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L'Autre Monde 18 avril 2011: Partie 1 - Actualité, Économie, Libye, Bahreïn
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L'Autre Monde 18 avril 2011: Partie 1 - Actualité, Économie, Libye, Bahreïn
Pour écouter, ou pour télécharger, simplement cliquer sur le lien ici:
L'Autre Monde 18 avril 2011
120 min / Radio de l'UQAM, CHOQ FM
 | Diffusion en direct : Lundi à 15:00h
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Au programme cette semaine, 18 avril 2011:
- Le point sur le Japon et Fukushima;
- Actualité mondiale;
- Économie;
C'est en rendez-vous le lundi dès 15h pour l'émission la plus écoutée de CHOQ FM, la radio officielle de l'Université du Québec à Montréal !
Actualité:
Twenty-Five Ways To Suppress Truth: The Rules of Disinformation
Built upon Thirteen Techniques for Truth Suppression by David Martin, the following may be useful to the initiate in the world of dealing with truth, lies, and suppression of truth when serious crimes are studied in public forums. Where the crime involves a conspiracy, or a conspiracy to cover up the crime, there will invariably be a disinformation campaign launched against those seeking to uncover and expose the conspiracy. There are specific tactics which disinfo artists tend to apply, as revealed here. Also included with this material are seven common traits of the disinfo artist which may also prove useful in identifying players and motives.
Most Canadians unwilling to pay for news online: study
In the online survey of nearly 1,700 Canadian adults earlier this year, 81 per cent said they would not pay to read news online and 90 per cent indicated they would find free alternatives if their preferred news websites started charging for content. On this question, the survey found little or no differences among age groups, educations levels or urban and rural populations.
The results come on the heels of a new online pay system that The New York Times launched in Canada on March 17. “The New York Times is revered by many readers for its quality,” says Logan, CMRC President, “so if its paywall system defies the odds and succeeds, these findings suggest it would be an exception, rather than a model to follow.”
Compared to recent international studies, the findings suggest Canadians have a slightly greater opposition to paywalls than people in the U.S. and UK, Logan says. The survey also finds that Canadians are even more opposed to paying for online magazines than for newspapers.
Webmaster's Commentary:
One aspect the poll never addressed was if people would be more willing to pay for online content if they could be assured the content was factual rather that propaganda for government or corporate interests. It is one thing to be lied to for free, but to demand payment for the lies is more than most people can tolerate. But when you consider that the only reason the alternative media exists at all is that nobody can trust the conventional media any longer, it becomes clear that the loss of profitability parallels the loss of credibility. Most bloggers are not doing what they do to become rich. They want the truth to prevail. Media based on the profit motive cannot compete against principle-driven journalism.
Kettling of G20 protesters by police was illegal, high court rules
Vikram Dodd -- London Guardian
The high court has ruled that the Metropolitan police broke the law in the way they “kettled” protesters at the G20 demonstrations in 2009.
In a landmark judgment on Thursday, high court judges found for protesters who had claimed police treated them unfairly. It also criticised the use of force by officers...
In the case, the high court heard that officers used punches to the face, slaps and shields against demonstrators who police chiefs accept had nothing to do with violence. The judgment does not strike down the police tactic of kettling or mass detention, but it will be seen as a rebuff to the Met.
The judgment places limits on the use of kettling. It says: “The police may only take such preventive action as a last resort catering for situations about to descend into violence.”
Drug-resistant bacteria found in 1/4 of US meat, poultry
A sampling of grocery store meat in five US cities has shown a type of drug-resistant bacteria is contained in about one quarter of beef, chicken, pork and turkey for sale, a study said Friday.
Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that can cause skin infections, pneumonia, sepsis or endocarditis in people with weak hearts, was found in 47 percent of samples, said the study in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The study drew fire from the meat industry, which pointed to the "small sample" taken and said its findings were misleading.
More than half -- 52 percent -- of the infected samples contained a tough strain of S. aureus that was resistant to at least three types of antibiotics.
Webmaster's Commentary:
If the FDA can do no better than this, these people should be fired, en masse, to have allowed this situation to get so completely out of control.
If you are eating meat, try to find a local, reliable resource for those needs. Yes, the cost is going to be higher; but having the peace of mind coming from knowing that your meat is not harboring drug-resistant bacteria is absolutely worth it.
One would expect these kinds of numbers to show up in a 3rd world country....but oh yes, I've forgotten: the US has already devolved into a 3rd world country!!
GMOs Linked to Organ Disruption in 19 Studies
A new paper shows that consuming genetically modified (GM) corn or soybeans leads to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice, particularly in livers and kidneys. By reviewing data from 19 animal studies, Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini and others reveal that 9% of the measured parameters, including blood and urine biochemistry, organ weights, and microscopic analyses (histopathology), were significantly disrupted in the GM-fed animals. The kidneys of males fared the worst, with 43.5% of all the changes. The liver of females followed, with 30.8%.
Environment BP oil spillEmails expose BP's attempts to control research into impact of Gulf oil spill
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/15/bp-control-science-gulf-oil-spill
BP officials tried to take control of a $500m fund pledged by the oil company for independent research into the consequences of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, it has emerged.
Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show BP officials openly discussing how to influence the work of scientists supported by the fund, which was created by the oil company in May last year.
The documents are expected to reinforce fears voiced by scientists that BP has too much leverage over studies into the impact of last year's oil disaster.
Webmaster's Commentary:
"....too much leverage"?!?!?, my astrolabe! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!
BP and Government goons made it impossible for almost any clear-headed, independent research to happen after this disaster. Scientists were told, on pain of arrest, that they couldn't remove samples for examination, and were waived away from damaged sites with guns.
The nature of this disaster was so pervasive that neither BP executives, nor the Obama administration ( a very strong recipient of BP campaign money for his election) wanted people to really know how horrendous that damage was, and still is.
Extraordinary Conflict of Interest: Bush Cousin Is Judge in Explosive 9/11 Case against Bush Officials
From info provided by
Center for 9/11 Justice
Confounding lawyers and legal scholars all over the world, Judge John Walker, first cousin of former President George W. Bush, was one of three judges of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to hear argument Tuesday in Gallop v. Cheney, Rumsfeld and Myers, the lawsuit brought by a soldier injured during the attack on the Pentagon that accuses former Vice President Dick Cheney, former secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers of conspiring to facilitate the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that killed 3000 Americans and has resulted in the deaths of many more, due to the toxicity of the clean-up conditions at Ground Zero.
Complaining About Airport Security Could Tag You As A Possible Threat
Almost anyone who has been stuck in the airport security screening line has at least mumbled to themselves about the process, but a new report from CNN says that such behavior could lead to travelers being singled out for further screening.
The news channel says that complaining is one of around 70 behavioral indicators used by TSA detection officers to identify "high risk" passengers.
Passengers Who Voice “Arrogant Complaining” Over TSA Are Possible Terrorists
Thermal cameras look inside homes to monitor energy efficiency
Pilot program in Boston part of home audit scheme to encourage compliance with green energy standards, drive business.
The city of Boston has been taken to task by the ACLU over concerns about a roll-out of thermal imaging cameras being used to monitor energy efficiency inside homes. A pilot program to take aerial and street-level photos of heat loss in Boston was part of a scheme to encourage participation in home energy improvement programs, as well as to drive consumers towards green companies.
Laser gun fired from US navy ship
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13033437
The US Navy has fired a laser gun from one of its ships for the first time.
Researchers used the high-energy laser (HEL) to disable a boat by setting fire to its engines off the coast of California.
Similar systems had previously been tested on land, however moist sea air presented an extra challenge as it reduces a beam's power.
The navy said that ship-borne lasers could eventually be used to protect vessels from small attack boats.
SHOCKING NEW VIDEO: US troops fire on Iraqi detainees
Amateur footage recently posted on the internet shows American troops firing live ammunition on Iraqi prisoners during a riot in a US detention facility in Iraq back in 2005
US soldiers burn Quran then have fun shooting live rounds at reacting prisoners - Press TV
US troops fire on Iraqi detainees after burning their Holy Quran books in front of them. Amateur footage recently posted on the internet shows American troops firing live ammunition on Iraqi prisoners during a riot in a US detention facility in Iraq back in 2005.
YEARS OF DECEIT: US OPENLY ACCEPTS BIN LADEN LONG DEAD
Gordon Duff is a Marine Vietnam veteran, and Senior Editor at Veterans Today. His career has included extensive experience in international banking along with such diverse areas as consulting on counter insurgency, defense technologies or acting as diplomatic officer of UN humanitarian groups. Gordon Duff's articles are published around the world and translated into a number of languages. He is regularly on TV and radio, a popular and sometimes controversial guest. Read Full Bio
Conservative commentator, former Marine Colonel Bob Pappas has been saying for years that bin Laden died at Tora Bora and that Senator Kerry’s claim that bin Laden escaped with Bush help was a lie. Now we know that Pappas was correct. The embarrassment of having Secretary of State Clinton talk about bin Laden in Pakistan was horrific. He has been dead since December 13, 2001 and now, finally, everyone, Obama, McChrystal, Cheney, everyone who isn’t nuts is finally saying what they have known for years.
Économie:
Traité de libre-échange Canada-Europe
Les négociations sans débat, un "outrage au Parlement"
Louis-Gilles Francoeur
La reprise en douce des négociations sur un traité de libre-échange Canada-Europe sans que cet enjeu ait été tranché à l'issue d'un véritable débat électoral constitue un nouvel «outrage au Parlement», selon le Conseil des Canadiens. Une allusion aux accrocs commis par les conservateurs envers les règles parlementaires, qui leur ont valu d'être défaits au Parlement.
"Le Premier ministre Harper doit expliquer aux Canadiens pendant cette élection comment il justifie cette négociation" qui pourrait amputer les pouvoirs des parlements fédéral et provinciaux, et des municipalités en ce qui a trait à la gestion de l'eau potable, des usines d'épuration, de la production et de la distribution de l'énergie, et de nombreux autres services publics, a expliqué la porte-parole du Conseil des Canadiens, Maud Barlow.
Les négociateurs européens vont passer la semaine à Ottawa alors qu'en principe, les négociations sur la privatisation des services publics et les politiques d'investissements devaient être placées au point mort dans l'attente d'un nouveau Parlement.
Pour le Conseil des Canadiens, le Réseau québécois sur l'intégration continentale (RQIC) et le Conseil central de Montréal, c'est la souveraineté politique, économique, énergétique, alimentaire, environnementale et même culturelle qui est en jeu, selon Pierre-Yves Sérinet, coordonnateur du RQIC. Comme avec l'ALENA, cet accord pourrait permettre à des multinationales de poursuivre des gouvernements dont les politiques publiques contrecarrent leurs intérêts.
"Si nos soupçons se confirment, l'Accord économique et commercial global restreindra notre capacité à prendre des mesures qui protègent l'environnement, à mettre en oeuvre des politiques publiques qui favorisent l'emploi et le développement local et il effritera nos politiques publiques en matière d'équité et de répartition de la richesse", selon Claude Vaillancourt, coprésident d'Attac-Québec.
Ce dernier, comme les autres porte-parole du RQIC ont exigé du premier ministre Jean Charest qu'il divulgue les propositions qu'il entend soumettre aux négociateurs européens dans le cadre de ce nouveau round de pourparlers lancé par le gouvernement Harper.
Communiqué du 11 avril du RQIC - Négociations de l’Accord Canada-Union européenne : LA SOCIÉTÉ CIVILE QUÉBÉCOISE DÉNONCE LE DÉFICIT DÉMOCRATIQUE ET S’INQUIÈTE DE LA PORTÉE DE L’ACCORD
(Montréal, 11 avril 2011)- C’est à Ottawa que débute aujourd’hui,derrière des portes closes, la 7è ronde de négociations de l’Accord économique et commercial global entre le Canada et l’Union européenne(AÉCG). L’AÉCG est l’accord le plus ambitieux jamais négocié par le Canada. Ses visées vont non seulement plus loin que l’ALÉNA, mais elles sont aussi plus préoccupantes : pour la première fois on négocie des domaines entiers relevant de la juridiction des provinces et des pouvoirs municipaux et qui, pour le Québec, représentent des services publics majeurs.
ATTAC-Québec est membre du Réseau québécois sur l’intégration continentale (RQIC)
***
Négociations de l’Accord Canada-Union européenne - Le SISP joint sa voix au RQIC et dénonce le manque de transparence
MONTRÉAL, le 11 avril /CNW Telbec/ - Alors que se tient à Ottawa, derrière des portes closes, la 7e ronde de négociations en vue d’en arriver à un Accord économique et commercial global entre le Canada et l’Union européenne, le Secrétariat intersyndical des services publics (SISP), représentant 330 000 personnes travaillant dans les services publics québécois, joint sa voix au Réseau québécois sur l’intégration continentale (RQIC) pour dénoncer le manque de transparence dans ces négociations. Ce traité affectera la capacité des États et des provinces à protéger leurs services publics de la concurrence étrangère.
***
Traité de libre-échange Canada-Europe - Les négociations sans débat, un « outrage au Parlement » Louis-Gilles Francoeur, Le Devoir, 12 avril 2011
Le RQIC critique l’accord commercial entre le Canada et l’UE Canoë/Argent, 11 avril 2011 L’Accord économique et commercial entre le Canada et l’Union européenne (AECG), que les conservateurs veulent signer, mettrait en péril les marchés publics du Québec au profit des multinationales européennes. C’est ce que soutient le Réseau québécois sur l’intégration continentale (RQIC) qui profite de la campagne électorale fédérale pour faire connaître son point de vue sur la question. Claude Vaillancourt, porte-parole du RQIC, est en effet convaincu que cet accord aura pour conséquence de restreindre les capacités de l’État à développer des politiques qui favorisent l’emploi et le développement local.
***
BRICS (anciennement le BRIC) est un acronyme anglais qui désigne le groupe de pays formé par le Brésil (Brazil), la Russie (Russia), l'Inde (India), la Chine (China) et l'Afrique du Sud (South Africa). Très peu utilisé, l'équivalent français de l'acronyme anglais est l’ABRIC (Afrique du Sud – Brésil – Russie – Inde – Chine)[1] ou encore BRICA[2].
Les cinq pays constituant les BRICS sont pour la plupart considérés comme des grandes puissances émergentes : ils représentent 40% de la population mondiale [3] et, en 2015, ils devraient assurer 61 % de la croissance mondiale selon le FMI[4]. C'est dire si ces pays sont actuellement économiquement attractifs, et si l'entrée au club intéresse de nombreux pays notamment : le Mexique, la Corée du Sud ou même la Turquie[5
14 avril 2011, le troisième sommet du BRIC, qui a lieu au Hainan, en Chine, sera aussi le premier sommet du BRICS. En effet, le BRIC modifia sont format de type G-4 à G-5, avec l'adhésion officielle de l'Afrique du Sud. Ainsi, cette adhésion donne non seulement naissance au BRICS mais fait également disparaître le « Triangle Brésil - Inde - Afrique du Sud » qui fusionne alors au sein du présent BRICS[8].
BRICS demand global monetary shake-up, greater influence
Abhijit Neogy and Alexei Anishchuk
Reuters
SANYA, China - The BRICS group of emerging-market powers kept up the pressure on Thursday for a revamped global monetary system that relies less on the dollar and for a louder voice in international financial institutions.
The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa also called for stronger regulation of commodity derivatives to dampen excessive volatility in food and energy prices, which they said posed new risks for the recovery of the world economy.
Meeting on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, they said the recent financial crisis had exposed the inadequacies of the current monetary order, which has the dollar as its linchpin.
What was needed, they said in a statement, was "a broad-based international reserve currency system providing stability and certainty" -- thinly veiled criticism of what the BRICS see as Washington's neglect of its global monetary responsibilities.
The BRICS are worried that America's large trade and budget deficits will eventually debase the dollar. They also begrudge the financial and political privileges that come with being the leading reserve currency.
Read Full Article
BRICS Rails at Financial Status Quo
President Dmitry Medvedev and other BRICS leaders called for sweeping reforms of international financial mechanisms, hinted at displacing the U.S. dollar as the world's major trade currency and condemned the NATO bombing of Libya at a summit of leading emerging economies in China on Thursday, but there were few actions to match the words.
Speaking at the summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in Sanya, China, Medvedev said he and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao had "agreed to intensify work on the eastern and western gas supply routes before the end of the year" during a bilateral meeting earlier in the day.
Gold & Silver Game Changer - Central Bank Buying - Mike Maloney
Every 6 Months, Another Trillion In Debt
Video - Where can I file a complaint form?
Banks face $3.6 trillion "wall" of maturing debt: IMF
(Reuters) - The world's banks face a $3.6 trillion "wall of maturing debt" in the next two years and must compete with debt-laden governments to secure financing, the IMF warned on Wednesday.
Webmaster's Commentary:
The pyramid is collapsing, bozos.
World Bank: Food prices have entered the 'danger zone'
Food prices have entered the "danger zone", threatening to condemn a generation to extreme poverty and malnutrition, the World Bank has warned.
Philip Aldrick
Telegraph
Robert Zoellick, World Bank president, said food prices are at “a tipping point”, having risen 36pc in the last year to levels close to their 2008 peak. The rising cost of food has been much more dramatic in low-income countries, pushing 44m people into poverty since June last year.
20 Signs That A Horrific Global Food Crisis Is Coming
Michael Snyder
Blacklisted News
In case you haven’t noticed, the world is on the verge of a horrific global food crisis. At some point, this crisis will affect you and your family. It may not be today, and it may not be tomorrow, but it is going to happen. Crazy weather and horrifying natural disasters have played havoc with agricultural production in many areas of the globe over the past couple of years. Meanwhile, the price of oil has begun to skyrocket. The entire global economy is predicated on the ability to use massive amounts of inexpensive oil to cheaply produce food and other goods and transport them over vast distances.
Oil Hits 32-Month High As Unrest Persists in the Middle East
With the civil war in Libya now entering its third week, Egypt moving haltingly towards free elections, and hundreds dead in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain after a month of anti-government protests in each country, the Middle East is rife with instability. On Wednesday, April 6, that instability pushed the spot price of Brent oil above US$123 per barrel, a high not seen since August 2008 when prices were crashing from an all-time peak of US$147.50 on the eve of the financial crisis.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is brushing aside pressure to act, saying it is already doing all it can to subdue the rally.
Corn price up 74% in one year, World Bank Warns For The Coming Poverty
World food prices are 36% above levels of a year ago, driven by problems in the Middle East and North Africa, and remain volatile, the bank said.
That has pushed 44 million people into poverty since last June.
A further 10% rise would push 10m more below the extreme poverty line of $1.25 (76p) a day, the bank said.
And it warned that a 30% cost hike in the price of staples could lead to 34 million more poor.
Shock employment figures: Fewer than half of Americans have jobs
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2011-04-13-more-americans-leave-labor-force.htm
The percentage of Americans who have jobs has fallen to the lowest point in three decades and now hovers just under 50 percent of the total population, according to an analysis of labor data published by USA Today. The full article can be read here:
Detroit to send layoff notices to all its public teachers
The emergency manager appointed to put Detroit's troubled public school system on a firmer financial footing said on Thursday he was sending layoff notices to all of the district's 5,466 unionized employees.
In a statement posted on the website of Detroit Public Schools, Robert Bobb, the district's temporary head, said notices were being sent to every member of the Detroit Federation of Teachers "in anticipation of a workforce reduction to match the district's declining student enrollment."
Bobb said nearly 250 administrators were receiving the notices, too.
Webmaster's Commentary:
What we are seeing, in acts like these, is the absolute future death knell of public education in this country.
What we may well be seeing is the advent of a completely privatized educational system, where the children of people who have the money will be able to get a brilliantly competitive education, and those who are not very well off will have little to none.
The only option for less well to do parents will be bare-bones military-style academies for their kids, with compulsory military service to follow their graduation. These kids will be taught just enough to fulfill various requirements of their future military service.
This would swell the ranks of the military without ever reinstituting a draft.
How a big US bank laundered billions from Mexico's murderous drug gangs
April 3, 2011, The Observer (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-drug-gangs
During a 22-month investigation by agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and others [beginning in 2006], it emerged [that drug cartels had laundered huge sums of money] through one of the biggest banks in the United States: Wachovia, now part of the giant Wells Fargo. In March 2010, Wachovia settled the biggest action brought under the US bank secrecy act, through the US district court in Miami. Now that the year's "deferred prosecution" has expired, the bank is in effect in the clear. The bank was sanctioned for failing to apply the proper anti-laundering strictures to the transfer of $378.4bn – a sum equivalent to one-third of Mexico's gross national product – into dollar accounts from ... currency exchange houses with which the bank did business. [The case demonstrates] the role of the "legal" banking sector in swilling hundreds of billions of dollars – the blood money from the murderous drug trade in Mexico and other places in the world – around their global operations, now bailed out by the taxpayer. At the height of the 2008 banking crisis, Antonio Maria Costa, then head of the United Nations office on drugs and crime, said he had evidence to suggest the proceeds from drugs and crime were "the only liquid investment capital" available to banks on the brink of collapse. "Inter-bank loans were funded by money that originated from the drugs trade," he said. "There were signs that some banks were rescued that way."
Britain to sue Iceland for £3.5billion after country voted to reject plans to repay debt
Britain will sue Iceland for £3.5billion after the tiny North Atlantic state voted in a referendum yesterday to reject plans to refund foreign depositors in its crippled banks.
Webmaster's Commentary:
The bankers created their own problems by falling for the Wall Street get-rich-quick scheme involving fraudulent mortgage-backed securities.
In any other business, if you make a mistake of such magnitude, you go out of business and make way for smarter people to do a better job.
Only in banking is it assumed that bankers are safe from their own mistakes, because ordinary people who had nothing whatsoever to do with the disaster are forced to cover all losses.
Anarchy erupts in Greece as austerity bites
As explosions boom, the town's loudspeakers blare: "Attention! Attention! We are under attack!" Air-raid sirens wail through the streets, mingling with the frantic clanging of church bells. Clouds of tear gas waft between houses as helmeted riot police move in to push back the rebels. This isn't a war zone, but a small town just outside Athens. And while its fight is about a rubbish dump, it captures Greece's angry mood over its devastated economy.
Anarchy erupts in Greece as austerity bites
As Thessalonika riots, a town near Athens spins out of control with angry residents setting up massive roadblocks and hurling Molotov cocktails
Charges against former Iceland PM expected soon
Geir Haarde is being prosecuted for alleged incompetence and mismanagement before, during and in the aftermath of Iceland’s banking collapse. If found guilty, he could go to prison.
Webmaster's Commentary:
The Icelanders make the Americans look like pussies!
12 Economic Collapse Scenarios That We Could Potentially See In 2011
What could cause an economic collapse in 2011? Well, unfortunately there are quite a few "nightmare scenarios" that could plunge the entire globe into another massive financial crisis. The United States, Japan and most of the nations in Europe are absolutely drowning in debt. The Federal Reserve continues to play reckless games with the U.S. dollar. The price of oil is skyrocketing and the global price of food just hit a new record high. Food riots are already breaking out all over the world. Meanwhile, the rampant fraud and corruption going on in world financial markets is starting to be exposed and the whole house of cards could come crashing down at any time. Most Americans have no idea that a horrific economic collapse could happen at literally any time. There is no way that all of this debt and all of this financial corruption is sustainable. At some point we are going to reach a moment of "total system failure".
So will it be soon? Let's hope not. Let's certainly hope that it does not happen in 2011. Many of us need more time to prepare. Most of our families and friends need more time to prepare. Once this thing implodes there isn't going to be an opportunity to have a "do over". We simply will not be able to put the toothpaste back into the tube again.
Detroit Public Schools may close half of its schools
Detroit Public Schools would close nearly half of its schools in the next two years, and increase high school class sizes to 62 by the following year, under a deficit-reduction plan filed with the state.
Irish Protesters Rage Against the Banks - Awesome Slideshow
These are some really outstanding AND creative protest signs...
Takes about 2 minutes to see them all...
Homeless committing crimes just to get arrested and jailed.
Family charged 'death tax' for baby who lived one hour
Olivia Clark lived for only one hour. Doctors didn't even expect her to survive birth. Now her family has a hard time understanding why the King County Medical Examiner has to review her death and charge $50.
Webmaster's Commentary:
Government as a whole is one giant heartless bastard!
Bahreïn:
Bahrain occupied by Saudi forces - Press TV
Bahrain unrest: Torture fears as activists die in jail
Several Shia activists have complained of being tortured while in custody. The government denies the allegations.
Weeks of protests prompted the Sunni-led government to impose martial law and invite in troops from Sunni-ruled neighbours such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Since then the Bahrain government - a key US ally in the region - has launched a crackdown against opposition activists, journalists and doctors.
It accuses Iran of fomenting the unrest - which Tehran denies.
Webmaster's Commentary:
Memo to the White House, State Department, and Pentagon: this country cannot allege to support freedom, democracy, and human rights when many of our "good buddies", like the current Emir of Bahrain, observe these values absolutely in the breech.
If the US government is impotent to encourage true dialogue and progress for the Bahraini people, it deserves what it will most probably get, as happened in Argentina, Cuba and Iran: the ultimate overthrow of a really rotten government, replaced with a power structure absolutely hostile to the US, and for damned good reason.
CNN arrests expose crackdown in Bahrain
We were in Bahrain for a documentary focusing on bloggers and internet activists at the center of revolutions and demonstrations across the Middle East but we were now seeing the crackdown in Bahrain first hand.
Entering Bahrain, we were immediately struck by an eerie and uneasy silence. A strict curfew was in place as checkpoints, tanks and military vehicles choked many of the roads.
Yémen:
Yemen toll rises as U.S. seen pressing Saleh to go
The attempt to suppress mounting protests inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia came amid signs that the United States is seeking an end to Saleh's 32-year rule, long seen as a rampart against Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
In Taiz, south of the capital Sanaa, police shot at protesters trying to storm the provincial government building, killing at least 15 and wounding 30, hospital sources said.
"The regime has surprised us with this extent of killing. I don't think the people will do anything other than come out with bare chests to drain the government of all its ammunition," parliamentarian Mohammed Muqbil al-Hamiri told Al Jazeera.
Webmaster's Commentary:
If the US government is supporting the ouster of this tinpot dictator, Ali Selah, who they have, literally, kept in place in Yemen for over 30 years, it suggests that they have already selected someone in place to fill the void, ready to take over.
Yemen lawmakers declare a state of emergency
Yemeni lawmakers have approved the state of emergency requested by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is facing mounting pressure to step down
Webmaster's Commentary:
"We should 'help.' They have oil, after all!" -- Official White Horse Souse
Yemen military commanders join opposition as tanks take to the streets
Top army commanders defect in Yemen - AJ English
Yemen in state of emergency after massacre
Gunmen on rooftops shot dead up to 42 protesters at an anti-government rally in Sanaa after Muslim prayers on Friday, enraging the opposition and prompting President Ali Abdullah Saleh to declare a state of emergency.
Webmaster's Commentary:
Were I a betting person, I would not be willing to bet that Saleh will be around to "step down" in 2013, and that he will find himself out of a job a great deal sooner than that.
Yemeni army storms university, wounding 98
The Yemeni government escalated its efforts to stop mass protests calling for the president's ouster on Tuesday, with soldiers firing rubber bullets and tear gas at students camped at a university in the capital in a raid that left at least 98 people wounded, officials said.
Yemen President Says U.S., Israel Behind Unrest
Yemen's embattled U.S.-backed president accused Washington on Tuesday of instigating protests against his regime, as hundreds of thousands marched in cities across Yemen in the largest rallies yet seeking the longtime ruler's ouster.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh's allegations, unprecedented in their harshness, signaled a growing rift with the United States that could hurt a joint campaign against the al-Qaida terror network in Yemen.
Webmaster's Commentary:
As reported on 3 September, 2010 at:
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htproc/articles/20100903.aspx
"In the last year, Yemen received over $150 million from the United States, to improve their military capabilities. In the previous 12 months, the U.S. provided $67 million. Yemen is battling Iran-backed Shia rebels in the north, and hundreds of al Qaeda terrorists in the south. Some of the southern tribes are also hostile to the government, demanding more money and autonomy."
Logically, a US government giving Yemen that much aid (a great deal of it probably personally lining the pockets of the the Saleh family) does not want any kind of instability in that government.
But yet again, our government has been supporting another tinpot dictator for decades who has enhanced his own personal fortunes at the cost of the quality of life for his people.
Yemen is painfully poor, provides no real infrastructure, meaningful work at fair wages, no education or healthcare, and has a government which has been characterized as one of the most corrupt in the region. This is the perfect storm to create unrest, demonstrations, and calls for the current government to step down.
And again, those in the bowels of power in DC never saw this coming.
When peaceful revolution is impossible, violent revolution is inevitable. The US has a choice here: either side with democracy and the forces of change, or continue to prop up a tinpot dictator.
It cannot do both.
Pentagon Bulks Up Yemen’s Arsenal as Shadow War Grows
Yemen is the new Pakistan — well, at least it is to many in the Pentagon, the White House, and the intelligence community. U.S. spies think al-Qaeda’s Yemeni affiliate is the most likely terrorist network to attack us, And just like last year’s $400 million U.S. “counterinsurgency fund” for Pakistan tried to get the Pakistani military al-Qaeda-specific weapons, the Pentagon’s already given Yemen $155 million dollars’ worth of copters, Humvees, radios and transport planes to contain the evolving terrorist threat. Look for all that to expand.
Webmaster's Commentary:
Memo to the White House, State Department, and Pentagon: this is a really, really bad idea which is very likely to have the absolutely opposite outcome from that which you would like to see happen.
Yemen is characterized as one of the most corrupt countries in the Middle East, and in this neck of the woods, geopolitically, that's saying something.
The current "President for Life", one Ali Saleh, has absolutely no concern for the people of his country, and a human rights record that would shame even the most tinpot of tinpot dictators.
Grinding poverty, corruption, coupled with an almost complete absence of infrastructure and transparency in government, is that toxic brew which can lead some people to find insurgency attractive, when they have nothing left to lose but their lives.
So if this military aid is going to be deployed (primarily to prevent disruption of Saudi Arabia's oil fields), it needs to be deployed with humanitarian and infrastructure aid that really gets to where it's needed. Schools, hospitals, and investment capital will do much to improve the lot of the people of Yemen to the point where insurgency won't seem like such an attractive choice.
But if this is not done, whenever a kid, mom, uncle or aunt gets mowed down or maimed for life, courtesy of Yemeni, Saudi, or US firepower, it will simply push those left standing into the embrace of the insurgencies.
We have seen these US policies fail in Iraq (where the coming civil war is simply simmering on the back burner), Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Why are we again looking at importing a thoroughly failed policy yet again to Yemen?!?
It makes absolutely no sense to thinking Americans.
US mulls aid package for Yemen to thwart al Qaeda
"We are looking to be able to help Yemen increase the capacity not only of the government but of their military to counter the al Qaeda threat that exists," Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters.
He said the aid -- including security, development and humanitarian assistance -- is being evaluated as part of a fiscal 2012 budget request that President Barack Obama is to send to the U.S. Congress on Feb. 7.
Webmaster's Commentary:
Memo to Pentagon Spokesman Whitman; in light of the fact that the US is going to be dealing with yet another tinpot dictator in the form of Yemen's President Selah, how the blazes are you going to be able to assure that alleged US humanitarian and development aid will actually get to the people of Yemen?!?
There has to be a better way to guard Saudi Arabia's oil fields from any possible insurgency (which is why the US government is doing this), but I can guarantee you, what you are proposing is not it.
Yemen's government is universally characterized as one of the most corrupt in the region, with a leadership only interested in lining its own pockets.
The poverty, illiteracy, and lack of true infrastructure here makes insurgency look very attractive to some people who, largely, have nothing left to lose. And when peaceful revolution is impossible, violent revolution is inevitable.
And in terms of "military aid" (read: increased US drone attacks, possibly from Saudi bases), every time the US kills innocent women, kids, non-combatants, and the medically fragile elderly who couldn't run fast enough,the US turns those left standing into the waiting embrace of the insurgents.
We have seen the outcomes of such policies played out in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and this approach does not, and cannot work. So now, does the US government, the Pentagon, and the State Department want to import a counter-productive approach to insurgency in Yemen?!?
Somehow, the phrase "this is a really bad idea" doesn't even come close to describing the stupidity and futility using such an approach in Yemen.
Obama to escalate slaughter in Yemen
http://uruknet.com/?p=m69252&hd=&size=1&l=e
With the opening of a new front in Yemen for the CIA’s drone "targeted killing" program, the Obama administration is steadily escalating the role played by both the covert agency and secretive US military Special Operations forces as a global Murder Incorporated.
"The White House, in an effort to turn up the heat against Al Qaida’s branch in Yemen, is considering adding the CIA’s armed Predator drones to the fight," reported the Associated Press on Thursday, citing senior Washington officials.
"The US military’s Special Operation Forces and the CIA have been positioning surveillance equipment, drones and personnel in Yemen, Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia" in preparation for the stepped-up killing spree, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The Washington Post quoted intelligence officials as saying that the CIA now views Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as a "more urgent" threat than the Qaeda organization in Pakistan.
Yemen, like Afghanistan and Iraq before it, is being targeted not to eradicate terrorism—the killing of civilians with cruise missiles and drone attacks will only produce more recruits for terrorist attacks—but because of its strategic location, bordering Saudi Arabia, the number-one oil exporter, and the vital Bab al-Mandab strait, through which three million barrels of oil pass daily.
Obama's other surge -- in Yemen
The long struggle against Al Qaeda since the 9/11 attacks has taken many twists and turns. Now it has even led to the forced evacuation of an entire city of 80,000 people – in Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden.
The evacuation took place last week when the Yemeni military laid siege to the southern city of Loder in order to flush out a group called Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which may have 300 to 500 fighters.
The battle, which left dozens killed on both sides, is the latest escalation of a joint effort by the Obama administration and the Yemeni government to rid the country of this dangerous affiliate of Mr. bin Laden’s core group in Pakistan.
Webmaster's Commentary:
Translation: the US public is being "softened up" for yet another escalating military misadventure, this time in Yemen.
It is very convenient to lump all fighters of despotic regimes (like that of Yemen) under the classification of "Al Qaeda." However, thinking people really have to wonder if Al Qaeda really exists as the US paints it.
For starters, the words "Al Qaeda" translate literally from Arabic to English as "the base". However, in colloquial Arabic, it means "the toilet". What self-respecting terrorist group would call itself "the toilet"?!?
Also, when this article talks about "...this dangerous affiliate of Mr. Bin Laden’s core group in Pakistan", the writers omit one key fact; Bin Laden has been dead for years, so whoever has been leading this group is not Bin Laden.
The government of President Ali Saleh has been characterized as one of the most corrupt in the region; and for the Middle East, that's saying something.Saleh is simply interested in preserving his family's wealth and position, and has absolutely no concern about the welfare of Yemen's people.
Yemen's grinding poverty, coupled with illiteracy and corruption, can make people with nothing left to lose find insurgency attractive, which is precisely what is happening now.
If US aid to Yemen does not bring with it development, infrastructure,education and jobs for its people, the US government will have continued in its grand, myopic tradition of simply supporting a thug militarily because he is "our thug" in the region.
But if peaceful revolution is impossible, violent revolution is inevitable, and that may well be the case in Yemen unless the aid "carrot" comes with a "stick" of guaranteeing improvement in the lives of Yemen's citizens.
Yemen 'abandons' human rights
In a report issued on Wednesday, Amnesty International says that growing US concern over al-Qaeda's presence in Yemen, combined with domestic challenges to the legitimacy of the government, has prompted a marked deterioration in the human rights situation in the impoverished country.
The group says that over the past year, the Yemeni government has carried out vicious military campaigns, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings as it faces international pressure to tackle al-Qaeda-affiliated groups, and seeks to quell a growing secessionist movement in the south while fighting periodic battles with Houthi rebels in the north.
Webmaster's Commentary:
Remember: it is the corrupt government of President Ali Saleh your tax dollars are going to support, a government only concerned with protecting the wealth of Saleh's family dynasty, and not protecting the welfare of its citizens.
Corruption, coupled with grinding poverty and illiteracy, make insurgency attractive to some people who have nothing left to lose: this is precisely what is happening right now in Yemen.
Yemen Opposes US Escalation
The Yemeni government issued a statement yesterday rejecting the talk of a massive US escalation of attacks in their country, saying that they were more than capable of “annihilating” the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) movement and anyone else.
Webmaster's Commentary:
And just what, pray tell, is Yemen's President, Ali Selah, going to be able to do to prevent further US escalation of military attacks?
One big, fat, hairy nothing, that's what.
Just as happened with Pakistan's civilian and military leadership, if Saleh wants US aid to keep flowing (one might imagine, into his and his crony's pockets rather than the pockets of his desperately poor citizens) he will gladly accept the increasing US drone attacks against his own people.
Of course, all this escalation will do is drive those left standing from these attacks even deeper into the embrace of Yemen's insurgencies, just as is happening in Pakistan and Afghanistan right now.
The US has stepped up flights by pilotless drones and increased the deployment of special forces and CIA operatives in the Middle Eastern nation of Yemen. The US military and CIA have been covertly operating in Yemen since at least 2002.
Yemen, Targeted Killing & the "Rule of Law"
The big picture here is that the U.S. is rapidly -- and without any public discussion -- expanding the "war on terror" into Yemen, an extremely poor country with little infrastructure, and ongoing, outrageous human rights violations by its despotic government. The Wall Street Journal reports today that US operations may include "elite Special Operations hunter-killer teams in Yemen to the control of the CIA." The U.S. is working with the feudal kingdom of Saudi Arabia to and pouring money into Yemen, as yet another front in the "overseas contingency operation" re-branded by the Obama administration.
Webmaster's Commentary:
This has everything to do with controlling the Gulf of Aden, in advance of an impending attack against Iran, and nothing to do with getting the Yemeni government to fix the fundamentals of government and infrastructure which, to people who have nothing left to lose, can make insurgency look attractive.
Reports: US Predator Drones Deployed in Yemen
US surveillance drones have been particularly active in southern Yemen recently, but unlike the Predator drones these were purely used to provide intelligence to Yemeni government forces. The new drones come with a checkered history, and well over a thousand dead in Pakistan, largely civilians. They also come with major concerns from the Saleh government that if the US starts launching the same sort of indiscriminate attacks it will do serious damage to the government’s credibility.
Webmaster's Commentary:
The government of Yemen, judged as one of the most corrupt in the region, has no credibility to start with, and the US government doesn't really care how many innocent civilians are killed.
The bombs will ultimately start to fall, as a prelude to control of the Gulf of Aden, which is the ultimate geopolitical objective the US wants to accomplish here.
US Military Seeks Major Increases in Aid to Yemen
According to reports from US officials, the Pentagon is proposing a dramatic increase in the amount of military aid sent to Yemen annually, with some officials pushing for as much as $250 million in the next annual appropriation.
Webmaster's Commentary:
All the US military aid in the world is not going to help unless and until the terrible living conditions with which most Yemeni citizens have to cope are ameliorated.
Unfortunately, in light of the fact that the Yemeni government is one of the most corrupt governments in the region (and that's saying something), most of this aid will most likely line the pockets of the ruling Saleh family, and do nothing to bring its people out of the grinding poverty which can sometimes make insurgency attractive.
US involvement in Yemen edging toward 'clandestine war'
President Obama is pledging stepped-up military and economic cooperation with Yemen in response to last week’s foiled terrorist operation aboard cargo planes that originated in the country
Webmaster's Commentary:
Last week's "toner cartridge of mass destruction" was a complete fraud and set up.
This has nothing to do with the alleged "Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula", and everything to do with controlling the Gulf of Aden ahead of any potential attack against Iran.
US Hopes to Establish Bases as Yemen Fight Escalates
The U.S. is preparing for an expanded campaign against al Qaeda in Yemen, mobilizing military and intelligence resources to enable Yemeni and American strikes and drawing up a longer-term proposal to establish Yemeni bases in remote areas where militants operate.
Webmaster's Commentary:
The fighting in Yemen is escalating because the US in invading, and the reason is clear why this is happening today. The DOW is down about 200, and as a result, many of the financial institutions that helped with plunge protection for the last two administrations and carry huge blocks of stock, on their balance sheets might well be insolvent as of this moment. So, let is return to history.
The US Government got out of the economic crisis of 1907 by getting into WW1. The US Government got out of the economic crisis of 1929 by getting into WW2. Here we are in the economic crisis of 2007 and look how hard the US is trying to start wars with ... everyone.
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