be just

SudanTribune article : Is there a government in Southern Sudan? : "October 21, 2009 — The untimely death of Dr. John Garang has cast a huge black cloud over the future of Southern Sudan. I am aware that my statement will not go down well with some of the opportunistic and sycophantic elements within President Kiir’s tribally-based political chauvinism. But if all could set aside opportunism for a minute and behave as nationalists, we will discover that Southern Sudan is sinking fast into political abyss. Despite early warnings to this effect, our corrupted and predatory SPLM and GOSS leadership continues to ignore these despite the inevitable collapse of state machinery in South Sudan. Equally true is the uncaring and unresponsive behaviour of most of our State governors who have elected to concern themselves with the looting of public funds on fake projects while ignoring the egregious state in which public services have reached in most states. All in all, looking at what our lea...

Al Jazeera English - Africa - Deadly clashes shake Somali capital : "At least 20 people have been killed and 58 injured in a battle between anti-government fighters and African peacekeepers in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, medical workers say. According to witnesses, clashes broke out on Thursday after fighters launched mortar bombs at the city's international airport, as Sharif Ahmed, the country's president, flew out of the country. Ali Muse, head of Mogadishu's ambulance services, told the AFP news agency it was 'the worst such incident recently' in the city. 'We have seen at least 20 dead bodies lying in the streets, most of them civilians,' he said."

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Goldstone dares US on Gaza report : "Richard Goldstone, the jurist who authored a UN report accusing Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity during its war on Gaza, has challenged the US to justify its claims that his findings are flawed and biased. Goldstone told Al Jazeera on Thursday that he had not heard from the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, about the flaws Washington claims to have identified in the report. 'I have yet to hear from the Obama administration what the flaws in the report that they have identified are. I would be happy to respond to them, if and when I know what they are,' Goldstone said."

Al Jazeera English - Africa - Rape used as weapon in DR Congo war : "The Democratic Republic of Congo is grappling with rampant rape, which has become an every day practice and is used as a weapon of war, the UN has said. It said almost 5,400 cases of rape against women were reported in the South Kivu province during the first six months of the year. Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said South Kivu, near Rwanda, was an increasingly dangerous place for civilians, especially for women. 'Night-time attacks against civilians by unidentified armed elements, and rape against women, remain widespread,' Byrs said."

US Joins Ranks of Failed States : Information Clearing House - ICH : "Costs are out of control, and priorities are skewed in the interest of rich organized interest groups at the expense of the vast majority of citizens. For example, war at all cost, which enriches the armaments industry, the officer corps and the financial firms that handle the war’s financing, takes precedence over the needs of American citizens. There is no money to provide the uninsured with health care, but Pentagon officials have told the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the House that every gallon of gasoline delivered to US troops in Afghanistan costs American taxpayers $400."

Sy Hersh: Military 'In War Against The White House' | Crooks and Liars : "The army is also “in a war against the White House — and they feel they have Obama boxed in,” Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Seymour Hersh told several hundred people in Duke University’s Page Auditorium on Tuesday night. “They think he’s weak and the wrong color. Yes, there’s racism in the Pentagon. We may not like to think that, but it’s true and we all know it.”"

Pickens says U.S. firms 'entitled' to Iraqi oil | Markets | Reuters : "WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens told Congress on Wednesday that U.S. energy companies are 'entitled' to some of Iraq's crude because of the large number of American troops that lost their lives fighting in the country and the U.S. taxpayer money spent in Iraq. Boone, speaking to the newly formed Congressional Natural Gas Caucus, complained that the Iraqi government has awarded contracts to foreign companies, particularly Chinese firms, to develop Iraq's vast reserves while American companies have mostly been shut out. 'They're opening them (oil fields) up to other companies all over the world ... We're entitled to it,' Pickens said of Iraq's oil. 'Heck, we even lost 5,000 of our people, 65,000 injured and a trillion, five hundred billion dollars.'"