Archive
Obama Offers Egypt $1Billion of US Taxpayers Money to Continue Selling Under Priced Gas to Israel
Friday, 03 June 2011 07:29
‘But Egypt’s former energy minister and five ministry employees are in prison and accused of cheating the state of more than $700 million through the deal with Israel. A close associate of Mr. Mubarak’s, Hussein K. Salem, was a top shareholder in East Mediterranean Gas, or EMG, the company that owns the pipeline, until 2008.
The gas deal has been an integral part of the two countries’ relations and has been supported by Washington. President Obama recently offered Egypt $1 billion in loan guarantees and $1 billion in debt relief on the condition that it meets its commitments. The United States has told Egypt that its security obligations in the northern Sinai are among its commitments, an American official said.’
Global War on Drugs a Failure, High-level Panel Says
Friday, 03 June 2011 07:00
‘A high-level international commission on Thursday declared the global “war on drugs” a failure and urged nations to consider steps such as legalizing marijuana to help undermine the power of organized crime.
The Global Commission on Drug Policy urges international leaders to take a new approach to reducing drug abuse, to replace the current strategy of strictly criminalizing drugs and incarcerating drug users while battling criminal cartels that control the drug trade.’
Read more: Global War on Drugs a Failure, High-level Panel Says
America at War and the Debt Crisis: Hail Caesar
Friday, 03 June 2011 06:24
‘Although the financial press speculates about a downgrade of the US government’s credit rating and default if political impasse prevents the debt ceiling from being raised in time, I doubt anyone really believes that the debt ceiling will not be raised. It is just all a part of the political theater of the next couple of months.
Republicans will blame the budget deficit and accumulated national debt on Medicare and Social Security. Wall Street sees billions of profits in privatizing either, and debt rating agencies will oblige their Wall Street paymasters by opining from time to time that US Treasury bonds might be downgraded unless “entitlements can be addressed and the deficit brought under control.”
Democrats will say that the budget deficit cannot be addressed without an increase in tax revenues, especially from the rich whose incomes have exploded upward while their tax rates have declined. All the while the pressure of an approaching deadline for default will be used to reshape the US social contract, most likely in the further interest of the rich.’
The War in Libya Growing More Illegal by the Day
Friday, 03 June 2011 06:19
‘To the extent that the War Powers Resolution (WPR) authorized President Obama to fight a war in Libya for 60 days without Congressional approval — and, for reasons I described here, it did not — that 60-day period expired 12 days ago. Since that date, the war has been unquestionably illegal even under the original justifications of Obama defenders, though I realize that objecting to “illegal wars” — or wars generally — is so very 2005.
After making clear that they intended to contrive “some plausible theory” to justify this illegal war, the White House finally settled on the claim that the war in Libya — despite featuring substantial U.S. military action with the goal of destroying a foreign army and removing that nation’s leader — is too small and limited to be a real “war” under the Constitution and the WPR.’
Nigeria ‘baby farm’ girls rescued by Abia state police
Nigerian police have raided a hospital in the south-eastern city of Aba, rescuing 32 pregnant girls allegedly held by a human-trafficking ring. Aged between 15 and 17 years, the girls were locked up and used to produce babies, said Abia state’s police chief. These were then allegedly sold for ritual witchcraft purposes or adoption. But the hospital’s owner denied running a “baby farm”, saying it was a foundation to help teenagers with unwanted pregnancies. The UN organisation for the welfare of children, Unicef, estimates that at least 10 children are sold daily across Nigeria, where human-trafficking is ranked the third most common crime after economic fraud and drug-trafficking. But the BBC’s Fidelis Mbah in the southern city of Port Harcourt says it is very rare for traffickers to be caught and prosecuted. Male babies prized Abia state Police Commissioner Bala Hassan said four babies, already sold in an alleged human-trafficking deal but not yet collected, were also recovered in the raid on The Cross Foundation hospital. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (Naptip), the organisation charged with fighting human-trafficking in Nigeria, says their investigations show that babies are sold for up to $6,400 (£3,900) each, depending on the sex of the baby. Male babies are more prized, our correspondent says. In some parts of the country, babies killed as part of witchcraft rituals are believed to make the charms more powerful, he says. Human traffickers also put the children up for illegal adoption. Poor, unmarried women face tough choices if they get pregnant in Nigeria, often facing exclusion from society, correspondents say. Natip says desperate teenagers with unplanned pregnancies are sometimes lured to clinics and then forced to turn over their babies. Some of the girls rescued in Aba told the police that after their new-born babies were sold, they were given $170 by the hospital owner. The police said the proprietor of The Cross Foundation, Dr Hyacinth Orikara, is likely to face charges of child abuse and human trafficking. Our correspondent says the buying or selling of babies is illegal in Nigeria and can carry a 14-year jail term. The police carried out similar raids on such clinics in neighbouring Enugu state in 2008. Three years ago, a Nigerian woman was jailed in the UK for trying to smuggle a baby into the country in order to get on the list for a council flat.
Israel to Evict 30,000 Palestinians
Friday, 03 June 2011 04:49
‘Israel plans to expel 30,000 Palestinians from south of the occupied territories in the course of five years. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has drafted a plan to evict 30,000 Palestinians of the Bedouin community from the Negev desert to expanded areas of existing Negev Palestinian towns such as Rahat, Kseifa and Hura.
The plan is in line with recommendations made by the Goldberg Committee and will be put to vote in the Israeli cabinet in the coming weeks, Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported on Thursday.’
Read more: Israel to Evict 30,000 Palestinians
Barack Obama Failed America: Romney
Friday, 03 June 2011 06:11
‘Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has blasted US President Barack Obama over his failure to fulfill the pledges of change in the United States.
Romney, who eyes the Republican candidacy for US president in 2012, said in a speech in New Hampshire on Thursday that Obama has disappointed American people as he was not able to deliver on his promises of change and modification of federal spending and unemployment, AFP reported.
The multi-millionaire Republican businessman claimed that if he is elected president, he will turn the country into the biggest job creator ever.’
Branson backs drugs policy change
Enlarge PhotoSir Richard Branson is one of a group of high-profile public figures warning that …
Sir Richard Branson and Dame Judi Dench have called for the Government to consider decriminalising drugs as its current policy was condemned as a failure.
The Global Commission on Drug Policy, whose members include former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan, warned that major policy reforms were needed to help reduce the prison population and stop wasting millions of pounds.
Dame Judi backed calls for the “immediate decriminalisation of drug possession” should a policy review show it has failed while Sir Richard said a new approach was needed.
“One that takes the power out of the hands of organised crime and treats people with addiction problems like patients, not criminals,” he said.
Dame Judi urged David Cameron to carry out “a swift and transparent review of the effectiveness of current drug policies”.
The Oscar-winning actress was one of more than 30 high-profile figures, including Sir Richard, who signed an open letter to the Prime Minister, saying: “Should such a review of the evidence demonstrate the failure of the current position we would call for the immediate decriminalisation of drug possession.”
Nearly 80,000 people in the UK were convicted or cautioned for possessing an illegal drug in the last year alone and “most were young, black or poor”, the letter published by campaign group Release said.
The intervention of high-profile public figures, backed by many others including Sting, actor Julie Christie and former defence minister Bob Ainsworth, comes as a report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy said action was needed “urgently” and “policies need to change now”.
“There are signs of inertia in the drug policy debate in some parts of the world as policymakers understand that current policies and strategies are failing but do not know what to do instead,” the report said.
The commission called for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to help create “a truly co-ordinated and coherent global drug strategy that balances the need to stifle drug supply and fight organised crime with the need to provide health services, social care, and economic development to affected individuals and communities”.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/branson-backs-drugs-policy-change-230530832.html
Strategist: World On The Verge Of Great, Great Depression And The Fed Knows It
Thursday, 02 June 2011 09:33
‘A notable market strategist has told CNBC that the world is on the verge of the largest financial meltdown in history, warning that Wall Street is at a loss as to what to do regarding the ailing economy.
“Interest rates are amazingly low and that, thanks to Ben Bernanke, is driving everything,” said Peter Yastrow, of Yastrow Origer. “We’re on the verge of a great, great depression. The [Federal Reserve] knows it.” the futures trader added.
“What we’ve got right now is almost near panic going on with money managers and people who are responsible for money,” he said. “They can not find a yield and you just don’t want to be putting your money into commodities or things that are punts that might work out or they might not depending on what happens with the economy.”’
Read more: Strategist: World On The Verge Of Great, Great Depression And The Fed Knows It
Celebrities call for drug decriminalisation
Dame Judi Dench has joined a coalition of celebrities, politicians and former police chiefs to urge David Cameron to decriminalise possession of all drugs.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister, they called for “a swift and transparent review of the effectiveness of current drug policies” because the current laws have failed.
The campaign is backed by actresses Dame Judi and Julie Christie, singer Sting, entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and former Home Office minister Bob Ainsworth.
Film director Mike Leigh, actress Kathy Burke, three former chief constables and leading lawyers have also put their name to the letter.
It came as a separate group of former world leaders and high profile figures called on governments around the world to “urgently” consider decriminalisation because the “war on drugs” has failed.
Sting said: “Giving young people criminal records for minor drug possession serves little purpose – it is time to think of more imaginative ways of addressing drug use in our society.”
The letter, which was published by the campaign group Release, reads: “We call on the Coalition Government to undertake a swift and transparent review of the effectiveness of current drug policies.
“Should such a review of the evidence demonstrate the failure of the current position we would call for the immediate decriminalisation of drug possession.”
It concludes: “The failure of the current UK system of criminalisation is clear. It is time for the UK to review its policy and adopt a health focused, evidence based approach to drug use.”
Niamh Eastwood, deputy director at Release, said: “ Nearly, 80,000 people last year were convicted or cautioned for drug offences – this is a waste of resources both in terms of the cost to the public purse and the restrictions on people’s futures in regards to employment and education”.
In a separate move, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, whose members include former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, warned that major drugs policy reforms were needed.
Sir Richard, founder of the Virgin Group and co-founder of a group of global leaders called The Elders, said: “The war on drugs has failed to cut drug usage.”
Instead, it has “filled our jails”, cost millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, “fuelled
Believe nothing 