2012
economic failure continues
rollback of rights in much of Europe
police corrupt, banks corrupt, media corrupt, working classes attacked
Obama wins 2nd term and only then mentions climate change
Sandy
weird weather
NASA - new moon mission
Report claims just one in fifty victims of 'surgical' US strikes in Pakistan are known militants. Jerome Taylor reports on a deadly new strategy
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/outrage-at-cias-deadly-double-tap-drone-attacks-8168232.html
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32907.htm#.UJRlkU-jS-Y.twitter
rollback of rights in much of Europe
police corrupt, banks corrupt, media corrupt, working classes attacked
Obama wins 2nd term and only then mentions climate change
Sandy
weird weather
NASA - new moon mission
Report claims just one in fifty victims of 'surgical' US strikes in Pakistan are known militants. Jerome Taylor reports on a deadly new strategy
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/outrage-at-cias-deadly-double-tap-drone-attacks-8168232.html
November 01, 2012 "Foreign Policy in Focus" -- President Hugo Chavez's 10-point margin of victory over opposition candidate Henrique Capriles stands as a testament to the enduring popularity of his participatory democracy programs and his government's focus on addressing the needs of the poor.
Capriles campaigned on a platform that supported the government's social programs, while criticizing inefficiencies in many government sectors and capitalizing on fears over high rates of violence and unchecked corruption. In reality, as former key supporters revealed, and the majority of voters affirmed at the ballot box, Capriles and his allies backed a sweeping neo-liberal program fundamentally opposed to the current government's state-led, pro-social economic policies and support for direct collaboration with citizens in improving their wellbeing.
In contrast to his prior contempt for the democratic decisions of Venezeulans—including a failed coup in 2002—Capriles formally conceded defeat shortly after the election results were announced. Although media coverage of Venezuelan politics might have led one to think otherwise, these presidential elections were about much more than Chavez, as significant as he may be as torch-bearer of the poor and marginalized.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32907.htm#.UJRlkU-jS-Y.twitter
2011
The US are now conducting drone assassinations and undeclared wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Iraq and many other places.
2 million people incarcerated, with 5% of the world’s population we have 25% of the world’s prisoners, more than any other country including China.The stimulus cost nearly 4 million dollars per “job” created
Estonia joins the Eurozone.
Blog on Tunisian Revolution
January 24 –36 killed and more than 100 others wounded in a bombing at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia.
February 11 – 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned after widespread protests calling for his resignation, leaving control of Egypt in the hands of the military until a general election can be held.
Libya had no debt and the highest standard of living and education and medicine in Africa according to the UN
NATO killing reporters at Libyan Television
2 million people incarcerated, with 5% of the world’s population we have 25% of the world’s prisoners, more than any other country including China.The stimulus cost nearly 4 million dollars per “job” created
Estonia joins the Eurozone.
Lithuania
receives chairmanship of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
January
9 – Southern Sudan referendum on independence.
January
14 – 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests: The Tunisian government
falls after a month of increasingly violent protests; President Zine El Abidine
Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power.
 |
| @hibr.me |
January 24 –36 killed and more than 100 others wounded in a bombing at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia.
February 11 – 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned after widespread protests calling for his resignation, leaving control of Egypt in the hands of the military until a general election can be held.
February
22 - March 14 – The uncertainty of continued Libyan oil output causes crude oil
prices to rise 20% over a two week period following the 2010–2011 Middle East
and North Africa protests.
March
11 – A 9.1-magnitude[8] earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the east of
Japan, killing over 14,000 and leaving another 11,000 missing. Tsunami warnings
are issued in 50 countries and territories. Emergencies are declared at four
nuclear power plants affected by the quake.
March
17 – The United Nations Security Council votes 10-0 to create a no-fly zone
over Libya in response to allegations of government aggression against
civilians.
March
19 – In light of continuing attacks on Libyan rebels by Gaddafi
forces, military intervention authorized under UNSCR 1973 begins as French
fighter jets make reconnaissance flights over Libya.
In
Tunisia and Egypt, the recent popular uprisings have won impressive victories,
but as the Carnegie Endowment reported, while names have changed, the regimes
remain: "A change in ruling elites and system of governance is still a
distant goal." The report discusses internal barriers to democracy, but
ignores the external ones, which as always are significant.
The
U.S. and its Western allies are sure to do whatever they can to prevent
authentic democracy in the Arab world. To understand why, it is only necessary
to look at the studies of Arab opinion conducted by U.S. polling agencies.
Though barely reported, they are certainly known to planners. They reveal that
by overwhelming majorities, Arabs regard the U.S. and Israel as the major
threats they face: the U.S. is so regarded by 90% of Egyptians, in the region
generally by over 75%. Some Arabs regard Iran as a threat: 10%. Opposition to
U.S. policy is so strong that a majority believes that security would be
improved if Iran had nuclear weapons -- in Egypt, 80%. Other figures are
similar. If public opinion were to influence policy, the U.S. not only would
not control the region, but would be expelled from it, along with its allies,
undermining fundamental principles of global dominance.
Noam
Chomsky, http://mistymountain.info/content/noam-chomsky-world-too-big-fail-contours-global-order
Libya
hits Europe much worse than most of the rest of the world because Libyan oil is
one of the few crude oils low enough in sulphur to meet European consumer
standards at a reasonable cost. Libya has the really good stuff, light sweet
crude, once you get hooked on it like the Europeans have you cannot go back to
the ordinary stuff easily, European engines will actually start to fail if fuel
with too much sulphur is used in them. The US with a higher sulphur allowance
isn’t confined to competing for the same pool of crude as Europe. China has
even lower consumer standards than the US and has an even bigger pool of crude
which it is competing for. This is complicated by the fact that most non-US
refineries cannot even process non-sweet crude oil, although US (and some other
countries, it’s not solely the US but mostly the US) refineries can process
much more sour (non-sweet) crude.
While
Libya represents about 2% of the world supply of crude oil, it represents about
40% of the potential European consumer supply and (at a guess, I haven’t
checked in several years) about 8% of the potential US consumer supply, while
the 2% number is fine for China’s potential consumer supplies. 2% is a good
number for US refinery supply but not for European or Chinese or even Japanese
refineries. In-elasticity is one factor but not the greatest factor in the
price of gasoline in the current oil universe.
(Quote)
Libya
sells to European refineries for the European market, and the increased Saudi
production is heavier and sourer than European refineries can handle, and far
more expensive to refine to usable standards for US use much less European use.
The way displacement can happen is if instead of shipping Libyan crude a short
distance to European refineries, Saudi crude is sent to the US or Canada (which
have refineries capable of handling heavy sour crude) and light sweet crude
from Oklahoma is sent to Europe (freeing up capacity in the US & Canadian
refineries). But that imposes significant increases in shipping and refining
cost, and oil wells don’t start overnight which is good because tankers don’t
sail across oceans in hours and refineries can’t convert from light sweet to
heavy sour instantly. Add in that the production the Saudi’s are bringing on
line produces less fuel per barrel than the high grade Libyan stuff it is
replacing, and it doesn’t look so good for prices going down.TRUE?
http://volokh.com/2011/04/21/dont-blame-the-speculators/
http://volokh.com/2011/04/21/dont-blame-the-speculators/
Libya had no debt and the highest standard of living and education and medicine in Africa according to the UN
NATO killing reporters at Libyan Television
April
11 – Former Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo is arrested in his home in
Abidjan by supporters of elected President Alassane Ouattara forces with
support from French forces thereby ending the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis and
civil war.
April
24th
Obama
recently announced a breakthrough on a pending trade agreement with Colombia
that has languished since 2006. Colombia promises better protection of the
safety of its union leaders, addressing a human rights issue raised by
Democrats.The administration says a stalled deal with Panama is ready to go to
Congress too. Panama has agreed with an administration demand for greater
transparency on tax policy.That leaves a long-delayed trade agreement with
South Korea. U.S. officials say that is also near completion.These steps sound
like a breakthrough. But these are still promises. Let's see if the Obama
administration can draw the votes of skeptical Democrats to pass these
agreements.
April
24th Syria
Since
the lifting after almost 50 years of emergency rule Syria the country appears
to be drifted into a far more serious situation compared to the unrest of the
past several weeks.
The
escalated social unrest and reports alleging Syrian security forces killing
Syrian civilians coincided with reports that United States has started using
predators in the NATO-led operation in Libya to stop “security forces” loyal to
the Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s regime killing Libyan “civilian” people waging an
armed uprising against Tripoli and who indeed established a “government” in
Benghazi which is preparing to host soon a distinguished guest, President
Nicolas Sarkozy of France.
April
25th UK police becoming increasingly politically motivated:
April
29 – An estimated 2 billion people[14] watch the wedding of Prince William,
Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London. Weapon of mass distraction.
Record
breaking storms – but still no definitve link to climate change warming.
The
string of tornadoes that ravaged the South this week broke records, killed more
than 300 people, and left many searching for an explanation of nature’s wrath.
Could climate change be to blame?
The
bottom line: It’s plausible that the warming of our planet could affect the
frequency and intensity of tornadoes, though there's little solid evidence to
back up the claim.
Kevin
Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research,
has studied the impact of climate change on severe weather extensively and
found that it could be responsible for an increase of between 4 percent and 5
percent in water vapor in the lower atmosphere. He says that effect could have
amounted to an extra inch of rain during Hurricane Katrina, for example, but
what it means for tornado frequency and severity is less than clear. “I don’t
think we can say anything concrete one way or the other for tornadoes with
regard to climate change, although I think it would be wrong to completely
dismiss it,” he says. If there is a lurking, as yet undiscovered link, though,
it could take several more decades of research to discover it.
May
1st OBL killed
Typical
of the sort of stories that cam out in the immediate aftermath:
Bin
Laden went down firing: US official
Washington
- A US official says Osama bin Laden went down firing at the Navy Seals who
stormed his compound.
An
official familiar with the operation says bin Laden was hit by a barrage of
carefully aimed return fire.
The
official spoke on condition of anonymity because aspects of the operation
remain classified.
The
official says two dozen Seals in night-vision goggles dropped into the
high-walled compound in Pakistan by sliding down ropes from Chinook helicopters
in the overnight raid.
US
officials say bin Laden was killed near the end of the 40-minute raid.
The
Seals retrieved bin Laden's body and turned the remaining detainees over to
Pakistani authorities.
Lies!!
One
of Osama bin Laden's wives witnessed his death, and she and a 12-year-old bin
Laden daughter are now in U.S. custody. According to the BBC, the girl told
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence that her father had been killed. If the
two are eventually allowed to speak, their accounts of the raid could be more
important than any visual evidence the U.S. releases. On Tuesday night,
outgoing CIA director Leon Panetta told NBC's Brian Williams that photos of bin
Laden's body will "ultimately" be released.
“For
starters, there are bin Laden’s years of service to the CIA, which employed him
and his followers in the 1980s during the U.S. war to bring down the
pro-socialist, secular government in Afghanistan. Since 2001, U.S. forces have
been back in Afghanistan fighting against “enemies” Washington created. The
U.S. establishment wants that part of bin Laden’s résumé forgotten.
Then
there is the question of his relations with the Saudi monarchy, which is very
tight with the oil-soaked U.S. ruling class, especially the Bush family and its
two U.S. presidents, George H.W. Bush and his son. What might bin Laden have
revealed about the secret deals they made over Iraq and its oil, for example?
And
there is the question of 9/11 itself. One would think that would have been a
prosecutor’s dream — to try bin Laden for the deaths at the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon. But no. They quickly finished him off — and with him any
attempts to clarify the many lingering questions.
The
capitalist media — just about all of them — are dutifully whipping up a
triumphal, celebratory mood around this strange denouement. It can’t last. Once
the march-in-lockstep hoopla is over, the questions must come creeping out of
their temporary hiding places.”
But
the mass revolutions in the Arab world over the past four months mean that
al-Qa'ida was already politically dead. Bin Laden told the world – indeed, he
told me personally – that he wanted to destroy the pro-Western regimes in the
Arab world, the dictatorships of the Mubaraks and the Ben Alis. He wanted to
create a new Islamic Caliphate. But these past few months, millions of Arab
Muslims rose up and were prepared for their own martyrdom – not for Islam but
for freedom and liberty and democracy. Bin Laden didn't get rid of the tyrants.
The people did. And they didn't want a caliph
But
talking of caves, Bin Laden's demise does bring Pakistan into grim focus. For
months, President Ali Zardari has been telling us that Bin Laden was living in
a cave in Afghanistan. Now it turns out he was living in a mansion in Pakistan.
Betrayed? Of course he was. By the Pakistan military or the Pakistan
Inter-Services Intelligence? Quite possibly both. Pakistan knew where he was.
Not
only was Abbottabad the home of the country's military college – but it is
headquarters of Pakistan's Northern Army Corps' 2nd Division. Scarcely a year
ago, I sought an interview with another "most wanted man" – the
leader of the group believed responsible for the Mumbai massacres. I found him
in the Pakistani city of Lahore – guarded by uniformed Pakistani policemen
holding machine guns.
Of
course, there is one more obvious question unanswered: couldn't they have
captured Bin Laden? Didn't the CIA or the Navy Seals or the US Special Forces
or whatever American outfit killed him have the means to throw a net over the
tiger? "Justice," Barack Obama called his death. In the old days, of
course, "justice" meant due process, a court, a hearing, a defence, a
trial. Like the sons of Saddam, Bin Laden was gunned down. Sure, he never
wanted to be taken alive – and there were buckets of blood in the room in which
he died.
But
a court would have worried more people than Bin Laden. After all, he might have
talked about his contacts with the CIA during the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan, or about his cosy meetings in Islamabad with Prince Turki, Saudi
Arabia's head of intelligence. Just as Saddam – who was tried for the murder of
a mere 153 people rather than thousands of gassed Kurds – was hanged before he
had the chance to tell us about the gas components that came from America, his
friendship with Donald Rumsfeld, the US military assistance he received when he
invaded Iran in 1980.
On
whether torture was used to find OBL:
When
I was a defense attorney in the Office of Military Commissions in Guantanamo,
President Obama issued an executive order on interrogation policy that ended
the CIA’s secret detention program and required that all US interrogators
comply with the Army Field Manual. He also ordered the closure of Guantanamo
within one year.
After
the order was issued, I taped it to my office door and highlighted the portion
that said, “the detention facilities at Guantanamo for individuals covered by
this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than one year
from the date of this order.” I truly believed the U.S. had closed the door on
abusive detention and interrogation forever.
“National
security is diminished by the false leads torture can produce, and devastating
consequences may ensue. When Ibn Sheikh al Libi was tortured while in CIA
custody, he claimed a link to Iraq and weapons of mass destruction that
then-Secretary of State Colin Powell used in his speech to the United Nations
to justify the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Of course, as we now know, that
information was utterly false.
Each
time the U.S. has strayed from core values there have been national security
consequences.
By
contrast, when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was arrested for the attempted
Christmas bombing of a U.S. airliner bound for Detroit, he provided
intelligence to the FBI immediately upon his apprehension, despite being interrogated
in a purportedly lawful manner. He continued to do so after he was charged. The
Department of Justice has touted the significant intelligence obtained from
L’Houssaine Kherchtou, an early member of al Qaeda. He has not only provided
valuable information, but has testified in the trials of numerous terrorism
suspects, including that of Ahmed Ghailani, a Tanzanian convicted of conspiracy
in U.S. federal court in November 2010 and now serving life in prison for his
role in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa. Many others have provided and
continue to provide information to U.S. authorities used in preventing
terrorist attacks and prosecuting terrorism suspects, without the use of
coercive interrogation techniques.” How Illegal Interrogations Hurt the U.S. by
Andrea J. Prasow
It
stretches credulity to think that a mansion of that scale could have been built
and occupied by bin Laden for six years without its coming to the attention of
anyone in the Pakistani Army.
This
– an attempt to pin responsibility on Pakistan.
The
US knew where Bin Laden was in February, says Dutch expert, Friday 06 May 2011
A
Dutch defence specialist was indirectly told by US special forces that Osama
bin Laden was being kept under surveillance north of Islamabad in Pakistan
during a visit to the region in mid-February, Trouw reports on Friday.
Rob
van Wijk says in a column in the paper Bin Laden’s house ‘came up’ in
conversation during the visit, but declined to say any more because he had been
sworn to secrecy.
'At
the end of the regular morning briefing by Special Operations Force, by chance
Osama bin Laden's house came up,' he writes. 'It was apparently north of
Islamabad. The briefing also showed confusion over the identity of a courier.'
'So
Bin Laden was alive. It was clear where he lived. An eye was being kept on him.
So why was no action taken?'
In
the column, Van Wijk goes on to speculate that the US waited so long before
raiding the compound in order to maximise their intelligence advantage.
Internet
censorship - Turkey
"Ridiculous
practices without any legal basis are being introduced in Turkey. Officials are
trying to take Internet users from all ages under control through practices
disguised as 'protection of minors'. By the means of filters and bans, a
fundamental [block] of Internet censorship has been established," said
Yaman Akdeniz, a professor of Internet law at Bilgi University, in an interview
with EurActiv Turkey.
Professor
Akdeniz added: "Turkey's Internet policies are becoming more and more in
compliance with those of China, rather than the EU."
"With
this regulation government will develop a censorship infrastructure. Even the
standard profile is a filter system. There are no other countries within the EU
or Council of Europe that has a similar system. And the decision also states
that if anyone who tries to circumvent the system, further action may be
taken," the professor said.
"Thousands
of websites have been blocked in Turkey. Although the government claims that it
only blocks access to pornographic websites, hundreds of alternative media
websites, especially websites dealing with the Kurdish debate are also blocked
for political reasons," he continued.
Recession
changed nothing – rich continued to get richer:
May
8th Sunday
The
issue of OBL’s support mechanism seems to be becoming more significant –
conflict between US and Pakistan?
The
U.S. was supposed to permit more access for Mexican trucks years ago. The U.S.
stalled, and in 2009 Mexico retaliated by restoring tariffs on dozens of
American products.
In Libya the west "knowingly armed and trained the very people our “War on Terror” is designed to imprison and assassinate against a secular government".
US congressman and former presidential candidate made astonishing claims
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/september092011/beheading-libyans-vm.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_E._Fauntroy
Ethnic cleansing in Libya
http://www.microtopia.org/us-and-california-politics-and-policy/libyan-conflict-intel/nato-supports-ethnic-cleansing-in-libya
In Libya the west "knowingly armed and trained the very people our “War on Terror” is designed to imprison and assassinate against a secular government".
US congressman and former presidential candidate made astonishing claims
"In an interview inside his Northwest D.C. home last week, the noted civil rights leader, told the Afro that he watched French and Danish troops storm small villages late at night beheading, maiming and killing rebels and loyalists to show them who was in control.
"'What the hell' I'm thinking to myself. I'm getting out of here. So I went in hiding," Fauntroy said.
The rebels told Fauntroy they had been told by the European forces to stay inside. According to Fauntroy, the European forces would tell the rebels, "'Look at what you did.' In other words, the French and Danish were ordering the bombings and killings, and giving credit to the rebels."
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/september092011/beheading-libyans-vm.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_E._Fauntroy
Ethnic cleansing in Libya
http://www.microtopia.org/us-and-california-politics-and-policy/libyan-conflict-intel/nato-supports-ethnic-cleansing-in-libya
2010
Chilcot
rumbled on
Blair,
Clair Short
Obama
washes his hands of Palestine – see Fisk
Conspiracy
theories used against Obama
US
intervention in Yemen – special forces
Prince
al-Waleed bin Talal, nephew of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, stated he did not
want to be prime minister of Lebanon. Which meant he probably did. This
phenomenally wealthy man was planning to spend billions on a kilometre high
tower.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saad_Hariri actual pm of Lebanon too office 9th November
2009
January
1 – Spain takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from
Sweden.
January
1 – A suicide bombing occurs at a volleyball game in northwestern Pakistan,
killing at least 95, and injuring over 100.[2]
January
4 – The tallest man-made structure to date, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates, is officially opened.[3][4][5]
January
8 – The Togo national football team is involved in an attack in Angola, and as
a result withdraws from the Africa Cup of Nations.[6]
January
12 – A 7.0-magnitude earthquake occurs in Haiti, devastating the nation's
capital, Port-au-Prince. With a confirmed death toll over 230,000[7][8][9] it
is one of the deadliest on record.
January
15 – The longest annular solar eclipse of the 3rd millennium occurs.
January
25 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea shortly
after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90
people on-board.
February
2010
February
3 – The sculpture L'Homme qui marche I by Alberto Giacometti sells in London
for £65 million (US$103.7 million), setting a new world record for a work of
art sold at auction.[10][11][12]
February
12–28 – The 2010 Winter Olympics are held in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.
February
18 – The President of Niger, Tandja Mamadou, is overthrown after a group of
soldiers storms the presidential palace[13] and form a ruling junta, the
Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy headed by chef d'escadron
Salou Djibo.[14]
February
27 – An 8.8-magnitude earthquake occurs in Chile, triggering a tsunami over the
Pacific and killing 497.[15] The earthquake is one of the largest in recorded
history.
NASA’s
moon project cancelled
UK
squeeked out of recession
Haiti
earthquake
Israel
clampdown
Labour
try to cover up torture allegations
17th
February
Mossad
agents caught red-handed
Nuclear
power revival
Greece
bailout – Eurozone depressed
March
2010
March
16 – The Kasubi Tombs, Uganda's only cultural World Heritage Site, are
destroyed by fire.[16]
Elections
in Iraq during March
April
2010
April
2010
April
7 – Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev flees Bishkek amid fierce rioting during
the 2010 Kyrgyzstan crisis. Former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva is placed
at the head of an interim government as the opposition seizes control.[17]
April
10 – The President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, is among 96 killed when their
airplane crashes in western Russia.[18][19]
April
13 – A 6.9-magnitude earthquake occurs in Qinghai, China, killing at least
2,000 and injuring more than 10,000.[20]
April
14 – Volcanic ash from one of several eruptions beneath Eyjafjallajökull, a
glacier in Iceland, begins to disrupt air traffic across northern and western
Europe.[21][22][23]
April
20th – The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico killing 11
workers. The resulting oil spill, one of the largest in history, is not stopped
for several months and causes considerable environmental damage to the waters
and coastline of several states in the United States and affecting other nearby
nations.[24]
During
March and early April, several platform workers and supervisors expressed
concerns with well control. At approximately 9:45 p.m. CDT on 20 April 2010,
methane gas from the well, under high pressure, shot all the way up and out of
the drill column, expanded onto the platform, and then ignited and
exploded.[30][33] Fire then engulfed the platform.[34] Most of the workers were
evacuated by lifeboats or were airlifted out by helicopter,[35][36] but eleven
workers were never found despite a three-day Coast Guard search operation, and
are presumed to have died in the explosion.[33][37] Efforts by multiple ships
to douse the flames were unsuccessful. After burning for approximately 36
hours, the Deepwater Horizon sank on the morning of 22 April 2010.[38] As a
result, the drilling riser running from the wellhead on the ocean floor up to
the oil rig was destroyed.
On
the afternoon of 22 April, a large oil slick began to spread at the former rig
site.[39] Two remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) unsuccessfully
attempted to cap the well.[40] BP announced that it was deploying a ROV to the
site to assess whether oil was flowing from the well.[41] On 23 April, a ROV
reportedly found no oil leaking from the sunken rig and no oil flowing from the
well.[42] Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry expressed cautious optimism of
zero environmental impact, stating that no oil was emanating from either the
wellhead or the broken pipes and that oil spilled from the explosion and sinking
was being contained.[43][44][45][46] The following day, 24 April, Landry
announced that a damaged wellhead was indeed leaking oil into the Gulf and
described it as "a very serious spill".[47] BP has not given a cause
for the explosion.[48] According to the US Congressional investigation the
rig's blowout preventer, a fail-safe device fitted at the base of the well,
built by Cameron International Corporation, had a hydraulic leak and a failed
battery, and therefore failed.[49] ~ Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill
BP
did all they could to avoid taking the blame; then tried to wriggle out of
paying compensation – lying if necessary.
April
27th – Standard & Poor's downgrades Greece's sovereign credit rating to
junk four days after the activation of a €45-billion EU–IMF bailout, triggering
Stock markets worldwide and the Euro currency decline, [25][25][26] and
furthering a European sovereign debt crisis.
May
2010
May
2 – The Eurozone and the International Monetary Fund agree to a €110 billion
bailout package for Greece. The package involves sharp Greek austerity
measures.[27]
May
12 – Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashes at runway at Tripoli International
Airport in Libya, killing 103 of 104 on board.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/opinion/19wed1.html
“Brazil
and Turkey — both currently hold seats on the Security Council — are eager to
play larger international roles. And they are eager to avoid a conflict with
Iran. We respect those desires. But like pretty much everyone else, they got
played by Tehran.”
After
its Security Council misdeed last year, Turkey was warned by Obama's top
diplomat on European affairs, Philip Gordon, that it must "demonstrate its
commitment to partnership with the West." A scholar with the Council on
Foreign Relations asked, "How do we keep the Turks in their lane?" --
following orders like good democrats. Brazil's Lula was admonished in a New
York Times headline that his effort with Turkey to provide a solution to the
uranium enrichment issue outside of the framework of U.S. power was a
"Spot on Brazilian Leader's Legacy." In brief, do what we say, or
else.
An
interesting sidelight, effectively suppressed, is that the Iran-Turkey-Brazil
deal was approved in advance by Obama, presumably on the assumption that it
would fail, providing an ideological weapon against Iran. When it succeeded,
the approval turned to censure, and Washington rammed through a Security
Council resolution so weak that China readily signed -- and is now chastised
for living up to the letter of the resolution but not Washington's unilateral
directives -- in the current issue ofForeign Affairs, for example.
While
the U.S. can tolerate Turkish disobedience, though with dismay, China is harder
to ignore. The press warns that "China's investors and traders are now
filling a vacuum in Iran as businesses from many other nations, especially in
Europe, pull out," and in particular, is expanding its dominant role in
Iran's energy industries. Washington is reacting with a touch of desperation.
The State Department warned China that if it wants to be accepted in the
international community -- a technical term referring to the U.S. and whoever
happens to agree with it -- then it must not "skirt and evade
international responsibilities, [which] are clear": namely, follow U.S.
orders. China is unlikely to be impressed.
Noam
Chomsky in 2011
May
22 – Air India Express Flight 812 overshoots the runway at Mangalore
International Airport in India, killing 158 and leaving 8 survivors.[36]
May
28 – In terrorist attacks against two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore, Pakistan, 98
are killed.
May
29–30 – Tropical Storm Agatha causes widespread flooding across Central
America, killing at least 180 people.
May
31 – Nine activists are killed in a clash with soldiers when Israeli Navy
forces raid and capture a flotilla of humanitarian ships attempting to break
the Gaza blockade.
The
foreign policy literature is full of proposals as to how to counter the threat.
One obvious way is rarely discussed: work to establish a nuclear-weapons-free
zone (NWFZ) in the region. The issue arose (again) at the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) conference at United Nations headquarters last May. Egypt, as
chair of the 118 nations of the Non-Aligned Movement, called for negotiations
on a Middle East NWFZ, as had been agreed by the West, including the U.S., at
the 1995 review conference on the NPT.
International
support is so overwhelming that Obama formally agreed. It is a fine idea,
Washington informed the conference, but not now. Furthermore, the U.S. made
clear that Israel must be exempted: no proposal can call for Israel's nuclear
program to be placed under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy
Agency or for the release of information about "Israeli nuclear facilities
and activities." So much for this method of dealing with the Iranian
nuclear threat.
Chomsky
2011
http://mistymountain.info/content/noam-chomsky-world-too-big-fail-contours-global-order
June
2010
June
9 – Ethnic riots in Kyrgyzstan between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks results in the deaths
of hundreds.[39]
June
25–26 – The 36th G8 summit is held in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada.
June
26–27 – The 4th G20 summit is held in Toronto, Canada.
July
2010
Tony
Hayward goes.
Chilcott
July
8 – The first 24-hour flight by a solar powered plane is completed by the Solar
Impulse.[46]
July
25 – Wikileaks, an online publisher of anonymous, covert, and classified
material, leaks to the public over 90,000 internal reports about the United
States-led involvement in the War in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010.[47]
Elite
contempt for democracy was revealed dramatically in the reaction to the
WikiLeaks exposures. Those that received most attention, with euphoric
commentary, were cables reporting that Arabs support the U.S. stand on Iran.
The reference was to the ruling dictators. The attitudes of the public were
unmentioned. The guiding principle was articulated clearly by Carnegie
Endowment Middle East specialist Marwan Muasher, formerly a high official of
the Jordanian government: "There is nothing wrong, everything is under
control." In short, if the dictators support us, what else could matter?
Chomsky
http://mistymountain.info/content/noam-chomsky-world-too-big-fail-contours-global-order
July
29 – Heavy monsoon rains begin to cause widespread flooding (pictured) in the
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Over 1,600 are killed, and more than
one million are displaced by the floods.[48]
August
2010
September
2010
October
2010
October
13 – Thirty-three miners near Copiapó, Chile, trapped 700 metres underground in
a mining accident in San José Mine, are brought back to the surface after
surviving for a record 69 days.[52]
October
22 – The International Space Station surpasses the record for the longest
continuous human occupation of space, having been continuously inhabited since
November 2, 2000 (3641 days).[53][54]
October
23 – In preparation for the Seoul summit, finance ministers of the G-20 agree
to reform the International Monetary Fund and shift 6% of the voting shares to
developing nations and countries with emerging markets.[55]
October
25 – An earthquake and consequent tsunami off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia,
kills over 400 people and leave hundreds missing.[56]
October
26–ongoing – Repeated eruptions of Mount Merapi in Central Java, Indonesia,
have killed at least 240 people and forced hundreds of thousands of residents
to evacuate.[57][58][59]
November
2010
November
4 – Aero Caribbean Flight 883 crashes in central Cuba, killing all 68 people on
board.[60]
November
11–November 12 – The G-20 summit is held in Seoul, South Korea. Korea becomes
the first non-G8 nation to host a G-20 leaders summit.[61]
November
13 – Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi is released from her house
arrest.[62]
November
17 – Researchers at CERN trap 38 antihydrogen atoms for a sixth of a second,
marking the first time in history that humans have trapped antimatter.[63]
November
20 – Participants of the 2010 NATO Lisbon summit issued the Lisbon Summit
Declaration.
November
21 – Eurozone countries agree to a rescue package for the Republic of Ireland
from the European Financial Stability Facility in response to the country's
financial crisis.[64][65][66]
November
23 – North Korea shells Yeonpyeong Island, prompting a military response by
South Korea. The incident caused an escalation of tension on the Korean
Peninsula and prompted widespread international condemnation. The United
Nations declared it to be one of the most serious incidents since the end of
the Korean War.[68][69][70]
November
28 – WikiLeaks releases a collection of more than 250,000 American diplomatic
cables, including 100,000 marked "secret" or
"confidential".[71][72]
November
29 – The European Union agree to an €85 billion rescue deal for Ireland from
the European Financial Stability Facility, the International Monetary Fund and
bilateral loans from the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden.[73]
November
29–December 10 – The 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in
Cancún, Mexico. Also referred to as the 16th Conference of the Parties of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 16), it served too
as the 6th meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 6).[74][75]
December
2010
2009
http://wikiality.wikia.com/File:Barack-obama-superman-byron-furgol.jpg
January
2009
Obama
rules
Crisis
deepens
US
pulling out of Iraq only to strengthen forces in Afghanistan
In
the UK – police making a bid for political power
G20
violence and man dies
Climate
protesters arrested under terror laws.
January
2008–2009
Israel–Gaza conflict
January
1 – Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, and Uganda assume their seats on the United
Nations Security Council.
January
1 – The Czech Republic takes over the presidency of the Council of the European
Union[4] from France.
January
1 – Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, becomes the American Capital of Culture
and Vilnius and Linz become the European Capitals of Culture.
January
1 – Slovakia adopts the euro as its national currency, replacing the Slovak
koruna.[5]
January
3 – Israel launches a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip as the Gaza War enters
its second week.[6]
January
7 – Russia shuts off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine. Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin publicly endorses the move and urges greater international
involvement in the energy dispute.[7]
January
13 – Ethiopian military forces begin pulling out of Somalia, where they have
tried to maintain order for nearly two years.[8]
January
17 – Israel announces a unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza War. It comes into
effect the following day,[9] on which Hamas declares a ceasefire of its
own.[10][11][12]
January
20 – Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th, and first African American,
President of the United States.[13]
January
21 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.[14] Intermittent air
strikes by both sides of the preceding war continue in the weeks to
follow.[15][16][17]
January
22 – Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda is captured by Rwandan forces after
crossing over the border into Rwanda.[18]
January
26 – The first trial at the International Criminal Court is held. Former Union
of Congolese Patriots leader Thomas Lubanga is accused of training child
soldiers to kill, pillage, and rape.[19]
January
26 – The Icelandic government and banking system collapse; Prime Minister Geir
Haarde immediately resigns.[20]
February
2009
Bearing
Point Bankruptcy and financial irregularities in major Iraq contractor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BearingPoint
February
7 – The deadliest bushfires in Australian history begin; they kill 173, injure
500 more, and leave 7,500 homeless. The fires come after Melbourne records the
highest-ever temperature (46.4°C, 115°F) of any capital city in Australia. The
majority of the fires are ignited by either fallen or clashing power lines or
deliberately lit.
February
8 – The Taliban releases a video of Polish geologist Piotr Stańczak, whom they
had abducted a few months earlier, being beheaded. It is the first killing of a
Western hostage in Pakistan since American journalist Daniel Pearl was executed
in 2002.[23]
February
10 – A Russian and an American satellite collide over Siberia, creating a large
amount of space debris.[24]
February
11 – Morgan Tsvangirai is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
following the power-sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe signed in
September, 2008.[25]
February
17 – The JEM rebel group in Darfur, Sudan sign a pact with the Sudanese
government, planning a ceasefire within the next three months.[26]
On
18 February the European Commission adopted a proposal for a binding Regulation
to bring in biometric personal data - a facial image with an option for
fingerprints as a second identifier - on all EU passports. Everyone wanting a
passport will have to "enrol" in "enrolment centres" (the
term makes it sound like a voluntary step) where their pictures will be taken
with special cameras. These "pictures" will be digitised and made
into a template which will be put onto a microchip in the passport (which may
be a paper passport or a plastic card). These "pictures" and identifying
personal data will be placed on national databases which can be accessed by law
enforcement agencies (police, customs, immigration and internal security
agencies). In stage 2 a "European Passport Register" will be set up
and at this stage the giving of fingerprints will also become compulsory. This
biometric "Register" will join the VIS database (on all visas issued)
and residence permits on the planned SIS II.
February
26 – Former Serbian president Milan Milutinović is acquitted by the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia regarding war crimes
during the Kosovo War.[27]
March
2009
March
2 – The President of Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardo Vieira, is assassinated
during an armed attack on his residence in Bissau.
March
3 – Gunmen attack a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, Pakistan,
killing eight people and injuring several others.[29]
March
4 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against
humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted
by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.[30]
March
7 – NASA's Kepler Mission, a space photometer which will search for extrasolar
planets in the Milky Way galaxy, is launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Florida, USA.
UK
Government backs down on data sharing legislation after PI campaign 08/03/2009
Privacy
International campaign
The
government announced it will immediately abandon clause 152 of the Coroners and
Justice Bill.
the
reversal is likely to be temporary as the Government considers how to consult
and reintroduce its plans in future legislation.
Simon
Davies: "This is an extraordinary U-turn but we cannot be led into a false
sense of security. We congratulate the Government on its decision, but it was
inevitable given how badly the clause have been drafted and how morally corrupt
its outcome would have been. Nobody should be under the illusion that the
Government has changed its colours with regard to its zeal for surveillance.
This could be merely a blip, so we all have to remain vigilant for the next
assault of privacy."
Phil
Booth, National Coordinator of NO2ID and Advisory Board member of PI, said:
"The public backlash against Clause 152 has been phenomenal. NO2ID has
been working closely with Privacy International and others to focus grassroots
and organisational opposition, but the reality is that people just won't put up
with the hypocrisy of politicians who want to keep their own details secret, or
who support shadowy police databases on protestors, yet who clearly still think
that the state can do just as it wants with our personal information. It can't
- the people have spoken. Let's hope the scrapping of Clause 152 is the first
nail in the coffin of the database state."
Helen
Wallace, Director of Genewatch and Advisory Board member of PI also said:
"This is a victory for all those people who took action to stop this
massive sell-off and abuse of their private information. We hope the Government
has learned its lesson and will not sanction further raids on people's medical
records and genetic information in a desperate bid to prop up the crumbling
economy."
March
17 – The President of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, is overthrown in a coup
d'état, following a month of rallies in Antananarivo. The military appoints
opposition leader Andry Rajoelina as the new president.[31]
March
30th qaddafi drama
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/there-was-no-shortage-of-drama/
April
2009
“The
worst coverage of the Iraqi war was probably at the beginning and at the end of
the conflict. At the beginning there was the uncritical acceptance that Saddam Hussein
had weapons of mass destruction. In the last two years Washington had equal
success in selling the “surge”, the limited reinforcement of US troops
employing more aggressive tactics, as turning the tide in favour of the US. A
danger now is that myth will take on a life of its own leading to similar
methods being employed in Afghanistan and the far right in the US blaming
President Obama for withdrawing from Iraq just as victory was being won.”
P.Cockburn,
Indie, 25/04/09
April
1 – Albania and Croatia are admitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO).
April
2 – The second G-20 summit, involving state leaders rather than the usual
finance ministers, meets in London. Its main focus is an ongoing global
financial crisis.
April
3–4 – The 21st NATO Summit is held, 60 years after the founding of the
organization. Former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is appointed
as the new Secretary General of NATO.
April
5 – North Korea launches the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket, prompting an emergency
meeting of—but no official reaction from—the United Nations Security
Council.[32]
April
6 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing nearly 300
and injuring more than 1,500.[33]
April
7 – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in
prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces.
April
10 – A political crisis begins in Fiji when President Josefa Iloilo suspends
the nation's Constitution, dismisses all judges and constitutional appointees
and assumes all governance in the country after the Court of Appeal rules that
the government of Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama is illegal.[34]
April
11–12 – The Fourth East Asia Summit is postponed after Thai Prime Minister
Abhisit Vejjajiva declares a state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding
areas.[35][36]
April
17 – Thirty-four heads of state and government meet in Port of Spain, Trinidad
for the 5th Summit of the Americas.
April
18 – Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist, is sentenced to eight years
in prison for espionage by an Iranian court.[37] She is released the following
month, after an appeals court reduces and suspends her sentence.
April
21 – UNESCO launches The World Digital Library.[38]
April
24 – The World Health Organization expresses concern at the spread of influenza
from Mexico and the United States to other countries.[39][40][41] International
cases and resulting deaths are confirmed.
April
29 – Amidst Russia's effort to improve relations with NATO and with the West in
general, NATO expels two Russian diplomats from NATO headquarters in Brussels
over a spy scandal in Estonia. Russia's Foreign Ministry criticises the
expulsions.[42]
24th
April - Obama revived Nixon’s war on cancer – Nixon promised a cure for cancer
by 1976.
Billions
of dollars to be pumped in - $10bn over 2 years. National Insitiute for Health
- $1.26 bn for cancer research.
Survival
rates improved?
Some
facts
NYTimes
– cancer death rates in the US have fallen just 5% since 1950s
Compared
to 64% fall in heart disease mortality
And
74% decline in death from strokes.
In
the UK almost half cancer patients living for over 5 years
In
1986 – Vincent De Vita promised that with his budget doubled he’d have a cure
for 2000. Ho got the money – but found no cure.
His
successor – Andrew von Eschenbach said – 2003 that he’d have it sorted by 2015.
Benefits
of early diagniosis and prevention being ignored even though they have provided
the greatest breakthroughs agiant death from cancer.
Fall
in smoking has led to big fall in lung cancer
Stomach
cancer rates down by 85% since 1930s thanks to improved diets.
Does
this prove that Obama owned by medical/ drugs industry? Big Pharma. Rockefeller
stooge.
Over
200 cancers and each cancer may be several diseases in themselves. Over 200
different diseases.
G20
protests in London in April
the
press, produced a series of scare stories and pronounced that hordes of
‘international anarchists’ were converging on The City to wreak havoc.
Tomlinson’s
death and as the stories of violent policing at the G20
http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=3430
Secret
CIA prisons - Poland
ANDREW
RETTMAN
15.04.2009
@ 09:28 CET
Journalists
from Polish TV station TVP and daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita say they have
obtained new evidence that Poland ran a secret CIA prison used for
extra-judicial extradition of terrorism suspects.
The
evidence - documents and witness statements related to a Polish judicial
investigation to see if the facility undermined Polish sovereignty - point the
finger at the country's former Socialist government.
The
new information suggests that in December 2001, Poland designated 20 secret
service agents to help in Washington's new war on terror and leased part of a
military base in Stare Kiejkuty in the northwest of the country to the US.
Clandestine
US flights to the nearby Szymany airport begn in December 2002. At least five
subsequent flights by a suspicious Gulfstream jet landed in Szymany in 2003.
On
four occasions, the flights had top security clearance, which could only have
been granted by a handful of senior Polish officials.
On
two occasions - 8 February and 6 March 2003 - the European civil aviation
authority, Eurocontrol, was told the planes had landed in Warsaw when they had
in fact stopped in Szymany.
A
witness called by the Polish investigation has stated that in 2003 he saw
"People in handcuffs, with blindfolds on, led from the plane."
May
2009
May
18 – The third C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group meets in Seoul.
May
18 – Following more than a quarter-century of fighting, the Sri Lankan Civil
War ends with the total military defeat of the LTTE.
May
23 – Former President of South Korea Roh Moo-hyun, under investigation for
alleged bribery during his presidential term, commits suicide.[45]
May
25 – North Korea announces that it has conducted a second successful nuclear
test in the province of North Hamgyong. The United Nations Security Council
condemns the reported test.[46]
June
2009
June
1 – Air France Flight 447, en route from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris,
crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 on board.
June
11 – The outbreak of the H1N1 influenza strain, commonly referred to as
"swine flu", is deemed a global pandemic,[47] becoming the first
condition since the Hong Kong flu of 1967–1968 to receive this designation.
June
13 – Following the reelection of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
supporters of defeated candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi accuse the government of
fraud, and launch a series of sustained protests.[48]
June
18 – NASA launches the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/LCROSS probes to the Moon,
the first American lunar mission since Lunar Prospector in 1998.
June
20 – The death of Neda Agha-Soltan, an Iranian student shot during a protest,
is captured on what soon becomes a viral video that helps to turn Neda into an
international symbol of the civil unrest following the presidential election.
June
21 – As a step toward total independence from the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland
assumes control over its law enforcement, judicial affairs, and natural
resources. Greenlandic becomes the official language.[49]
June
25 – The death of Michael Jackson
June
28 – The Supreme Court of Honduras orders the arrest and exile of President
Manuel Zelaya, claiming he was violating the nation's constitution by holding a
referendum to stay in power.[54] The coup d'état is condemned by the United
Nations, the Organization of American States,[55] and multiple nations around
the world.
June
30 – Yemenia Flight 626 crashes off the coast of Moroni, Comoros, killing all
but one of the 153 passengers and crew.[56]
July
2009
14th
July
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/government-split-on-need-for-afghan-troop-reinforcements-1744955.html
July
2009 America releases the five Iranian diplomats.
July
1 – Sweden assumes the presidency of the European Union.[57]
July
4 – The Organization of American States suspends Honduras due to the country's
recent political crisis after its refusal to reinstate President
Zelaya.[58][59]
July
5 – Over 150 are killed when a few thousand ethnic Uyghurs target local Han
Chinese during major rioting in Ürümqi, Xinjiang.
July
7 – A public memorial service is held for musician Michael Jackson. It is regarded
as one of the most prominent funerals of all time.[60][61][62]
July
15 – Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 crashes near Qazvin, Iran, killing all 168 on
board.
July
16 – Iceland's national parliament, the Althingi, votes to pursue joining the
EU.[63]
July
22 – The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting up to 6
minutes and 38.8 seconds, occurs over parts of Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
August
2009
August
August
3 – Bolivia becomes the first South American country to declare the right of
indigenous people to govern themselves.[64]
August
4 – North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardons two American journalists, who had
been arrested and imprisoned for illegal entry earlier in the year, after
former U.S. President Bill Clinton meets with Kim in North Korea.[65]
August
7 – Typhoon Morakot hits Taiwan, killing 500 and stranding more than 1,000 via
the worst flooding on the island in half a century.[66]
August
20 – Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, imprisoned for the 1988 bombing of Pan
Am Flight 103, is released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds
as he has terminal prostate cancer. He returns to his native Libya.[67]
September
September
2009
Saturday,
26 September 2009
26th
September
The
dark secrets of the trillion-dollar oil trade
28th
September - Guinea – death of dicator – hundreds gathered at football stadium
to hear opposition speeches and presidential guard opend fire on them – over
150 killed. The UN came in to investigate.
Wednesday,
30 September 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8282174.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8281934.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8281990.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8281756.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8282067.stm
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-nuclear-site-built-in-case-of-attack-1795173.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8282421.stm
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/crucial-talks-begin-on-us-strategy-in-afghanistan-1795157.html
September
25 – At the G-20 Pittsburgh summit, world leaders announce that the G-20 will
assume greater leverage over the world economy, replacing the role of the G-8,
in an effort to prevent another financial crisis like that in 2008.[68]
September
26 – Typhoon Ketsana begins to cause record amounts of rainfall in Manila,
Philippines, leading to the declaration of a "state of calamity" in
25 provinces.[69]
September
28 – At least 157 demonstrators are killed in a clash with the Guinean
military.
September
29 – An 8.3-magnitude earthquake triggers a tsunami near the Samoan Islands.
Many communities and harbors in Samoa and American Samoa are destroyed, and at
least 189 are killed.
September
30 – A 7.6-magnitude earthquake strikes just off the coast of Sumatra, killing
around 1,000 in Indonesia.[70]
October
2009
Thursday,
1 October 2009
Iran
is the New Iraq
Corruption
Charges against BAe
More
Troops In Afghainstan?
Taliban
Leader's Brother Dead
Isreal
Defends Gaza Atrocities
Britons
More Polluting Than We Thought
Creationists
- Stick this Up Your Oriface
Fundamentalists
Beaten By Gay Penguins
Darfur:
A deadly new chapter
Africa's
most feared rebel army arrives in region, threatening to reignite the conflict
By
Daniel Howden, Africa correspondent 17th Ocotber
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/darfur-a-deadly-new-chapter-1804338.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cherie-iraq-was-a-close-call-ndash-whatever-tony-said-1801006.html
Cherie
Blair has reopened the row over her husband's commitment to the decision to go
to war in Iraq, with a public observation that it was a "51-49"
decision.
A
day after Tony Blair was told that he had "blood on his hands" by a
father who lost his son at the start of the campaign in 2003, Mrs Blair
undermined the former prime minister's argument for toppling Saddam Hussein by
suggesting his support for the invasion was not an obvious decision. "A
lot of the time these choices are not clear-cut. They are not black and
white," she told an audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.
"Instead of being 80-20, many of them are actually more like 51-49. When
taking those decisions, Tony is able to step back, absorb all the information
and then choose."
However,
she added: "He is also very good at then convincing everybody else that it
was a 70-30 decision all along. I think it [the Iraq war] was one of those
51-49 questions."
Thursday,
8 October 2009
Energy
Resources Nearing End?
Oil
peak is nigh - Guardian
August
- price reached 2009 high
Friday,
9 October 2009
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/barack-obama-awarded-nobel-peace-prize-1800112.html
Obama
was nominated for nobel prize within two weeks of taking office!
Britain's
role in treatment of terror suspect to be revealed
By
Robert Verkaik and Kim Sengupta
Saturday,
17 October 2009
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britains-role-in-treatment-of-terror-suspect-to-be-revealed-1804339.html
Pakistan
attacks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8317676.stm
Riots
in China
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8317644.stm
Israel-US
"defence" drill
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8317919.stm
Guantanamo
bill passed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8317520.stm
afghan
poll sackings
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8317509.stm
UN
Iran deal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8318258.stm
Unequal
societies create instability 24th 2009 Stephen Foley
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/stephen-foley-unequal-societies-create-instability-1808589.html
Busieness:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/?ibPage=6
Iran
ignores deadline and takes nuclear talks to brink, Kim Sengupta 24th October
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-ignores-deadline-and-takes-nuclear-talks-to-brink-1808408.html
US
strikes at Mexican drug cartel 24th October
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-strikes-at-mexican-drug-cartel-1808411.html
Pakistan
army punishes civilians 24th October
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-army-punishes-civilians-1808415.html
Nato
backs McChrystal in snub to Biden plan 24th October
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/nato-backs-mcchrystal-in-snub-to-biden-plan-1808414.html
Mississippi
Turning Daniel Howden 24th October
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mississippi-turning-a-river-with-a-life-of-its-own-1808420.html
We
forget our soldiers legal fears over iraq, Richard ingrams
Is
world’s most wanted man in these wild and lawless lands? Worldfocus, omar
waraich
What
lies beneath the rainforest? Huw hennessy amazon oil , 31st October
The
truth about the middle east is buried beneath the headlines, Robert fisk, 31st
October
End
of Honduran crisis, guy adams, 31st october
Moment
of the announcement of Rio de Janeiro as the host city of the 2016 Summer
Olympics
October
2 – The International Olympic Committee awards the 2016 Summer Olympics to Rio
de Janeiro.
October
2 – Ireland holds a second referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty. The amendment
is approved by the Irish electorate,[71][72][73][74][75] having been rejected
in the Lisbon I referendum held in June 2008.
October
20 – European astronomers discover 32 exoplanets.[76]
November
November
2009
Abdullah
to call for Afghan poll boycott: Kim Sengupta, Indie, November 1st 2009
Pakistan
presses the Taliban in its lawless heartland, Omar Warach, Andrew Buncombe,
November 1st, 2009.
MOD’s
Nimrod disgrace, Indie, Nov 1st.
So
the US is on the mend, but what about the invisible cut-backs? Michael Mandel,
Nov 1st
“Army
killer” – Nidal Hasan – November 5th – survived - ??
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-murder-and-integration-in-america-1816586.html
Brown
Tells Karzai to sort out corruption or else…November 7th, Indie, Andrew Grice.
7th
November – Israel rejected UN war crimes vote. Gaza. Findings issued by a panel
led by south African jurist Richard goldstone.
Honduran
unity cabinet collapses – coup in June – Zelaya was ousted. Micheletti moved to
form new overnment without Zelaya.
8th
November, Indie
Patrick
Cockburn, Afghanistan, Time To Leave.
Foreign
Office warns Mann to keep quiet. Brian
Brady.
Why
Can’t The US learn to lve its government, Rupert Cornwell.
Major
Nidal Malik Hasan – killed 13 on US base – Joan Smith.
HBOS
collapse – Andy Hornby
The
unanswered questions around the emergency HBOS cash call, Ian Fraser
Obama
can make change happen, Gary Younge, Guardian, November 13th
China
– 1989 – Berlin Wall – Timothy Garton-Ash, 13th November, Guardian, How the
year 1989 changed the world.
Justice
at Ground Zero for September 11 accused
Five
men set to leave Guantanamo Bay to face trial in a civilian court in New York
By
David Usborne in New York
Saturday,
14 November 2009
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/justice-at-ground-zero-for-september-11-accused-1820401.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obamas-lawyer-makes-quiet-exit-after-gitmo-frustrations-1820400.html
Britain's
Abu Ghraib: Did Britain collude with US in abuse of Iraqis?
By
Robert Verkaik, Law Editor
Saturday,
14 November 2009
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britains-abu-ghraib-did-britain-collude-with-us-in-abuse-of-iraqis-1820545.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obamas-advisers-at-war-over-afghan-conflict-1819907.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/palin-uses-book-to-get-her-revenge-1820407.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obama-seeks-equal-partnership-in-asia-1820707.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/justice-at-ground-zero-for-september-11-accused-1820401.html
Vast
majority of Britons back IoS call for UK forces to leave. November 15th 2009
Four
Scenrios rejected by Obama.
Climate
Change – Little Mermaid Award – Indie 15th November – “Angry Mermaid”
Destructive
corporate lobbying
Climate
change saboteurs – Coalition for Clean Coal Electricty; American petroleum
industry; European chemical lobby; the International Emissions Trading
Association is also mentioned; Monsanto for presenting GM as a solution; South
Arfican company Sasol lobbying ofr carbon capture and storage while investing
in oil extraction from Canandian tar
sands.
British
soldiers sexually abused us, claim Iraqis. Robert Verkaik, 15 November, Indie
Toxic
Munitions may be cause of baby deaths and deformities in Fallujah. 15 November,
David Randall. Babies showing high rate of mortality and deformities.
Obama
will be on trial with 9/11 accused, Rupert Cornwell, 15 November.
America’s
first pacific president woos China, North Korea and Burma, Patrick Zengerie and
Caren Bohan, 15 november.
Obama
is haunted by Gorbchev’s Ghost, James Fergusson, 15 November, Indie.
19th
November
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obama-admits-defeat-on-camp-xray-closure-1823209.html
22nd
November
US
builds up it’s bases in oil-rich South America, Hugh O’Shaugnessy
Colombia
The
United States is massively building up its potential for nuclear and non-nuclear
strikes in Latin America and the Caribbean by acquiring unprecedented freedom
of action in seven new military, naval and air bases in Colombia. The
development – and the reaction of Latin American leaders to it – is further
exacerbating America's already fractured relationship with much of the
continent.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-builds-up-its-bases-in-oilrich-south-america-1825398.html
The
Accidental Uprising – Victor Sebestyen – Czech Republic
The
Key Question – is blair a war criminal? Oliver Miles
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/richard-ingrams/richard-ingramsrsquos-week-will-zionists-links-to-iraq-invasion-be-brushed-aside-1829896.html
Yet
it is a fact that the campaign to overthrow Saddam Hussein was initiated, well
before 9/11, by a group of influential American neocons, notably Perle, Feith
and Wolfowitz (once described by Time magazine as "the godfather of the
Iraq war") nearly all of whom were ardent Zionists, in many cases more
concerned with preserving the security of Israel than that of the US.
Given
that undeniable fact, the pro-Israeli bias of Sir Martin Gilbert and Sir
Lawrence Freedman, both of them supporters of the 2003 invasion, is a perfectly
respectable point to raise. It is equally legitimate to ask if at any point the
panel will investigate or even refer to the US neocons and their links to
Israel. Call me snide if you like, but I very much doubt they will.
1953
manual detailing tricks of the agency’s trade is published:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/learn-how-to-spike-a-drink-the-cia-way-1829884.html
The
Governor of California has been embarrassed by claims that he is being pursued
for almost $80,000 [£49,000] by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for
back-taxes that he apparently still owes the federal government from 2004 and
2005.
27th
November
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-builds-up-its-bases-in-oilrich-south-america-1825398.html
emirate's
default 29th November
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/hamish-mcrae/hamish-mcrae-shifting-sands-will-the-emirates-default-push-us-into-another-crash-1830373.html
American
Politics turns into one big ‘reality’ show, Rupert Cornwell, Indie, 29th
November 2009
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-american-politics-turns-into-one-big-reality-show-1830389.html
Bhopal:
The victims are still being born
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bhopal-the-victims-are-still-being-born-1830516.html
Iraq:
The war was illegal
Then
Attorney General Goldsmith was 'pinned to the wall and bullied into keeping
quiet' while the Prime Minister kept the Cabinet in the dark
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/iraq-the-uwaru-was-illegal-1830508.html
Afghanistan:
The hokey-cokey strategy
On
eve of Obama's surge, Brown aims to convince voters he has a plan for
withdrawal. Handover 'could begin by end of 2010' – but PM is set to commit 500
more troops
By
Jane Merrick in Port of Spain and Rupert Cornwell in Washington
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/afghanistan-the-hokeycokey-strategy-1830660.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bin-laden-was-within-us-grasp-in-tora-bora-1830807.html
November
2009
November
3 – The Czech Republic becomes the final member-state of the European Union to
sign the Treaty of Lisbon, thereby permitting that document's initiation into
European law.[77]
November
3 – The Prime Minister of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy, is designated the first
permanent President of the European Council,[78] a position he takes up on 1
December 2009.[79][80][81]
November
13 – Having analyzed the data from the LCROSS lunar impact, NASA announces that
it has found a "significant" quantity of water in the Moon's Cabeus
crater.[82][83]
November
20 – CERN restarts the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator in Geneva,
Switzerland; they had shut it down on September 19, 2008.[84][85]
November
23 – In the Philippines, at least 57 are abducted and killed in an
election-related massacre in the province of Maguindanao. This appears to be
the deadliest attack on journalists in recent history.[86]
November
27 – Dubai requests a debt deferment following its massive renovation and
development projects, as well as the late 2000s economic crisis. The
announcement causes global stock markets to drop.[87]
December
2009
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/presidential-victory-in-honduras-marred--by-dispute-1831655.html
Chilcot
Enquiry
They
all seemed to be playing a game of pinning the blame on Blair and Brown, as if
these two had managed to drag the country into an illegal war almost
single-handedly.
Senior
Foreign Office officials said reconstruction efforts were hampered by funding
and staff shortages. Admiral Lord Boyce, then Chief of Defence Staff, said
geoff Hoon, Defence Secretary, blocked hum from ordering equipment and
mobilising his troops for several months because ministers did not want the
secret plans to become public.
Dominic
Asquith, former ambassador in Baghdad, said that Brown refused to provide extra
£13m needed in 2006 to restore normality to Baghad.
Chilcots
tame professor – see Richard Ingrams on 5th December 2009.
It's
supposed to be an inquiry but there's not much sign of any inquiring going on.
I have been studiously following reports of the current investigation into the
Iraq war and have even seen bits of it on television and I have yet to read or
see a single case of any of the five-strong panel asking a question of those
giving evidence. One by one the civil servants and the army generals queue up
to say their piece and that's about all there is to it.
The
lack of probing questions ought not to surprise us given the composition of the
panel, all of them with close links to the political establishment. One of
them, our old friend Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, provided further evidence
of this when during Tuesday's session he volunteered the information that he
had "instigated" a pre-war seminar for Blair to discuss Iraq because,
he said, "I was aware of misgivings among some specialists in Iraq about
the direction of policy". He added that this was "my only direct
engagement in Iraq policy making". We were not told how a professor of
history came to be in a position to organise such a seminar for the Prime
Minister, nor, for that matter, whether there might have been some indirect
engagements subsequently on the part of Freedman.
This
hitherto unreported seminar is further proof of Sir Lawrence's close links to
Blair. We already know that he provided the bones of a speech Blair made in
Chicago in 1999 justifying the military intervention in rogue states. Later, in
a TV interview, Freedman spoke of the "rather noble criteria" which
lay behind the illegal invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Thursday,
3 December 2009
PM
accused of 'muzzling' Iraq inquiry
Gordon
Brown has been accused of “muzzling” the Iraq inquiry after refusing to alter
rules that allow Government departments to withhold crucial documents from the
public.
http://tinyurl.com/yanmdda
Friday,
4 December 2009
Hoon
'banned armed forces from preparing for Iraq war'
http://tinyurl.com/yasu5ow
Geoff
Hoon held back military preparations for the Iraq invasion when he was Defence
Secretary, because he wanted to keep the plans secret from the public, his
armed forces chief has revealed.
Gordon
Brown faced a diplomatic rift with Pakistan after its Prime Minister rejected
British accusations that it was not doing enough to hunt down Osama bin Laden.
http://tinyurl.com/ydv7j7k
General
Richards said: “There is a risk in this... My soldiers are an intelligent lot.
They know this is unsustainable over time. At the very moment, on the back of
President Obama’s decision, that success becomes much more attainable the last
thing they want is for the public at home to go wobbly on them. We know this
thing is doable and we must help persuade others of it.
“We
have not made enough effort over the last few years to explain what we are
doing and why we must succeed. From the Prime Minister down, we are making big
efforts now to learn this lesson and I sense the tide may just be turning back
in the right direction.”
Misuse
of anti terror legislation by Britain's police.
5th
December – police U turn on photographers, Indie, Jerome Taylor and Mark
Hughes.
Now
this is Obama’s war. December 5th
Obama
pledged extra 30,000 US troops for Afghanistan
Obama’s
performance nearly a year in to his term. Healthcare looks like it might die in
the Senate; Iran kicking off; recession not going away – a second period of
recession looking 50:50 in second half of 2010; president plunged America
further into warin Afghanistan – General Stanley McChrystal likely to get his
40,000 if NATO chip in – withdrawal then likely to be in mid 2011 just as Obama
will be seeking re-election…may placate liberals .
The
west failed to stop Al Qaida, if indeed, that was what the war was for. In fact
helped spread the “virus” to Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, etc. So why not continue
the war in these countries? Or end it altogether. 51% of Americans support the
strategy. Made comparisons with Johnson and his ambitious domestic agenda.
NATO
pledged about 7,000 extra troops raising total foreign forces in Afghanistan to
about 140,000.
Canada
& NL plan to withdraw in 2011 and 2010 respectively.
Somalis
with al Qaida link deny hotel blast – 5th December – killed 22; al Shabaab
spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage denied responsibility.
“Taliban
Strikes At The Heart Of The Pakistani Army” by Omar Waraich: at least 40
killed; army targeted; major offensive against Taliban militants in South
Waziristan (previous offensive in Swat) launched two months ago – 30,000 troops
dispatched into harsh and mountainous SW claims that it has cleared vast
swathes of territory and killed over 600 militants; guerrillas scattered
according to military analyst Hasan Askari-Rizvi; weeks ago – gunmen attacked military HQ in
Islamabad; a wave of violence that has so far killed around 400 people;
Guinea
– former French colony; upheaval since death of long term dictator Lansana
Conte.
Junta
leader Moussa Dadis Camara was shot by certain members of the presidential
guard who had been involved in the 28th September massacres - brutal stadium massacre, at least 157
killed - and felt threatened by the UN commission of inquiry.
Mining
deals?
Camara
was seriously wounded.
Guinea
Plunge Into Chaos by Daniel Howden, Indie, 5th December 2009.
Berlusconi
in court – accused of cutting deal with the mafia to attain power – early
1990s. Gaspare Spatuzza – jailed mafia hitman told the court.
Rumours
of mafia connection persisted snce investigators learned of cosa nostra htiman
Vittorio Mangano worked as Berlusconi’s stable master at his villa near Milan
in 1970s. – speculation has centred around the origins of his vast wealth.
December
7th
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/baghdads-nightclubs-closed-in-moral-crusade-1835520.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-admits--it-has-no--idea-of-bin-ladens-whereabouts-1835514.html
December
8th
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/scores-killed-as-car-bombs-rock-baghdad-1836234.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/blair-claim-separate-from-iraq-dossier-1836549.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/legitimacy-worries-hit-iraq-postwar-planning-1836419.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/american-charged-over-mumbai-attacks-1836060.html
December
9th
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/127-dead-as-bombers-aim-for-heart-of-government-1836687.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/speed-of-military-success-took-iraq-planners-by-surprise-1836988.html
December
10th
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/obama-defends-war-as-he-accepts-nobel-peace-prize-1837658.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/americans-held-in-pakistan-wanted-to-join-jihad-1837583.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/only-5050-chance-that-2c-climate-target-will-be-met-1837373.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/opposition-supporters-suffered-torture-and-rape-after-iranian-elections-says-amnesty-1837393.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1210/p06s12-wome.html
pants
bomber
December
1 – The Treaty of Lisbon comes into force.[88]
December
7 – December 18 – The UNFCCC's United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009
conference is held in Copenhagen, Denmark.[89]
December
16 – Astronomers discover GJ1214b, the first-known exoplanet on which water
could exist.[90]
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