| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"maff" |
| Date: |
08 Feb 2007 11:33:15 AM |
| Object: |
OT: Pentagon sets its sights on Africa |
Pentagon sets its sights on Africa
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldbriefing/0,,1324846,00.html
Simon Tisdall
Thursday February 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
This week's decision by the US to create a new Pentagon command
covering Africa, known as Africom, has a certain unlovely military
logic. Like Roman emperors of old, Washington's centurions already
arbitrarily divide much of the world into Middle Eastern, European and
Pacific domains. Now it is Africa's turn, although whether Africans
will welcome (or were consulted) about this latest geo-strategic power
play seems doubtful.
Practical more than imperial considerations dictated the White House
move. With Gulf of Guinea countries including Nigeria and Angola
projected to provide one quarter of US oil imports within a decade,
with growing Islamist terrorism worries in the Sahel and Horn of
Africa regions, and with China prowling for resources and markets, the
US plainly feels a second wind of change is blowing, necessitating
increased presence and leverage.
The Nashville Qur'an
Brian Whitaker
February 8, 2007 03:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/brian_whitaker/2007/02/the_nashville_qu=
ran.html
For several years now, a book has been circulating in the Middle East
which closely resembles the Qur'an. It isn't actually the Qur'an,
though its style and presentation are very similar.
Its title is al-Furqan al-Haqq ("The True Furqan") and there have been
occasional complaints from Muslims that it might be mistaken for an
Islamic text when, in reality, it's a cunning bit of Christian
propaganda.
Resisting the Israel lobby
Abe Hayeem
February 8, 2007 02:40 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/abe_hayeem/2007/02/abe_hayeem_ijv.html
Criticism of Israel's human rights contraventions - and particularly
any mention of boycotts - elicits an immediate and powerful barrage
from the pro-Israel lobby. Editors of national newspapers and journals
can expect to be inundated by letters from Israel supporters, often
copying their arguments word-for-word from the numerous websites that
push the Israeli embassy line.
At the same time, critics can be deluged with hate mail couched in
lurid language. The ***** List ("Self-Hating Israel-Threatening")
website exemplifies the extreme verbal abuse and intimidation heaped
on Jews who speak out.
Iraq's missing millions
Ed Harriman
February 8, 2007 02:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ed_harriman/2007/02/post_1069.html
In the first year of the occupation of Iraq, Paul Bremer had two pots
of money to hand out. Some $20bn of the Iraqis' own funds, mostly from
Iraq's oil revenues and what was left over from the UN's Oil-for-Food
programme. And $18.4bn appropriated by the US Congress to rebuild
Iraq.
When Bremer quit Iraq in June 2004, his Coalition Provisional
Authority (CPA) had spent nearly all of the $20bn of the Iraqis' own
cash, and only about $400m of the American taxpayers' dollars he'd
been given by Congress.
Are we all anti-semites now?
Matthew Yglesias
February 8, 2007 01:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/matthew_yglesias/2007/02/matthew_yglesi=
as.html
As a Jewish person with a not-so-Jewish last name who occasionally
criticises the policies of the Israeli government (or, more
frequently, the policies of the United States vis-a-vis Israel), I've
been known to spend some time pondering how to work the fact that I'm
Jewish into my writing. After all, you don't want to be called an anti-
semite. The good news, then, is that the American Jewish Committee
says I don't need to bother any more.
The group, one of the oldest, largest and most respected Jewish
organisations in the America, recently published a pamphlet by Alvin
Rosenfeld on the subject of 'Progressive' Jewish Thought and the New
Anti-Semitism - a shot across the bow of those of us who thought being
Jewish might be a defence against charges of anti-semitism.
Earth worship is not enough
David Cox
February 8, 2007 11:55 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_cox/2007/02/earth_worship_is_sust=
aining_gl.html
Nowadays, some of those unable to acknowledge a creator seem eager to
make a cult of creation instead. This should not surprise us. Earth
worship, rather than deference to personal gods, is arguably
humanity's default religion.
The Earth, after all, requires no act of faith to validate its
existence. The generosity with which it bestows life and livelihood,
the awesome wrath with which it inflicts flood and famine, and indeed
its control over our destiny, all brook no denial. What's not to
worship? What's not to love, fear and propitiate?
Passing the blame
Nasrin Alavi
February 8, 2007 11:15 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/nasrin_alavi/2007/02/iran.html
The White House strategy of pinning the escalation of violence in Iraq
on Iranian meddling is easily proven to be "a gross misrepresentation
of the facts".
After all what has Iran to gain from an unstable Iraq? With the fall
of Saddam, Iran's major influence in Shia-dominated Iraq has grown. A
country gifted the upper hand by US foreign policy, need merely sit
back and reap the rewards. The emergence of a relatively stable Iraq
will mean that the Iranians are home and dry and can start lobbying
their close powerful allies in Iraq to make calls for a US exit.
The myth of self-hatred
Jacqueline Rose
February 8, 2007 10:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jacqueline_rose/2007/02/hold_jewish_voi=
ces_6.html
There is one charge against Jews who criticise Israel that seems to me
particularly misguided, and that is the charge that we are self-hating
Jews. Whenever confronted with this challenge, I am always inclined to
ask: "What kind of Jew do you want me to be?"
For those of us who are parents, we only have to turn to our
relationship with our children to recognise how useless, not to say
harmful to them, and rightly distrusted by them, we would become if,
when we recognise that we have made a serious blunder which affects
them deeply, we refused to criticise (and indeed sometimes to hate)
ourselves. Criticism and dissent are an essential part of love. In the
film version of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, there is a
terrifying moment where one of the two monstrous aunts, her distorted
face held in grotesque close-up, turns on the little boy and says:
"How dare you disagree with me!"
Is seeing doing?
David Wilson
February 8, 2007 09:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_wilson/2007/02/post_1068.html
What is the relationship between thinking and doing? Specifically,
what is the relationship between those who download pornographic
images of children from the internet, and those who act upon those
images and go on to commit sexual offences against children?
There has been very little research in this area, although one
historic American study suggested that only about one in every three
people convicted of downloading child pornography had actually
committed offences against children, and more recent British research
would deny a direct causal link between viewing pornography and
subsequent offending.
The anti-Israel Lobby
Jonathan Spyer
February 8, 2007 07:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jonathan_spyer/2007/02/the_antiisrael_l=
obby.html
There is something slightly surreal about the Independent Jewish
Voices (IJV) initiative launched on Monday. The initiative wishes to
"promote the expression of alternative Jewish voices". Its sponsors
consider that "individuals and groups within all communities should
feel free to express their views on any issue of public concern
without incurring accusations of disloyalty".
Do opponents of Israeli government policy in the UK, Jewish or non-
Jewish, truly feel that their arguments are not being heard? Is it
really their contention that the Board of Deputies of British Jews is
setting up "unwritten laws" which set the boundaries of what may or
may not be discussed?
A surging need for debate
Ewen MacAskill
February 7, 2007 09:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ewen_macaskill/2007/02/a_surging_need_f=
or_debate.html
Opinion in the US hardened on January 10 against the Iraq war. When
George Bush, in a televised address, rejected a phased withdrawal of
US troops and announced a 21,500 troop increase, the mood changed
dramatically on Capitol Hill and in the country at large. Democrats
who had been reluctant to go too far in criticising the war suddenly
lost their fear of being called unpatriotic. So too did some
Republican Congressmen, having lost faith in the president's
stewardship of the war - and fearful of losing their jobs in the next
election. The Democrats, backed by dissident Republicans, promised a
resolution in both the senate and the House of Representatives
criticising the troop 'surge'. It seemed that at last, after almost
five years, US voters were going to get a debate on the war.
But partisan wrangling in the senate on Monday blocked the resolution
and the debate has been denied. The resolution will be heard next week
in the House of Representatives, but that does not carry the same
weight as the senate.
Against the grains
Betool Khedairi
February 7, 2007 08:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/betool_khedairi/2007/02/the_salt_reader=
..html
A charming student from Dartmouth College called and asked me for an
interview. She was hoping to complete her graduation thesis. She
charged into the Four Seasons in Amman full of questions about
mysticism in relation to women in the Middle East as she was
researching the spiritual connotations behind the folkloric characters
in my novels.
It was amusing comparing notes between east and west. The Arabic
coffee cup reader who told fortunes from coffee dregs v the gypsy
crystal ball reader, the childless Siluwa monster with one breast that
steals infants in Baghdad v the stork that drops bundled babies
through chimneys and Abdul Shat, the Phantom who lives in the Tigris
River scares away the children to stop them from drowning v Santa. We
talked about the blue talisman used in Iraqi culture called The Mother
of Seven Eyes that wards off the Evil Eye, and how some Europeans
refrain from walking under ladders to avoid bad luck. For two hours we
tossed snowballs between One Thousand and One Nights and Alice in
Wonderland. Her next call was to invite me to her campus.
The dire global cooling problem
Bradford Plumer
February 7, 2007 08:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/bradfordplumer/2007/02/global_warming_d=
eniers.html
I have to say, the rightwing response to the latest assessment from
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been
disappointing. Take the editors of the National Review, who seem not
to have read the just-released summary before they downplayed it. They
note, among other things, that the IPCC's "maximum prediction [for
rises in sea levels by 2099] is 17 inches", which simply isn't true.
(National Review's number doesn't include future changes in ice flow,
which could raise sea levels an additional eight inches or more,
according to the IPCC.) Honestly, the IPCC report took a long time to
write. It deserves a higher caliber of hack.
Meanwhile, the right is once again trotting out one of its favorite
talking points: back in the 1970s, scientists were carping about
global cooling, and since they were wrong about that, why should we
believe their dire predictions now? In December, Dennis Miller went on
the Tonight Show and held up an issue of Newsweek from April of 1975
with a story titled "The Cooling World". This week, in the Canada Free
Press, global warming-skeptic Timothy Ball cited a 1976 book by Lowell
Ponte, who argued that "Global Cooling" is "of ultimate importance".
Michael Crichton even mentioned it in his 2004 novelist, State of
Fear. The message is clear: Scientists were wrong then, so they're
probably wrong now, too.
Cut the Hollywood action
Michael Tomasky
February 7, 2007 07:37 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/michael_tomasky/2007/02/hollywood_democ=
rats.html
We're just under a year away from the first votes being cast for the
next president. But one crucial Democratic primary is already under
way. Its "voters" are not factory workers or school teachers or
regional sales reps; instead, they are people you know, named Clooney,
Spielberg, Katzenberg, and Geffen.
Yes, the "Hollywood primary," the scrum to secure the backing and
money of entertainment industry figures, is on. The presidential
campaign of 2008 has started ridiculously early (it gets worse every
four years; my calculation is that we'll cross a metaphysical
threshold with the campaign of 2028, which should begin in earnest
before the campaign of 2024 ends). And one of the main reasons they
keep starting earlier and earlier is that the candidates want to get
the jump on the competition in lining up the big-money support. And
for Democrats, the rattling of the tin cup begins in Hollywood.
Keeping the peace
Ian Black
February 7, 2007 06:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ian_black/2007/02/keeping_the_peace_2.h=
tml
Venues for fatefully important negotiations don't come much more
dramatic than the Saudi city of Mecca, where rival Palestinian leaders
are meeting in view of the Grand Mosque itself to try to avert the
threat of civil war and set up a national unity government that could
- in theory - hold peace talks with Israel.
King Abdullah, "Custodian of The Two Holy Shrines", (the other is in
Medina) has put his considerable weight and prestige behind attempts
to force Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas,
the Palestinian president, to bury their differences. These have
triggered bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and real concern that a long-
suffering people is heading for more internecine strife that will only
play into its enemies' hands.
Why size does matter
Ilana Bet-El
February 7, 2007 06:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ilana_betel/2007/02/post_1066.html
There are sums of money that are obscene: sometimes, it is the actual
sum, especially if it is very large or small; sometimes, it is the
purpose, especially if it is socially unacceptable; sometimes, it is
the disproportion between the sum and the purpose; and sometimes, it
is a combination of all three. The US defence budget now tabled by
President George W Bush falls into the latter category.
Totalling US$623bn, it is an obscene amount - which sounds only
slightly better in euros or sterling, given the weak dollar: =E2=82=AC481.6=
bn,
or =C2=A3316.47bn. This is not only larger than any other defence budget in
the world, or indeed, nearly all other national defence budgets
combined; it is actually larger than most overall national budgets,
including those of the developed world. One analyst reckoned it would
be the 17th biggest, just behind the Dutch national budget.
The end of the road
Ken Livingstone
February 7, 2007 05:30 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ken_livingstone/2007/02/the_end_of_the_=
road.html
The European commission is entirely right to set tougher carbon
emissions standards for new cars and it is entirely predictable that
Edmund King of the RAC should protest that the target of reducing
carbon emissions from new cars to 130gm/km by 2012 will be "tough" on
manufacturers.
I thought that last week's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
report had finally ended the debate - the time for words was over -
now is the time for action. Yet, here we are, only a week later, and
the response of the motoring lobby to the EU's rather modest proposals
is illustrative of a wider failure to respond to the threat of climate
change.
Betting with the house's money
Kenneth Rogoff
February 7, 2007 05:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/kenneth_rogoff/2007/02/betting_with_the=
_houses_money.html
Many people have been asking why the dollar hasn't crashed yet. Will
the United States ever face a bill for the string of massive trade
deficits that it has been running for more than a decade? Including
interest payments on past deficits, the tab for 2006 alone was over
$800 billion dollars - roughly 6.5% of US gross national product. Even
more staggeringly, US borrowing now soaks up more than two-thirds of
the combined excess savings of all the surplus countries in the world,
including China, Japan, Germany, and the OPEC states.
Foreigners are hardly reaping great returns on investing in the US. On
the contrary, they typically get significantly lower returns than
Americans get on their investments abroad. In an era in which stock
and housing prices are soaring, the central banks of Japan and China
are holding almost two trillion dollars worth of low-interest bonds. A
very large share of these are US treasury bonds and mortgages. This
enormous subsidy to American taxpayers is, in many ways, the world's
largest foreign aid program.
Playing with fire
Soumaya Ghannoushi
February 7, 2007 04:56 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/soumaya_ghannoushi_/2007/02/post_1067.h=
tml
It looks like the Muslim issue is set to remain the subject of
political polarisation for years to come: every time in a new guise
and under a new title, from terrorism to integration, and from faith
schools to the veil. This politically lucrative subject is now
favoured by politicians of all colours and hues, from far right BNP
extremists to centre left Blairites, and centre right Tories.
The latest to join this frenzied exploitation contest is the
Conservative leader David Cameron. Bar the fake smiles and warm words,
his speech last Monday looked like it could have been delivered by a
Howard or a Duncan Smith, betraying the same commitment to a rigid
notion of national identity, the same contempt for cultural pluralism
and the same hostility to immigration. The Conservatives'
transformation it seems has only been skin-deep.
Children of the Holocaust
Anne Karpf
February 7, 2007 04:00 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/anne_karpf/2007/02/hold_jewish_voices_4=
..html
I've just been talking on the phone to an aunt in Israel - a Holocaust
survivor like my mother. After swapping news about the family, the
subject of the Middle East came up. Though our views sometimes overlap
they also differ because, despite her strong criticism of the current
Israeli government and despair over their incursion last year into
Lebanon, she's ultimately a passionate defender of the state.
Our conversation was heated but never less than amicable: what struck
me was how long it is since I've had such a vigorous exchange of views
about the Middle East with other Jews in Britain with whom I disagree
that didn't end with me being accused of something - from being self-
hating, to undermining the very future of Judaism. In fact, from what
I've read and what my aunt described, I get the sense that the quality
of debate is far more frank and uninhibited in Israel than it is here.
This is why I signed the Independent Jewish Voices declaration.
A portrait of the artist
Martin Rowson
February 7, 2007 03:05 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/martin_rowson/2007/02/post_1065.html
On the Today Programme this morning Boris Johnson, wandering round the
new Hogarth exhibition at Tate Britain, bemoaned the fact that today's
crop of smart young Britart boys and girls have failed to follow
Hogarth's lead in satirising the shenanigans of modern politicians
with the same murderous intensity, and the same levels of visual
representation, as Hogarth himself. Boris has a sort of point, being a
pretty Hogarthian figure himself, whose rubicund physique wouldn't
look that out of place peeping behind a tatty damask curtain in either
The Rake's Progress or, indeed, Marriage a la Mode. That said, he
hasn't quite understood exactly what Hogarth was up to, which is
perfectly reasonable considering the range of Hogarth's output, which
still remains unmatched in British art.
Caught in a recurring conflict
Mehrad Vaezinejad
February 7, 2007 02:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/mehrad_vaezinejad/2007/02/an_iranian_vi=
ew_how_i_feel_meh.html
Again, they are saying it: let's talk, kids. Like concerned parents to
their naughty children, they say it again: let's talk, before it is
too late. One really need not be Nostradamus to see where this three-
decades-long train of US-Iranian hostility is heading. American - and
of course, the British - naval fleets wander about in the uneasy
waters of the Persian Gulf; patriot missiles amass on the illusively
calm deserts of the Arabian peninsula; and belligerent words of
pompous "determination" blow eastwards all the way to fill the murky
air of the Middle East.
And yet, one wished this was all: a handful of Islamic Republic folk
fall in the hands of the US military in Arbil; a bunch of self-
righteous ideology-driven radicals bomb their way through Baghdad; and
a few cascades of proud centrifuges spin tirelessly in Natanz, going
round and round unmindfully, as if no cry of danger could ever stop
them ... and what else might one need to compose a fertile ground for
future "war historians" to explore, and for the enthusiastic
Orientalists of future generations to excavate? A misinformed comment
here, a careless step of brinkmanship there; a never-to-be-explained
incident here, an embarrassing lapse of human reason there ... and
suddenly there are all the elements of a classic.
The clean-up act
Open Thread
February 7, 2007 01:33 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/open_thread/2007/02/having_a_domestic_1=
..html
Despite the rise of the modern domesticated man, women are still the
ones going the extra mile with the vacuum cleaner. According to a
survey reported in the Times today, the average British woman will
vacuum the equivalent distance of a trip to New York during their
lifetime while men will only manage a stroll from Land's End to John
O'Groats.
We must stop Bush bombing Iran, and stop Iran getting the bomb
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2008073,00.html
A new Plan A, with more American carrots and European sticks, is
necessary. But don't count on it working
Timothy Garton Ash
Thursday February 8, 2007
The Guardian
We should not bomb Iran to prevent Iran getting the bomb. The
consequences would be disastrous. After Iraq, US or Israeli military
action against this regionally powerful, oil-producing Shia muslim
country would make the world a still more dangerous place. The cure
would be worse than the disease. That's what a new report from a
diverse coalition of British organisations says, and it is right. But
this is not enough. Joining with wiser heads in Washington to prevent
George Bush making a final gung-ho blunder is only a preliminary to
the real business. Anyone who, after a bracing afternoon walk chanting
"stop the war" and "stop Bush", goes home thinking they have made the
world a safer place needs to think some more.
Mimicking the US approach to Cuba will get us nowhere
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2008091,00.html
Washington's dream of a post-Fidel leadership collapse is pure
fantasy. Britain should try dialogue, not standoff
Brian Wilson
Thursday February 8, 2007
The Guardian
American (and hence, sadly, British) foreign policy towards Cuba has
long been based on a single presumption: that on the death of Fidel
Castro the people will take to the streets, the current system of
government will collapse, and a regime more acceptable to American
(and hence British) interests will be ushered in.
It has always been a threadbare strategy, born of wishful thinking and
wilful ignorance. One of the many scenarios that it did not
countenance was the orderly transition of authority while Castro was
still alive. Insofar as this possibility was examined at all, it was
dismissed on the grounds that he would never willingly cede the power
which he had exercised for more than 40 years, at every level of
detail in Cuba's affairs.
What I'm reading: the Bible
Tom Hodgkinson
February 7, 2007 03:51 PM
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/02/what_im_reading_the_bible.html
My best Christmas present was a copy of the New Jerusalem Bible. My
library had been sorely lacking in any sort of Bible and I decided
that I'd like to begin to acquaint myself with the good book. It is
after all considered to be an important text whether you believe in
God or not. This version is supposed to be good for studying as it is
crammed with scholarly footnotes. So I am keeping it by my bedside and
most evenings I will read a few pages.
On first perusal the Old Testament appears a mixture of severe laws
and homely wisdom. For example, in Deuteronomy we read: "A man whose
testicles have been crushed or whose male member has been cut off must
not be admitted to the assembly of Yahweh." And in Proverbs, we learn
that the perfect housewife "makes her own quilts, she is dressed in
fine linen and purple."
Where there's oil ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2008037,00.html
If Scotland were to become independent, could it really survive
economically? From public spending to North Sea revenue, Ashley Seager
does the maths
Thursday February 8, 2007
The Guardian
Many Scots dream of going it alone, believing that an independent
Scotland, even without subsidies from elsewhere in Britain, could
sustain itself using oil revenues from the North Sea, and thus mimic
the economic success of their Celtic neighbours in Ireland. But how
realistic is that?
First some basic facts. Scotland has a population of just over 5
million, about 1/12th of the British population. The number of people
living there has, however, been in long-term decline, a situation
that, thanks to the country's low birth rate, is likely to continue.
Over recent decades, the Scottish economy has grown slightly more
slowly than the English one, although gross domestic product per head
remains broadly similar north of the border to that in England, as in
recent years rapid growth of the service sector in Scotland has
compensated for the deindustrialisation of the past few decades. Only
London, the south-east and East Anglia have higher GDP per head than
Scotland.
Will MySpace ever lose its monopoly?
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2008486,00.html
Victor Keegan
Thursday February 8, 2007
The Guardian
Aristotle distinguished between friendships based on communal
interests and those of soulmates who bonded out of mutual affection.
The vast majority of people signed up for MySpace, Rupert Murdoch's
phenomenally successful networking site, fall into the former
category. But on present showing that won't stop its continuing
expansion which, as the MySpace generation goes into employment, could
eventually extend Murdoch's influence in ways that would make his grip
on satellite television seem parochial.
Russia plans major military build-up
http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,2008657,00.html
Mark Tran and agencies
Thursday February 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Russia is planning to buy new intercontinental ballistic missiles,
nuclear submarines and possibly aircraft carriers as part of an
ambitious military programme, it emerged yesterday.
The defence minister, Sergei Ivanov, told parliament the military
would have 17 new ballistic missiles this year - a hefty increase on
the four deployed on average each year in recent times.
The purchases are part of a weapons modernisation programme for
2007-2015 worth about 5 trillion roubles (=C2=A396.4bn).
Iraqi minister arrested over Sadr links
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2008580,00.html
Agencies
Thursday February 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Iraqi and US forces in Baghdad today arrested the country's deputy
health minister on suspicion of providing significant help to Shia
militia groups.
Hakim al-Zamili, a supporter of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-
Sadr, was detained during a raid on his office this morning, a health
ministry official said.
US set for North Korea climbdown
http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article/0,,2008709,00.html
Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Thursday February 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
The US was set for embarrassing climbdown as a new round of six-nation
talks over North Korea opened today, offering the best hope of a
breakthrough since the standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons
programme began in 2002.
According to diplomats and foreign affairs experts, the initial
compromise is likely to see the Bush administration dropping several
of the sanctions it has imposed in the past five years in return for
the freezing of activities at the Yongbyon reactor and the return of
international nuclear inspectors.
Ayatollah: even Bush can be brought to his senses
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2008811,00.html
Mark Oliver
Thursday February 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
The war of words between the US and Iran today escalated as Iran's
supreme leader warned that Tehran would target American interests if
attacked.
"The enemies know any aggression will give way to a wide reaction from
Iranian people toward them and their interests in all parts of the
world," Iranian state television quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as
saying.
The ayatollah Khamenei, who wields ultimate power in Iran, made his
remarks amid growing speculation that the US will launch strikes
against Iran's nuclear facilities.
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| User: "Brian E. Clark" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Pentagon sets its sights on Africa |
08 Feb 2007 12:10:37 PM |
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In article <1170955995.243309.256840
@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com>, maff said...
Now it is Africa's turn, although whether Africans
will welcome (or were consulted) about this latest \
geo-strategic power play seems doubtful.
The opinion of the people living the targeted lands never
matters -- just as the wishes of the majority of the U.S.
citizenry for an immediate end to the Iraq war means
nothing.
--
-----------
Brian E. Clark
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Pentagon sets its sights on Africa |
08 Feb 2007 12:54:25 PM |
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On Feb 8, 1:10 pm, Brian E. Clark <r...@newsgroup.only.please> wrote:
In article <1170955995.243309.256840
@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com>, maff said...
Now it is Africa's turn, although whether Africans
will welcome (or were consulted) about this latest \
geo-strategic power play seems doubtful.
The opinion of the people living the targeted lands never
matters -- just as the wishes of the majority of the U.S.
citizenry for an immediate end to the Iraq war means
nothing.
If the government of Chad decided to assign some of
their military officers to analyze what threats Libya
posed to their interests and make contingency plans,
do you think they'd have to ask Libya's permission
first? If not, then why should the US have to ask
the opinion of Africans before setting up Africom?
--
Walt Smith
Firelock on DALNet
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| User: "Rich Corinthian Leather" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Pentagon sets its sights on Africa |
08 Feb 2007 07:10:34 PM |
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wrote:
On Feb 8, 1:10 pm, Brian E. Clark <r...@newsgroup.only.please> wrote:
In article <1170955995.243309.256840
@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com>, maff said...
Now it is Africa's turn, although whether Africans
will welcome (or were consulted) about this latest \
geo-strategic power play seems doubtful.
The opinion of the people living the targeted lands never
matters -- just as the wishes of the majority of the U.S.
citizenry for an immediate end to the Iraq war means
nothing.
If the government of Chad decided to assign some of
their military officers to analyze what threats Libya
posed to their interests and make contingency plans,
do you think they'd have to ask Libya's permission
first? If not, then why should the US have to ask
the opinion of Africans before setting up Africom?
Because it's *their* continent?
RCL
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Pentagon sets its sights on Africa |
09 Feb 2007 09:22:58 AM |
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On Feb 8, 8:10 pm, Rich Corinthian Leather
<inexplica...@mysterious.net> wrote:
firelock...@hotmail.com wrote:
On Feb 8, 1:10 pm, Brian E. Clark <r...@newsgroup.only.please> wrote:
In article <1170955995.243309.256840
@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com>, maff said...
Now it is Africa's turn, although whether Africans
will welcome (or were consulted) about this latest \
geo-strategic power play seems doubtful.
The opinion of the people living the targeted lands never
matters -- just as the wishes of the majority of the U.S.
citizenry for an immediate end to the Iraq war means
nothing.
If the government of Chad decided to assign some of
their military officers to analyze what threats Libya
posed to their interests and make contingency plans,
do you think they'd have to ask Libya's permission
first? If not, then why should the US have to ask
the opinion of Africans before setting up Africom?
Because it's *their* continent?
The world is a far, far smaller place than that, Rich.
--
Walt Smith
Firelock on DALNet
.
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