Saturday, December 31, 2011

Six In The Morning













Somalians caught in crossfire as US bank withdraws cash lifeline

The plight of millions facing starvation is to be made worse by America's new anti-terror legislation

NEW YORK



There were urgent warnings yesterday that a decision by a large American bank to stop allowing money transfers from Somali-Americans to relatives and friends in Somalia – a vital lifeline for much of its famine-struck population – could lead to a worsening of the already dire humanitarian crisis there.

Hundreds of Somali-Americans were due to march through Minneapolis last night to protest against the decision by Sunrise Community Banks to back out of executing remittances to Somalia for fear it may find itself in violation of US government anti-terror regulations. 

North Korea names Kim Jong-un army commander

North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong-un, has been formally named supreme commander of the country's armed forces, state media said.
31 December 2011
Kim Jong-un, who took over after the death of his father Kim Jong-il earlier this month, was appointed at a meeting on Friday, KCNA news agency said.
The move is seen as a clear sign that the young leader is fast consolidating power over North Korea.
Kim Jong-il, who had ruled since 1994, died of a heart attack on 17 December.
Hungary passes contentious central bank law
Parliament approves law seen as increasing political influence over central bank, in move seen as contrary to EU laws.
Last Modified: 31 Dec 2011 06:54
Hungary's parliament has approved a controversial central bank law that may affect upcoming talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union about financial support.
Parliament approved the law on Friday, which increases political influence over the bank, after adopting several modifications to comply with requests from the European Central Bank (ECB).
The new law gives the prime minister the power to name the central bank's three vice-presidents. Earlier, the bank's president nominated his two deputies.
The country's monetary council, which sets interest rate

Mexico's days of the dead

Paul McGeough
December 31, 2011

In the past, a parade of bold-face names sallied to this resort city on Mexico's balmy Pacific coast. Frank Sinatra sang about it. The Kennedys honeymooned and the Nixons holidayed here. Howard Hughes ended his days here, Elvis Presley made a movie and John Wayne and Johnny ''Tarzan'' Weissmuller opened the fabled Hotel Los Flamingos, one of scores that now stand sentinel by Acapulco Bay's emerald waters.

Seven women who shaped the world in 2011

Women played some significant roles this past year, from making peace to crafting economic policy in the midst of a crisis. Here are seven who shaped 2011:
Whitney EulichCorrespondent

Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany

Running the country with the fourth largest gross domestic product in the world is reason enough to be deemed one of the most prominent women in the world. But as theEuropean Union struggles to contain its debt crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also become the de facto leader of theeurozone. Because of Germany’s economic strength, no eurozone decisions can be made without her support.

Organic farming may be outgrowing its ideals

Products moving away from emphasis on local growing, sustainability

By 
Clamshell containers on supermarket shelves in the United States may depict verdant fields, tangles of vines and ruby red tomatoes. But at this time of year, the tomatoes, peppers and basil certified as organic by the Agriculture Department often hail from the Mexican desert, and are nurtured with intensive irrigation.
Growers here on the Baja Peninsula, the epicenter of Mexico’s thriving new organic export sector, describe their toil amid the cactuses as “planting the beach.”


Friday, December 30, 2011

Are Journalists U.S. 2012 Campaign Insiders



During the Vietnam war the American military tired and failed to control the media message with daily afternoon briefings yet it was a complete failure.  In the run-up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq the U.S. Department of  Defense (the Pentagon) decided that they could only the media message was by creating "embedded journalism" thereby fully controlling the narrative. an example of this are Japanese press clubs which have existed since the 19th century giving the government at all levels  the means of censorship without seeming to do so. In the UK Rupert Murdoch's media empire which includes the Sun, The Times of London and the now defunct News of the World control over Britain's political through intimidation, extortion and blackmail. Returning to journalism in the U.S. the mainstream media  has become so dependent upon those they cover that  objectivity no longer plays a part in their reporting. Its all about access and inside information.       

Six In The Morning


North Korea warns the world: no change in policy under Kim Jong-un

Defence commission says 'foolish politicians including the puppet forces in South Korea' should expect no changes
Hopes for a new era of engagement with North Korea faded on Friday after the country's powerful defence commission warned the world not to expect a change in policy under its new leader, Kim Jong-un.
The announcement, broadcast by the state-run Korean Central News Agency [KCNA], effectively dashed hopes that Kim, whom it referred to for the first time as the "great leader", might be ready to engage withSouth Korea and the wider international community.

China cracks down – on a dissident in her sickbed


Campaigning lawyer says decade of torture has left her crippled – but state refuses to delay trial
 
BEIJING
 

A lawyer left wheelchair-bound after alleged mistreatment in police custody went on trial yesterday, testifying from a sickbed. Earlier in the week two other rights activists were jailed for up to 10 years as Beijing continued its crackdown on dissent.
Ni Yulan, 51, is charged with fraud and falsifying information to steal property. She is also charged, along with her husband, Dong Jiqin, with causing a disturbance at a guesthouse where the couple were detained by police.

Jamaica People's National Party secures big poll win


Jamaica's opposition People's National Party has secured a big election victory after a campaign dominated by the economy.
30 December 2011
The result means a return by veteran PNP politician Portia Simpson Miller to the post of prime minister.
Current PM Andrew Holness said it was a "humbling" defeat for his Jamaica Labour Party.
The snap election was called earlier this month by Mr Holness who succeeded Bruce Golding as JLP leader in October.

Bahrain to try police officers over 'torture'
Five officers to be tried over alleged torture of detainee who later died in custody, weeks after probe into crackdown.
Last Modified: 30 Dec 2011 06:41

Five police officers are to be put on trial in connection with the alleged torture of a detainee who later died in custody, Bahrain's Information Affairs Authority has said.
Nawaf Hamza, the country's top prosecutor, said in a statement that two unnamed officers have been charged with torture and mistreatment, and three others with negligence for failing to report the incident.
No details were provided about the five officers or the detainee. There were also no information about when and where the alleged torture took place.
The prosecution of the officers follows promises by Bahrain to address shortcomings highlighted in a scathing report on rights abuses during weeks of anti-government protests in the Gulf nation earlier this year.

South African leopard duo to aid Malawi reserve re-population

Sapa-AFP | 30 December, 2011 08:21

In the back are the two special passengers, transported by plane from South Africa across 1 000 kilometers on a mission to repopulate the Majete.
The leopards – a male and a female – have behaved during the journey to their new home, where they will hopefully reproduce.
Proclaimed in 1955, the Majete reserve suffered extensive poaching which severely depleted its animals' numbers.

Taliban prisoner at Gitmo key to peace talks?

He could be among 5 detainees transferred to Afghan custody

By 

The Obama administration is considering transferring to Afghan custody a senior Taliban official suspected of major human rights abuses as part of a long-shot bid to improve the prospects of a peace deal in Afghanistan, Reuters has learned.
The potential hand-over of Mohammed Fazl, a "high-risk detainee" held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison since early 2002, has set off alarms on Capitol Hill and among some U.S. intelligence officials.
As a senior commander of the Taliban army, Fazl is alleged to be responsible for the killing of thousands of Afghanistan's minority Shiite Muslims between 1998 and 2001.







Thursday, December 29, 2011

Ross Caputi


I am sorry for the role I played in Fallujah

As a US marine who lost close friends in the siege of Fallujah in Iraq seven years ago, I understand that we were the aggressors

It has been seven years since the end of the second siege of Fallujah – the US assault that left the city in ruins, killed thousands of civilians, and displaced hundreds of thousands more; the assault that poisoned a generation, plaguing the people who live there with cancers and their children with birth defects.
It has been seven years and the lies that justified the assault still perpetuate false beliefs about what we did.
The US veterans who fought there still do not understand who they fought against, or what they were fighting for.
I know, because I am one of those American veterans. In the eyes of many of the people I "served" with, the people of Fallujah remain dehumanised and their resistance fighters are still believed to be terrorists. But unlike most of my counterparts, I understand that I was the aggressor, and that the resistance fighters in Fallujah were defending their city.
It is also the seventh anniversary of the deaths of two close friends of mine, Travis Desiato and Bradley Faircloth, who were killed in the siege. Their deaths were not heroic or glorious. Their deaths were tragic, but not unjust.

Six In The Morning


Bullets, beatings and Blair's brutal friend in Kazakhstan

Behind the President's PR effort, unrest is being crushed. Joanna Lillis meets the victims of the violence
 
 

In a forlorn town in the oil-rich Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, the hospital is jammed with patients. Some are groaning in the wards, recovering from gunshot wounds; others are fed by intravenous drips; one lies in a coma.
This is the Kazakh oil town of Zhanaozen, where clashes between security forces and protesters this month have left 15 people dead. The normally placid country paints itself as a bastion of stability and a haven for Western investors who have sunk billions into its oil and gas sector.




Samoa to skip a day, cross date line


Keni Lesa
December 29, 2011 - 5:16PM
The tiny South Pacific nation of Samoa will jump forward in time as it crosses westward over the international dateline to align itself with its other 21st century trading partners throughout the region.
At the stroke of midnight on December 29, time in Samoa will leap forward to December 31 - New Year's Eve. For Samoa's 186,000 citizens, Friday, December 30, 2011, will simply cease to exist.

Fresh DR Congo election crisis looms

Sapa-AFP | 29 December, 2011 11:31

The widespread violence many feared when incumbent Joseph Kabila was declared the winner earlier this month of a fraud-tainted November 28 presidential vote never happened.
Incidents did occur but threats of mass protests by supporters of frustrated challenger Etienne Tshisekedi were contained and a wider flare-up averted.
However another election, for the fractious country's parliament, was held the same day and the results have yet to be released.

Clash of ideologies: BJP, Congress fight over Lokpal fineprint
Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, December 29, 2011
Opposition on Thursday slammed the Lokpal Bill saying it would lead to "constitutional havoc" as the Centre would be encouraged to "usurp" rights of states through the provision of setting up of Lokayuktas.
Initiating the debate in the Rajya Sabha, leader of the 
Opposition Arun Jaitley
also opposed minority quota in the Lokpal bench, inclusion of NGOs and keeping CBI out of the purview of the ombudsman.

"If you are creating history, let us not create bad history. We will be leaving a lot of task for the next generation to do," he said.

Snakes on a plane (almost) in Argentina

Authorities in Argentina caught a man trying to board a plane with almost 250 poisonous snakes and endangered reptiles.

By Michael WarrenAssociated Press

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
A man tried to board a plane in Argentina with almost 250 poisonous snakes and endangered reptiles in his baggage, each meticulously labeled with its Latin name.
Czech citizen Karel Abelovsky, 51, was en route toSpain when airport officials made him open his baggage at Buenos Aires' international airport after police spotted the reptiles in the X-ray scanner. They found 247 exotic and endangered species in all, packed inside plastic containers, bags, and even socks.

Smokin' hot island rises up from depths of the Red Sea

Volcanic eruption gives rise to huge lump of lava; will it have staying power?


By 
OurAmazingPlanet

The Red Sea has a new inhabitant: a smoking island.
The island was created by a wild eruption that occurred in the Red Sea earlier this month. It is made of loose volcanic debris from the eruption, so it may not stick around long.
According to news reports, fishermen witnessed lava fountains reaching up to 90 feet (30 meters) tall on Dec. 19, which is probably the day the eruption began, said Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.






Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Robot Wars




Over the past decade, the US military has shifted the way it fights its wars, deploying more unmanned systems in the battlefield than ever before.
Today there are more than 7,000 drones and 12,000 ground robots in use by all branches of the military.

These systems mean less American deaths and also less political risk for the US when it takes acts of lethal force – often outside of official war zones.

When most people picture robots science fiction comes to mind be it literature or film. Interaction through imagination rather than reality today however has this film demonstrates robots are being used not only to fight our wars but to intrude upon are privacy as law enforcement agencies use them for the purpose they say of insuring security.  Having read the Foundation series of books by Issac Asimov my imagination conjures up the idea of the three laws of robotics.

  1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
  2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
  3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.


    
Opposite that is the Terminator movies where machines have taken control of the world because they were thinking machines able to learn. Thus concluding humans where threats to their existence starting a nuclear war in an effort to exterminate the people of earth.  

While neither of these scenarios exist except for now in our imaginations the fact that science is inexorably moving towards these possibilities especially in the areas of war and security should cause us to pause and ask the question. Just how far is to far?  And how will advances in war making create a better peace?    

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