Recently in International Category
New York TimesQuite the contrast with Myanmar, isn't it. I can't help but wonder if China sees the international communities response to that crisis and realize it would be better to be open and cooperative, ask for assistance, and show they care about their citizens.
News of the quake has dominated Chinese television. The state-controlled media have been especially aggressive in their coverage, with reporters fanning out across the stricken region. Home video, cellphone images and commentary have been flowing uncensored onto Web sites.
This really is a level of openness for China that is unprecedented.
APHARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A shipment of weapons to Zimbabwe may be returned to China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, after the troubled southern African nation's neighbors prevented the cargo from being unloaded.
The Chinese freighter arrived in South Africa last week, and human rights groups and others said they feared the mortar grenades and bullets onboard could be used by President Robert Mugabe's regime to clamp down on its opposition.
The News TribuneStudies: Iraq costs U.S. $12B per monthBy CHARLES J. HANLEY ; AP Special CorrespondentPublished: March 9th, 2008 02:07 PM | Updated: March 9th, 2008 05:02 PMThe flow of blood may be ebbing, but the flood of money into the Iraq war is steadily rising, new analyses show. In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the "burn" rate of its earliest years, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and co-author Linda J. Bilmes report in a new book.Beyond 2008, working with "best-case" and "realistic-moderate" scenarios, they project the Iraq and Afghan wars, including long-term U.S. military occupations of those countries, will cost the U.S. budget between $1.7 trillion and $2.7 trillion - or more - by 2017.
Christ, I can't make the monthly mortgage without facing the prospect of getting my heat shut off. How the hell am I suppose to pay for my portion of this God forsaken clusterfuck?
McClatchyBAGHDAD -- At least 40 Shiite pilgrims were killed and 60 injured in a suicide bombing south of Baghdad Sunday in what was once known as the Sunni triangle of death.
The bombing in Iskandariyah came as hundreds of thousands of Shiites took to the streets to walk the 50 miles to the holy city of Karbala for Arbaeen. The ceremony on Thursday commemorates the anniversary of the 40th day following the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Mohammed, a venerated figure in Shiite Islam.
As pilgrims stopped for water and food at a tent set up to serve them along their journey, a suicide bomber walked into the crowd and detonated, killing and wounding many of the pilgrims, said Muthanna Ahmed, spokesman for the police in Babil province. He expected the death toll to rise.
Explain to me again how the I&O* of Iraq has improved Iraqi lives? If we meant to give them the same standard of living and the same level of security as we are blessed to have,,,,,,, well, I guess that means we must have the same number of killings by suicide bombers at Christmas mass, or Easter mass, unless mass is canceled due to strain on the electrical grid causing a shutdown.
Seriously, BushCo™, screwed the pooch when it comes to Iraq. Other than to fatten the pockets of Halliburton and company, this has been a monumental failure.
* Invasion & Occupation
Raúl Castro Named Cuba's New President - New York TimesOld boss, same as the new boss.
HAVANA --The Cuban National Assembly voted Raúl Castro as its new president on Sunday, the first time the country has had a new leader since his brother Fidel seized power in 1959.
Technorati Tags: Cuba, Castro,
Musharraf's Party Accepts Defeat - New York TimesYou mean his efforts at rigging the election in Pakistan didn't pan out? I am shocked, Shocked! I tell you. How could such a despicable situation befall a gallant ally in the GLOBAL WAR AGAINST TERROR?
LAHORE, Pakistan -- Pakistan appeared to be heading for a transition to an elected civilian government Tuesday after President Pervez Musharraf told visiting United States senators that he accepted the resounding defeat of his party in elections, and would work with a new Parliament.
Poor, poor President Bush. First the Protect America Act lapses, now Musharraf loses the election. He stands alone, does our quacker of a president.
Technorati Tags: Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, Election, GWOT
Castro resigns as president, state-run paper reports - CNN.comWell, son of a bitch! I guess being a communist dictator can lead to a long life, ending in retirement. I wonder if technical colleges will be developing courses for budding communist dictators.
HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Fidel Castro announced his resignation as president of Cuba and commander-in-chief of Cuba's military Tuesday, according to a letter published in the state-run newspaper, Granma.
Technorati Tags: Cuba, Fidel Castro,
New York TimesThis will have long lasting implications for stability in the region, and the world. The GWOT just entered a new and darker phase.
RAWALPINDI, Islamabad — An attack on a political rally killed the Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto near the capital, Islamabad, Thursday. Witnesses said Ms. Bhutto was fired upon before the blast, and an official from her party said Ms. Bhutto was further injured by the explosion, which was apparently caused by a suicide attacker.
The New York TimesOkay, is anyone else losing sleep over this? Well, I have to admit I'm not. Actually, the better question would be is any one surprised by John Howard's loss? Lord knows I'm not surprised. When you attach your international policy to the Childish President, you are going to lose. Blair proved that.
SYDNEY, Nov. 24 — Prime Minister John Howard of Australia suffered a comprehensive defeat today, with a coalition led by his Liberal Party losing its majority in parliament.
Hell, I bet even Israel politicians aligned with the Bush administration will find they are going to lose.
New York TimesPARIS, Oct. 18 — For President Nicolas Sarkozy, a day does not get much darker than this.
On Thursday, Mr. Sarkozy, the 52-year-old French leader, was reeling from blows on two different domestic fronts: a wave of strikes that swept through France and an official announcement that his 11-year marriage had come to an end.
Shortly after a presidential spokesman, David Martinon, told a hastily called news conference that he had absolutely no comment about his boss’s marriage, the Élysée Palace dropped the bombshell that Mr. Sarkozy and his wife, Cécilia, “announce their separation by mutual consent.” The palace later clarified that the couple “had divorced.”
Looks as if France has their own version of G.W. in office. A new Miserable Failure in the works?
However, I'll take issue with the New York Times headline; I think the marital crises is over, there already having been a divorce.
KARACHI, Pakistan - A suicide bombing in a crowd welcoming former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto killed at least 123 people Thursday night, shattering her celebratory procession through Pakistan’s biggest city after eight years in exile.
Two explosions went off near a truck carrying Bhutto, but police and officials of her party said she was not injured and was hurried to her house. An Associated Press photo showed a dazed-looking Bhutto being helped away.
There were conflicting reports on the number of people killed in the blasts. The Associated Press, citing officials from six hospitals, reported 126 dead and 248 wounded. Reuters, citing witnesses and a police official, reported 123 killed and more than 260 injured. There was no way to immediately reconcile the difference, but these figures make the attack one of the deadliest bomb strikes in Pakistan's history.
I don't know what this portents. It may not be of the same scale as the 9/11 attacks, but it sure seems to be having the same impact on Pakistan. Unless BushCo™ stick their ever miserably incompetent fingers into the aftermath, I think the Islamic militants will find they made a mistake with this attack. Unfortunately, I also believe it will invite more violence into Pakistan's political arena, not less.
Washington PostA controversial nuclear deal between the United States and India appears close to collapse after the Indian prime minister told President Bush yesterday that "certain difficulties" will prevent India from moving forward on the pact for the foreseeable future.
The main obstacle does not involve the specific terms of the agreement but rather India's internal politics, including fears from leftist parties that India is moving too close to the United States, according to officials and experts familiar with the deal. Besieged over the past two months by growing opposition to nuclear energy cooperation with the United States, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated over the weekend that he would rather save his coalition government than the nuclear pact.
"What we have done with the U.S., it is an honorable deal, it is good for India, and it is good for the world," Singh said Saturday. "But we are in the realm of politics, and within our coalition, there are differing perceptions."
Neither government appeared eager to announce the setback to what had been billed as one of the Bush administration's biggest foreign policy achievements. India's only official pronouncement was tucked at the bottom of a seven-paragraph news release on the Indian Embassy Web site outlining a telephone conversation Monday between Singh and Bush.
Okay, it's all nice and clean, using the term United States when attempting to explain the difficulties in executing this nuclear pact. But the truth is, the growing opposition is unwilling to have anything to do with BushCo™. And, quite frankly, I am rather of a mood to understand that opposition. I am not happy about it, and don't like the idea of nuclear proliferation, but I am of an understanding.
New York TimesI am not a foreign policy wonk. Hell, I am not a wonk of any type. But, it seems to me, that if you wanted to ham string BushCo™'s march towards war with Iran, what better way then to piss off an ally. Turkey being close to Iran and all, it seems that we'd be needing their air space and bases for any bombing of Iran, though I could be wrong.
ISTANBUL, Oct. 11 — Turkey reacted angrily Thursday to a House committee vote in Washington to condemn as genocide the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey that began during World War I, recalling its ambassador from Washington and threatening to withdraw its support for the Iraq war.
In uncharacteristically strong language, President Abdullah Gul criticized the vote by the House Foreign Relations Committee in a statement to the semi-official Anatolian News Agency, and warned that the decision could work against the United States.
Also, if someone wanted to work towards making it more difficult to stay in Iraq, this seems to be a rather novel, and indirect, manner in forcing the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would definitely take up the measure. “I said if it comes out of committee, it will go to the floor,” she told reporters. “Now it has come out of committee, and it will go to the floor.”I'm just saying.
Of course, the down side to all this; it becomes more grist for accusing Democrats of not supporting our service members.
New York TimesSo, I am not so sure as to the intelligence of this move. In terms of forcing hard choices about the continued presence of our troops in Iraq, and of any military action against Iran, it seems to be questionable. But, in life there has to be some risks. Yet politically, this could spell disaster for the Democrats in the House. Still, I am of a mind to sit back and wait. Honestly, this can't be anymore damaging than, say, lying us into illegally invading and occupying a sovereign nation.
Mr. Gates and other military officials have said that 70 percent of the military cargo sent to Iraq is flown through Incirlik or on routes over Turkey.
To drive home the potential impact of the House action, American officials have warned that delivery of new heavily armored trucks, known as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, could be disrupted. Senior military officials said Thursday that the roughly 400 such vehicles delivered since July have been flown in over Turkey but not landed on its territory. Those flights could avoid Turkish airspace, if necessary, they said.
The AgonistHe's as stupid as Bush. What person in their right mind makes an idiotic statement like that? Well, obviously, someone, such as Tom Tancredo, who does not have a mind. What the hell do you say to such stupidity? I can't even imagine his brain has the capacity to keep him breathing. True, he's alive. But what kind of life can you live with a brain that has an apparent maniacal desire to commit political seppuku?
Republican Presidential Candidate Tom Tancredo told a Danish journalist that Europe Should Deport its 20 Million Muslims. This was last night on the first episode of a mini-documentary series on America, Clement in America.
To be honest, I don't want to know the answer.
New York Times$5.7 billion just for 2008? How much longer are we going to keep throwing money into this pit? We've seen no progress for all the tax payer's hard earned wages spent on Iraq. Instead, we've been witness to graft, corruption and incompetence.
.....The administration is also requesting $1 billion to train Iraqi security forces, bringing the total 2008 request for training funds to $5.7 billion.
I'm not the only person fed up with this mess:
“The president and his supporters claim that we’re now finally on the cusp of progress and that we must continue to stay the course,” Mr. Byrd said. “I’ve heard that before. Call me a skeptic, but we have heard this tune before. Yes, haven’t we?”
Antiwar protesters in the hearing room responded with cries of “Yes! Yes!”
Mr. Byrd later had the room cleared of protesters after they disrupted an answer by Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Look, I'm not saying that absolutely no money should be approved for the Iraq Invasion. There are necessary items needed by the troops right now. Things no person should be questioning.
Bottom line: This administration has screwed the pooch in regards to just about everything it's put it's hands on, internationally and domestically. I am not trusting any policy it wishes to pursue. Especially in Iraq. I figure, fund just enough to more than adequately supply our troops so they can be kept safe, and once a competent, ethical, and moral, administration is in office, let's then look at what policies to pursue.Mr. Gates said $11 billion of the requested money was for building 15,000 heavily armored vehicles designed to better withstand the roadside bombs that cause the majority of American casualties in Iraq.
The Pentagon also seeks $9 billion to repair and refit American equipment stocks......
Bark Bark Woof WoofJust another addition of "Ya, What He Said."
What I have trouble getting past is that all this hue and cry does is prove that in spite of our tough talk about wiping out terrorism, "bring 'em on," and the Nuke Iran lobby making noise in the administration, we're really afraid of him to the point that some were willing to deny him the right to speak and answer questions. We've really lost something when we're that fearful of someone else's point of view, no matter how disgusting it may be. The best thing we can do to prove he's a petty and cruel dictator is let him talk.
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