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Al-Qaida On The Run In Iraq– Or Is It?
2008-05-26 09:15:00
There is increasing evidence al-Qaida forces are leaving the city of Mosul and seeking refuge in desert areas further south. The United States military believes the group is “off balance and on the run” but has yet to be defeated. Military officials were less optimistic than US Ambassador Ryan Crocker who said on Saturday that Iraq i forces have made important progress in confronting extremists and added: “You are not going to hear me say that al-Qaida is defeated, but they’ve never been closer to defeat than they are now.” The United States and Iraq now consider Mosul the last major urban stronghold of al-Qaida and it appears to have been forced to leave it. Admiral Drisoll emphasized that al-Qaida is disorganized but the group remains “a vey lethal threat” to security. Iraqi armed forces are conducting searches of Mosul and Sadr city in Baghdad which has elicited growing uneasiness from 0members of the Mahdi army. Their original agreement w...
More About: Al-Qaida , Al Qaida

Tsvangirai Returns To Zimbabwe
2008-05-26 09:14:00
Morgan Tsvangirai, who most probably won the election held for president this March, returned home from his self imposed exile in South Africa to a nation which is bset by government organized gang activitie that beat, torture and even kill political opponents. Many members of his MDC party are disappointed Tsvangirai remained in South Africa while the campaign of terror envelops the nation, but he has indicated returning would have led to his death at the hands of government thugs.It is estimated mor ethan 30 MDC party supporters and officials have been murdred by government sponsored “war veterans” whose only goal is to intimidate people either to vote for President Mugabe or not to vote. Tsvangirai visited victims of the brutality and discovered that most hospitals in the nation are reporting dozens of cases of individuals who have suffered broken arms or legs at the hands of Mugabe goons. Tsvangirai went immediately to the funeral of activist Tonderai Ndira who was t...
More About: Zimbabwe

Where Oh Where Is President Mbeki??
2008-05-26 09:08:00
South African President Thabo Mbeki who has been attacked for his lack of leadership in dealing with the anti-foreign riots which have swept his nation, is now being forced to confront questions about present handling the crisis. Two weeks have passed during which time rioters have attacked immigrants, burned their shacks, and, in some cases, killed these innocent people, but the president of the nation apparently has other things to do than visit scenes of the violence and offer reassurance to the afflicted. According to Olmo von Meijenfeldt, of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, “a strong appeal to the South African people from the president would be very welcome indeed.”‘ He noted Mbeki has a distant style of leadership, and he is not the sort of man “to put himself in the forefront.” Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils admitted the government knew tensions were growing. “Of course we were aware there was something brewing. It is on...

Israel, Syria, and Iran Struggle To Resolve Issues
2008-05-26 09:05:00
The Israel government is currently engaged in discussions with Syria due to the mediation efforts of Turkey. An initial stumbling block in resolving the Golan Heights issue is the insistence on the part of Israel that Syria cut its ties with Iran and cease funding terrorist groups. There is a strong likelihood had such discussions taken place two or three years ago, the Syrian response would have been more positive, but pressure by the Bush administration and right wing Israeli groups made it impossible to conduct such negotiations. The situation has changed. Hizbullah has now become a dominant force in Lebanon which means Syria has a chance to reassert its power in that nation. “Timing” is a vital factor in achieving a nation’s foreign policy goals and there are signs the current time may not be that beneficial for Israel. Iranian and Syrian Defense ministers met over the weekend in Tehran where they pledged cooperation. Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mahommad N...
More About: Issues

Iraq War–Six Trillion Dollar Bush Gift To World!
2008-05-26 09:00:00
The Bush initiated invasion of Iraq has been a major factor that has trebled the price of oil, according to a leading expert, costing the world a staggering $6 trillion in higher energy prices alone. Dr. mamlouh Salameh, an adviser to such organizations as the World Bank and tue UN Industrial Development Organization, told the British newspaper, The Independent, he estimates without the war in Iraq, the price oil would now be no more than $40 a barrel. Goldman Sachs predicted recently the price of oil might possibly rise to over $200 a barrel which means the era of inexpensive oil is now over. Dr. Slameh, told a parliamentary group last week that three years prior to the war in Iraq being launched, Saddam Hussein had offered the United States a deal that would have opened up 10 new giant oil fields on “generous terms” in return for lifting the sanctions against his country. Dr. Salameh believes the American government had a different view which entailed occupying Iraq a...
More About: Iraq War , Dollar

Turkish Prime Minister Defends Actions Towards Court
2008-05-26 08:27:00
Prime Minister Recep Erdogan defended the actions of his Justice and Development Party(AKP in the present conflict with the Constitutional Court of Turkey. He told women delegates to the AKP that his party is not the one responsible for the current crisis over threats by the Constitutional Court to declare the AKP leaders as violating the constitution by their efforts to impose Muslim laws upon the secular nation. Erdogan sharply denied there was any such attempt, and he emphasized his belief in separation of powers and his respect for the “principle of the supremacy of law which applies to everyone.” A court statement released last week charged the Erdogan government of attempting to stack the court system with judges who support their points of view. It also charged his administration is endeavoring to influence the current closure case dealing which seeks to close down the AKP. A spokesperson had responded to the court statement by claiming the behavior of the courts ...
More About: Prime Minister , Turkish , Prime

Clintons Stand Tall– For Themselves
2008-05-25 16:22:00
The ongoing saga of the Clintons, which has been playing in American life for nearly two decades, apparently has another few decades to perform its comedy and tragedy. I twice voted for Bill Clinton and voted for Hillary Clinton as the US senator from New York. I have no regrets for any of these votes, but, today, find myself, like millions of Americans wondering if the Clintons have ever once thought about what is best for this nation. Senator Clinton insists she represnts a revolutionary moment in American history that must be continued regardless of what happens to her party or the nation. Her supporters say the senator has been viciously attacked and subjected to male chauvinistic prejudice and only by remaining in the primary fight can she make clear to male bigots that voices of females will not be silenced. Let’s examine the record. In most state primaries, Senator Clinton has won more white male votes than her opponent which for some reason translates into male chauv...
More About: Tall , Stand

Headlines Of The Week
2008-05-25 15:51:00
Each Sunday we offer some headlines that appeared in the world press along with our satirical comments. Belgum, Belgium Expactica: “International Day For Homophobia” I think they mean “against.” Netherlands, Dutch News: “Hospitals Ask Patients For Donations” You patients out there, have any bandages, medicine, gauze, needles, etc.. Australia, Sydney Morning Herald: “Tourist Strips To Defy Wolf Whistles” I believe this is termed baiting the trap. Bhutan, Bhutan Times: “Kremlin Critic Gets Genital Reminder Who’s In Charge” Putin wants to make certain he stands upright for being the head boss. Finland, Sanomat: “Smashes Wheelchair Racing 100m And Sets World Record” He wll now be entering the high jump contest. England, Manchester Guardian: “Donkey Jailed for Wild Behavior” ...
More About: Week , Headlines

Does Jail Radicalize Muslim Prisoners?
2008-05-25 09:05:00
Police officers at British prisoners increasingly are becoming concerned over the possibility that young Muslim prisoners might become radicalized by radical extremeist groups. A report, written by the Prison Service’s Diectorate of High Security, describes fear and instability at several British prisoners which is leading to a state in which Muslim gangs might be taking control of jails. It says there is apprehension that tension might result to hostility and the growth of Islamaphobia. Many young Muslim males are being recruited by Muslim gangs and, ironically, the prison system has been transformed into a recruiting center for al-Qaida. The report stemmed from the deaths of five prisoners in jail over the past 12 months. Muslim prisoner support groups cmplaing that Muslims are suffering harassment from staff which leads them to seek the protection of organized gangs. It was noted the prison “staff appeared reluctant to challenge inappropriate behaviour, in particular...
More About: Jail , Prisoners

South Africans March To End Anti-Foreign Hatred
2008-05-25 09:02:00
Thousands of people marched through the streets of Johannesburg holding placards that said: “Xenophobia hurts like Apartheid” or “we stand against xenophobia.” Police said there is a momentary halt to the violence which enveloped the area and led to the death of at least 50 people while forcing thousands to flee for their lives. President Mbeki, whose silence and inaction played a major role in the violence being allowed to occur, finally commented: “Today we are faced with a disgrace, a humilitation as a nation in that we have allowed a handful of people to commit crimes against other Afrcans living in our country.” At least 10,000 people are displaced in Cape Town and thousands have left the nation to return to their homes. The best explanation the Mbeki government can offer is to blame the riots on former members of “apartheid security forces,” whatever that means. Mbeki has remained silent about the terror in Zimbabwe so it is not ...
More About: South , Foreign , March , Anti , Africans

Al Awda Convention Urges Palestinian Return
2008-05-25 09:01:00
The Sixth International Al-Awda conference was held in California as Palestians spoke of their intention of returning to Palestine. ‘Palestine is and will be Arab until the Day of Judgement. Occupations come and go but Palestine perevered and maintained the Arab-ness. Plstinian cities will remain forever Arab.”Speakers denounced Israel and said there was but one goal and that was a return to Palestine. Bishop Atallah Hanna compared his God, who is one of peace, in contrast to the justifications that Zionists use which are “stantic and have nothing to do with God.” The overwhelming majority of speakers insisted all Arab refugees had to be allowed back into Palestine and there could only be one state in which the majority–Arabs– would decide who is in charge. The non-ceasing rhetoric led Salman Abu Sitta to term Gaza the “new Auschwitz” while Abu Khalil, professor of political science at California State University, noted that “af...
More About: Return , Convention , Palestinian

Nobody Asked Me But,
2008-05-25 08:43:00
Each week, we offer comments about the state of the human condition on planet Earth. I have never used text messaging. Exactly how has my life suffered? People leaving a movie theater immediately put a cell phone to ear. Are they interested in telling friends about the movie or are they concerned the Earth has been destroyed whle they were watching a movie? Why don’t they invent sideview mrrors that don’t have blindspots? John McCain reminds me of Uncle Bill. You kow, the uncle who is always telling stories, usually about himself. Bill and Hillary portray themselves as the enemy of the “elite.” I guess when you have a $100 million in the bank and graduated from Harvard as well as being a Rhodes scholar that certainly places you among we common folk. What is the etiquette when a person with whom you are walking talks nonstop into a cell phone? I was watching three women examining coffee pots for about a half hur. I could not conceive of spending more then tw...

Hamas Makes Threats As Israel-Syria Talk
2008-05-24 14:28:00
Israeli and Syrian leaders are discussing possible peace, but the leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, made clear his organization’s refusal to compromise on certain key points and the need to end the Gaza blockade. “If the international community and the concerned parties don’t take the initiative and break the siege, we will break it ourselves. ...
More About: Politics , Islam , Peace , Military , Israel

Myanmar Blinks And Says OK to Aid
2008-05-24 14:15:00
After forcing cyclone victims to go without assistance from the outside world, the military junta which rules the nation finally agreed to allow all aid workers to enter the nation in order to bring in supplies and those with exprtise in dealing with such calamities. The world has been chastising Burma leaders for weeks, but ...
More About: Myanmar

Turkish Tensions Rise Between Courts And Government
2008-05-24 14:01:00
The escalating tensions between Turkey ’s courts and the government continued to escalate as both sdies refused to back down in the constitutional confrontation which may well tear the nation apart. Last week, the Supreme Court of Appeals accused the government of attempting to influence the judiciary which immediately elicited an angry response from the government. ...
More About: Politics , Islam , Government , World News

Canada Violated Rights Of Guantanamo Suspect
2008-05-24 09:55:00
The Candian Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Canadian agents acted illegally when they interrogated Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr and then handed over that intelligence to U.S. authorities. The court ordered the Canadian government to hand over documents pertaining to those 2003 interrogations by agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service since the entire process ...
More About: Canada , Rights , World News , Suspect

China Earthquake Shifts Ethnic Attitudes
2008-05-24 09:42:00
The past several months have ben a time of conflict, upheaval, and natural disasters for China , but an unintended outcome may well be a decline in ethnic prejudice. Beichuan-Qiang county was in the center of the earthquake attack and it was home to theQiang ethnic group who have faced considerable discrimination over the years. However, ...
More About: Earthquake , World News , Ethnic , Attitudes

Saudi Shiite Detained For Protesting To King
2008-05-24 09:33:00
Saui authorities have detained a leading Ismaili activist who complained to the King of Saudi Arabia ovr allgedrights abuses againt the Shiite minority in the country. Ahmd Turki Al-Saab was arrested days after he and five othr Shiites from the southern province of Najran handed King Abdullah a 300 page report over abuses by his ...
More About: World News , Detained

Gneeral Petraeus Predicts Troop Withdrawal
2008-05-24 09:31:00
General Petraeus who is in charge of US troops fighting in Iraq told the Senate Armed Services Committee it might be possible sometime this fall to reduce the size of forces in Iraq by as much as an entire brigade. He said violence had declined to its lowest level in almost four years and there ...
More About: Withdrawal

The Reds Are Coming, Says Indiana Jones!
2008-05-24 09:10:00
The latest episode in the ongoing saga of Indiana Jones has upset leaders of Russia’s Communist Party who describe ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” as nothing more than cheap anti-Soviet propaganda which distorts history and should be banned in Russia. The film is set in 1957 where Indie confronts an evil KGB agent played by Cate Blanchett and they fight over a skull with mystic powers that can change the course of human destiny. Naturally, communists are the bad guys and Americans represent all that is good in the world. Viktor Perov, a Communist Party member, bitterly commented:”What galls is how, together with America, we defeated Hitler, and how we sypmpathized wthen Bin Laden hit them. But, they go ahead and scare kids wtih communists. These people have no shame.” Sergei Malinkovich who heads the St. Petersburg Communist Party, is upset because young people “will go to the cinema and will be sure that in 1957, we made trou...
More About: Reds

British Student Detained For Doing His Homework
2008-05-24 09:09:00
A masters degree student at Nottingham University, who was engaged in research, was detained for six days after his university informed police about al-Qaida relalrled material he he downloaded. Depsite, Nottingham university supervisors insisting to the police the material was directly relevlant to his research, Rizwaan Sabir was heald for nearly a week under the Terrorism Act and accused of downloading material for illegal use. The case highlights what lecturers are claiming is a direct assault on academic freedom led by the government which, in its attempt to put into action a “prevent agenda” against terrorism are preventing the development of necessary intellectual research, which, ironically can assist in efforts to combat terrorism. Sabir was arrested on May 14 after the document was found by a university satff member on an administrator’s computer. The administrator, Hishm Yezza, downloaded the material because the young man could not have afforded costs i...
More About: Student , Homework , British , Detained

South African Blames Right Wing Elements For Riots
2008-05-24 09:00:00
Soth Africa’s security chief accused rightwngers linked to the formr apartheid government of fanning anti-foreign riots over the past two weeks that have left 42 dead and thousands driven from their homes. Manala Manzini said: “We have information to the effect that elements that were involved in the pre-1994 election violence are in fact the same elements that have re-startedd contacts with people that they used in the past.” He asserted that members of the Zulu Inkatha Freedom Party(IFP) were playing a role in the anti-foreign outbreaks. Even as he spoke, mobs attacked Somali and Zmbabwean areas whose homes and shops were looted and frequently burned down. Many critics are blaming the ineffectual behavior of President Mbeki as a contributing factor in allowing the riots to spread. He hesitated to send in the armed forces or to reinforce police at the first sign of trouble, and his continued support for President Mugabe of Zimbabwe sent a message that he doesn&r...
More About: Elements , Right Wing , South , Wing , South African

Is President Musharraf A Relic Of The Past?
2008-05-23 19:45:00
Asif Ali Zardari, co-chair of the Pakistan Peoples Party, told the India Trust that President Musharraf was a “relic of the past” and there is tremendous pressure on the new Pakistan government to ensure his ouster from office. The people were telling his party, “we don’t want bread, we don’t want electricity, but we want him out.” Zardari complained that for months he has been attempting to avoid a constitutional crisis and find a way to reconcile the demands for ouster of Musharraf with national needs for continuity, but the pressure was simply mounting for action on the position of President Musharraf . Although, Musharraf has taken off his uniform, he is stil regarded as a military man who endeavored to keep power in his hand while refusing to recognize other institutions like the Pakistan court system. Zardari discussed Pakistan needs for reconciliation with India and devlopment of energy projects in border regions which would be benefial to ...
More About: Past

Must A Man Shake A Woman?s Hand?
2008-05-23 16:57:00
The Swedish Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination is suing the Swedish Employment Agency for $27,000 in damages to a Muslim man who lost his benefits after refusing to shake a wman’s hand during an interview. In May, 2006, the man applied for a trainee position as a welder at a company in Aimhult in southern Sweden . ...
More About: Politics , Christianity , Islam , Europe

Syrian-Israel Talks Continue
2008-05-23 14:49:00
Three days of indirect peace talks betwen Syria and Israel which are being conducted under auspices of Turkey have apparently led to a sense of satisfaction on the part of both sides. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan noted: “Both sides were satisfied that the talks-which went on for three days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday ...
More About: Syrian

Cartoon Wars Revive Due To Japanese Cartoon Series
2008-05-23 14:35:00
A scene from an animated version of a popular Japanese comic book has sparked an outcry int the Muslim world which could become another version of the Danish cartoon wars which raged last year. At issue is a 90 second “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” video segment that depicts Dio Brando, a villain, picking up a Quran ...
More About: Cartoon , Wars , Series

French Foreign Minister Critical Of Israeli Settlements
2008-05-23 14:16:00
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner speaking in Bethlehem at the investors conference for Palestinian aid, made clear his nation’s opposition to current Israel efforts on the West Bank. He was particularly critical of West Bank settlement expansion. “Nothing justifies the settlement expansion which constitutes an impediment to peace as well as an obstacle obstructing the ...
More About: French , Israeli , Foreign Minister

John McCain Blasts Obama For Being A Coward
2008-05-23 13:59:00
Senator John McCain became upset after Senator Obama criticized him for his failure to support the new version of the GI Bill of Rights which guarantees full education scholarships and stipends for all who served in the military for at least three years. In response, the former war hero went on the offensive: “I will ...
More About: Coward , John McCain

Berlusconi-The Garbage Man Prime Minister
2008-05-22 16:55:00
Silvio Berlusconi held his first cabinet meeting in Naples as a token of his commitment to solve th city’s perennial problem with garbage collection, and the equally present issue of crime. The cabinet arrived in a city whose roads had been cleaned up overnight in preparation for the arrival of the Prime Minister and the ...
More About: Garbage

Is Clint Eastwood A Bigot?
2008-05-22 15:58:00
Film maker Spike Lee lashed out in a blasting attack on Clint Eastwood because his two films about the battle for Iwo Jima, “Flags of Our Fathers” and ‘Leters from Iwo Jima” did not depict the presence of any Negro troops in the battle. “He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and ...
More About: Politics , United States , Military , World News