Cover via AmazonChristmas Eve tragedy prompts questions about Canada's immigrant dreamPoverty among immigrants is rising sharply. Employment is precarious. More recently, the numbers of undocumented and underground workers seem to be growing.
The dream, for many, is now a nightmare.
Feds to release more secret intelligence files on Tommy Douglas
"This case is about more than the significant historical information concerning Tommy Douglas. It's also more broadly about the concerns of journalists and historians across Canada about the barriers that they often face when trying to seek archival information," Champ said.
The Canadian Historical Association has filed an affidavit in support of Bronskill's challenge, complaining that history professors have been encountering problems accessing information from Library and Archives Canada for 25 years
Cancer Courts Immune Response to Aid Growth
Much like stress—a natural response to crisis that is unhealthy as a steady state—inflammation appears to be useful in the short-term but bad over the long haul. Chronic low-level inflammation has been fingered as a root cause of many diseases, contributing to conditions from diabetes to cancer.
FBI Alleged to Have Planted “Back Door” in OpenBSD Encryption
Naomi Wolf schools CNN’s secrecy apologist
“When Wikileaks meets U.S. policy”
regular and routine deceit has increased the suspicion of Americans—and I’d bet the suspicion of other nations’ publics, too—that they are being lied to about the conduct of governmental affairs
In India, Obama behaved as if the nature of the Pakistan-India relationship was comparable with that of the US-Canada relationship, with just a few more rough patches. Apparently unaware of what can only be described as the paranoia and zero-sum approach with which each nation assesses the other, the oblivious Obama called for ‘progress’ on the Kashmir conflict, probably leaving both New Delhi and Islamabad wondering whose ox was to be gored to afford progress.
Obama tilted toward India with reckless abandon. He called for greater Indo-US economic, military and nuclear cooperation; praised India—but not Pakistan—for its counter-terrorism efforts; recommended new contracts between India’s military and US arms manufacturers; and urged the expansion of India’s expensive but doomed commitment in Afghanistan. Obama finished up by unequivocally endorsing a seat for India on the UN Security Council.
Why were all of these things on Obama’s New Delhi script? At this moment in history it hardly seems in the interests of the United States to tell Pakistan that its place as a US ally ends when the Afghan war is lost, and yet this is exactly what Obama was effectively doing. Likewise, he signalled Washington’s willingness to join Israel in helping to qualitatively improve India’s military capabilities, while encouraging New Delhi to continue and expand its presence in Afghanistan, which will do nothing but increase Pakistan’s perception that its security demands that it ally itself with forces bent on restoring the Taliban’s Islamic emirate. (Another anomaly is why Obama thinks long-term Indo-US relations will benefit from pushing India into a greater Afghan commitment when he knows—as documented in Bob Woodward’s recent book, Obama’s Wars—that the United States and NATO have lost the Afghan war and that Washington will depart and leave India to its own devices.)
Cover of OpenBSD
WASHINGTON RULES; AMERICAN HOLOCAUST
Three new books about US influence in the world have been published:1. Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War, by Andrew Bacevich.
2. How Wars End: Why We Always Fight the Last Battle, by Gideon Rose.
3. The Frugal Superpower: America’s Global Leadership in a Cash-strapped Era, by Michael Mandelbaum.
Image by DJOtaku via Flickr
WikiLeaks' lesson on Haiti What the US embassy cables reveal about Washington's malign influence should make Latin American nations quit the UN force
The polarisation of the debate around WikiLeaks is pretty simple, really. Of all the governments in the world, the United States government is the greatest threat to world peace and security today. This is obvious to anyone who looks at the facts with a modicum of objectivity. The Iraq war has claimed certainly hundreds of thousands, and, most likely, more than a million lives. It was completely unnecessary and unjustifiable, and based on lies. Now, Washington is moving toward a military confrontation with Iran.
As Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, pointed out in an interview recently, in the preparation for a war with Iran, we are at about the level of 1998 in the buildup to the Iraq war.
On this basis, even ignoring the tremendous harm that Washington causes to developing countries in such areas as economic development (through such institutions as the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation), or climate change, it is clear that any information which sheds light on US "diplomacy" is more than useful. It has the potential to help save millions of human lives.
You either get this or you don't. Brazil's president Lula da Silva, who earned Washington's displeasure last May when he tried to help defuse the confrontation with Iran, gets it. That's why he defended and declared his "solidarity" with embattled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, even though the leaked cables were not pleasant reading for his own government.
Afghans fearful of their protectors
Inteltrends
Anti-American propaganda in Turkmen schools
In Turkmen schools a film is being demonstrated to teachers of foreign languages featuring the U.S. as the enemy of independent countries including Turkmenistan. According to the film’s authors, cultural exchange programs in the area of education are detrimental to the youth. Using democracy and promotion of freedom as the cover, the Americans are training senior graders and students for “colour” revolutions, i.e. riots and destabilization campaigns, which might ruin the country’s well-being.
As a negative example of the U.S. influence, the documentalists refer to Georgia and its President Mikhail Saakashvili – they believe that the revolution in Georgia was caused by the “harmless” programs designed for senior graders and students who during one academic year spent in the U.S. absorb “revolutionary” ideas and then bring them back to their home country.
It is an open secret that the goal of the U.S. exchange program for Turkmen high school students is identifying leaders. The testing which is arranged in three stages, as well as the extensive questionnaire filled up by an applicant, allows a local selection committee and subsequently the Washington office to select potential leaders among hundreds of 14 to 16-year old teenagers. It is expected that upon their arrival, after spending 12 months in the U.S. schools, they would become activists in their home country.
However, year after year it is getting more complicated to implement the objective of the program. Upon arrival, alumni are immediately closely watched by special services, who keep an eye on what the young people do, how they behave upon arrival from the U.S. and what universities they seek admission to after completing secondary education in order to continue their education.
As a rule, the so-called “American corners”, the velayat’s offices of the ACCELS headquarters become the venues for the alumni and senior graders to get together. They have been operating for almost ten years. Any information devoted to the U.S. is available here: books, video resources about the U.S. history, culture, sports and other aspects of American life. Moreover, one can find education-related information, for instance, recommendations on how to seek admission to the U.S. universities, apply for a scholarship, who to contact etc.
Internet access is available at “American corners”, which is rigidly controlled. For example, every user has to register in a special log-book filling out their personal data, computer number, the precise time and the purpose of using Internet resources. The time is limited to 30 minutes only and taken into account low Internet connection speed in the country, it is next to impossible to find the information young people are interested in.
IRAQ: The eleven reasons to explain Barzani’s decision of Kurdistan Region self-determination (and the backfire)
Russian border guards to fight Taliban
Russia is once again prepared to take custody of the Tajik-Afghan border. This was stated by head of the CIS Department of the Foreign Ministry of Russia Maxim Peshkov, formerly a Russian ambassador to Tajikistan.
According to him, it can be done “with regard to the situation in Afghanistan and the growing threat of terrorism.” He said that the issue is currently under review and “if the Tajiks invite us to protect their borders, there is no reason to deny this request.”
Growing rich on misery
It read like the start of a request to give generously. “Earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, floods in Pakistan, a drought in China, storms in Australia, a volcano in Iceland … an ever increasing stream of natural disasters leaving millions of people dead, sick, starving or homeless and billions of dollars in lost global economic activity.”
But the Dec. 4 conference at the Wharton School of Business, entitled “From Haiti to Pakistan: A Year of Disasters,” was not about how to help people throughout the world suffering from the effects of these natural disasters. Its focus was on entrepreneurship, the art of quickly and innovatively responding to rapidly changing events to guarantee maximum profits.
Inteltrends’ “Newsmarks”
- Venezuela's Chavez to Reject U.S. Ambassador NomineeVenezuelan Foreign Minister told to detain U.S. nominee Larry Palmer if he tries to enter the country.
- New Indian coastal force is operational nowThe Indian Navy on Saturday made operational the Coastal Security Force also known as Sagar Prahari Bal (SPB).
- Colombian army gives militants giant jungle 'Christmas tree'Banners reading: "Demobilise, at Christmas everything is possible" and "If Christmas can come to the jungle, you can come home" decorate the branches.
- Bank of America blocks donations to WikiLeaksBank of America has halted all transactions for WikiLeaks, joining other institutions that refuse to process payments for the website that has exposed U.S. gov't cables.
- Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) reinstates Kabalu as military spokesperson
- Hamas gets stronger despite the Israeli siegeA Hamas official affirmed that if elections were held, his Movement would definitely win in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
- Bolivia recognizes Palestinian stateBolivia announced Friday its recognition of a fully sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Israel.
- Azerbaijan arms production up 260% year-on-yearAzerbaijan increased the production of arms and military equipment 260% in 2010, year-on-year, Defense Industry Minister Yaver Dzhamalov said on Friday.
- Bulgaria Shakes Off Costly Arms Deals, Still Grapples with EurocopterThe Bulgarian gov't has managed to re-negotiate the terms of notorious arms deals with Daimler-Chrysler and Alenia Aeronautica, for which it did not have the money.
- Georgia seeks more American military supportDeputy PM Giorgi Baramidze says that allies in central and eastern Europe view Georgia as a test case of whether the United States will stand by them or not.
- OGADEN: People burned alive in Farmadow Town
- Afghan Insurgent Faction Says Backs Gas Pipeline
- IRAQ: The eleven reasons to explain Barzani’s decision of Kurdistan Region self-determination (and the backfire)
- Indian southern States alerted on LTTE attacks
- India-China contention benefits Kashmiris, Tibetans
- Inteltrends: Burma Report 17-DEC-2010
- Somali Government troops hold military truck carrying weapons to Islamists
- Hizbullah drone over Dimona!
- . Iran is the only among the 57-Muslim nation-states which produces most of its conventional armament locally – as result of the 30-year-old sanctions. In August 2010 – Islamic Republic unveiled its domestically built long-range unmanned missile carrying drone.
the leader of the largest trade union today warning that it is "preparing for battle" with the government over its "unprecedented assault" on the welfare state.
Image by wstera2 via Flickr
Len McCluskey, the newly elected leader of Unite, says union leaders will be holding a special meeting in January to discuss a "broad strike movement" to stop what he described as the coalition's "explicitly ideological" programme of cuts.
Agnostic Jewess understood Holy Qur’an
Lasley describes why most westerners fail to understand the message of Holy Qur’an by giving the example of the 19th century’s great scholar and historian, Thomas Carlyle, who highly praised the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) but called Holy Qur’an a book filled with ‘mumbo-jumbo’. The reason being – the westerners are used to the Bible and Talmud, which are full of stories that have made good scripts for some of Hollywood’s great movies.
Some of the other Islamophobe-stereotyping, she have made fun of – are the so-called ‘killing of non-Muslims (dhimmies)’ and the 72 Virgins. She explains that Holy Qur’an only allows the killing of non-Muslims in self-defence – in defense of Muslim lands, communities and the evildoers who want to destroy Islam.
As regard the story of 72 Virgins in paradise – Lasley Hazleton says that it’s a myth created many centuries after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (pbhu). Her comment on this topic reminded me of Michael Moore’s version of the 72 Virgins. He wrote in his book ‘Dude, Where’s My Country?’
“As far as those other religions (Judaism and Islam) go, two points of clarification. One, there are never going to be seventy-two virgins waiting for you up here. We haven’t had a virgin up here since Jesus’ mother, and you’re not getting anywhere near her……And, two, there is no “Promised Land”. That big truck load of of sand I dumped in that horrid little strip between the Mediterranean and the River Jordan? NOBODY was supposed to live on it, let alone fight over it to the point where it may result in the end of the world. I did not give that land to Israelites (none exist these days except among theArab Muslims and Christians)…. God has spoken”.
Why Sunsetting Delicious Matters
( That's the main Index here ! )
Yahoo Says Delicious For Sale, Blames Press for Confusion
Techcrunch’s Michael Arrington:
“They’re just a nightmarish Dilbert-cartoon version of the old Yahoo, where employees fear for their jobs and stumble around the office trying to protect themselves, not build anything new and ambitious,” he wrote. “There is only one way a company recovers from this. They must have new leadership. And soon.”
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