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Showing posts from May 24, 2007

Another Day in the Empire

Another Day in the Empire : "Of course, for Romney, Tancredo, and a whole lot of other Republicans and Democrats, there is nothing wrong with “covert action” in Iran, that is to say destabilizing the country through terrorism and funding outlaw political groups. "

Foreign Affairs - How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor - C. Ford Runge and Benjamin Senauer

Foreign Affairs - How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor - C. Ford Runge and Benjamin Senauer In 1974, as the United States was reeling from the oil embargo imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Congress took the first of many legislative steps to promote ethanol made from corn as an alternative fuel. On April 18, 1977, amid mounting calls for energy independence, President Jimmy Carter donned his cardigan sweater and appeared on television to tell Americans that balancing energy demands with available domestic resources would be an effort the "moral equivalent of war." The gradual phaseout of lead in the 1970s and 1980s provided an additional boost to the fledgling ethanol industry. (Lead, a toxic substance, is a performance enhancer when added to gasoline, and it was partly replaced by ethanol.) A series of tax breaks and subsidies also helped. In spite of these measures, with each passing year the United States became more dependent on imported petroleu...

Bosnia strips citizenship from Muslim fighters - Independent Online Edition > Europe

Bosnia strips citizenship from Muslim fighters - Independent Online Edition > Europe : "They came from Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere, and were rewarded with Bosnian nationality by the government of Ali Isetbegovic. But now the government is to strip hundreds of the former mujahedin of their nationality and send them back to their countries of origin, even though they are no longer citizens there."

terror state

: "Amnesty: Threefold increase in killings of Palestinians by IDF in 2006 Human rights group’s annual report slams Israel’s activity in the territories, says settlers, soldiers committed ‘serious human rights abuses’; report also says Jewish state committed war crimes during Second Lebanon War "

Not a "Compromise," It's a Blank Check

Not a "Compromise," It's a Blank Check : "the willingness of Pelosi and Reid to advance a measure that does not include a withdrawal timeline allows Bush to conduct the war as he chooses for much if not all of the remainder of his presidency. This failure to abide by the will of the people who elected Democrats to end the war will haunt Pelosi, Reid and their party -- not to mention the United States and the battered shell that is Iraq. "

Sunni Resistance Receptive to Sadr Alliance - by Gareth Porter

Sunni Resistance Receptive to Sadr Alliance - by Gareth Porter Nationalist Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's bid to unite Sunnis and Shi'ites on the basis of a common demand for withdrawal of U.S. occupation forces, reported last weekend by the Washington Post's Sudarsan Raghavan, seems likely to get a positive response from Sunni armed resistance.