Nebojsha VUKOVIC (Serbia) NATO: slaughter of civilians and drugs

April 17, 2009Leave a comment

12 April, 2009 – Strategic Culture Foundation

On April, 4, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) marked its 60th jubilee. In Serbia, my home country, many people are doomed not to celebrate their 60th birthdays- they will die of cancer. In 1999 NATO bombed Serbia with depleted uranium bombs, which caused a cancer outbreak in the region. Serbia’s soil, water and air will remain polluted for a few more decades, taking lives of hundreds of Serbs.

There isn’t a single word about it in NATO’s official reports. One may read there about NATO’s contribution to peace in Kosovo.[1]

While NATO exists, there will exist such parallel stories: the one about the alliance’s humanitarian mission, the other (which is less frequent) about death and destruction NATO is guilty of.

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Bolivia Rising: Evo Morales: I want to declare myself as a marxist and communist, let's see if the OAS expels me

April 17, 2009Leave a comment

April 16, 2009 – During his intervention at the VII ALBA Summit, Bolivian president Evo Morales recalled the 1962 documents of the Organisation of American States (OAS) that resulted in Cuba being expelled from the organization, and outlined the importance of reflecting over the motives of that expulsion.

The resolution indicates that the adherence of any member country to Marxism-Leninism, and the association of any member government of the organization with the communist bloc, broke the unity and solidarity of the hemisphere. Therefore, given that the government of Cuba identified itself as Marxist Leninist, it was incompatible with the purpose of the OAS and was therefore excluded from participating.

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Video: The Georgian trap Pt. 2

April 17, 2009Leave a comment

17 April, 2009

Malkhaz Gulashvili: The US strategy was to initiate the process of Russia’s disintegration

Earlier this winter, Real News Senior Editor Paul Jay was in the Republic of Georgia to find out more about the roots of that country’s August 2008 war with Russia. Here is the second part of his interview with renowned Georgian newspaper publisher, Malkhaz Gulashvili. One outcome of the war was Russia’s recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, something Russia was previously unwilling to do. Gulashvili believes that this was an objective of the United States, as it will inspire existing independence movements in other Russian territories, leading to the inevitable disintegration of Southern Russia. In support of this view, violence between independence fighters and Russian forces in the Northern Caucasus has grown significantly since the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The important thing for Gulashvili, is that Georgia never again be the location where the US and Russia work out their energy conflicts through war.

Part One

Bio
Malkhaz Gulashvili is the Owner and Publisher of the Georgian Times, a newspaper from Tbilisi, Georgia that is published in Georgian, Russian and English.

NEW FILM TELLS UNREPORTED STORY OF OBAMA’S ELECTION By Danny Schechter

April 17, 2009Leave a comment

IF YOU WANT TO PROD OBAMA TO DO THE RIGHT THING, MASTER THE ORGANIZING TECHNIQUES HE USED TO WIN ELECTION

Danny Schecter, Director, Barack Obama, People’s President

The election of Barack Obama may be long over but the campaign for change is still underway. For the first time in American history, a president is using the techniques he deployed in running for office in pushing for deeper change. Those who want him to go even further might want to master the approach he used.

It is no surprise that this significant political development is barely being covered in a media that loves to punditize, poll public opinion, and debate policy options in a top-down way. (Some like Fox are even trying to become community organizers) Yet by “covering” politics in this way, our mass media is missing the most innovative bottom-up grassrooots effort in recent memory.

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The most moral army in the world. Fact By Yitzhak Laor

April 17, 2009Leave a comment

14 April, 2009

On June 19, 1977, the Sunday Times marked the 10-year anniversary of the occupation with a wide-ranging expose on the torture of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The report concluded that torture was so widespread and systematic that it was impossible to dismiss these deeds as “‘rogue’ cops exceeding orders. It appears to be sanctioned as deliberate policy.”

Israel’s denial was, of course, adamant. No Israeli newspaper addressed the accusations directly. Our ambassador in London said the morality of the prophets does not permit torture, and therefore these charges were baseless. It was Menachem Begin of all people, who had just formed his government, who expressed shock and ordered the Shin Bet to cease and desist.

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ECONOMY-CUBA: Keeping the Wolf from the Door By Patricia Grogg

April 17, 2009Leave a comment

IPS

HAVANA, Apr 14 (IPS) – The global recession poses new economic threats to Cuba, hitting its principal exports and reducing its chances of obtaining external financing, although officials seem confident that the situation will remain within manageable limits.

Experts consulted by IPS predicted that starting this month or next, the number of tourists visiting this Caribbean island nation will begin to diminish. The leisure industry is an important source of hard currency in Cuba and brought in more than 2.5 billion dollars last year. Remittances from abroad are also expected to shrink.

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COHA: Ecuador’s Correa at Trinidad Summit: Will It Be His Last Presidential Trip?

April 17, 2009Leave a comment

Rafael Correa travels to Trinidad and Tobago this weekend along with several of his colleagues
This year’s presidential contest appears to be a repetition of the viciously fought 2006 presidential election

The economic climate is precarious as Ecuador continues to refuse to join ALBA or relent on Colombia

Following widespread support in the 2008 referendum, Correa appears poised to continue vast social and economic reforms after his likely reelection bid

Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa, will be joined by fellow leaders Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and newly-elected Mauricio Funes of El Salvador at the Summit of the Americas this weekend. The left-leaning brigade will head to the Trinidad forum with significant clout, which will likely assist Correa’s prospects in Ecuador’s upcoming elections. The outcome of the Ecuadorian presidential and legislative elections, set to take place on April 26, will most likely determine whether Latin America’s left-leaning political shift will prevail in the Andean region, or if it was just an ephemeral initiative now destined to burn off. The incumbent quasi-populist leader, Rafael Correa, is expected to be reelected by an even larger margin due to his widespread social and economic reforms.

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