Sunday, March 9, 2008
Malaysia's governing coalition suffers heavy losses
In what was called a political tsunami here, the National Front won just 51.2 percent of the popular vote, giving it enough seats to remain in power. But the coalition lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time since 1969 - and with it, the right to amend the Constitution freely, which it has done 40 times in 50 years.
Cut 'sovereign' Israel loose
An Israeli attack against Gaza killed more than 100 people, most of them innocent civilians. It was a reprisal attack for a few rockets fired into Israel by some Hamas hotheads. 13 Israelis have been killed by these rockets in the past seven years.
In World War II, when the Germans killed civilians as a reprisal for an attack on their forces, it was called a war crime.
The United States should stop the $3 billion annual gift to the Israelis and tell them that as of now, the U.S. will no longer protect them from United Nations sanctions or criticism with our veto. Israel is quick to say it is a sovereign and independent country; well, it's time the U.S. put that to the test.
In World War II, when the Germans killed civilians as a reprisal for an attack on their forces, it was called a war crime.
The United States should stop the $3 billion annual gift to the Israelis and tell them that as of now, the U.S. will no longer protect them from United Nations sanctions or criticism with our veto. Israel is quick to say it is a sovereign and independent country; well, it's time the U.S. put that to the test.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Indian editor a casualty of proposed US-India nuclear pact
Mubhashar Jawed Akbar, the wordsmith who once cheekily suggested that Bombay should establish diplomatic relations with the rest of India, has been eased out of his position as editor-in-chief of a pioneering experiment in Indian journalism, The Asian Age.
Indian journalist Seema Mustafa, and her editor, shed more light on this.
Seema Mustafa writes, "the reality is that the government cannot go ahead with the nuclear deal and hope to win an election. ...The minorities are particularly unhappy with the repercussions of the global war against terror, and are definitely amongst the first to have climbed on to the anti-imperialist plank. The poor and the oppressed have seen little in five years to convince them that the Congress party is working for their uplift. We have 53 of the worlds billionaires, ranking fourth in the list of countries, even as 300 million plus Indians live on less than one dollar a day."
Seema's editor writes: "The Asian Age editors have been sacked by the new management. Mr M. J. Akbar, the founder of the newspaper, has been unceremoniously replaced with T. Venkatt Ram Reddy. As an immediate impact the above column was not allowed to be published under the new management."
Indian journalist Seema Mustafa, and her editor, shed more light on this.
Seema Mustafa writes, "the reality is that the government cannot go ahead with the nuclear deal and hope to win an election. ...The minorities are particularly unhappy with the repercussions of the global war against terror, and are definitely amongst the first to have climbed on to the anti-imperialist plank. The poor and the oppressed have seen little in five years to convince them that the Congress party is working for their uplift. We have 53 of the worlds billionaires, ranking fourth in the list of countries, even as 300 million plus Indians live on less than one dollar a day."
Seema's editor writes: "The Asian Age editors have been sacked by the new management. Mr M. J. Akbar, the founder of the newspaper, has been unceremoniously replaced with T. Venkatt Ram Reddy. As an immediate impact the above column was not allowed to be published under the new management."
Islam stuck in 12th century on women's rights?
Before 9/11/01, the media relegated stories about women in Islamic societies to page B27, below the fold. Ever since 9/12/01, those same stories have screamed from the front pages in 100-point type. The shift in discourse coincided with the launch of Bush's global "War on Terror," when various hawks began using the plight of women in Islam to illustrate the supposed perfidy of our "enemies," and to justify a series of military "interventions"—invasions—by Western powers.
The United States has very little standing to criticize anyone else about the status of women. We rank 71st in the world in terms of the proportion of women serving in our legislature, with just 16 percent. That's significantly worse not only than the European countries, it's also a poorer showing than Sudan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
The United States has very little standing to criticize anyone else about the status of women. We rank 71st in the world in terms of the proportion of women serving in our legislature, with just 16 percent. That's significantly worse not only than the European countries, it's also a poorer showing than Sudan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
Blair plans to teach religion at Yale
Yale, the Ivy League alma mater of his good friend George Bush, confirmed yesterday that the former prime minister is to join the schools of management and divinity at the campus in New Haven, Connecticut, in the autumn. He will teach a course on faith and globalisation, looking at religion in the modern world.
Friday, March 7, 2008
About John Hagee's endorsement of McCain
John Hagee, leader of the politically powerful group Christians United for Israel (CUFI), endorsed Republican nominee for president, John McCain. Here is some of Hagee's statements.
CUFI considers its defining issue to be the growing challenge of radical Islam, particularly as relates to the security of Israel and the United States. CUFI is increasingly concerned by Iran and its potential nuclear threats. Hagee often alludes to Nazi Germany in order to underline what he believes to be the gravity of the situation:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are reliving history. It is 1938 all over again," Hagee explains in a 2007 speech. "Iran is Germany. Ahmadinejad is Hitler. And Ahmadinejad, just like Hitler, is talking about killing the Jews."
CUFI considers its defining issue to be the growing challenge of radical Islam, particularly as relates to the security of Israel and the United States. CUFI is increasingly concerned by Iran and its potential nuclear threats. Hagee often alludes to Nazi Germany in order to underline what he believes to be the gravity of the situation:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are reliving history. It is 1938 all over again," Hagee explains in a 2007 speech. "Iran is Germany. Ahmadinejad is Hitler. And Ahmadinejad, just like Hitler, is talking about killing the Jews."
Iraq: The calm before the conflagration
The United States is funding and in many cases arming the three ethnic factions in Iraq—the Kurds, the Shiites and the Sunni Arabs. These factions rule over partitioned patches of Iraqi territory and brutally purge rival ethnic groups from their midst. Iraq no longer exists as a unified state. It is a series of heavily armed fiefdoms run by thugs, gangs, militias, radical Islamists and warlords who are often paid wages of $300 a month by the U.S. military. Iraq is Yugoslavia before the storm. It is a caldron of weapons, lawlessness, hate and criminality that is destined to implode. And the current U.S. policy, born of desperation and defeat, means that when Iraq goes up, the U.S. military will have to scurry like rats for cover.
U.S. pressures India on 'pre-emptive war'
As the Iran issue threatens to turn critical, New Delhi is faced with a serious challenge from its policy of promoting a "strategic partnership" with Washington. Efforts are on to push Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government to play a significant support role in case the Pentagon unleashes another "pre-emptive" war in the Middle East.
Barack Obama is better off without Samantha Power
A key foreign policy advisor to Barack Obama, Samantha Power, was forced to resign today after describing Hillary Clinton as a monster. Obama is better off without Power.
We know Power primarily from her television appearances on the subject of Darfur. We don't recall her mentioning the Chinese oil concessions (desired by U.S. companies), and the diminishing farmlands in the north (attributed to global warming) which caused herders there to migrate south where they came into conflict with farmers.
Nor did Power mention that among the 200,000 Darfurians who have died, a World Food Program report says that about 20% died due to violence, and 80% died mainly from starvation and from diseases.
Meanwhile, she appeared to ignore the far worse crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More people have died there than in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Darfur combined—5.4 million by some estimates.
The late Senator Lantos played a major role in the Darfur deception, just like he did in the deception leading to the first Gulf War.
A high point of the public relations campaign against Iraq, was the testimony of a Kuwaiti refugee, before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on October 15, 1990, who told of Iraqi troops removing over 300 babies from incubators in Kuwait City hospital, and dumping them on the floor to die.
On January 6, 1992, John R. MacArthur, publisher of Harper's Magazine and author of "Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War," revealed in a New York Times Op-Ed that "Nayirah," the alleged refugee, was the daughter of Saud al-Sabah, Kuwait's ambassador to the United States, and that Hill and Knowlton, a large public relations firm, had helped prepare her testimony, which she had rehearsed before video cameras in the firm's Washington office.
"The chairmen of the Congressional group, Tom Lantos, a California Democrat, and John Edward Porter, an Illinois Republican, explained that Nayirah's identity would be kept secret to protect her family from reprisals in occupied Kuwait" wrote MacArthur.
We know Power primarily from her television appearances on the subject of Darfur. We don't recall her mentioning the Chinese oil concessions (desired by U.S. companies), and the diminishing farmlands in the north (attributed to global warming) which caused herders there to migrate south where they came into conflict with farmers.
Nor did Power mention that among the 200,000 Darfurians who have died, a World Food Program report says that about 20% died due to violence, and 80% died mainly from starvation and from diseases.
Meanwhile, she appeared to ignore the far worse crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More people have died there than in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Darfur combined—5.4 million by some estimates.
The late Senator Lantos played a major role in the Darfur deception, just like he did in the deception leading to the first Gulf War.
A high point of the public relations campaign against Iraq, was the testimony of a Kuwaiti refugee, before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on October 15, 1990, who told of Iraqi troops removing over 300 babies from incubators in Kuwait City hospital, and dumping them on the floor to die.
On January 6, 1992, John R. MacArthur, publisher of Harper's Magazine and author of "Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War," revealed in a New York Times Op-Ed that "Nayirah," the alleged refugee, was the daughter of Saud al-Sabah, Kuwait's ambassador to the United States, and that Hill and Knowlton, a large public relations firm, had helped prepare her testimony, which she had rehearsed before video cameras in the firm's Washington office.
"The chairmen of the Congressional group, Tom Lantos, a California Democrat, and John Edward Porter, an Illinois Republican, explained that Nayirah's identity would be kept secret to protect her family from reprisals in occupied Kuwait" wrote MacArthur.
Islam gives London finance markets edge
After taking a battering from the global credit crisis, London has a potential ace up its sleeve as it seeks to restore its reputation as a global financial center — its premier position in the Islamic banking industry.
The British government will decide next week if it will issue a sovereign Islamic bond, or sukuk, a new avenue into a market that's estimated to eventually reach $4 trillion by Standard & Poor's.
The British government will decide next week if it will issue a sovereign Islamic bond, or sukuk, a new avenue into a market that's estimated to eventually reach $4 trillion by Standard & Poor's.
Intelligence estimate on Iraq may be kept secret
A new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq is scheduled to be completed this month, according to U.S. intelligence officials. But leaders of the intelligence community have not decided whether to make its key judgments public, a step that caused an uproar when key judgments in an NIE about Iran were released in November.
Iraqi women more oppressed than ever
Iraq, where women once had more rights and freedom than most others in the Arab world, has turned deadly for women who dream of education and a professional career.
Former dictator Saddam Hussein maintained a relatively secular society, where it was common for women to take up jobs as professors, doctors and government officials. In today's Iraq, women are being killed by militia groups for not conforming to strict Islamist ways.
Former dictator Saddam Hussein maintained a relatively secular society, where it was common for women to take up jobs as professors, doctors and government officials. In today's Iraq, women are being killed by militia groups for not conforming to strict Islamist ways.
Iran Contra 2.0: How the Bush admin lied to Congress
The Bush administration lied to Congress and boosted military support for rival Palestinian faction Fatah in the aim of provoking a Palestinian civil war they thought Hamas would lose. Vanity Fair dubbed the episode “Iran Contra 2.0”—a reference to the Reagan administration’s funding of Nicaraguan Contras by covertly selling arms to Iran.
Iraq could blow up in John McCain's face
Seldom has the official Iraqi and American perception of what is happening in Iraq felt so different from the reality. Cocooned behind the walls of the Green Zone, defended by everybody from US soldiers to Peruvian and Ugandan mercenaries, the government of prime minister Nouri al-Maliki pumps out alluring tales of life returning to normal that border on fantasy.
Obama: Why is Afghanistan the 'right war'?
Barack Obama should reconsider his posture on the US mission in Afghanistan as fighting the right war while Iraq has been the wrong war. It’s a question that several NATO countries are beginning to ask ahead of the NATO meeting in Bucharest in April which is meant to review progress.
Progressive parties say cut military ties with Israel
Progressive parties in India accused the Indian government of “aiding and abetting” Israel in its attacks on Palestine and called for an end to military and security ties with Israel during a press conference on Wednesday.
The fancy guns are trained on China
On February 4, President George W Bush announced a baseline military budget of US$515.4 billion for the next fiscal year, not including funds for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is the largest one-year Pentagon request in real, uninflated dollars since World War II.
A close examination of the FY 2009 request indicates that the principal sources of future budget growth are not the "war on terror" or other such low-intensity contingencies but rather preparation for all-out combat with a future superpower. Probe a little deeper into Pentagon thinking, and only one potential superpower emerges to justify all this vast spending: the People's Republic of China.
A close examination of the FY 2009 request indicates that the principal sources of future budget growth are not the "war on terror" or other such low-intensity contingencies but rather preparation for all-out combat with a future superpower. Probe a little deeper into Pentagon thinking, and only one potential superpower emerges to justify all this vast spending: the People's Republic of China.
McCain's consistent folly on Iraq
McCain has been consistent about Iraq, in the sense of being consistently wrong. If the American people get a long look at what he's said and a clear picture of our fortunes in Iraq, he may yearn for the days when he was being pilloried for offering "amnesty" to illegal immigrants.
The mounting costs of the Iraq war
U.S. military killed in Iraq: 3,973
Number of U.S. troops wounded in combat since the war began: 29,203
Iraqi Security Force deaths: 7,924
Iraqi civilians killed: Estimates range from 81,632-1,120,000
Internally displaced refugees in Iraq: 3.4 million
Iraqi refugees living abroad: 2.2-2.4 million
Iraqi refugees admitted to the U.S.: 3,222
Number of U.S. troops wounded in combat since the war began: 29,203
Iraqi Security Force deaths: 7,924
Iraqi civilians killed: Estimates range from 81,632-1,120,000
Internally displaced refugees in Iraq: 3.4 million
Iraqi refugees living abroad: 2.2-2.4 million
Iraqi refugees admitted to the U.S.: 3,222
Thursday, March 6, 2008
As alliances shift, Iran wins—again
The George W Bush administration promoted a Turkey-Israel axis, a Sunni Arab "axis of fear" and then a Saudi-Israeli nexus, always trying to isolate Iran. None of these concoctions has worked, and there are even hints that Washington and Tehran have concluded a secret deal brokered by Saudi Arabia to hammer out contentious issues. This might be fanciful, but the bottom line is that Iran sees itself as the ultimate victor of the US war on Iraq.
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