New Cold War Confrontation? Kremlin Establishes Military Cooperation Agreements in Latin America As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wraps up his tour of Latin America, Moscow is weighing its options in a turbulent region long dominated by American influence. Although much of Lavrov’s trip – which took him to Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico – was dedicated to the promotion of Russian culture and pressing humanitarian issues, there were several announcements that may turn some heads in the region, and especially north of the border. During Lavrov’s one-day visit to Nicaragua on Sunday, it was announced that the two countries had agreed to work jointly in combating drug trafficking and organized crime. “We have agreed on military and technical cooperation to jointly strengthen the potential of our army and police in fighting against drug trafficking and organized crime,” Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega told reporters after his meeting with Lavrov... Imagine Haiti - What is the Meaning of Genuine Solidarity for the People of Haiti.. |
Wall Street’s War against Main Street America Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson wrote an op-ed in The The reality, of course, is that bailing out casino capitalist speculators on the winning side of A.I.G.’s debt swaps and CDO derivatives didn’t save a single job. It certainly hasn’t lowered the economy’s debt overhead. But matters will soon improve, if Congress will dispel the present cloud of “uncertainty” as to whether any agency less friendly than the Federal Reserve might regulate the banks... |
Kosovo's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Violation of International Law He spoke for the state broadcaster RTS on the second anniversary of the Kosovo Albanian unilateral independence proclamation, to say that Belgrade was successful in the previous two years, "given that less than a third of the world countries have recognized Kosovo". “Two thirds of the states in the world have recognized international law and territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia that has put great efforts to improve the situation in Serbia's southern province,” Bogdanović stated. Bogdanović said that the figure of 65 countries, out of the 192 UN members, that have recognized Kosovo, shows that the majority of the states in the world do not accept the proclamation. The minister also said that in the last 10 years, Kosovo remained an island of crime and ethnic intolerance in the civilized world and Europe and a place where Serbs do not have freedom of movement and not all ethnic groups are legally protected. |
The Real Reason for Sanctions Against Iran: America's Quest for Global Miliitary Dominance The U.S.-sponsored drive to impose new economic sanctions on Iran has nothing to do with the noble cause of limiting proliferation of nuclear weapons on the planet. It is directly linked to the U.S. military doctrine of establishing 'full spectrum dominance' - i.e., military dominance on land, sea, air, and outer space over all other countries in the world. The logical extension of this doctrine is that only countries firmly allied to the U.S. government should be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons or to even develop the capacity to do so. Israel , for example, is widely-believed to hold secret Nuclear weapons. Yet there is no call for sanctions or investigations of them. The reason is simple: They are a U.S. ally. India and Pakistan have declined to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and have developed nuclear weapons. Yet there is no call for sanctions or investigations of them. The reason is simple: They are U.S. allies. Iran and North Korea are being subjected to economic sanctions, calls for more sanctions, and even threats of military aggression against them The reason is again simple: They are not U.S. allies... |
Syria: A Clenched US Fist Behind the Hand of Friendship The announcement by Washington today that it is appointing an ambassador to Syria – after an absence of five years – is being hailed in the western media as another example of the Obama administration’s “policy of engagement” for regional peace. The BBC reports: “Analysts say the US now wants to renew dialogue with Syria as part of a wider push for Middle East peace.” Five years ago, the US withdrew its ambassador following the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which Washington accused Syria of masterminding. Damascus has always denied the accusation. But Syria has long been on the US list of “rogue states”, blamed for “sponsoring state terrorism” through its support for militant groups Hizbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. The appointment of US ambassador Robert Ford and the sending of top US state department official William Burns to have talks this week with Syria’s president Bashar al Assad as part of a regional tour does not make any mention of Syria’s alleged involvement in terrorism. In bringing Damascus “in from the cold”, there are apparently no Washington preconditions for Syria to renounce violence or links with “terror groups”. We are led to believe, by fuzzy western media reportage, that Obama’s policy of engagement is simply aimed at adding “impetus to Middle East peace”. But as former US president Franklin Roosevelt once noted: “Nothing in politics happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.” Washington’s extended diplomatic hand to Syria must be seen in the context of a ramped US diplomatic offensive against Iran. Only days earlier, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton arrived in the Gulf state of Qatar to drum up support for tougher sanctions against Tehran. These sanctions include the cutting off of vital refined oil imports to Iran. Clinton did her best to enliven the hackneyed US mantra of a “nuclear armed Iran being a threat to the region”. Among the Gulf states, Qatar has a more independent foreign policy towards Iran, maintaining cordial relations with its neighbour to the north. It is no accident that Washington chose this location to shore up its attempt to further isolate Iran.... |
Employers Take a Beating by Laying Off Employees It’s not only employees who suffer when they get laid off but the firms responsible for handing them the pink slips can take a beating, too. As millions of Americans have been fired by employers struggling to remain profitable, we have all borne witness to Corporate America's calloused disregard of its workers. Now, canny business economists claim the layoffs have hurt employers, too. That’s part of the story of now-defunct Circuit City, an article in the current Newsweek reports, after it lopped off 3,400 of its highest-paid sales associates to cut costs. “A company cuts people. Customer service, innovation, and productivity fall in the face of a smaller and demoralized workforce,” Newsweek points out. "There are currently 14.8 million unemployed, and when you count 'discouraged workers' (who've given up on job seeking) and part-time workers who'd prefer a full-time gig, that's another 9.4 million Americans who are 'under-employed," writes Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University. By my count, that's 24 million Americans either out of work or not working at full potential. Wow! "The people who lose jobs also lose incomes, so they spend less. Even workers who don't lose their jobs but are simply fearful of layoffs are likely to cut back on spending too. With less aggregate demand in the economy, sales fall. With smaller sales, companies lay off more people, and the cycle continues," Pfeffer writes in the February 15th Newsweek... |
Former IAEA Head Hans Blix: 'Iran Won't Simply Sit There and Accept an Attack' Hans Blix is the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and also worked as a UN weapons inspector in |
