Archive for January 7th, 2010

internationalizing — the solution to every pesky problem

Jan 7

Posted by A. Peasant in Censorship, Clinton, Military, Yemen | No Comments

1. we have to “help” Yemen, no mention of all the other money flowing in there for years, which has done what exactly? oh that’s right, pour money and weapons into failed state and al qaeda pops out the other end it’s just like making a baby — fucked.

To spur Saleh to action, US officials have announced a doubling of the current military and security aid package. According to General David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, who met Saleh last Friday in Sana’a, “We have, it’s well known, about $70 million in security assistance last year,” said Petraeus. “That will more than double this coming year.” Washington also plans to provide $63 million in development aid, US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said on Monday. This is in stark contrast to the $8.4 million in the last year of George W Bush’s tenure, 2008, and still a marked increase from $40.3 million in 2009.

…United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday stressed the importance of a multinational approach to Yemen, during a press conference in Washington with Qatari Prime Minister Hamid bin Jassem al-Thani. “We’re going to listen and consult with those who have long experience in Yemen, such as Qatar … and work together to try and encourage the government to take steps that will lead to a more lasting period of peace and stability,” she said. “It’s time for the international community to make it clear to Yemen that there are expectations and conditions on our continuing support for the government so that they can take actions which will have a better chance to provide peace and stability in the region,” she added, alluding to the government’s reputation for corruption and collusion with militant Islamists.

more @ asia times

2. Clinton (again): development aid central to US interests

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday the United States achieves “best results” when development, diplomacy and defense are approached as a whole, signaling a change of tactics in U.S. diplomacy….According to the Organization of Economic Cooperation, U.S. development aid to Yemen declined from 56.5 million U.S. dollars in 2000 to 25.5 million in 2008, during which period the terror network of al-Qaeda regrouped in the poverty-stricken country.

Prior to Clinton’s speech, a senior U.S. official who declined to be named said the administration has to focus on areas where development results are needed “as part of our broader security strategy.” In places such as Yemen, the official said, the administration has to pursue security goals and development goals simultaneously, because “without development, you’re never going to have security.”

read more @ chinaview

EXACTLY. THAT’S WHY SOME STATES CAN NEVER SEEM TO “DEVELOP,” NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY GETS POURED IN. THE MONEY GOES TO CREATING INSECURITY, AL QAEDA, ETC. -ED.

3. Yemen rejects US role — just give us the stuff please and leave, we’ll take it from here thanks

DUBAI - YEMEN, hunting Al-Qaeda within its borders, believes its own security forces must fight militants on its territory and rejects any direct US intervention, the foreign minister said….Asked by CNN whether Yemen would accept direct US intervention, Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi said: ‘No, I don’t think we will accept that. I think the US, as well, have learned from Afghanistan and Iraq and other places that direct intervention can be self-defeating. ‘We think this is the priority and the responsibility of our security forces and the army,’ Mr al-Qirbi told the US news channel….’What we need from the United States and other partners is to build our capability to provide us with the technical know-how, with the equipment, with the intelligence information and with the firepower,’ Qirbi said.

source: straits times

4. editor of banned South Yemen daily arrested

SANAA- Yemen police Wednesday arrested the owner and editor of the main southern newspaper, Al-Ayyam, following clashes between police and armed guards of the banned daily, a security official said. Hisham Bashraheel, 66, was taken into custody over clashes since Monday in which a policeman and a guard were killed and seven people were wounded, the official said from the southern city of Aden.

Police laid siege to the daily’s offices after the policeman was killed on Monday while attempting to disperse a gathering protesting the banning since May of the daily that is accused of sympathising with southern separatists. The siege was lifted after 30 protesters and 20 guards, holed up in the newspaper premises, surrendered to the authorities after negotiations, but Bashraheel himself was not arrested.

Among those who gave themselves up Tuesday was Bashraheel’s son and Ali Munassar, a member of the Yemen Socialist Party in Aden, according to the local source. Bashraheel is also wanted by prosecutors in Sanaa to stand trial for his alleged role in the murder of a man in front of the paper’s offices in 2008. Al-Ayyam, one of the largest dailies in the south, was one of eight closed at the time over allegations of inciting separatism in the region amid a wave of deadly unrest there.

source: inquirer

thailand, saudi arabia, israel, india, sri lanka

Jan 7

Posted by A. Peasant in India, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand | No Comments

1. statute of limitations about to expire for suspect in Saudi murder / stolen family jewels case in Thailand

If Abu Ali, a prime suspect in the murders of Saudi diplomats in 1990, is not arrested before Feb 1 the statute of limitations of this case will expire, Department of Special Investigtion deputy director-general Pol Col Naras Savestanant said on Thursday. Pol Col Naras said the DSI and the prosecution asked the Criminal Court to issue a warrant for the arrest of Abu Ali, a Middle East national, because evidence obtained by the department showed he was involved in the murders of three Saudi diplomats on Feb 1, 1990. The statute of limitations in this case is 20 years. He said the DSI’s investigation into the murders was successful to an extent as it was able to establish the motive of the crime, which was believed to be a religious conflict between Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East. The DSI’s finding was different from that of the Royal Thai Police Office, which believed a conflict of interest over recruitments of workers to Saudi Arabia was the motive, Pol Col Naras said. The DSI secured an arrest warrant for the man. Its investigators believed he murdered Abdullah A al-Besri, one of the three Saudi diplomats, on Feb 1, 1990.

source: bangkok

2. NOTE: recall that the plane with Korean weapons stopped in Thailand was supposedly going to Sri Lanka, but the Thai authorities would not pinpoint the destination so as not to displease a certain unnamed country, and the next thing we heard that some “researchers” found the itinerary and lo, the plane was bringing those nasty Korean weapons to Iran. yes sirree bob.

Compare the international outcry over the Gaza massacre to the relative silence toward Sri Lanka’s war against the Tamil people in 2008 and 2009. Conservative estimates place the death roll at over 20,000 people, perhaps as high as 50,000. The Colombo regime dismissed all attempts to cease its military operations, negotiate with the Tamil Tigers or allow the transfer of hundreds of thousands of civilians to safety. Today, close to 300,000 Tamils are trapped in government-imposed camps, surrounded by barbed wire and unable to leave.

3. Sri Lanka: Tamils throw weight behind general who crushed them

Seven months after Sri Lanka’s long and bitter civil war was brought to an end by a withering government assault, the political coalition that supported the Tamil Tigers has thrown its support behind the former army chief who crushed them….Over the weekend, with the campaign gathering pace, the former general toured the formerly rebel-held Jaffna Peninsula and said he would create an environment that encouraged business, relax security measures and return land seized by the military. He also said he would release hundreds of Tamil youths held on suspicion of having links to the rebels and offer amnesty and rehabilitation to hardcore fighters.

Making up 12 per cent of the population, Tamils represent an important electoral bloc and the UNP opposition coalition has been seeking to reach out to the TNA, which currently holds 22 seats in Sri Lanka’s 225-member parliament. At yesterday’s press conference, Mr Sambanthan did not comment on Mr Fonseka’s role in the alleged abuse that is said to have taken place during the closing stages of the war, when the UN estimates up to 10,000 Tamil civilians were killed. However, he said his party talked with both candidates about issues that were of importance to Tamils, such as the resettlement of some 300,000 civilians displaced by the war, the rehabilitation of areas destroyed by the fighting and the dismantling of so-called high-security zones in Tamil areas.

high level diplomats busy bees

Jan 7

Posted by A. Peasant in Australia, Clinton, India, Iran, Think Tanks | No Comments

1. Clinton and Gates to visit Australia for security talks next week, sounds serious

CANBERRA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith announced on Thursday that United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Australia next week to discuss regional security and defense issues. She will be accompanied by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The pair will meet with Smith and Defense Minister John Faulkner on Jan. 18, to hold the annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations.

read more @ chinaview

2. India demands urgent action by Australia to stop attacks

Toughening its stand, India demanded “urgent action” by Australia to put an end to the attacks on Indians there, brushing aside attempts to downplay the incidents by Australian government….Concerned over the series of attacks on students as well as other members of the Indian community over the past few years, especially over increasing number of incidents of assaults since May 2009, it said “the most recent incidents resulting in the tragic deaths of Indian citizens only underline the need for addressing these concerns at the earliest.

…Earlier, dismissing Australia’s suggestions that Indian reaction on the issue of attacks was “hysterical”, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said “none of us need to be hysterical but all that we expect is that Indians, whether they are students or otherwise, should be safe in the countries where they go for pursuing their higher studies.” Describing as majority of incidents of assaults as “opportunistic urban crimes”, Australian government had on Wednesday said these crimes could happen anywhere and they were making efforts to check the same.

The Ministry said the issue has been taken up at the highest levels during the visits of dignitaries from Australia and visits by “our dignitaries to Australia, particularly over the last six months.

Gaza, or Lebanon, or both?

Jan 7

Posted by A. Peasant in Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestinians, Syria, Ukraine | No Comments

1. report: Israeli troops training for new Gaza war

Israeli occupation forces completed a large-scale military drill in the Negev, the country’s Channel 10 news reported, preparing troops for a military offensive against the Gaza Strip. The report, aired Tuesday evening, speculated that the training could even be seen as preparation for a re-occupation of the area….According to Channel 10, training saw occupation soldiers educated in the use of a new digital device on Merkava Tanks, the largest of the armored vehicles, which allows soldiers in the units to track troops on the ground in densely-populated areas. It is intended to prevent “friendly fire” incidents.

pfft.

read more @ chinaview

3. Israel blames Lebanon for Israel’s failure to withdraw from Ghajar

Israel is not withdrawing from the northern part of Ghajar because of Lebanon’s “adamant refusal” to reach an understanding with Israel over security arrangements in the Lebanese part of the village, The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday. “The Lebanese government, apparently under pressure from Hizbullah, is not willing to provide any kind of commitments” that would allow a UNIFIL plan on Ghajar to be put into practice, The Post said. Beirut “fears” that the plan’s adoption would be seen as giving Israel legitimacy, according to the newspaper. “The talks, therefore, are solely between Israel and UNIFIL, with Lebanon unwilling to participate even indirectly,” the Israeli daily said. “The negotiations with UNIFIL are over what security arrangements and commitments UNIFIL - not the Lebanese - will provide.”

Foreign Ministry Director-General Yossi Gal and his team are scheduled to hold a second round of talks with UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Claudio Graziano and his staff Thursday. The first round of talks on the Ghajar issue was held in early December.The Israeli government has reportedly approved a plan to turn over control of the northern half of the village to UNIFIL. Under the plan no physical barrier would be built between the northern and southern parts of Ghajar, but rather UNIFIL would patrol both the northern half and the perimeter. Graziano is to be replaced by Spanish Maj.-Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas on January 28. The Post said Israeli officials denied that Graziano’s departure was a deadline for “closing” the Ghajar deal, saying the Jewish state would continue talking to UNIFIL about the issue until it gets a commitment. According to Haaretz daily, Gal is also expected to congratulate Graziano on finding explosives near the Lebanese town of Khiam on December 26.
source: naharnet

4. Lebanese man killed in Ukraine
The body of a 47-year-old Lebanese, who was killed in Ukraine, arrived in Beirut overnight as his family urged Beirut authorities to ask officials in Kiev to follow up the investigation into the murder of Mounir Abdo Mansour. The National News Agency quoted Mansour’s family members as saying Thursday that they are planning to visit the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut to urge judicial authorities in Kiev to probe the man’s murder.

The family told NNA it was not the first time that a Lebanese was attacked in the Ukrainian capital. It said authorities there have also previously tampered with evidence at crime scenes to cover up the “heinous crimes” rather than bringing perpetrators to justice. “Lebanese youth are killed without restraint from anyone,” Mansour’s sister, Rima, told NNA. “Involved officials should interfere to follow up the issue.”

source: naharnet

5. Syrian parliament speaker: expansion of relations between Muslim states foils plots

In a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here in Tehran on Thursday morning, al-Abrash said, “Tehran-Damascus strategic relations is effective in the region.” He also called for using all opportunities of the two neighbors to mature bilateral ties, the Iranian students news agency reported. Ahmadinejad on his part called for strengthening relations between the two sides and said, “The resistance of nations including Iran and Syria has caused a deadlock in policies of Arrogant System in economic, political and military sections.” He also turned to presence of bulling powers’ forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen and said, “The enemies’ plots will harm themselves.”

source: fars

6. Kuwaiti-Palestinian relations “historic” — qualified: Abbas meets Kuwaiti emir…not sure that conflates to “Kuwaiti-Palestinian” relations in fact pretty sure it doesn’t but anyway, here you go.

the real crotch bomb is pedophilia

Jan 7

Posted by A. Peasant in CIA, Children, Corruption & Crime, Diplomats, Human Trafficking, Israel, Mossad, Obama/Biden, Pakistan, Southeast Asia, Turkey | No Comments

Wayne Madsen reports that US embassy personnel and military people are involved in pedophilia in Southeast Asia.

From Hans Vogel in Pravda (opinion):

If there actually has been an attempt to blow up an airplane and the would-be “crotch bomber” was escorted by another person, the logical thing to do would be to check out security at Amsterdam airport. Not to increase security measures for all passengers….I believe the Detroit charade was part of a concerted scheme to increase passenger “security” which I suspect has very little to do with any genuine concern for the passengers. It certainly seems part of a grand design to make airline travel unattractive and to get the public used to police state controls.

…In its sinister efforts, the US government is supported by the governments of its vassal states. This time, a major role was assigned to the Dutch government. The first Dutch actor to make a public statement was the Minister of Justice, Ernst Hirsch Ballin. It is a mystery how this man ever made it back to a cabinet position, after being forced to resign in 1994 as justice minister for his involvement in a billion dollar drug trafficking operation. The man is also suspected of paedophilia. Moreover, the highest ranking public servant in the justice ministry is a notorious paedophile. Hirsch Ballin called for the immediate introduction of full body scanners at Dutch airports. A few days later, Dutch interior minister, Mrs. Guusje ter Horst was cued to chip in. This woman, an alcoholic who is routinely let off the hook by the police whenever she is caught driving while drunk, actually had the nerve to say that the world had escaped disaster when the “crotch bomber” plan was foiled.

…After the Dutch cabinet ministers had played their bit parts, the leaders of other European vassal states came on stage. One after the other, Germans, Italians and Englishmen gave their performance, with the main stream media predictably spreading the message without any accompanying critical editorial commentary. Thus within two weeks, the European public has ostensibly been won over to support the introduction of security measures that will make air travel an even more miserable experience, and that will certainly not improve security.

However, the fact that the Obama regime now has to rely on vassal state officials with demonstrable criminal records an assorted deviant behavior, is another indication that the US empire is in a deep crisis. Nor does the support from the vassal states come spontaneously. For instance, the chief explanation for the obsequiousness of the Dutch seems to be blackmail. That is right, blackmail. Mr. Joris Demmink, the justice ministry’s director general, is being blackmailed by the Turkish intelligence service at least since 2002. The blackmail concerns Mr. Demmink’s orgies with under age boys in Turkish seaside resorts. Given the close ties the Turkish intelligence services have with their US counterparts, it can be easily understood the US is blackmailing the Dutch as well. In other words, what we are witnessing are scenes from a Hollywood mafia movie, only this time its title reads “international diplomacy, US style.”

The US government does not seem to realize that its hold on the vassal states is becoming a tenuous one, since the popular acceptance of their puppets and stooges is dwindling at an ever faster rate.

Meanwhile, in Turkey, a judge’s order to seize COSMIC documents sends Turkey’s “deep state” into crisis:

Turkey’s “Deep State” of military, intelligence, and law enforcement officers, linked to the CIA and Israel’s Mossad through the Ergenekon network of spies and “false flag” operatives, has been shaken over the decision of Ankara Judge Kadir Kayan to order NATO COSMIC Top Secret rooms at the Turkish Special Forces Command’s Tactical Mobilization Group in Ankara to be searched by civilian prosecutors and police.

“COSMIC” is a NATO classification and the investigation of the shadowy Ergenekon network has turned up evidence that COSMIC documents may contain proof that Turkey’s Special Operations forces were planning to assassinate top Turkish political leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc. There are also reports that the Turkish military, with the support of the United States and Israel, was planning a military coup against President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. The Turkish leaders have been highly critical of Israel’s bloody invasion of Gaza, code named “Cast Lead,” and Washington’s call for increased sanctions on Iran.

The documents seized by prosecutors and police may also show that the CIA’s “Gladio” networks, so-called “stay behind networks” established in NATO and neutral countries during the Cold War to coordinate sabotage in the event of a Soviet invasion and occupation, may have continued in Turkey and serves as the core component of Ergenekon. A similar network exists in Lebanon and was the core of the infamous White House Murder Inc. which carried out all the assassinations in Lebanon over the last decade, starting with the assassination of Mr. Elie HOBEIKA, January 24th 2002 in Hazmieh, Lebanon, home to the SCS and more…

Some of the seized NATO COSMIC Top Secret documents involve the operations of Gendarmarie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Organization (JITEM), which was composed of Turkish special operations forces and police who carried out assassinations of academics, Kurdish politicians, and even fellow military personnel in terrorist attacks that were blamed on the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK), deemed a “terrorist” organization by Turkey and the United States.

The documents may also reveal the involvement of the CIA, as well as top Turkish military and MIT intelligence personnel in the 1978 assassination of Turkish prosecutor Dogan Oz. Oz was the first prosecutor to investigate the CIA’s Gladio operations in Turkey. Since the investigation of the NATO COSMIC Top Secret documents began, prosecutor Mustafa Bilgili and Judge Kayan have received death threats.

We have also learned that some of the COSMIC Top Secret documents seized in Turkey point to an American “Deep State” Pentagon counterpart to the Turkish Ergenekon network. Former FBI Turkish translator Sibel Edmonds spoke of this network being uncovered by wiretaps of U.S. political leaders and Turkish lobbyists in the United States.

Some things which may possibly be related:

The story on the two female Mossad agents in the psychiatric ward, which possibly links back to Sibel Edmunds testimony:

Edmonds’ allegations under oath that “the Turkish Lobby in the United States was under the direction of the Turkish Government and engaged in operations including bribery, espionage and blackmail with certain members of the US House of Representatives to further its objectives in the United States including one of which is the denial of the Armenian Genocide.”

Then, of course, you have to view things like this with a skeptical eye:

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — The United States is concerned about the continued “provocative actions” and false allegations against U.S. personnel working to implement the new partnership between the leaders of Pakistan and the United States, the U.S embassy said here on Thursday. Pakistani authorities recently briefly detained U.S. personnel and their vehicles in different parts of the country for what they say using fake number flats for their diplomatic cars.…He said that the staff was preparing for the upcoming visit of U.S. development assistance staff to one of Pakistan’s most impoverished regions….The spokesman said that the U.S. Mission renews its call on Pakistan officials to implement immediately the mutually agreed upon procedures for the issuance of license plates to U.S. Mission vehicles and to cease these contrived incidents involving U.S. Mission vehicles and personnel.

And the Romanian envoy to be investigated…a cover-up in the works? Investigating a hit-and-run accident seems to pose quite a problem:

ROMANIA’S Foreign Ministry has asked its government Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the Bukit Panjang hit-and-run accident on Dec 15 which has been linked to the charge d’affaires of its embassy in Singapore.

The move came after it carried out an internal investigation, ‘which led to the conclusion that from the point of view of legal procedures and international regulations, the MFA has neither the competences nor the means to identify the author, the cause and the circumstances of the accident, all such aspects pertaining to penal procedure,’ said a press statement issued by the ministry on Tuesday.

…As part of the probe, it has also recalled Mr Silviu Ionescu, its charge d’affaires, from his Singapore post. The diplomat returned to Romania several days after the Dec 15 accident, which left two men injured and another dead. …’Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs deeply regrets the occurrence of this accident, irrespective of its still unclarified circumstances, especially as it ended with casualties and a loss of a human life. The MFA conveys its condolences to the family of the young man who died in the accident,’ said the statement.

And from the sidebar:

NO IMMUNITY FROM STATE JURISDICTION

Article 31, first paragraph, from the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations (18 April 1961) stipulates that ‘A diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State’.

But paragraph 4 of the article in the Convention states: ‘The immunity of a diplomatic agent from the jurisdiction of the receiving State does not exempt him from the jurisdiction of the sending State’. As a consequence, the penal investigation in a case in which a diplomat is involved in the receiving state takes place in the state whose citizen he/she is.’

Both Romania and Republic of Singapore are parties to the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

So in other words, these diplomats can get away with bloody murder or whatever else, and they only need to worry about being prosecuted back home. If the home country decides they just can’t find the evidence, or whatever ($$$$$), nothing happens.

Diplomatic immunity. That’s some good shit, huh?

western: you’re doing it wrong

Jan 7

Posted by A. Peasant in Afghanistan, CIA, Identities, Media, Mind-fucking, Pakistan, Terrorism, The West, Turkey | No Comments

Defne Bayrak…… and…..Defne Bayrak!

Defne Bayrak, the Turkish wife of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, told Turkish media she learned that her husband had blown himself up at a US base in Afghanistan on Dec 30 after receiving a phone call from one of his friends in Pakistan. — PHOTO: AFP (on the left) from Reuters story at Straits Times

Defne Bayrak, the Turkish wife of al-Balawi, said she was proud of her husband (on the right) from AlArabiya story

The story:

The wife of a double agent who killed seven CIA officers in a suicide attack in Afghanistan said on Thursday her husband regarded the United States as an enemy and she was proud of his mission. Defne Bayrak, the Turkish wife of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, said she doubted he was working for the CIA.

“I am proud of my husband. He has carried out a very important mission in such a war,” Bayrak, who now lives in Istanbul, told reporters. “I think it’s impossible that he was an American agent. He was too adversary to work for America. He only could have used America and Jordan to reach his goals.”

Bayrak, a journalist who has written books including one entitled “Osama bin Laden: Che Guevara of the East”, earlier told the newspaper Sabah she believed her husband was in Afghanistan to pursue his medical studies and she was shocked at news of his death.

Wearing a black chador, she said she learned in a phone call from one of her Jordanian husband’s friends in Pakistan that he had blown himself up at a U.S. base in Afghanistan on Dec. 30. The friend also told her he would send her husband’s will and last letter, she said.

“Our last phone call took place about four to six weeks ago and we made contact through the Internet 10 days ago. He told me he would come back to Turkey and would even apply for Turkish citizenship. He would continue his medical studies here.”

Balawi blew himself up inside Forward Operating Base Chapman, a well-fortified compound in Khost province near the southeastern border with Pakistan. Al-Qaeda’s Afghan wing has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, the second-most deadly attack in CIA history, saying it was revenge for the deaths of their leaders. “He’s a very strong character. If he did it, he must have done it on his own will. Nobody can make him do things,” Bayrak told Sabah.

Former intelligence officials have said Balawi, a doctor, was recruited by Jordanian intelligence to try to infiltrate al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Balawi had associated with Islamists in the past, but U.S. and Jordanian spy agencies believed he had been successfully “de-radicalized.” Bayrak said she met her husband while he was studying medicine at Istanbul University. They lived in Jordan, where they had two daughters, before moving back to Turkey in October 2009.

Why is it necessary to Westernize this woman with the flowing hair, the plump cheeks, the pixillated hairline, the broad shoulders, the Glamour-don’t choice of tops. ? ? ? ?

I’ve read some other interesting explanations about what happened, like this one.

The shorter being this: Allegedly those CIA people killed these schoolchildren, a heinous crime, which would prove exceedingly difficult to brush under the rug.

news from africa, land of valuable minerals with poor people living on top

Jan 7

Posted by A. Peasant in Africa, Guinea, Military, Minerals, Morocco, NGOs, Somalia | 2 Comments

1. US and Morocco to work on common interests

The Moroccan government, chaired by the Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, met the US Congress Delegation, led by Senator Jude Gregg, on Tuesday in Rabat to discuss their common interests and bilateral relations. The meeting shed light mainly on three issues: Morocco’s territorial integrity, the Palestinian cause, and the bilateral cooperation between the United States and Morocco. Both sides agreed on the importance to advance forward the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement that was signed in 2004.

read more @ chinaview

4. Somalia’s ambassador to Djibouti dies

The Somali embassy in Djibouti has confirmed Thursday morning that ambassador Muse Hussein Fahiye has perished at a hospital here in Djibouti last night at about 10:00 PM local time. Deputy ambassador Abdurahman Mohamed Hirabe told reporters at the embassy building this morning that after three days of illness Fahiye died last night and will be buried in Djibouti later on the day. “He was in his late 50s and was appointed as Somali ambassador to Djibouti in December 2008 by the former Somali president Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed”Hirabe said during a press conference Thursday….Djibouti which is a brother nation of Somalia is one of the few countries which have embassies in Somalia’s lawless capital Mogadishu and since Somalia descended into chaos Djibouti was a leading nation in the peace making efforts and reconciliation to end political disagreements and create a functioning central government in Somalia.

can’t have that… - ed.

source: newstime africa

5. Zimbabwe auctions 300,000 diamond carats from controversial fields — at airport

About 300 000 diamond carats from the controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields are to be auctioned in a first formal trade of the precious mineral since Government moved in to normalise mining at the minefields. Mbanda Diamonds Mining, a firm authorized by government to mine diamonds in Chiadzwa is conducting the auction at the newly converted diamond processing facility at the Airport.

“International diamond buyers from as far as the Americas, Europe and Asia have already started arriving for today’s sales, which are expected to run for the next three days,” said Robert Mhlanga, Mbanda’s chairman.

The Zimbabwean government would earn 75 percent of the total sales revenue through a 50 percent weekly dividend, a 10 percent royalty fee, 15 percent taxation and a five percent resource depletion fee. “In order to ensure maximum security and compliance with the Kimberly Process, the first consignment of the diamonds on sale were airlifted from Chiadzwa diamond fields under guard from the police”, said Mhlanga.

International community has been extensively lobbying for a ban on Zimbabwe diamonds, claiming human rights abuses. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights claim that about 5,000 people were arrested during the army operation, with three quarters of them showing signs of having been tortured severely.

Also the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which shares the unity government with Zanu-PF, claimed that hundreds of people were buried in mass graves “to hide the regime’s (Zanu-PF) murderous activities,” and that the soldiers sent to ’guard’ the fields had become illegal diamond dealers themselves. During a visit by Kimberly Process (the regulatory body tasked with ending the global trade in conflict diamonds) last year to investigate the reports of rights abuses, the team met with a key witness, Chief Newman Chiadzwa. Chiadzwa offered up testimonies and eye witness accounts of beatings, torture and even murders at the hands of the military controlling the diamond fields. He also detailed how he had been arrested and harassed before the Kimberley Process delegation’s visit.

indefensible war

Jan 7

Posted by A. Peasant in Afghanistan, Children, Germany, Politics | No Comments

1. Afghan war kills 3 children a day in useless war started on LIES LIES LIES

KABUL, Afghanistan—Children are the biggest victims of the war in Afghanistan, with more than 1,050 people under 18 years old killed last year alone, according to an Afghan human rights watchdog. Taliban-linked militants caused around 64 percent of all violent child deaths last year, the Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM) said in a report. Children were also press-ganged, sexually exploited, deprived of health and education, and illegally detained by all sides in a war that is dragging into its ninth year since the United States-led invasion toppled the Taliban regime.

…The United States and Nato are boosting their troop numbers in Afghanistan to 150,000 over the course of 2010, as part of a new strategy determined to clear and secure insurgent strongholds. US General Stanley McChrystal, commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan, has ordered civilian casualties be kept to a minimum, yet as more troops pour in, a higher death rate is inevitable, experts say.

the trouble with money

Jan 7

Posted by A. Peasant in Africa, Banks, China, Corruption & Crime, Ukraine | No Comments

1. domestic politics imperil IMF deals in Europe, Ukraine

Almost all mainland Europe’s most exposed economies — notably Ukraine, Latvia, Hungary — hold major elections in 2010, meaning short-term political ends will likely take priority over meeting IMF requirements….If countries do not follow its prescriptions, the IMF will have to decide whether to walk away and risk letting them collapse and potentially default — which could spark a wider market rout — or become less stringent in its demands.

That in itself will likely come down to how the powers that dominate IMF board voting rights choose to play it. Many of these countries, such as Britain, are simultaneously facing demands from ratings agencies to make painful cuts themselves to square their ballooning budget deficits. Troubled emerging economies will likely feel hard done by and may even band together if richer countries are slow to tackle their own debt but continue to lecture weaker states.

hit the ground running

Jan 7

Posted by A. Peasant in India, Israel, Military, Psychology, Somalia, Surveillance, Terrorism | No Comments

1. man threatening jews taken off flight, say police — See??? palestinians/arabs are dangerous, especially to jews

A Florida airline passenger who witnesses say proclaimed “I want to kill all the Jews” before police forced him off a Detroit-bound plane has been arrested. Miami-Dade police said in a statement today that 43-year-old Mansor Mohammad Asad of Toledo, Ohio, faces several charges including disorderly conduct. Police say a taxiing Northwest Airlines flight was turned around at Miami International Airport late yesterday. Witnesses told authorities Asad was loud, disruptive and claimed to be Palestinian. They believed he was sometimes speaking Arabic.

The Transportation Security Administration says three of his companions were taken off the plane and questioned. The plane departed after a search. A phone number for Asad rang unanswered. Police didn’t return a message.

source: the independent

2. F15s escort US airliner back after “disturbance” — see? look at that response that is working it, baby. US airforce — ON IT.

WASHINGTON - TWO F-15 fighter jets intercepted an airliner bound for Hawaii on Wednesday and escorted it back to Portland, Oregon after a passenger caused a ‘disturbance,’ the North American Aerospace Defense Command said….’Shortly after take-off, a passenger caused a disturbance on the plane and the pilot decided to return the aircraft to Portland,’ it said. The fighter aircraft led the plane back to Portland airport at about 1.15pm and law enforcement officers were investigating the incident, according to the statement, which offered no other details. Norad, a joint US-Canada mission, scrambles fighter jets to respond to possible terrorist threats from the air, after the attacks of Sept 11, 2001 involving hijacked airliners.

source: straits times

3. Gulf warned of attacks — SEE??? boats too, under threat, but hey they have the names of the new aq honchos and command post in Somalia

KUWAIT CITY - WESTERN intelligence has warned energy-rich Gulf states that Al-Qaeda is on the verge of launching attacks mainly on ships after regrouping in the past few months, the Al-Qabas daily reported on Thursday. Citing unnamed Kuwaiti security sources, the daily said that Al-Qaeda has trained operatives in the region to carry out attacks on war, commercial and passenger vessels in the Gulf and Arabian Sea. Western intelligence has urged Gulf states to boost security measures to provide protection for ships, especially oil and gas tankers, the Kuwaiti security sources said.

The Al-Qaeda network has been able to regroup over the past few months, taking advantage of deteriorating security in Somalia and Yemen, and has successfully established command and control bases in the two countries, the sources said. They added that Qaeda operatives in Somalia have in recent weeks captured advanced weapons from government forces and transferred them to their counterparts in Yemen. Western intelligence also provided Gulf states with names and locations of new Al-Qaeda command posts in Somalia and names of field commanders and members in Gulf states most of whom unknown previously, the added. — AFP

4. Mumbai Chabad House gets letter warning of attack — SEE??? the poor jews can’t catch a break…

The Chabad House in Mumbai, India, that was the site of a terror attack one year ago has received an anonymous letter warning of another attack. Israeli media reported that the hand-written letter included a picture of Hitler and included the message “Israel is dogs. We will strike again ? heil, Hitler.”…The Bureau on Thursday had warned Israelis in mid-October about a concrete threat of a possible terror attack, particularly in the Goa area.
haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1141021.html

5. in stunning prescience - Ottawa ordered airline scanners months ago — that must have made Chertoff so happy. SEE?? we *knew* something like this was gonna happen just knew it…

On Wednesday morning, Baird told CTV’s Canada AM that Canada chose to pursue the high-tech scanner technology months ago, putting an order in to manufacturers “before the United States were in the queue…and before some of the countries in Europe.” “We’re taking the leadership in this. We have to move quickly and expeditiously, we’re confident that these are the best machines available on the market and they are the only ones recognized by the (U.S.) Transportation Security Administration, so that was an important part of our decision,” Baird said during an interview from Ottawa.

source: toronto ctv