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More on the real reason behind high oil prices

More on the real reason behind high oil prices The US Government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its most recent monthly Short Term Energy Outlook report, concluded that US oil demand is expected to decline by 190,000 b/d in 2008. That is mainly owing to the deepening economic recession. Chinese consumption, the EIA says, far from exploding, is expected to rise this year by only 400,000 barrels a day. That is hardly the "surging oil demand" blamed on China in the media. Last year China imported 3.2 million barrels per day, and its estimated usage was around 7 million b/d total. The US, by contrast, consumes around 20.7 million b/d. That means the key oil consuming nation, the USA, is experiencing a significant drop in demand. China, which consumes only a third of the oil the US does, will see a minor rise in import demand compared with the total daily world oil output of some 84 million barrels, less than half of a percent of the total demand.

allAfrica.com: Sudan: Abyei Conflict Threatens to Escalate (Page 1 of 1)

allAfrica.com: Sudan: Abyei Conflict Threatens to Escalate (Page 1 of 1) : "Renewed fighting in the oil-rich Abyei region over the past two weeks has destroyed the town of Abyei and displaced tens of thousands of local Dinka from their homes. The peace deal signed in 2005 - that incredible achievement ending a decades-long north-south civil war - could unravel in Abyei. The fighting groups, the National Congress Party-controlled Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the ex-rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), are the same parties that signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement three years ago. Starting long before the Darfur crisis ever hit the headlines, this war lasted over 20 years and cost the lives of over two million people. The Agreement created an autonomous southern government that shares a significant portion of the country's wealth. It calls for national elections in 2009, and a southern self-determination referendum in 2011."

Captain+Iraq+Polish.jpg (image)

Captain+Iraq+Polish.jpg (image)

Opposition mounts to US-Iraq security deal

Opposition mounts to US-Iraq security deal : "Tens of thousands rallied in several cities Friday against a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, raising doubts that negotiators can meet a July target to finalize a pact to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after the current U.N. mandate expires. Although U.S. officials insist they are not seeking permanent bases, suspicion runs deep among many Iraqis that the Americans want to keep at least some troops in the country for many years. 'We denounce the government's intentions to sign a long-term agreement with the occupying forces,' Asaad al-Nassiri, a sheik loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said during a sermon in Kufa. 'Our army will be under their control in this agreement, and this will lead to them having permanent bases in Iraq.'"

Al Jazeera English - News - Iraqis Rally Over Us Security Deal

Al Jazeera English - News - Iraqis Rally Over Us Security Deal : "Tens of thousands of Iraqi Shia have taken to the streets of Baghdad and other cities to protest against a long-term security deal with the US. The rallies after Friday prayers follow a call by Muqtada al-Sadr for weekly protests against the deal that could lead to more US troops and a long-term US presence."

Al Jazeera English - News - Doha Red Carpet Awaits Sami Al-Hajj

Al Jazeera English - News - Doha Red Carpet Awaits Sami Al-Hajj : "Sami al-Hajj, an Al Jazeera cameraman released from Guantanamo Bay earlier this month, is set to return to Qatar. Al-Hajj will be accorded a public reception by the news network on arriving in Doha on Saturday. He spent six years in the US detention centre without being formally charged."

Al Jazeera English - News - Somalia's Rivals Launch Peace Talks

Al Jazeera English - News - Somalia's Rivals Launch Peace Talks Somali government officials and exiled opposition leaders are holding talks in an attempt to find a way to resolve one of Africa's most entrenched conflicts. The talks in neighbouring Djibouti on Saturday will include seven members of the transitional government of Nur Hassan Hussein, the Somali prime minister, and seven opposition leaders.

blackagendareport.com - Barack Obama versus Black Self-Determination

blackagendareport.com - Barack Obama versus Black Self-Determination : "One of the great ironies of the current campaign season, is the assumption by so many Black voters that by supporting Barack Obama for president, they are making a real contribution to African American self-determination. Nothing could be further from the truth. The candidate, himself, is mightily opposed to the principle of African American self-determination, as he revealed in great detail and beyond doubt in rejecting Rev. Jeremiah Wright's narrative on America's origins."

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 05/29/2008 | Iraqis claim Marines are pushing Christianity in Fallujah

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 05/29/2008 | Iraqis claim Marines are pushing Christianity in Fallujah : "FALLUJAH, Iraq — At the western entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah Tuesday, Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure that he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand. Out of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. 'Where will you spend eternity?' it asked. He flipped it over, and on the other side it read, 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16.'"

The Road to Kuwait

The Road to Kuwait : "Any doubts about whether the United States should begin to withdraw completely from Iraq’s multiple internal conflicts should have been dispelled by the recent testimony of Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker and the Iraqi government’s foray into Basra. Neither the general nor the ambassador could say how and when American involvement will end, or why the Iraqi government is not making meaningful political progress. The best example of progress that Crocker could point to was agreement on a new national flag. General Petraeus kept repeating that the security environment was fragile, uneven, and reversible. He could not give a satisfactory answer to the question of whether the war in Iraq is making us safer."

Why Doesn't al-Qaeda Attack the US? - by Michael Scheuer

Why Doesn't al-Qaeda Attack the US? - by Michael Scheuer So, Americans can relax a bit, go to the movies or the mall, and stop afterwards for coffee or pizza without worrying too much about al-Qaeda launching small-scale attacks. For now, Americans should see themselves as being in standby mode for the larger-than-9/11 attack bin Laden eventually will trigger because the last two U.S. administrations and Senators McCain, Clinton, and Obama have warned about the severe Islamist threat, while knowingly encouraging its worldwide growth by championing status quo foreign policies that degrade U.S. security, as well as by supinely appeasing their Saudi and Israeli masters.

A Kinder, Gentler Torture -- In These Times

A Kinder, Gentler Torture -- In These Times : "While staying at his in-law’s village in Afghanistan in December 2001, Abdul Hamid Al-Ghizzawi, my client at Guantánamo, knew little of Bush and Cheney. Later, when vigilante thugs turned him over to the Northern Alliance for an American bounty, Al-Ghizzawi knew nothing of Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, Jay Bybee, John Yoo or Matthew Waxman — the man who would become Al-Ghizzawi’s personal war criminal and who is now a professor at Columbia Law School."

The Daily Star - Politics - Death toll in Mogadishu attack on AU troops rises to 18

The Daily Star - Politics - Death toll in Mogadishu attack on AU troops rises to 18 : "MOGADISHU: The death toll from a fierce clash sparked by an Islamist insurgent attack on a Ugandan base in Mogadishu rose to 18 on Tuesday, witnesses and officials told AFP. Late Monday, a large group of insurgents attacked a major base in the Somali capital housing a Ugandan contingent of African Union (AU) peacekeepers. According to initial reports, 11 civilians as well as two attackers were killed in the ensuing exchange of fire."

ei: "Now we have nothing left"

ei: "Now we have nothing left" "They came at four in the morning with two bulldozers, and they left before 8:00am. I own this chicken farm with my three brothers, and we worked day and night for 18 years to build up our business. The Israelis destroyed everything in less than four hours." Nasser Jaber's chicken farm was bulldozed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) 10 days ago, in the early morning hours of 16 May, while he was sleeping at home in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. He still looks stunned. Wearily, he guides us round the ruins of his 18-year business. "This was a lifetime project for me and my brothers" he says as we clamber over rubble, wire, shattered sheets of metal and thousands of putrefying chickens. "I have never belonged to any political faction, and I have never bejavascript:void(0) Publish Posten to jail. I don't know why they did this." The farm workers who are starting to clear some of the rubble are all wea...

allAfrica.com: Somalia: Islamist Rebels in Secret Deal With Kismayo Port Militia (Page 1 of 1)

allAfrica.com: Somalia: Islamist Rebels in Secret Deal With Kismayo Port Militia (Page 1 of 1) Islamist rebels spearheading a bloody insurgency against Somalia's UN-endorsed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) have entered into a secretive agreement with the clan militia ruling the southern port of Kismayo, reliable local sources tell Garowe Online. Earlier this week, Kismayo's ruling clan militia leaders met secretly with guerrilla commanders loyal to the Islamic Courts and al Shabaab, splinter groups within Somalia's fractured Islamist movement.

allAfrica.com: South Africa: African Governments Begin Repatriating Its Nationals (Page 1 of 2)

allAfrica.com: South Africa: African Governments Begin Repatriating Its Nationals (Page 1 of 2) Chris Mapanga, of the Zimbabwean consulate in Johannesburg, said his government was "organising voluntary repatriations and the work is in progress. We are at a very advanced stage." He declined to reveal the numbers of those requesting repatriation or when the repatriations would begin, and what type of transport would be used. "It is not like an instant lightning strike. Xenophobia starts at 1 p.m. and then the buses [for those wanting to be repatriated] leave at 1.30 p.m.," he told IRIN. Mapanga said research indicated that there were about 800,000 to one million Zimbabweans in South Africa; other estimates have put the number of people who have fled the eight-year recession at more than three million. Annual inflation in Zimbabwe is unofficially estimated at 1,000,000 percent, with severe shortages of food, fuel and energy. Widespread reports of violence ahead of Zimb...

Garowe Online - Home

Garowe Online - Home : "KISMAYO, Somalia May 18 (Garowe Online) - Islamist rebels in Somalia seized control of two more towns in the central and southern parts of the country, sources said. In Somalia's central Mudug region, the town of Harardhere fell to the control of Islamist rebels Sunday morning. Locals said the rebels were driving unarmed vehicles, but each fighter carried a rifle and other weaponry. A rebel commander told Harardhere residents that the Islamists would not allow illegal militiamen to set up extortion roadblocks in or around the town. The commander, who did not identify himself, told locals that the Islamists would fight against piracy in the region. The town of Harardhere lies along Somalia's Indian Ocean coast and has been renowned in recent years as a hub for pirate activities."

Al Jazeera English - News - Palestinian Memory Cannot Be Erased

Al Jazeera English - News - Palestinian Memory Cannot Be Erased US president George Bush's attempt, at the World Trade Economic Forum in Egypt, to ease Arab anger over his speech to the Knesset is too feeble and too late. Bush had addressed the Israeli parliament, on Israel's 60th anniversary three days ago, saying the establishment of Israel had been "the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham and Moses and David - a homeland for the chosen people Eretz Yisrael".

EXPOSÉ: THE “CHRISTIAN” MAFIA

EXPOSÉ: THE “CHRISTIAN” MAFIA : "A fter several months of in-depth research and, at first, seemingly unrelated conversations with former high-level intelligence officials, lawyers, politicians, religious figures, other investigative journalists, and researchers, I can now report on a criminal conspiracy so vast and monstrous it defies imagination. Using “Christian” groups as tax-exempt and cleverly camouflaged covers, wealthy right-wing businessmen and “clergy” have now assumed firm control over the biggest prize of all – the government of the United States of America. First, some housekeeping is in order. My use of the term “Christian” is merely to clearly identify the criminal conspirators who have chosen to misuse their self-avowed devotion to Jesus Christ to advance a very un-Christian agenda. The term “Christian Mafia” is what several Washington politicians have termed the major conspirators and it is not intended to debase Christians or infer that they are criminals . I will...

BBC NEWS | Africa | Thousands flee S Africa attacks

BBC NEWS | Africa | Thousands flee S Africa attacks Some Zimbabweans say they will go home, despite the political violence there, rather than face attacks in South Africa. The front pages of several South African newspapers on Monday show a horrific image of a man being burnt to death. The police say they have made more than 200 arrests for crimes including murder, rape and robbery. "We're not talking about xenophobia, we're talking about criminality," said police spokesman Govindsamy Mariemuthoo. He said police reservists and officers from other regions had been called in to help quell the violence, reports the AP news agency.

A War Criminal Sanchez Puts the Blame on the Bush Regime.

Sanchez may have been commander in Iraq, but he says he was just following orders - Yahoo! News : "Sanchez said he advised President Bush not to go into Fallujah in April 2004 after four private security contractors were taken hostage and killed. Their burned bodies were hung from a bridge as Iraqis celebrated beneath them. The widely circulated photos were grotesque. Sanchez said he feared that proponents of attacking Fallujah were being driven by a knee-jerk reaction to the photos and not by any consideration of the difficulty of moving into the city, which had been a troublesome redoubt of anti-American insurgents since the day U.S. troops toppled Saddam."

A Soldier Refuses to Participate in American Terror.

Soldier Refuses Iraq Tour, Citing 'Stomach-Churning Horrors' - by Aaron Glantz : "A US Army soldier who served as a military journalist in Afghanistan, Japan, Europe and the Philippines announced Thursday his intent to refuse orders to deploy to Iraq. 'As an Army journalist whose job it was to collect and filter service members' stories, I heard many stomach-churning testimonies of the horrors of the crimes taking place in Iraq,' said Sergeant Matthis Chiroux, 24, in an announcement under the rotunda of the House of Representative's Cannon Office Building. 'For fear of retaliation from the military, I failed to report these crimes, but never again will I allow fear to silence me. Never again will I fail to stand,' he said. Chiroux said he's aware he will likely face prosecution for refusing the deployment, but said, 'I choose to remain in the United States to defend myself from charges brought by the Army if they are willing to pursue them. ...

: Information Clearing House - ICH

: Watch the Video - ICH "This Advice Mr , Bush Shut The Hell Up" Special Comment By Keith Olbermann Anchor, 'Countdown' - MSNBC The war in Iraq, your war, Mr. Bush, is about how you accomplished the derangement of two nations, and how you helped funnel billions of taxpayer dollars to lascivious and perennially thirsty corporations like Halliburton and Blackwater, and how you sent 4,000 Americans to their deaths for nothing.

media alerts

media alerts The War On Terror... And The Real Concern The preferred media framework for making sense of US actions closely parallels cold war mythology. We are to believe the US is passionately, even blindly, battling ideological enemies in an effort to protect itself and the West. Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland could be relied upon to paint this picture of events: “A fortnight ago the Ethiopians entered Somalia to topple the Islamist forces who had just taken Mogadishu. Americans dislike that Islamist movement, fearing it has the makings of an African Taliban, so they backed the Ethiopians to take it out. According to Patrick Smith, the editor of Africa Confidential, the war on terror is fast becoming a cold war for the 21st century, with the US finding proxy allies to fight proxy enemies in faraway places.” (Freedland, ‘Like a deluded compulsive gambler, Bush is fuelling a new cold war,’ The Guardian, January 10, 2007) If this sounds curiously simplistic, even childish, it is...

Tom Cruise, Ben Stiller wish Israel happy anniversary - Haaretz - Israel News

Tom Cruise, Ben Stiller wish Israel happy anniversary - Haaretz - Israel News : "Tom Cruise, Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and Kirk and Michael Douglas make up a list of some of the Hollywood glitterati that beginning Tuesday can be seen on giant screens in New York's Times Square sending Independence Day greetings on the 60th anniversary of Israel's establishment."

Ahmadinejad predicts Israel will be 'swept away' by Palestinians - Haaretz - Israel News

Ahmadinejad predicts Israel will be 'swept away' by Palestinians - Haaretz - Israel News : "In Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's latest verbal outburst against Israel, the Iranian President said Tuesday that it would 'be soon swept away' by the Palestinians. 'This terrorist and criminal state is backed by foreign powers, but this regime would soon be swept away by the Palestinians,' Ahmadinejad said in a press conference in Tehran."

 Gulf Seen Between Democracy in Theory and Practice: Survey : Information Clearing House - ICH

 Gulf Seen Between Democracy in Theory and Practice: Survey : Information Clearing House - ICH The belief that governments were being run by "a few big interests" was particularly pervasive in Ukraine (84 percent), Mexico (83 percent), the United States (80 percent), Nigeria and South Korea (78 percent), and Argentina (71 percent).

Al Jazeera English - News - Palestinians Mark The 'Nakba'

Al Jazeera English - News - Palestinians Mark The 'Nakba' : "Palestinians have held protests across the occupied territories to mark the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, or 'catastrophe', when they were uprooted from their homes by the establishment of Israel. In the West Bank on Thursday, rallies and sirens commemorated the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the 1948 war."

Informed Comment: Is Obama the Apostate, or is Bush? A Reply to Luttwak

Informed Comment: Is Obama the Apostate, or is Bush? A Reply to Luttwak Barack Obama never accepted or practiced Islam as an adult (which would be age 15 in Islamic law) and therefore according to classical Islamic jurisprudence cannot be an apostate. Peters and DeVries are Arabists and are among the foremost scholars on Islamic law, unlike Luttwak, who does not have the slightest idea what he is talking about. Luttwak has no doubt been misled by some Salafi, modernist-fundamentalist fatwa, which departs from the great Islamic legal traditions, and he has mistakenly taken it to be representative of Islamic law. Or, I don't know, maybe some minor jurist in the minority Hanbali tradition dissents. But to characterize these minority traditions or idiosyncratic views as representative of Islam as a whole would be like declaring Pat Robertson's interpretation of Christianity more legitimate than that of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Food prices in Ethiopia continue to soar :: Ethiopian Review

Food prices in Ethiopia continue to soar :: Ethiopian Review : "(Panapress) — Food prices in Ethiopia have continued to soar with reports of an alarming hike of the cost of the cheapest grain, maize, in some markets of the drought-hit Somali Region reaching 700 birr (about US$70) per 100-kg bag, up from about 350 birr (US$35). Meanwhile, poor performance of the short rains (belg) season in the first half of the year has forced farmers to switch to planting early maturing crops, according to reports by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Food Programme (WFP). In a weekly update on the food situation in the east African country, the two agencies Tuesday said that the impact of the rains had been limited in Somali, Oromiya, Amhara, Tigray and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) regions. Approximately 80 percent of farmers were switching to plantation of early maturing crops after missing the chance to plant long cycle crops due to...

blackagendareport.com - Freedom Rider: America Brings Hell to Somalia

blackagendareport.com - Freedom Rider: America Brings Hell to Somalia The U.S. "war on terror" is in fact a war on international law and civilization, a catch-all category of assaults on the weak. Under the anti-terror banner, Washington grinds Somalia into the sand, through hi-tech weaponry and the deployment of Ethiopian surrogates. No more rationale is offered for murderous aggression in the Horn of Africa than the presence of people the U.S. calls "Islamists" - a label designed to excuse any and all American crimes against Muslims. "More than 600,000 Somalis have fled from their homes and at least 6,000 are dead." The savaging of Somalia is nonpartisan - Democrats are as bloody-handed as Republicans. "It takes foolish optimism to think that the willing accomplices to crime will change their ways when Bush is gone."

George Monbiot: The survivors' stories leave no doubt: Guantánamo makes us all less safe | Comment is free | The Guardian

George Monbiot: The survivors' stories leave no doubt: Guantánamo makes us all less safe | Comment is free | The Guardian : "In reading the histories of Guantánamo, and of the kidnappings, extrajudicial detention and torture the US government (helped by the United Kingdom) has pursued around the world, two things become clear. The first is that these practices do not supplement effective investigation and prosecution; they replace them. Instead of a process which generates evidence, assesses it and uses it to prosecute, the US has deployed a process that generates nonsense and is incapable of separating the guilty from the innocent. The second is that far from protecting innocent lives, this process is likely to deliver further atrocities. Even if you put the ethics of such treatment to one side, it is surely evident that it makes the world more dangerous."

Collapse of the Fourth Estate -- In These Times

Collapse of the Fourth Estate -- In These Times In March, on the five-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the nation’s major news outlets reflected on the war and what led us to the half-decade mark. But few evaluated their own roles in the disaster that has maimed countless Iraqis and U.S. troops, killed hundreds of thousands and, according to economists Linda Blimes and Joesph Stiglitz, could ultimately cost up to $3 trillion. Fortunately, two new books do examine the media’s role. Greg Mitchell’s So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits — and the President — Failed on Iraq (Union Square, March 2008) lays out a timeline of the media’s damning missteps, while When the Press Fails: Political Power and the News Media from Iraq to Katrina (University of Chicago, May 2007), co-authored by W. Lance Bennett, Regina G. Lawrence and Steven Livingston, shows how these missteps are not aberrations, but byproducts of the American press. In So Wrong, Mitchell, the editor at...

The Push to Privatize PEMEX -- In These Times

The Push to Privatize PEMEX -- In These Times : "Halliburton is licking its chops at the prospect of Mexico’s state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos going private. Petróleos Mexicanos, or PEMEX, withstood a tsunami of privatizations of formerly state-owned companies in the late 1980s and ’90s. But now, with pro-business President Felipe Calderón in office, the effort is being revisited — and the Mexican left is coming out en masse to defend the 70-year-old company, a long-time source of national pride and a symbol of Mexican sovereignty. On April 8, Calderón, who served as energy secretary under former President Vicente Fox, proposed a reform package that calls for forging “strategic alliances” with private oil companies and opening 37 of PEMEX’s 41 divisions to private subcontractors. Although Calderón carefully specified that the reforms would not amount to privatization, many in Mexico are not convinced. The Mexican Constitution forbids private drillers from reaping profits from oil d...

The Vendetta Against Black Men -- In These Times

The Vendetta Against Black Men -- In These Times : "Despite the rise of Sen. Barack Obama, black men remain in the bull’s-eye of governmental repression and police brutality. The government is currently re-trying six black men who have already faced two hung juries in a case accusing them of planning to blow up both the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Miami FBI headquarters. Known as the “Liberty City 7,” after the low-income Miami neighborhood in which they lived, the seven arrested men could soon become domestic casualties in the war on terror. (In December, the jury acquitted one of the men but then deadlocked on the remaining six. On April 16, a second trial also ended with a hung jury.)"

Axle of Evil -- In These Times

Axle of Evil -- In These Times : "The strike began Feb. 26, when AAM demanded steep wage concessions, from $27 per hour to $14 per hour. In order to stay in business, AAM says, it must secure “competitive” labor costs. “AAM is simply asking for the same changes the UAW has already agreed to with our U.S. competitors,” reads the company website, referring to recent UAW deals with companies like Delphi — GM’s bankrupt auto-parts division — which slashed wages and benefits two years ago. AAM has said it may move production to its Guanajuato, Mexico, plant if its demands are not met. However, Rob Segura, a machinist at AAM’s Detroit plant, points out that the company is in much better financial shape than the rest of the auto industry. The company turned a $37 million profit last year, while its main competitor, the Dana Corporation, only recently emerged from bankruptcy protection."

Arab Hater: It makes you sick!

Media Matters - Imus corrected Dietl's slur against Arabs: "It's, uh, 'camel humpers' " : "While discussing the rising price of gasoline on the May 12 edition of ABC Radio Networks' Imus in the Morning, frequent guest of the show Richard 'Bo' Dietl said that 'there should be a congressional investigation ... into all these former presidents,' before asking: 'What kind of money is being influxitated [sic] into their libaries [sic]? I'm talking about this guy sitting across from me, Bill Clinton. They have hundreds of millions of dollars that were pumped in there from these Aba Daba Doos over there in the Middle East, controlling the oil. Right now in the Middle East, you've got Saudi Arabia, who's got their finger. Why doesn't Fredo [President Bush] get on his Air Force One, fly over to Riyadh, get those little hamel humpers over there, sit 'em down, and say, 'Look, we got our F-16s --' ' Host Don Imu...

Media Matters - Military analysts named in Times exposé appeared or were quoted more than 4,500 times on broadcast nets, cables, NPR

Media Matters - Military analysts named in Times exposé appeared or were quoted more than 4,500 times on broadcast nets, cables, NPR Summary: A New York Times article detailed the connection between numerous media military analysts and the Pentagon and defense industries, reporting that "the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform" media military analysts "into a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks." A Media Matters review found that since January 1, 2002, the analysts named in the Times article -- many identified as having ties to the defense industry -- collectively appeared or were quoted as experts more than 4,500 times on ABC, ABC News Now, CBS, CBS Radio Network, NBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and NPR.

Oromo American Citizen Council joins May 15 rally :: Ethiopian Review

Oromo American Citizen Council joins May 15 rally :: Ethiopian Review : "We in the Oromo American Citizen Council are writing this letter to declare that we are joining our sisters and brothers of Ethiopia in the March for Freedom, Justice and Human Rights to be held on May 15 - 18, 2008, especially remembering those who fought and died for human rights, freedom, and democracy in Ethiopia. We are not only commemorating the abortive elections of May 2005, but the event will also serve as a reminder and commemoration of all the atrocities against Ethiopia and its people throughout Ethiopia since 1992."

UN says Ethiopians, Somalis crossing Gulf of Aden doubled :: Ethiopian Review

UN says Ethiopians, Somalis crossing Gulf of Aden doubled :: Ethiopian Review The U.N. refugee agency reports the number of people arriving on the coast of Yemen after being smuggled across the treacherous Gulf of Aden from the Horn of Africa has more than doubled this year. At the same time, the UNHCR says the number of deaths has gone down by half. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says that by the latter part of April, more than 15,300 people reportedly arrived in Yemen. About 360 were reported killed or missing during the hazardous voyage. UN refugee agency spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis says records show that during the same period last year more than 7,000 people had arrived in Yemen and about the same number had perished.

blackagendareport.com - Running to the Right: Barack Obama and the DLC Strategy

blackagendareport.com - Running to the Right: Barack Obama and the DLC Strategy by BAR Managing Editor Bruce DixonThe fragility of Barack Obama's DLC-inspired electoral strategy is now exposed for all to see. Obama has chosen to “reach out” to white and Republican voters while challenging none of their assumptions about America, racism or empire, at the same time, counting on on a deaf and blind black nationalism to shield him from accountability to African Americans. Republicans (and Hillary Clinton) know all they need do to counter him is prove to whites that he is not as conservative as he seems. Obama will thus be forced scramble relentlessly rightward from here on, disowning, denouncing and dishonoring any and all stirrings of black or grassroots militancy to keep white support without telling white America anything it doesn't want to know.

A DIY journalist's account of what he saw in Iraq | World news | The Guardian

A DIY journalist's account of what he saw in Iraq | World news | The Guardian : "Texas-born Dahr Jamail was outraged that the US media were swallowing the Bush administration's line on Iraq and so, with just $2,000 and no previous journalistic experience, he set off to find out what was really happening in the country. He talks to Stephen Moss"

Judge May Make CIA Torture Memo Public, ACLU Lawsuit Prompted A Federal Judge To Examine The Controversial Document - CBS News

Judge May Make CIA Torture Memo Public, ACLU Lawsuit Prompted A Federal Judge To Examine The Controversial Document - CBS News : "U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein issued the order after he had earlier said the 18-page memo did not have to be turned over to the American Civil Liberties Union because it was protected by attorney-client privilege. The ACLU said it believes the memo includes a section addressing the subject of waterboarding, which simulates drowning. Hellerstein said he reconsidered his ruling after hearing from both sides again on the subject. The CIA must turn the item over for review on Monday."

Garowe Online - Home

Garowe Online - Home : "BELETWEIN, Somalia May 9 (Garowe Online) - A notorious warlord in central Somalia has returned to his former seat of power at a provincial capital after being forced to flee in April by Islamist guerrillas. Yusuf Daboged, the former governor of Hiran region, told reporters by telephone that he is the 'legitimate' governor of Hiran. Mr. Daboged said he is in the outskirts of Beletwein, the capital of Hiran, although hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers backed by armored trucks entered the town early Friday for the first time in weeks."

Al Jazeera English - News - Sadr Aide Criticises Iraq's Sistani

Al Jazeera English - News - Sadr Aide Criticises Iraq's Sistani : "An aide to Muqtada al-Sadr has lashed out at Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shia cleric, for keeping silent over clashes that have killed hundreds in Baghdad. Fifteen people were killed and dozens wounded in fighting in the Sadr City district of the capital on Friday, US and Iraqi officials said."

Voices across the divide: Rami Khouri | World news | The Observer

Voices across the divide: Rami Khouri | World news | The Observer : "When Israeli, Arab and other journalists merely parrot their government lines, they do everyone a disservice. When they repeat the hysterical assumptions and flawed interpretations of their semi-crazed politicians - as I believe is common in Israel today - they become instruments of war, rather than purveyors of fact and dispassionate analysis. But when they cut through official spin and associated propaganda, and help their public understand the roots of the problem, and thus the path to its resolution, they rise to their highest professional and personal stature. So here's what I would say to journalists in Israel: read Deuteronomy and act on its moral and political principles. Deuteronomy, a pivotal book of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), is supremely relevant here because it blends the three issues that I believe Israeli, Arab and international journalists must affirm in order to honour their profes...

Rootless Cosmopolitan - By Tony Karon » Blog Archive » Israel is 60, Zionism is Dead, What Now?

Rootless Cosmopolitan - By Tony Karon » Blog Archive » Israel is 60, Zionism is Dead, What Now? : "The fact of Israel’s survival until now, and for the foreseeable future, is a grim reality for its 1 million Palestinian citizens, whose citizenship is at best, second-class – and more so for the 4 million Palestinians over which it maintains sovereign power in the West Bank and Gaza, without granting them citizenship – for whom Israel means living under an apartheid regime. And that, in turn, means that the trappings of globalized modernity enjoyed by Israel’s secular middle class – the American lifestyle, the high-tech economy and the European football – all come at the price of perennial uncertainty under a cloud of potential violence."

The Angry Arab News Service/وكالة أنباء العربي الغاضب

The Angry Arab News Service/وكالة أنباء العربي الغاضب : "Don't ever think that I forgot about Palestine and the Palestinians. Nothing distracts me from Palestine and the Palestinians. Here, Palestinian children confront Israeli occupation troops in Bethlehem. These are the Palestinians. These are my heroes. (AFP)"

TALES OF IRAQ WAR by LATUFF

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 05/08/2008 | Where did the Web rumors about Obama come from?

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 05/08/2008 | Where did the Web rumors about Obama come from? : "Some things about Barack Obama rub some voters the wrong way. 'We don't need a Muslim,' said Jannay Smith, a retiree from Kokomo, Ind. 'Who's to say if he gets in there what he'll do?' Added Steve Shallenberger, a Kokomo electrician: 'He's just calling himself a Christian because he knows that's what we in Indiana want to hear.' Then there's Sherry Richey, also from Kokomo: 'He wouldn't put his hand on the Bible; he wanted the Quran. He won't put his hand over his heart during the anthem or say the Pledge of Allegiance. He's too un-American.'"

Israel's Original Sin

Israel's Original Sin Sixty years ago, a 12-year-old boy witnessed the slaughter of his family. His name was Fahim Zaydan, and he lived in the Arab village of Deir Yassin in Mandate Palestine, which was attacked on April 9, 1948, by Irgun and Stern Gang troops, paramilitary forces allied with the right-wing of the Zionist movement. These troops swooped into the village and started machine gunning civilians. Those that survived this initial attack were then forced by the troops to gather outside. "They took us out one after the other," Zaydan recalled. "Shot an old man and when one of his daughters cried, she was shot too. Then they called my brother Muhammad, and shot him in front of us, and when my mother yelled, bending over him -- carrying my little sister Hudra in her hands, still breastfeeding her -- they shot her too."

Al Jazeera English - News - Nasrallah Hits Out At Government

Al Jazeera English - News - Nasrallah Hits Out At Government : "Hezbollah's leader has warned any crackdown by the government on the Shia organistaion would be tantamount to a 'declaration of war'. Hassan Nasrallah's comments were broadcast on television on Thursday, as street clashes in Lebanon between government loyalists and opposition supporters entered a second day. Soon after his speech was broadcast, gunfire was heard across Beirut."

Who Are the Latest Gitmo Detainees to Be Released? - by Andy Worthington

Who Are the Latest Gitmo Detainees to Be Released? - by Andy Worthington : "On the cargo plane containing Sami al-Haj that landed in Khartoum in the early hours of May 2 were Amir Yacoub al-Amir and Walid Ali, who, like Sami, were bound like beasts for their journey despite finally being transported to freedom. Both had also been held for over six years without charge or trial, but unlike Sami, whose plight was widely publicized by al-Jazeera, by his lawyers at the legal action charity Reprieve, and by groups campaigning for the rights of journalists, including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Sans Frontières, both of these men had barely registered on the media's radar."

Neocons and the truth: Bitter enemies to the end - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

Neocons and the truth: Bitter enemies to the end - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com : "Time to Attack Iranian Terror Camps? [Michael Ledeen] So says John Bolton, and he's right. As you know, I have been proposing this for years. I always thought it was only a matter of time before we were compelled to take this action, which is a legitimate form of self-defense. And while we're at it, we should do the same thing to the Syrian camps as well. It isn't 'sending a message,' it's acting to protect our guys by fighting back in the proxy war the mullahs have been waging since 1979. Faster, please?"

allAfrica.com: Somalia: Deadly Battle Rages Between Ethiopia Soldiers, Insurgents (Page 1 of 1)

allAfrica.com: Somalia: Deadly Battle Rages Between Ethiopia Soldiers, Insurgents (Page 1 of 1) Ethiopian troops in central Somalia were ambushed Wednesday as they withdrew from one town and were heading back towards the Ethiopian border, locals said. The fighting erupted around noon as a 30-truck Ethiopian army convoy left their positions in Bulo Burte, a town in Hiran region. The Ethiopian contingent was attacked in a hilly village between Bulo Burto and Beletwein, the provincial seat of power. Local villagers reported that the battle lasted for nearly two hours, as Ethiopian soldiers exchanged a barrage of gunfire and artillery with Islamist insurgents. Unconfirmed reports obtained by Garowe Online indicated that four Ethiopian army trucks were burned after sustaining insurgent rocket fire.

Al Jazeera English - News - Gaza Diary: Newborn Palestinians

Al Jazeera English - News - Gaza Diary: Newborn Palestinians : "In two weeks, my wife will bring our child into the world. The unborn baby is happy now, nestled within its mother's womb and somewhat protected from the violence and suffering that exists in Gaza. I am naturally worried for mother and child. When she delivered our last child, my wife developed several medical complications."

Camp Bucca, with about 20,000 inmates, is perhaps the world's largest extrajudicial internment camp.

Foreign Policy In Focus | The "Surge" of Iraqi Prisoners : "Detainees are held by the U.S. command in two main locations -- Camp Bucca, a 100-acre prison camp and Camp Cropper, inside a massive U.S. base near the Baghdad airport. The number of Iraqis held in these facilities has steadily risen since the early days of the occupation. In 2007, the inmate count rose 70% -- from 14,500 to 24,700. Camp Bucca, with about 20,000 inmates, is perhaps the world's largest extrajudicial internment camp. The facility is organized into 'compounds' of 800 detainees each, surrounded by fences and watch towers. Most detainees live in large communal tents, subject to collapse in the area's frequent sandstorms. Water has at times been in short supply, while temperatures in the desert conditions can be scorching hot in the day and bone-chilling at night. In October 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a contract to expand Camp Bucca's capacity from 20,000 to 30...

Amnesty Intl: Ethiopian troops commit atrocities in Somalia

Amnesty Intl: Ethiopian troops commit atrocities in Somalia A leading human rights group on Tuesday accused Ethiopian troops in Somalia of killing civilians and committing atrocities, including slitting people's throats, gouging out eyes and gang-raping women. In a new report, Amnesty International detailed chilling witness accounts of indiscriminate killings in the Horn of Africa country and called on the international community to stop the bloodshed. Ethiopia's government said the report was unbalanced and "categorically wrong." The London-based rights group said testimony it received suggested all parties to Somalia's conflict have committed war crimes. But it singled out Ethiopian troops, who are in the country to back Somalia's U.N.-sponsored government, for some of the worst violations.

Amnesty Intl: Ethiopian troops commit atrocities in Somalia

Amnesty Intl: Ethiopian troops commit atrocities in Somalia A leading human rights group on Tuesday accused Ethiopian troops in Somalia of killing civilians and committing atrocities, including slitting people's throats, gouging out eyes and gang-raping women. In a new report, Amnesty International detailed chilling witness accounts of indiscriminate killings in the Horn of Africa country and called on the international community to stop the bloodshed. Ethiopia's government said the report was unbalanced and "categorically wrong." The London-based rights group said testimony it received suggested all parties to Somalia's conflict have committed war crimes. But it singled out Ethiopian troops, who are in the country to back Somalia's U.N.-sponsored government, for some of the worst violations.

The Daily Star - Lebanon News - Ethiopia bans citizens from seeking work in Lebanon

The Daily Star - Lebanon News - Ethiopia bans citizens from seeking work in Lebanon : "ADDIS ABABA: On the occasion of Labor Day, Ethiopia has officially banned its citizens from traveling to Beirut in search of jobs, the African country's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has disclosed. Ethiopia passed the bill after it probed the human right violations and domestic violence Ethiopian migrants face behind closed doors in Beirut while employed as maids. 'Suspending work travel to Beirut was the only solution to minimizing the human rights abuses and dangers facing our citizens,' said Zenebu Tadesse, deputy minister of state for labor and social affairs. During the past few years, a number of Ethiopians have died in Lebanon in questionable circumstances. According to a report published by Ethiopia's official news agency, past human right records show that 67 Ethiopian women have died between 1997 and 1999 alone while working in Beirut."

Asia Times Online :: Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs

Asia Times Online :: Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs : "Straddled between the two energy hubs of the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea, Iran is a suitable conduit for trade, energy and non-energy, between the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, which are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the landlocked Central Asian states. The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates."

Shadowing slaughter in Sadr City : Information Clearing House - ICH

Shadowing slaughter in Sadr City : Information Clearing House - ICH : "On a bare patch of ground outside the entrance to Sadr general hospital, 15 women clad from head to foot in black squatted in a sandstorm, wailing and waiting for their dead. Lightning flashed, thunder rolled and the women’s robes were spattered with mud falling from a sky filled with rain and sand, but they did not notice. “Ya’mma, Ya’ba” (“Oh mother, oh father”), cried Amira Zaydan, a 45-year-old spinster, slapping her face and chest as she grieved for her parents Jaleel, 65, and Hanounah, 60, whose house had exploded after apparently being hit by an American rocket. “Where are you, my brothers?” she sobbed, lamenting Samir, 32, and Amir, 29, who had also perished along with their wives, one of whom was nine months pregnant. “What wrong have you done, my children?” she howled to the spirits of four nephews and nieces who completed a toll of 10 family members in the disaster that struck last Tuesday. “Mother...

Press TV - Somali bomb blast kills 5 Ethiopians

Press TV - Somali bomb blast kills 5 Ethiopians : "At least five Ethiopian soldiers have been killed in a military vehicle explosion near their base in Mogadishu's Tawfiq district. Ethiopian soldiers were patrolling near a water tanker in Mogadishu's Tawfiq district, when their military vehicle was hit by a road-side bomb killing at least five and wounding dozen others, Press TV correspondent reported. The tanker was also heavily damaged by insurgents' heavy gunfire. Meanwhile, several members of Somali Parliament have stepped down from office in protest against Mogadishu's full support for Ethiopian soldiers in the country."

Rebels, troops clash in Chechnya; 2 government forces killed

Rebels, troops clash in Chechnya; 2 government forces killed : "Suspected Islamic militants clashed with police in Chechnya, killing two law enforcement officers, a regional official said Saturday. A group of about 25 suspected militants fought with government forces late Friday in Chechnya's southern district of Urus-Martan, a regional Interior Ministry official said. One police officer and a soldier were killed, and one officer was wounded, the official said. At least four militants were wounded, he said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. However, the rebel-linked Web site Kavkaz Center claimed that at least nine law enforcement officers were killed in a gunfight that lasted for four hours."

U.S. has Mandela on terrorist list - Even Georges slave girl embarassed by it.

U.S. has Mandela on terrorist list - USATODAY.com : "WASHINGTON — Nobel Peace Prize winner and international symbol of freedom Nelson Mandela is flagged on U.S. terrorist watch lists and needs special permission to visit the USA. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls the situation 'embarrassing,' and some members of Congress vow to fix it. The requirement applies to former South African leader Mandela and other members of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC), the once-banned anti-Apartheid organization. In the 1970s and '80s, the ANC was officially designated a terrorist group by the country's ruling white minority. Other countries, including the United States, followed suit."

Aswat Aliraq

Aswat Aliraq : "Diala, May3, (VOI) - Clad in black, brandishing weapons and raising anti-government slogans, 300 al-Qaeda network operatives on Saturday held a parade in Diala, a security source said. “Al-Qaeda network held a military parade inside al-Asiwa village of al-Saadiya district, 155 km north-east of Baaquba,” a security source from Diala province, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI). The source pointed out “300 al-Qaeda fighters bearing light and medium weapons drove with 50 pick-up vehicles in the village street.” He added “the fighters were clad in black and raised billbords calling to punish policemen, army servicemen, and government public servicemen.” Earlier, the volatile province of Diala saw similiar parades in al-Gatoon neighbourhood in Baaquba and al-Asri neighbourhood in al-Muqdadia town over the past 4 years, but the militants’ sway was diminshing after U.S.-backed Iraqi troops launched attacks to clamp down on the violence pe...

For Israel’s Sake, Moderate American Jews Must Find Their Voice - Forward.com"

For Israel’s Sake, Moderate American Jews Must Find Their Voice - Forward.com" In just a few short years, the “two-state solution” has gone from presumed conclusion to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an increasingly distant hope. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has himself said that without such a deal, “the State of Israel is finished.” By the dozens, Israeli dignitaries solemnly warn: The window is closing on a two-state solution, and Israel’s prospects for a second, safer 60 years grow are growing ever dimmer.

My belief the U.S is a state supporter of terrorism around the world is true.

My belief the U.S is a state supporter of terrorism around the world is true. The U.S. brought terrorism in Iraq in full force not to mention Afghanistan; it kidnapped and tortured prisoners of war and innocent people as well. It supported slave state of Saudi Arabia, the torch agent of Egypt and the Zionist entity which occupied Palestine. It supported past and present of regimes all over the continents without shame. It showed itself as being the most hypocritical in the face of the earth as its power declining by day. FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO CARE, PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO.

RPT-U.S. West Coast ports on strike over Iraq war | Reuters

RPT-U.S. West Coast ports on strike over Iraq war | Reuters SAN FRANCISCO, May 1 (Reuters) - About 10,000 longshore workers that handle cargo along the West Coast of the United States stayed away from work on Thursday in a one-day protest against the war in Iraq, union officials said on Thursday. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union reported that traffic had virtually come to a halt across the regions' ports including the largest, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Oakland, Seattle and other ports along the coast between the Canadian and Mexican borders were also affected. Union officials say many of the big shipping companies are profiting off the war. "It's supposed to be quiet," said union spokesman Craig Merrilees. "When people don't go to work the docks are quiet."

Al Jazeera English - News - Sami Al-Hajj Hits Out At Us Captors

Al Jazeera English - News - Sami Al-Hajj Hits Out At Us Captors Al Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj has hit out at the US treatment of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison where he was held for nearly six and a half years. Saying that "rats are treated with more humanity", al-Hajj said inmates' "human dignity was violated". Al-Hajj arrived in Sudan early on Friday, was carried off the US air force jet in a stretcher and immediately taken to hospital. His brother, Asim al-Hajj, said he did not recognise the cameraman because he looked like a man in his 80s.

Iraqi prisons have fewer than 30 Saudi detainees, US official say : Middle East World

Iraqi prisons have fewer than 30 Saudi detainees, US official say : Middle East World Riyadh - Fewer than 30 Saudi detainees remain in Iraqi prisons, the general in charge of Iraq's Detainee Operations, Douglas M. Stone, was quoted as saying Thursday. Stone told the Saudi al-Watan newspaper that US forces had already handed over some 20 Saudi prisoners to Riyadh, as part of a security cooperation treaty between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. "We actively work along with the Saudi government to facilitate the process of sending the detainees back to their countries," Stone was quoted as saying in al-Watan. At least 200 detainees from Arab countries are arrested in US prisons, said Stone - some 24 per cent of them Egyptians, and 23 per cent Syrians.

Terror Nation.

AFP: US Air Force planned nuclear strike on China over Taiwan: report The United States Air Force had considered a plan to drop nuclear bombs on China during a confrontation over Taiwan in 1958 but it was overruled, declassified documents showed Wednesday. When he learned about it, President Dwight Eisenhower instead required the Air Force to initially use conventional bombs against Chinese forces if the crisis escalated, according to previously secret US Air Force history. The president's instructions seemingly astounded the Air Force top brass but the author of one of the studies released said US policymakers recognized that atomic strikes had "inherent disadvantages" because of the fall-out danger in the region as well as the risk of nuclear escalation.