent from it, also religious
leaders are calling for an investigation.
That never
happened in the US. Bush stole elections again
and again and no one rioted, no one took direct
action, nothing and we'll be paying for it for a
long, long time (061509a)
This
day's 06/14/09,. Slate. What
I noticed is the attention given to Iran's
recent election which the west suspects as being
fixed. Now, imagine that, a fixed election, that
NEVER happened in the US,
NEVER. The
world did not investigate or condemn the rise of
Bush or his serial electoral frauds, but hey,
Iran is different, the horse backed by the US
won. (061409b)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KB20Ak02.html
Balochistanis want more from this country, just
as they want more from Pakistan so the violent
struggle gets a bit more violent.
(022009a)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KB20Ak03.html
Part two, like as not, the Baloch are after
their own game, and are unwilling to be someone
else's pawn. (022009b)
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5120NN20090203
So they launch a satellite, the thing is in
orbit, this means something, though everyone
disagrees as to what. (020309e)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/KA30Ag02.html
Russia provides three reasons why it will not
"go along" with the US on challenging Iran.
(012909f)
Pakistan:
Hafiz
Wazir reports on the war in
Pakistan where a strategic and perhaps
psychologically town was
taken.
(102309e) From the Pakistan News Net we hear of
key US
support for the Pakistan Army's offensive. Intel
and predators are in the
mix, probably
much more, but we won't speculate, will we? Oh,
and remember Blowback? I mean blowback?
(102309f)
Eric Margolis reports
some
of the "outstanding" elements of the "aid
package" to Pakistan totalling some 7.5 billion
over the next few
years.
(101809h) The situation looks shaky since
elements in the loan package call for what
ammounts to a reduction in the soverign control
of Pakistan's military.
Alamgir Bitani reports
on
the first engagements between the Pakistani Army
and the "resistance" groups in Waziristan.
(101809b)
Karin
Brulliard reports on the attacks in Pakistan and
the salient bit is this: "It is scary," said
Arsalan Khan, a Peshawar resident and government
employee, adding that he felt the Peshawar blast
from his home.
"Being a government servant is enough to make
one a terrorist
target."
(101509a)
Militants
strike into Pakisatan and raise the stakes.
Pakistani
military plans a big operation in
Waziristan.
(101209a)
From
the BBC we have the word that the Pakistani
military IS going to take action in the
Waziristan
areas.
(101109a)
Syed
Saleem Shahzad has it that Pakistan
is getting ready to make "real
attack" on its
militant tribal zones. (100709b)
Syed
Saleem Shahzad has it that Pakistan
is getting ready to make "real
attack" on its
militant tribal zones. (100709b)
Ben
Farmer in Kabul and Javed Siddiq in Islamabad
report on what looks like an expanding
war. Complete
with threats, danger, gambles and rhetoric.
(092809g)
J.
Sri Raman reports on the
Balochistan portion of the India - Pakistan
conflict. Is
this another issue that "won't go away"? Time
will tell (080309d)
From
Karachi we hear Syed Saleem Shahzad report that
although
there may have been interest by the Western
allies in talking to the Taliban, it may be that
the interest is not mutual
(071309d)
Shibil
Siddiqi, reports, in detail, on the Pakistani
situation. The
summation might be" the problems Pakistan now
faces are a product of how Pakistan came to be,
how its original divisions had been united via
Islamic ties. When the Soviets invaded
Afghanistan, the US and allies created the
forces they now fight, after 9/11 contradictions
between social realities and government policies
made a volatile mix. (063009i)
Huma
Yusef advises that the current expansion of
fighting by the Pakistani army is being met
with
an expansion of attacks by the resistance.
It is
possible that even more may be drawn in as the
struggle continues ... only time will tell.
(063009e)
From
the BBC, another
drone strike in Pakistan, dozens dead when a
funeral is
attacked. Some
militants among the crowd perished, but the vast
majority of the dead were simply people in the
wrong place at the wrong time.
(062409i)
Jeremy
Scahill reports on
Obama's war in
Pakistan, from
candidate to president, his message was and is
clear (062209f
Zeeshan
Haider reports on the
"final phase" of the Swat
offensive by
Pakistan's armed forces. It is the most
demonstrative attempt in recent times.
(062209c)
Ishtiaq
Mahsud reports on the spreading
of violence in Pakistan now that the Swat Valley
operation is winding up.
(061209f)
Gary
Leupp, has me wonder: Pakistan,
oh Pakistan, where for art thou
Pakistan,
whither goest thou? Into the valley of death?
(0530090d) Weighing
in on this issue is the leader of Libya himself,
Moammar
Gadhafi, this
is his perspective. (053009e)
In
the current battling for Pakistan its government
has the upper hand.
(052809d)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/world/Asia/18nuke.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
In a related story we hear that Pakistan is
quietly and quickly ramping up its nuclear
programs, one wonders who they are playing catch
up to? (051809e)
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/17-6
The
possibilities of rending Pakistan in to a trio
of unstable new states become apparent. That is
now the important emerging threat to the region
and to the world. (05170b)
The
scope of the current Pakistani army's attack, or
counterattack to be
accurate, is
large scale and determined. What remains to be
seen is what happens after the 400 square miles
of territory are secured.
(050809a)
The
Balochistan region of Pakistan has become one of
the latest "fields" in the "Great
Game" this one
pits China against the US and a threat of
"Balkanization" for practicalities sake, but
whose? (050909c)
So
now we are considering the alternatives to "our
man in Pakistan" and "his
ways"
(050709a)
Pakistan's
attack against militants seems poorly
implemented.
Maybe some blow back is coming their and our
way? Can we afford that?
(050609b)
Let the exodus begin? That is what is happening
now.
(050609d)
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/67501.html
Pakistan's
army is now going at it hard and tough against
the Taliban, however, they are also loosing the
hearts and mind battle, causing tens of
thousands of refugees and so far no real promise
of success. (050509b) If
Pakistan does not have enough troubles, the
assessments in the west see double
trouble
(050509d)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KE05Df03.html
and a peck of Pak trouble, seems like the enemy
is them or are them or whatever, the clarity
that is needed is needed now.
(050409d)
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=21844
Obama says Pakistan's government is very fragile
and Clinton says more money is needed to keep
the thing afloat.(050109b) Meanwhile,
in other articles Petraeus is quoted as saying
Pakistan has maybe a couple of weeks to end the
Taliban threat
(050109d)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8022891.stm
A battle won by Pakistan's military? Time will
tell. (042809a)
It
seems that Pakistan is the place to watch as the
"enemy" sets up camp in Islamabad's
surround.
(042409a)
One
wonders how long the "two faced" policy of the
Pakistan government and the US will last?
How long can
they both lie to selected friends and allies?
(042309b)
The
government's recent deals with the insurgents,
rebels or whatever you
want to call
them have encouraged the rebellion. Only now are
some voices being raised. What portends?
(042009c)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KC31Df02.html
A
successful attack on a police training facility
demonstrates many things, chief among them is
that US plans are in need of being revamped and
Pakistan has to decide which of several sides it
is on. (033009b)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/world/Asia/27taliban.html?_r=2&hp
The Taleban are "getting their act together"
promising a lively welcome for the US Afghan
surge (032709b)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/world/Asia/26tribal.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
It seems the Pakistani support for the Taleban
in Afghanistan is substantial, much more than
thought and ongoing. (032609d)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KC20Df01.html
A new plan for US drones to attack Quetta? Is
madness rampant? Will there be consequences?
Time will tell. (032109d)
http://www.truthout.org/031609E
The Pashtun have never really been a part of
anything they don't want to be a part of, like
Pakistan or Afghanistan for examples. They are
becoming more than annoyed with the US drones
which have killed innocents of theirs and this
is not helping. (031609d)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090316/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan
The lawyers win and the ruling power loose out,
but it's all for the best, or should ought to
be. (031609b)
A
showdown between the opposition and government
forces,
already there is violence and repression; what
is next? (031509b)
http://www.truthout.org/031209C
National protest gets underway, just one more
destabilizing factor in a nation that does not
need any at all. (031209b)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL121226.htm
The protest goes on as does government
opposition and tensions rise, so much so that
the US is "talking" to both sides.
(031309a)
It
seems that protest is a way of life, but the
resistance the government is putting up may
jangle a few
nerves
(031109a)
http://www.truthout.org/022709K
Pakistan's court rules that Sharif cannot run
for president, nor can his brother. If Sharif
has had a conviction and his brother as well??
Riots broke out. (022809c)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KB27Df01.html
The effects of the court ruling have
ramifications for Afghanistan, essentially
instability in Pakistan means room for play in
Afghanistan (022809d)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/20/pakistan-nuclear-weapons
Are Pakistan's nukes safe? That is, or should
be, a burning question for someone.
(022109e)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Asia/article5755490.ece
Probably the most explosive story to be breaking
these days, considering the consequences, the US
military and the Pakistani government have
always said no US troops or forces are based in
that country, however, this seems to be untrue,
and if the Pakistani public reacts &endash; it
might be very, very hard for things to remain
calm and "orderly". (021809d)
Part
two, the denials continue but so does the
presence of evidence.
Pakistan has
publicly declared that they don't want the
drones, has made the strikes a "bone of
contention" has made growling noise. But the
duplicitous façade has now been broken,
what next? (021809e)
Pakistan
frees its nuclear proliferating father of their
bomb
regardless of US opinion or desire to question
him. (020609a)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KA29Df01.html
Peshawar, is this the battle before a battle?
Some signs indicate such and Pakistan is very,
very frail; dangers abound. (012909c)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KA29Df02.htm
Part two, some details emerge from an interview
(012909e)
http://www.truthout.org/012509D
Long have I said that this country is the one to
watch. This article, in details refreshing
enough to read we see how fragile is the status
of the Afghan and Pakistani governments, how
strong the resistance has become and how
dangerous the near term is for a variety of
reasons, for a variety of players and everywhere
the ante is being upped. (012509a). Refer back
to the recent post I made Muddle East; central
theater. This is the ground view. The
strategists who've fomented this movement are
not Saudi, though the money comes from there,
not Islamists, per se, but are inordinately
interested in spreading chaos, war and
instability among a large and nonwhite region,
who have an interest in seeing Israel in the
van, taking shots while being bought off with
their own land. Nice, for them, it seems.
Saudi
Arabia and neighbors:
Bradley
S. Klapper reports on the spreading violence in
Yemen.
Another front in the global war. (082509a)
Jeffrey
Fleishman reports that Yemen may actually face
three disparate resistance groups and that its
neighbors may well be involved,
sweet.
(082509c)
BBC
reports from Yemen that government forces have
routed a rebel
force. So
fighting is still going on there.
(082309e)
Ahmed
Al-Haj reports that nine hostages have been
found executed.
The war in
Yemen continues as does its poverty and the
unrepresentative government.
(061609f)
Yemen,
it seems, has the preconditions necessary for AQ
to establish
itself,
poverty, corruption, more than one restive
region and a central government that is not
effective is making life better for the millions
under its care. (050309b) and
part two of the
story
(050309c)
Asia:
Greater Asia Islamic Theater News: China,
India,
The Koreas,
Russia,
China:
Javier
Blas and Carola Hoyos report on China's oil
exports to Iran.
If the west
ever does use a blockade, this factor will be an
important hurdle to deal with, before hand.
(092309a)
Sharon
LaFraniere and John Grobler report on
how
China scratches its own back when it comes to
"third world"
loans.
(092209a)
How
long will the dance go on? China seems opposed
to tougher Iranian sanctions, right out of the
box, so the US
is left looking for other solutions. This has
been the status quo for years now. What will
"break" the game open? (091109b) Not that Russia
is "gung ho" for sanctions
either.
Barbara Demick reports
on
the Han protesting the recent Urumqi
action in
Xinjiang (090409c) The celestials are restless?
Siddharth
Srivastava has coverage of the
competition between China and India in and about
the regions containing the
Maldives.
(090109f)
Wei Gu writes of the
Chinese
governments attempt to "deal with" their own
situation. They to are pumping up their economy
with trillions
of Yuan, they too are propping up banks and so
forth. The drop of 20% in their markets have not
"hit" the west either. So how long can they keep
the "magic" flowing? (082309g)
Jeremy
Gaunt reports on China's
market, the notion is that instability there
could spread to other markets and result in a
tumbling
tumult.
(082309d)
Dan Murphy reports on
the
Chinese Military's "biggest war game
ever" and says
that India is watching and may be worrying.
(081109o)
Gerard
Wynn, reports on China's taking the lead in
"green collar"
jobs, wind
turbans figure heavily in this. The turbans,
incidentally, are a home made product - there is
a message here, but is the US listening?
(080709f)
M.K.
Bhadrakumar reports on the Chinese presence in
and near the Black
Sea, not
traditionally their stomping grounds, but
interesting for more reasons that that alone.
Geopolitics involving Russia, its concept of its
near abroad, NATO and the aspirations of various
people and the spread of electoral political
systems. (073109g)
Chisa
Fujioka's article gives voice to the Uighur
activist leader who claims thousands are missing
in Xinjiang
since the ethnic riots last month. (072909e) One
wonders about the "grip" China has on its far
flung province. Time will tell
Donald Kirk reports on the
National
Endowment for Democracy, a US institution, and
its role in the Uyghur's unrest in China
recently.
(071709c)
From
CBC news we hear of some
unrest in Teheran and more importantly "big
voices" speaking
out.
(071709b)
Robert
Marquand speaks with the spokesperson for the
Uighurs, an
exiled businesswoman who tells much more than
the Chinese government wants anyone to hear
(071309a)
Peter Lee has us take a
peek at continuing efforts
by China to gain connections, or influence, in
Africa when
Obama has offered so little.
(071309e)
Meanwhile
Jian Junbo reports on the unrest in
Urumqi, the
capital of Xinjiang proviince and speculates
that as China changes the differences between
ethnic groups are emerging and this could fuel
divisive movements. (071309f)
Chris Buckley reports from
China that the
Uighur/Han problem has continued with riots
in the city of
Urumqi, China (070709b)
Chris
Buckley reports on the unrest in Xinjiang
where protests
two days ago left 156 dead.
(070609e)
The
pipeline wars and central Asia's "blue
gold". Who
will walk away with the "gold" will it be China
or the USA? (051308c)
The
winds of change do blow and favor China at this
time. Their economic "good fortune" is
explainable,
essentially they did things we did not and
didn't do things we did.
(050409c)
http://www.truthout.org/031009N
The growth of the Chinese navy is historical and
so this small event may be a precursor to
others. (031009d)
India:
Sanjiv
Butoo reports on female foeticide among women of
Indian descent.
It is common
enough and illegal enough with pressures enough
and expectations enough so I ask when is enough
enough? (092809a) India is, of course, not the
only place that has this happening. More or
less, it is world wide - as is the bias against
women in general.
Sudha
Ramachandran lets the world know
that
India has joined that exclusive group of nations
with nuclear powered
submarines; it
was a home made job at that!
(072709h)
Arshad
Mohammed write about a possible arms deal
between the US and India.
If this goes
through then it will be a signal that the
"continent nation" will be switching arms
suppliers from Russia to the US. China will take
note, of course and the geopolitical shifting
will be clearer if not just as significant.
(072009a)
Gethin
Chamberlain reports from India where water
shortages, due to drought, due, I think, to
weather changes, have created "water
wars" where
neighbors kill neighbors and rationing is a life
and death matter. Oh yes, the agriculture
suffers in this mess also.
(071109d)
Siddharth
Srivastava describes
a resource insurgency in eastern
India over a
share of the regions mineral wealth. China has
something of a hand in, as does corruption in
all probability. (062509a)
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/02/04/france-india.html
More nukes for the country that has not signed
on with the NPT? Yup and it is all possible
because the US pushed through the changes which
allowed the sale to happen. India is being used
by the west I think, and well they seem to think
that "it's all good". (020409c)
Koreas:
The
ever lovin' Slate for this date: 07/20/09 has a
nugget on North Korea's gulag,
the health
care legislation meeting resistance from
governors because of its costs through Medicaid
(072009f)
John
Herskovitz and Seo Eun-kyung report on the
missiles fired by North Korea this
"holiday"
weekend. The game goes on, oh, yes, thanks
George W. your fuck-up continues.
(070509a)
Scott
Badauf reports that Kenya
is massing troops along its border with
Somalia.
Intervention is a possibility; so is blow back.
What next? (062609j)
Hyung-Jin
Kim, updates us on the Kang
Nam,
the first North Korean vessel being monitored
for weapons
violations by
the US which believes it is heading for Myanmar
to deliver weapons. Since forced boarding is not
allowed and any real consequences are the
responsibility of the nation it ports at, one
wonders if this ban will be effective in some
cases, such as this one. (062309e
Ewen
MacAskill updates
on the preparations for the US navy's
interception
of a North Korean vessel. The prep work is vast,
actually, as the US tries to cover all the bases
and think out the various contingencies.
(062009f)
David
Morgan and Jon Herskovitz update
on North Korea, the US is tracking a
vessel and the
North Koreans seem to be preparing a missile
launch to "celebrate" the 4th of July, how nice!
(061809f)
Blaine
Harden reports on the "end run" North Korea has
been working for some time now. In order to get
hard cash they've
been defrauding insurance companies for hundreds
of millions of
dollars.
Amazing, no? (061809b)
David
E. Sanger describes the policy regarding North
Korean vessels.
They will be
hailed and permission will be required for any
boarding or inspection. The back up is that any
ship refusing inspection will be tracked and the
US will try to have any port it docks at do the
inspecting whether the ship is fueling up or off
loading cargo. (061609e)
Varner
and Green report on the UN decision for further
action against North
Korea. This
includes the inspection of shipping which North
Korea has said would be an act of war.
(061209e)
Jean-Marc
Vittori reports on the "romance of June"
why
already people are giving the impression that
"it's all over" as banks repay loans and worry
leaves everyone's
mind.
(061209b)
The
US says it "won't accept" a nuclear North Korea,
well, I wonder just what that means since it
already IS
one. China
suggests that the Korean peninsula be free from
nuclear weapons. Might be nice but if the US
does not remove its, why should the North
Koreans remove theirs and then too, what's to
prevent the US or other powers from having naval
nukes or airborne ones present in the region?
(053009b)
Of
course this is the "other view" of North Korea,
the arguments in favor of its continuing to
develop nuclear
weapons.
You've probably heard enough from the other
side, which includes most of the nuclear world.
(053009c)
South
Korea and the US on higher alerts after the
North's nuke test.
(052809b)
Well,
it looks like this time North Korea tested a
bomb that was big enough not to be second
guessed. Then
they followed up that with a missile test. Nice.
Now, everyone is talking, but they are not.
(052509a)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7999333.stm
This says that tensions are high. NK wants
attention; it will probably get just that,
though in what form remains to be seen.
(041409d)
The
pending launch of a ballistic missile has some
on edge there is talk of "shooting it down" and
there have been, recently, a counter threat of
war.
(032609b)
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5100IB20090201
Some "saber rattling by the north? I think
probably, but the danger is that it may not be.
What then? Obama's first global crisis, that's
what. (020109c)
Russia:
Luke
Harding reports on the tensions bubbling up
between Ukraine and Russia.
Some fear a
war or some action on Russia's part which would
render Ukraine something less than independent.
(101109e)
Per
the BBC Russia's "words" with Ukraine are
testier and
testier.
(082409a)
Lyubov
Pronina and Ali Berat Meric report on
Russia's
dealings with Turkey regarding
oil,
pipelines, nuclear coordination and so forth and
so on. (080809f)
Amie
Ferris-Rotman has some
coverage of the tensions in and about Georgia,
with Russia
raising its
readiness and accusing the US et al of rearming
Georgia. There is some cross border firing.
(090804b)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/KD25Ag02.html
Meanwhile,
back in central Asia, the great game continues.
The decline in oil prices and the economic
crunch have sapped Russia while at the same time
the US is prying away some of the stans.
(042509d)
The
clearing of the Arctic regions have Russia all
excited about creating more of a presence "up
there"
(032709c)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/KB21Aa05.html
Something of a cold war going on? Do you feel
the chill? NATO does. (022009d)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7892528.stm
Russian economic problems are evidenced by
declining stats, oh well
(021609c)
The
economic problem generates protests in Russia as
"solutions" are tried
out. Perhaps
the start of something larger as discontent
burgeons. (013109e)
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5062Q520090118
The "gas problem" continues between Russia and
Ukraine. The Euro's watch and voice their
concern but it is really out of their hands,
isn't it? (011809b)
News
from Africa and the Sub Sahara Theater
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7947321.stmThe
continent of Africa, struggles where the
developed world is inconvenienced by the
economic tailspin the greedy bastards have
foisted upon an unsuspecting public.
(031509g)
Congo:
The
Congo, the fighting, the chaos and a neologism,
"femicide"
the purposeful killing off of the female portion
of a population. Read all about
it.
(052009c)
http://alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LH620064.htm
Refugees flee in all directions as war spreads.
As if this country needs anything like this.
(021809a)
Ethiopia:
From
the Independent we hear of the
rains failing in Ethiopia and that another round
of famine may be in
store,
certainly the evidence of indicators is already
in hand. Global warming is not mentioned, but in
other articles it is implied that the Horn of
Africa is a region that is slated to have a
lessening of rainfall. (083009d)
Guinea:
From the BBC we have a
report on Guinea,
Africa. A long time leader is dead and the
military, upon whom he was long dependent, has
taken control promising elections and more.
(092809e)
Also
from the BBC, it seems that the "popularity" of
the coup is in doubt.
(092809f)
Madagascar:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7947381.stm
Instability here (031609f)
Similar
to other nations where governments are being
challenged or failing, the people are hurting
and they want
change.
(012609c)
Nigeria:
From
the BBC it is reported that some thousands of
"oil rebels" have turned in their
arms. There
are some hold outs and only time will tell if
their threats materialize or if this struggle
has been peacefully concluded.
(100809d)
From
the BBC it is reported that some thousands of
"oil rebels" have turned in their
arms. There
are some hold outs and only time will tell if
their threats materialize or if this struggle
has been peacefully concluded.
(100809d)
From
London comes the word that
Polio vaccines distributed in Nigeria have been
the source of several outbreaks of the
disease. This
fact complicates the medical world's task of
convincing African people that vaccines are
safe. (081409d)
Sierra
Leone:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7947422.stm
Instability here (031609e)
Somalia:
From
Mohamed Ahmed,
we hear of Ethiopain troops, oh, uh, advisors,
who are not in the country officially, "helping"
Somalian government forces "take" a
town in
central Somalia. The war rages on.
(082909a)
From
the BBC we have a report of Clinton
saying the US will "take action" if Eritrea does
not stop what it's
doing. Last I
heard the so called Somali Government was on the
ropes, but the US is shipping arms to them and
fitting to double down. (080609g)
Mohamed
Olad Hassan gives us a view from the areas
nearby
Mogadishu.
(080609h) Apparently
a new government is forming,but the challenges
are grave and great
(080609i)
Mohamed
Olad Hassan, reports on Somalia, or rather that
area on a globe which is usually thought to
contain it. The nation does not really exist any
longer. The
bankrupt US policy has long since failed and not
chaos reigns as a result Al Qaida or similar
groups will find a new home
there.
(060909a)
Somalia,
now the fighting has entered the capital and the
shreds of a US policy gone bad flap lamely in
the cold breeze.
(052209a)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/17/AR2009051701296.htmlThe
US "effort"in Somalia seems headed for a
crashing kind of halt. What became of US
purpose, US allies and US designs?
(051809f)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0415/p06s07-wogn.html
The piracy continues and legal tangles ensue.
The problem is the problem that the US
"engagement" in the area has rendered this
result. (041909a)
Piracy
on the high seas continues off this nation's
coast is
symptomatic of the global communities failed
policies overall and the US policies in
particular.
(040809a)
A
new leader and the one-time western "enemy" the
Islamic Courts form a new
government.
Now that Bush is out, it may be that rational
approaches are in. So the west may now deal with
this nation, reasonably.
(013109a)
Zimbabwe:
Pacific
and Australian News:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7866303.stm
The strategy, down under, is the same as in D.C.
deficit spending to recover the economy. What if
this simply creates another "bubble" of "good
debt" that doesn't do the job and it all goes
bust? (020309f)
News
from the land south of the Ol' Rio Grande:
Nadja
Drost reports on the uptick in arms purchasing
by big South American countries,
an undertone
of US Russian involvement and the scale of the
"investments" relative to the needs of the
continents people. (092009e)
Benamin
Dangl, gives coverage to a new book: Dissecting
Utopia, edited by Patrick Barret, et al. and the
article illustrates how
the Latin American left movements are not of a
piece and though progressive, mostly, still
progress is
needed.
(080209b)
John
Sauven reports on what I call the "battle of the
Amazon" will
cattle ranching win out over conservation? A
pair of laws working their way through Brazil's
government could expand the damage and
legitimize the illegal clearing already done
(060809b
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/02-13
A bit of history wrapped up in a suggestion that
Obama scrap the Monroe Doctrine. Don't know
about that? Well read on brother and sister,
read on. (020209b)
Some
of the nations: Honduras,
Mexico,
Peru
Bolivia:
Rory
Carroll and Andres Schipani team up to
illuminate
the Bolivian Lithium
bonanza. The
impoverished country has half the world's
supply, a leftist government and a do it
yourself attitude.
Previous
articles discussed the fact that there is not
enough Lithium to make the batteries for all the
cars that would replace the gas guzzlers now in
use. So a bonanza, yes, for how long? Anyone's
guess. (061809d)
Columbia:
Benjamin
Dangl, reports on the newer bases in Columbia
and why
the Presidents of 12 South American nations
suspect that the stated plans are not what "it's
all about."
(091309a)
Nadja
Drost has it that a US company supplied
financial support to a paramilitary group
accused of hundreds of murders.
(053109g)
Guatemala:
From
Courtney Carvill at the COHA, we hear about the
state of democracy in Guatemala.
The recent
murder of a a Mr. Rosenerg has galvanized some
protest, with an IT factor yet, and the battle
to keep democracy or revive it has been engaged.
(070309d)
Honduras:
Greg Grandin reports on
Honduras
and the increasing difficulty all the way
around.
Everyone suffers and no real progress is being
made. (100909a)
Tyler Bridges reports on
the Honduran
regimes suspension of civil rights and the
closing down
media outlets
unfriendly to them. (092909d)
Laura
Carlson, off OpEd News reports from Tegucigalpa
that repression is ramping up,
tanks are in
the city wounded protesters are taken from
hospitals and "resistance" is forming up.
(092809d) So, one wonders why Hillasourus Rex
has not bothered to make commentary on these
developments. I guess she's getting her nails
done.
From the BBC comes a
report that Honduran
security has surrounded the Brazilian embassy
and cut of utilities to "asphyxiate" the
embassy.
(092209c)
Laura
Carlsen reports that Zelaya has returned to
Honduras, albeit in a foreign embassy, but it is
a giant step.
(092109c)
Tom
Loudon, describes the increasing pressure, both
internal and external, on the coup leaders in
Honduras. They
act determined to hold on. This may be a
watershed moment, if the "soft" pressures
outside and the peaceful protests inside manage
to make a difference and restore democracy. One
hopes for this anyway (092009a)
Eric
Farnsworth reports on the status of Honduras and
how the US has, it seems, made matters
worse.
(091709c)
Paul Richter reports that
although
the US has cut 30M dollars in aid to Honduras,
others have stepped in with the cash, the IMF
for one. It is
such a shame that a simple set of actions from
the US could have reversed this idiocy. Imagine
what the US could have done with the neighboring
nations? Oh well ... (090409b)
Tom
Loudon reports on Honduras and the recent turn
for a violent
worst.
(083109d)
John
Lamperti reports on the
US role in the Honduras
coup and the
return of a danger that many in the region
thought was gone for good.
(083009b)
Kathia
Martinez from the AP has reports
from
Honduras that supporters of the ousted president
are being charged with sedition.
The condition
in the country begins to have violence - one
wonders if the nations in the region will
actively take a hand and see to it that justice
is done. (081509d)
Robert Naiman reports on
the Honduran
"situation" the raising of the minimum wage is
thought to be a factor in the deposing of the
government.
Once the old boys get a strangle hold on a
country they just don't "let" go.
(080809g)
Marc
Weisbrot reports on the
failure of US diplomacy to resolve the Honduran
Problem, so,
the case is made, it is time for the Latin
American nations to take a hand. They've
resolved a couple of international difficulties
in their bailiwick, now is the time to step
forward yet again.(080109b)
Roger Burbach has it
that
Obama and Clinton seem to say one thing and do
another when it comes to
Honduras. It
seems to much like "same old, same old" in this
piece and time is not on the side the US seems
to have adopted. (072709k)
Mark Weisbrot reports on
the
support the Honduran coup enjoys in
Beltwayistan,
the bizarre
capital of the US of A. (072409g)
Tom
Loudon reports on the Honduran "event" and how
the US
has not yet really lent any more support to what
it calls the legitimate president than what easy
words offer.
(072209b)
Rory Carroll reports that
the Honduran
talks, hosted by Costa Rica's president have
broken down.
Airas will continue to try but has said "three
more days". Everyone wonders "and then what?
Civil war? (072009b)
Robert
Maiman speculates on Honduras and the
US,
how president Roosevelt had a close call with a
military arrest when his reforms were
attacked.
(071809g)
Tim
Gaynor reports that the Honduran government led
by Micheletti is softening
its stance in
the face of continuing protests, international
pressures and the "heat of the spotlight". What
with this event, that of Iran, the earlier
events in Kenya to name a few that come to mind,
the color revolutions, perhaps, even Tibet I
might be excused for thinking that a genie is
working its way out of the bottle, when mass
movements can, by force of popular dissent,
bring governments to heel. (071609d) That would
be a new age, to my mind.
As if we don't have enough
trouble messing around with our own body
politic, Robert
Naiman shows we have to mess around, indirectly,
with others, meaning Honduras.
What DO the
polls taken there and misrepresented here, have
to do with anything? Well read on.
(071409h)
Tim Rogers and Jim Wyss
report
from Managua on the deadline Zelaya is giving to
the
"president".
Would that the, in the US, such bold action had
occurred some years ago and prevented Bush the
dumber from ruining this nation.
(071409g)
Stephen
Zunes reports from Honduras. This article also
quotes the Honduran constitution saying that the
referendum was
legal and,
because of the manner in which the once time
president was deposed, the people have a right
to assemble, protest and organize to change the
government (071109b) Then too there is the
historical US involvement with
Honduras
Patrick Markey talks about
the
international unanimity regarding the Honduras
coup, but the
nation itself seems steadfast in its course.
(070109h)
Benjamin
Dangl reveals a brief timeline for the Honduras
coup. The US
media got some basics wrong regarding a
controversial referendum, the deposed president
was well regarded and a national strike is
already growing while a military commander says
he'll refuse orders from the new "government."
(063009g)
Ton
Loudon reports on the coup in Honduras.
Essentially
the military removed the president from his
office and the country. The seeming motive is
that president Zelaya wanted a non-binding
referendum on extending the number of terms a
president may hold - thought this story mentions
the referendum; it does not mention what it was
about. The action has been roundly criticized
from all corners and the US denies any
involvement, not that any is suspected mind you.
(062909c)
From
the BBC, we see the
Honduras president deposed by the
military, many
questions remain, who, why, what and so forth.
(062809f)
From
the BBC, we see the Honduras president deposed
by the
military, many questions remain, who, why, what
and so forth. (062809f)
From the BBC we hear of
Honduran
president, Zelaya, whose plane being forced off
course to land in
Nicaragua
while two protesters at the airport were killed
as troops dispersed awaiting crowds.
(070609a)
Hugh O'Shaughnessy reports
on the
influence of the church, the "School of the
Americas" and others in the Honduran
Affair.
(070409c) The article has some errata, in
comparing this "coup" to others. The military is
not directly in charge in Honduras, the speaker
of their congress is.
Octavio
Sanchez writes about the Honduran constitution
and the events which led to the current
crisis. His
opinion is that the law, as written, was
exercised. The president had violated the
constitution, the courts had taken action and
the president had been defiant of those
requests. The military acted on the behalf of
both the congress and the courts.
(070409b)
BBC
news reports that Honduras' court is backing the
current
government and
vows to arrest the president should he return,
the nation seems to have no allies in its quest.
(070409a)
Mexico:
Tabassum
Zakaria reports on an arrest of
300
persons in raids on Mexican drug operations in
the US. A measure, perhaps, of the depravity to
which this nation has
fallen, the US
is an "incredible" consumer.
(102209c)
Sara
Miller Llana reports that Mexicans crossing into
the US have a new motive, a fear for their lives
as the
violence in Mexico ramps up with casualty
numbers that match America's total dead in its
wars, each
year. And,
despite the economic downturn, millions of them
still say they want to go north.
(092709b)
D'Angelo
Gore reports on the brouhaha surrounding the
number of Mexico's crime scene guns traced to
the US.
Essentially a lot of US guns wind up in Mexico
and are used by criminals. But the debate is
over how many and who uses them not about how to
end the condition or resolve the issues involved
(061509e)
http://www.truthout.org/040309N
The Narco-War in Mexico is ramped up as about
50% of the nation's military is deployed to
combat the violence. (040509c)
This
story from Mexico details the outbreak of a new
infectious agent
the pedigree
of which is global and at least the scientists
are sitting up and taking note.
(042409c)
http://www.truthout.org/031909M
The
drug war continues and the US is the source of
the weaponry used by the druggies and the source
of the drug cartel's profits: US sales (031909a)
This
country is a "security concern" for the US and
the situation is
worsening.
With hundreds dying monthly the country is in
the midst of an "underground" war.
(011809c):
Peru:
BBC has a
report that the
Peruvian indigenous people rack up a costly
victory
against their government.
(061909e)
Guy
Adams reports updates us on Peru,
the cover-up is
unraveling as
pictures emerge along with a horrific truth. The
government is shaken and protests
occur.
(061909b)
John
Vidal, reports on
the "second oil war" the first being Iraq, this
one, being
Peru where
thousands of tribal members are defending their
lands against a government with US interests at
heart, which wants to exploit the natural
resources of those lands
(061509d)
Greg
Palast reports on the manner in which natural
resources are taken. You
can still buy valuable property for trinkets,
blocks of cheese and the "proverbial
dollar". This
relates to the hubbub in Peru but the US has its
own tales as well.
(061209d)
Tom
Loudon covers the violence in the Peruvian
Amazon where 100 have died in a police action
directly linked to the Free Trade
Agreement
(FTA) between the US and
Peru.(061209a)
What
does a civil war look like?
From Peru Milagors Salazar reports on the
clashes between native protesters and police.
The government is, with US policy in mind,
"developing" native regions without their
consent and using controversial legalities to do
so. Peru's
government blames leftist neighboring nations
for the troubles. (061009a)
Carla
Salazar, Tamy Higa and Frank Bajak team up
to cover the
protest and violence in Peru as natives resist
the exploitation of lands without compensation
or consideration of the ecology, the law, morals
and so forth.
(060709h)
Venezuela:
Norman
Solomon, reports on how
the US and Chavez of Venezuela are both mixing
it up in Iranian affairs, one way or
another. Bush
"the dumber" did his bit, Chavez is now doing
his and the Iranians are saying that the US is
orchestrating the protest. (062609i)
It's
not nice to fool Mother Nature:
Chris
Hedges gives
the simple figures, facts and overview regarding
global warming
and the
"individual's role and responsibility to make
the needed difference. (102009c)
A
new film covering "Global Dimming". A phenomenon
due to air pollution, jet contrails and which
came to light or into focus rather, in the days
after 9/11.
The effect of the "high flying" pollutants is to
cool the planet through filtering the sunshine,
this does not counterbalance the effects of
global warming however. (100509e)
Gerard
Wynn from Oxford England talks about a two meter
rise in oceanic levels as being unstoppable,
and, to my lights, the minimum effect we might
expect. What
is problematical, in terms of a solution, is the
time frames scientists use. When the whole
darned world seems to think in days, weeks,
quarterly reports and election cycles, the idea
of thinking in decades and centuries is beyond
the "intellectual pale."
(092909g)
From
the radical fringe of reality, comes this:
written purportedly by a Dr. Leonard Horowitz,
claiming that a human made plague is on the way
and there is a conspiracy behind it.
(092809j) I
include this zany bit here because it
exemplifies the "quality" of ideas that
circulate as well as the fears that many may
have, but my question is this, what if mother
nature provides one, what then?
From David Adam we hear of
a report that a 4C rise in temperature,
globally, is a rising possibility. The key
sentence in the article, however, is this:
"A
report last week from the UN Environment Program
said emissions since 2000 have risen faster than
even this IPCC worst-case scenario.
"In the 1990s,
these scenarios all assumed political will or
other phenomena would have brought about the
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by this
point" (092809b)
Johann
Hari briefly describes the solution to our human
energy needs. We have the means to solve the
global warming problem but lack the will to see
it through. We
are blinded by coal and oil, soaked in it. Time
is running out. By the time ordinary people see
that it's too late it will have been to late for
some long time. (092409a)
Constance Okollet provides
us with a
Global Warming story from Kenya where it is
described up close and personal.
(092309e)
From
the BBC we hear of a great dust storm in
Australia.
(092309b) Also from the
BBC a report on the record breaking high
temperatures that are also in the
mix in the
land "down under". (092309c)
If
you are tired of hearing about the swine flu,
for which tens of millions of doses are
currently being readied for
distribution,
David Morgan brings news of the Chikungunya
virus. it is supposed to be worse than the West
Nile virus another mosquito borne virus.
(091909e)
Susan
Goldenberg reports that the ocean has touched a
record high temperature
globally.
Partly due to El Nino but this is also global
warming's effect. (091709b)
From
the TomGram, we hear of the lack of overall
coverage concerning the spreading of drought in
the world. The
article focuses on those in the US, the fires
which are a consequence and the "water wars"
which are also coming to the fore, all while the
overall picture, as the article says, is
obscured by pointillist journalism
(091409b)
From the AP comes a story
that
a woman has contracted a form of HIV that is
from gorillas,
rather than the kind from chimpanzees. (080309a)
This and the next story are included to update
regarding the fringe threat of a plague being a
destabilizing factor in the present age.
Ariana
Eunjung Cha reports on an outbreak of Pneumonic
Plague,
similar to the Bubonic Plague from history, save
that it can be transmitted through the air.
(080309b)
James Painter, BBC,
reports that Bolivia's
glaciers, like
those of the rest of the world, are loosing
mass, melting. (073109c)
David
Ljunggren reports on a warming arctic which is
greening and thus providing another
feedback loop in the warming
effect.
(073109b)
Duncan Clark provides
coverage of
a "perfect storm" which will amplify the global
warming
process, El Nino and solar maximums are on deck
(072709l)
Suzanne Goldenberg and
Damian Carrington report on
the
evidence of Global Warming that Bush the Dumber
had kept under
wraps as well
as the need for funding the research that would
monitor the process of warming. (072709b)
From
the UK's Guardian, here are some other
photos
(072709c) And
some others
(072709d)
Claudia Wallis reports on
environmental
pollution's effect on the IQ of children
who are
exposed before birth and in their formative
years. They focus on PAH's but the article
mentions others and other effects as well.
(072409a)
Bryan Walsh reports
on
the science which has evidence of another global
warming feedback
loop, as the
oceans warm, low cloud cover disperses and this
allows more of the sun's energy to reach the
oceans warming them further. What happens is
that much higher clouds form and these do not
give as much protection.
(072409b)
Missy
Ryan reports on
Iraq's water problems which have various
sources, upriver dams in other nations, global
warming and a
drought and
then there's mismanagement, corruption and the
long US war and occupation.
(072409c)
Alex
Morales reports on updates
regarding global warming and the ocean's
rise.
It seems that
the take away message is that change is
happening faster than thought, nothing new
there, research has always been lagging behind
the event
and, oh yes,
the changes will be more severe.
(061809c)
Nicole
Baute reports on what I would call "global
femicide". 100 to 200 million women of all ages
who "should be
alive" but are
not for a variety of reasons, including simple
murder in many, many cases.
(060909g)
WHO
declares the Swine Flu to be a pandemic, the
first in 40
years. The
death count is small, less than two hundred, but
this is an outbreak that is being watched
carefully. (061209c)
By
Michael Roddy's lights the acidification of the
ocean, an ongoing process is
outlined as
are the seemingly distant threat to a world just
decades in the future. Speculative, yes, but the
run of studies on global warming has seen the
data stream lagging behind the fact since the
change seems to outpace our capacity to measure
them. (060109d) If that generalization holds
true then might we expect more change and
sooner.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/v-fullstory/story/1054864.html
Some hint of
global warming's effects, and mismanagement by
human kind causing some die offs
(051909a)
Global
warming will be about twice as what was thought
recently.
(052109e)
Probably
a salient in Mother Nature's advance against a
burgeoning humanity.
China believes it will have to relocate some 150
million people from a farmland area currently
under attack by encroaching
deserts.
(022009a)
Where
is all that mercury coming from in the ocean's
fish? It seems
algae draws it in from tha atmosphere and then,
when it dies, the gasses released.
(051509b)
A
brief on the overview of the swine flu's
reach.
(050309d)
The
kicker, in this article, is
that the polar ice cap may be gone in as few as
five years!
Howzaboutdemapples buzzy? (043009h) And here's
an article that gives one pause to consider
that
the swine flu should be called the NAFTA flu,
odd but
"catchy".
(043009i) Ironic if this hybrid organism is
something that sets humanity back a notch, or
two.
"Ch
- ch - ch - changes" as the song
goes, now may
be applies to the Arctic where change is all
fast, vast and deep. (042809c)
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/24-0
Perhaps forest fires are one of most easily
understood "feedback loops" in the global
warming conundrum. (042409f)
This
article says it has good and bad
news. The
problem is that the good news is not really good
news. In sum, if the globe warms the calthrate
deposits in Greenland and elsewhere could
release large amounts of methane and accelerate
whatever warming is going on now.
(042309d)
Just
how many active pharmaceutical chemicals are
released into our water
systems? Good
question, the study indicates hundreds of
millions of pounds worth, which is based on the
scant records that exist now.
(042109d)
More
evidence that the Antarctic is undergoing large
scale change due to global warming.
(040609b) and
here is the news from the
Arctic, also signs showing
change.
(040609c)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090402143752.htm
The Arctic,
responding to global warming and other factors
may be more clear of ice and much sooner
(040509d)
http://www.truthout.org/040109HA
Just a bit of noise about pollutants, seems that
fire retardants are becoming ubiquitous, as in
they've found it in human breast milk.
(040209d)
http://www.truthout.org/032409J
The
Exxon Valdez, remember that? Read the update,
about the pollution, the deaths, the poison and
the fact that corporations still kill and get
away with it. (032509b)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/12/climate-change-copenhagen-monbiot
It's not climate change," a new name is needed.
Science is behind in cataloging the events,
policy is behind the science and programs are
behind that. We are in a serious "catch up
conundrum" (031309d)
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/03/08-2
The rising seas continue to do just that, what's
new however is the pace, it is faster, the
consequent effects, these are more widespread
and damaging and, if Greenland and the Antarctic
ice melts we'll have a nearly 70 meter rise in
sea levels, not to mention much more violent
storms and disastrous weather changes and or
turmoil. (030809b)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7886646.stm
There is a
future in water wars, yes and no?
(022809b)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/world/Asia/25drought.html?_r=1&ref=world
The drought in northern China is more than
inconvenient. And a mention of the loss of
snowfall around Beijing is indicative of a
change in precipitation patterns, though the
story only mentions the rarity of the snowfall.
(022509e)
Global
warming occurs faster than thought and so polar
regions are loosing their cool, so to speak,
faster than
previously thought (022509a)
CO2
levels continued to rise in
2008, However,
what this article ignores is the increasing
methane. That is a far more potent GW gas and it
is not being studied getting any press anyway
(022509b)
http://www.fresnobee.com/641/story/1212565.html
Drought in California begins to have practical
impacts 022209a)
Although
global warming was not mentioned this drought in
California has been heralded as part of that,
water
rationing has begun in SoCal.
(021709d)
http://www.truthout.org/021609M
Global warming happening faster, some
interesting facts and figures
(021609a)
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE51D29E20090214
Global warming happening faster than predicted
by the best science which is less than two years
old portends more of the same, I would think,
yet no one is battening down the hatches and
people look at me as if I am a numbskull when I
talk about the seriousness of Global Warming,
WUPT? I mean to say WTF?
(021409a)
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/melting-arctic.html
A call for an "Ice Refuge" in the Arctic, so
that the region of ice can be preserved as would
the animals, notably polar bears.
(021009c)
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/02/08-5
Science and ordinary folks are teaming up to
document the ecological changes being driven by
global warming. (020809a)
http://www.truthout.org/020309D
Is water is the next crisis coming down the
pipeline, as it were? Reports from the world
over show the effects of global warming chances,
the adaptations that are being tried and the
costly effects on societies that cannot adapt to
the environmental changes.
(020309b)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7860350.stmThe
sea is changing much faster than previously
thought, some say the acidification is taking
place at a rate 100 times rate that usual
variations occur (013109g)
The
latest chapter in the Global Warming story, from
Australia, a record breaking heat wave sets off
fires and,
indirectly, causes power outages for hundreds of
thousands.(013109d)
The
Future in the News!
AND our Presstitutes
inacton!
Michael
Moore has his recipe for "fixing things in the
good old US of
A. What I
don't like is the fact that though I agree and
do some of the things; I cannot seem to think
that it will help. (102209d)
Mark
Weisbrot has it that America's
Real Quagmire is what is seen through the media
as "discussions" of
policy. The
example in the article is a recent group
analyzing Afghan policy. The group represented
the military, arms industry and known hawks.
Nowhere were the 52% of Americans who want to
see an end to the conflict represented. This
happens over and over. Obama is in this up to
his neck. (102309d)
Taegan Goddard's political
wire reports on something I've thought of but
had no indication of, until now.
A
pollster cooking books? Not just an ordinary,
run of the mill type either, but a respected
one. The issue
comes to light because their cover up is so
sloppy. Has one wonder about other things as
well. (092609e)
Frank Rich reports on
the
rise of Glen Beck, a weirdo for sure, but one
who is tapping into the incoherent rage that is
stalking America's
soul. If the
economy has a further slump, as some predict,
then we may expect the violence that is born of
such anger. (092009d)
Rosemary
and Walter Brasch report on how the big news
companies get it wrong in their mad dash to "get
it first."
(091909d)
Ira
Chermus, two Zionisms, two
reports, two futures and two presents, which set
of possibilities will form the basis for moving
forward in the muddle east?
I would
suspect that these reports will change little
"on the ground" and for that reason may only be
something of a speed bump on the highway to hell
(091909b)
From
FAIR we see a description of a "debate" on
Afghanistan.
More media madness, as if we don't have enough
already. (082509f)
Charlie
Reed reports on the
"screening" of journalists or reporters who want
to embed with US troops in Afghanistan, the same
company that is doing this screening "helped"
the US military to a similar job in
Iraq. And we
know how well that worked.
(082509e)
Max Burns reports on
the
effects virtual worlds have on the real one.
While the
examples cited are small, the article posits
their growth in scope and influence. While that
is hopeful and presented as positive - the
future remains unseen and only time will tell if
this is just a blip or the start of something
new. (082909g)
Stephen
Mulvey has it that the math does not work all
that well. Limits
will impose themselves if humans do not do it
themselves.
Time is short, but a generation hence should see
some effects of "limits."
(082509d)
This
article, from Facing South, talks about the 5.3
million Americans who, convicted of a felony are
unable to vote.
There is a
movement afoot to change that. Then, consider
this, that in the last presidential election
some 6 million voters could not vote either -
and they were not felons. So a total of some 11
million possible voters were denied voting. You
don't have to guess which party they'd mostly
vote for either. (080609c)
Dahr
Jamail and Jason Coppola report
on the "cradle to grave" connection between
violent military video shoot-em up games and the
real deal.
Recent veterans speak of how "GI Joe" was their
first recruiter. Military training simulators
make it into prime time game time. The recently
released "Gi Joe" movie is just the most recent
iteration of this trend.
(080609a)
From Cathy Ceibe, we hear
about another
weapon of mass destruction the globalist,
capitalist corporatist media's reach
and take and
spin on everything (080509c)
David
W. Moore, has a report on
the
Gallup polls of recent note and how their own
analysis of the results indicate bias
as well
framing of a question to provide misleading data
on the attitude of voters and the public at
large regarding the issue of health care. If
"good public information" is vital to a
democracy then this bias is a disservice.
(080509b)
Thom
Hartman reports on
why Reich Wing wingnuts loose millions, even
billions of dollars on conservative media and
"stink tanks".
It is because the pay of is in the billions or
hundreds of billions. How these "outlets" frame
and form the debate over taxes. (072609a)
Here
is more on the "one percenters" and what they
stand to "loose" so that others may
gain.
(072609b)
Glenn
Greenwald, covers the coverage given to the
passing of Walter Cronkite.
It seem, these
days, that I have tears in my eyes to often. I
ask, to no one really, when will we see an end
to it all, meaning the wars, corruption, bought
off media, lies, insanity and illogic passing
for "normal". (071809e)
Chris
Hedges talks about how truth, in this corporate
culture, that
of the US mainly but of the west in general, is
denied, well, buried is a more accurate term.
(070109a)
Josh
Harkinson covers what is not being covered,
apparently M.
Jackson and F Fawcett are more important than
the climate bill and even more buried in the
"news" are the bald faced lies Repuglicans are
spouting from their oily mouths.
(062009d)
Robert
Parry's overview of the
US media's efforts to misinform and promote a
violent agenda,
And cover it
all up. If you are not sick enough of their
bullshit then read on, otherwise, don't toss
your cookies. (061809h)
Eric
Boehlert points out the obvious:
Faux
News' Mr. Bill "slim Jim the Bung holer"
O'Reilly - Dimbulb and budding blubberite fans
the flames of extremist thought and fails, quite
badly, to recognize his handiwork when someone
takes action based it.
(061009c)
How
media moguls, or mongrels, such as "Blundering
Bill O'Bleary, uh, I mean O'Really, or whatever.
murder with their
words. Not
likely that he'll ever be held to account
however, nor see the light, save that which
passes between his two ears through his empty
head. (060609h)
Dominique
Soquel reports on the
role of rape in the economics of our tech age
and the
minerals used to support it. Sudan is mentioned
also, but that is all about oil, I guess.
(060109e)
A
film: Torturing Democracy details the nature of
"enhanced interrogation" as Dick "the limp one"
Cheney likes to call it.
This article,
by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, has salient
facts reiterated and some new ones, at least to
me. (053009a)
Neoccons
favor bombing
journalists
and media outlets but don't take my word for it,
read for yourself (052309d)
I'll
bet you'll be amazed to hear that the "era of
republican apologizing is
over." I mean,
with so much ground to cover, it seems like a
miracle. Of course, reality is that they have
not even begun that era, however welcome it
might be. (052309a)
If
you want a measure of how influential the
conservative press has been or Israel's "lobby"
is, just read the opinion polls quoted here,
you'd think we were at war with
Iran.
(052209f)
In
March, a Rasmussen poll reported that
nearly
one-third of Americans under 40 say they get
more of their news from Jon Stewart, Stephen
Colbert and other late night comedy
shows than
they do from traditional sources of news
(051709a) No matter what they really "mean" by
"getting news" it is disturbing that this effect
is even measurable, much less effective in
swaying voters
The
means of media and entertainment have gone
through changes over the last century of
so, radio was
revolutionary once and changed the media and
entertainment industry as did movies as did
television as does the internet and things like
"twitter". Each time the old fights for its
life, as the papers do now.
(051009b)
Here's
a couple of links you might like, first talks
about how public
opinion is, surprise surprise, against
torture