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Iraq too dangerous for many professionals - Los Angeles Times At a time when the Iraqi government is encouraging its citizens to return and the U.S. military is highlighting security gains across Iraq, the Shakirs want out. They see no future here for Iraqis such as themselves: well educated, affluent, secular or non-Muslim. Their imminent departure is a major problem facing Iraq, which has suffered a brain drain in the last five years and is struggling to lure back or hang on to educated professionals. In June, the government raised civil servant salaries 50% to 75% to attract state employees such as teachers and doctors, many of whom were fired after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Iraq's Ministry of Displacement and Migration says tens of thousands of people have returned since last fall. But more than 2.5 million Iraqis have fled, and the exodus continues. Political and business leaders believe it will be many years before the loss of professionals can b...

 Haiti: In Solidarity with its Five Freedoms      : Information Clearing House - ICH : "Today the acid test for all democrats in North and South America is the issue of the military occupation of Haiti ,the economic pillage and denial of elementary political and human rights of the Haitian people. In 2004 a US-led invasion force overthrew the democratically elected government of Jean Bertrand Aristide and subsequently promoted and organized an occupation army. This colonial military force has repeatedly violently repressed popular demonstrations, violently raided the neighborhoods of the poor and killed, wounded and arrested Haitians who were affirming their rights of self-determination and an end to foreign occupation. Since the United States bears major responsibility for the invasion, occupation and subsequent pillage and privatization of essential public services, we have a special responsibility to speak out clearly and forcefully to the United Nations (UN) in support of Hait...

 South Africa: the liberation's betrayal      : Information Clearing House - ICH The political rupture in South Africa is being presented in the outside world as the personal tragedy and humiliation of one man, Thabo Mbeki. It is reminiscent of the beatification of Nelson Mandela at the death of apartheid. This is not to diminish the power of personalities, but their importance is often as a distraction from the historical forces they serve and manage. Frantz Fanon had this in mind when, in The Wretched of the Earth, he described the “historic mission” of much of Africa’s post-colonial ruling class as “that of intermediary [whose] mission has nothing to do with transforming the nation: it consists, prosaically, of being the transmission line between the nation and a capitalism, rampant though camouflaged.” Mbeki’s fall and the collapse of Wall Street are concurrent and related events, as they were predictable. Glimpse back to 1985 when the Johannesburg stock market crashed and the ...

When is a Holocaust Not a Holocaust?      : Information Clearing House - ICH : "Although the 'surge' has failed as policy, it appears to be succeeding as propaganda. It seems to be the only thing that supporters of the war have to point to, and so they point, and they point, and they point. Allow me to point out that while there has been a reduction in violence in Iraq -- now down to a level that virtually any other society in the world would find horrible and intolerable, including Iraqi society before the US invasion and occupation -- we must keep in mind that thanks to this lovely little war more than half the population of Iraq is either dead, crippled, traumatized, confined in overflowing American and Iraqi prisons, internally displaced, or in foreign exile.

VOA News - Activists to Again Defy Blockade to Bring Gaza Aid An activist group says it will defy Israel's blockade of the Gaza strip for a second time to deliver aid to Palestinians. U.S.-based "Free Gaza" organizer Greta Berlin said Tuesday a group of about 20 activists will sail Wednesday from Cyprus to Gaza. Berlin says the group includes Nobel peace prize winner Mairead McGuire of Ireland and at least three doctors. She says the group will deliver medicine to Palestinians. "Free Gaza" first defied Israel's blockade of Gaza in August when a group of 44 activists sailed with aid supplies to the coastal territory. The activists were the first foreigners to enter the territory by sea since Hamas seized power in June 2007 and Israel tightened its travel restrictions. Israeli officials allowed the boats in August to reach Gaza and sail back to Cyprus in order to avoid public confrontation. The Israeli government has not said if it will allow the group to reac...

BBC NEWS | UK | Afghan victory hopes played down Brig Mark Carleton-Smith told the Sunday Times the aim of the mission was to ensure the Afghan army was able to manage the country on its own. He said this could involve discussing security with the Taleban. When international troops eventually leave Afghanistan, there may still be a "low but steady" level of rural insurgency, he conceded. He said it was unrealistic to expect that multinational forces would be able to wipe out armed bands of insurgents in the country. The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says Brig Carleton-Smith's comments echo a view commonly-held, if rarely aired, by British military and diplomatic officials in Afghanistan. Many believe certain legitimate elements of the Taleban represent the positions of the Afghan people and so should be a part of the country's future, says our correspondent.

Woman, 90, facing eviction, shoots herself | Wake Up From Your Slumber A 90-year-old Akron woman, about to be evicted from her La Croix Avenue home for failing to pay her mortgage, apparently shot herself Wednesday while Summit County sheriff's deputies were knocking on her door. A neighbor and the deputies found Addie Polk in an upstairs bedroom suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to her upper body. A handgun was found near her. She was taken to Akron General Medical Center, police said, and is expected to recover. Akron police are investigating the incident.