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Africa Subsaharan

How Europe is funding Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, others

2014-08-04

[TRIBUNE.NG] EUROPEAN funding is a major factor for the continued proliferation of Al-qaeda, Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... and other terrorist networks, an investigation by the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... has found out. By paying ransom for kidnapped Europeans, Europe funds al-Qaeda's global business across the globe. Europe has, thus, become al-Qaeda's cash cow. It purchases arms, trains and finances its members through these ransoms. Ironically, even though they deny paying ransoms, it was found that European countries paid al-Qaeda and its direct affiliates at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66 million was paid in 2013. This is despite numerous agreements calling for an end to ransom paying, including the 2013 G8 summit, where some of the biggest ransom payers in Europe signed a declaration agreeing to stamp out the practice. Quite naturally, the foreign ministries of Austria, La Belle France, Germany, Italia and Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... and other countries denied paying terrorists. But the United States Treasury Department was reported to have put ransom payments at around $165 million over the same period. These payments were through a network of proxies, and in the guise of development aid, the report said. "Kidnapping for ransom has become today's most significant source of terrorist financing," said the Treasury Department's Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, David S. Cohen, in a 2012 speech. "Each transaction encourages another transaction," he added. While in 2003 the kidnappers received around $200,000 per hostage, now they are netting up to $10 million, money that the second in command of al-Qaeda's central leadership recently described as accounting for as much as half of his operating revenue.

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International-UN-NGOs

Obama Says Russia Behavior Sign of Weakness, Comparing Crimea to Kosovo Makes 'No Sense'

2014-03-26

Of course he did. He's The Smartest Man In The Room. [AnNahar] U.S. President Barack Obama My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it... on Tuesday hit out at Moscow's expansionism as a "sign of weakness" after Russia took control of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine, fueling fears of further intervention in the region. "Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors, not out of strength but out of weakness," Obama told journalists after a nuclear security summit in The Hague. Obama said that while the U.S. also has influence over its neighbors, "we generally don't need to invade them in order to have a strong cooperative relationship with them." The Crimean crisis has sparked the most explosive East-West confrontation since the Cold War era and fanned fears in Kiev that Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... now intends to push his troops into the heavily Russified regions of southeast Ukraine. "The fact that Russia felt (the need) to go in militarily and lay bare these violations of international law indicates less influence, not more," Obama said, rejecting Putin's claim that Russian speakers had been threatened in Crimea and in Ukraine. "There has been no evidence that Russian speakers have been in any way threatened," Obama said, the day after a Group of Seven summit suspended Russia from the grouping of rich nations. "I think it is important for everybody to be clear and strip away some of the possible excuses for potential Russian action," he said, before heading for his first European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... -U.S. summit in Brussels. Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday sacked the crisis-hit country's defense minister, after his forces undertook a humiliating withdrawal from Crimea without firing a shot against Russian forces who claimed the Black Sea peninsula. Crimea's effective loss -- though recognized by no Western power -- has dealt a heavy psychological blow to many Ukrainians who have already spent the past years mired in corruption and economic malaise. Ukraine's ground commanders in Crimea had complained bitterly of confusion among the top brass in Kiev since Putin's decision on March 1 to seek the right to use force against his neighbor in response to last month's fall in Kiev of a pro-Kremlin regime. Some 228 deputies in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada parliament supported Igor Tenyukh's dismissal after the acting defense minister tendered his resignation in an emotional address broadcast live to the nation of 46 million people. "I have never clung on to my job, and I don't intend to do so now," Tenyukh said. "I have honor." Tuesday's session gave politicians a chance to voice growing frustrations with how the new Western-backed leaders have handled their jobs since coming to power on the back of three months of deadly protests whose ultimate aim was to eliminate the corruption and Kremlin dependence that have weighed on Ukraine throughout its post-Soviet history. "We gave up Crimea to the Russians thanks to our unprofessionalism," independent politician Igor Palytsya fumed. "We gave up Crimea thanks to our indecision." Tensions between the two neighbors seemed ready to spike further when Russian television aired what it claimed was a tape of former Ukrainian premier Yulia Tymoshenko -- an opposition leader released from jail after the pro-Kremlin regime's fall -- urging the "wiping out" of Russians over the seizure of Crimea. Tymoshenko admitted that her voice was on the tape but insisted that her comments had been manipulated. Obama's G7 summit in The Hague sought to ward off the threat of further Russian expansion with a more forceful response after two rounds of only targeted sanctions that hit only specific officials but left Russia's broader economy untouched. The G7 agreed on Monday to deepen Moscow's isolation and meet on its own -- without Russia -- in Brussels instead of gathering in Sochi in June. Obama on Monday said the group was "united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions", in reference to the travel bans and asset freezes imposed by the West on key members of Putin's inner circle. Russia's loss of the right to host the G8 summit is a moral blow to Putin -- a leader whose 14 years in power have focused on resurrecting the Kremlin's post-Soviet pride. But the Kremlin on Tuesday shrugged off the seven world leaders' decision as "counter-productive" but otherwise harmless. "When it comes to contacts with the G8 countries, we are ready for them, we have an interest in them," Kremlin front man Dmitry Peskov told the ITAR-TASS news agency.

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Europe

Putin signs Crimea treaty, Russia suspended from G8

2014-03-19

[Dhaka Tribune] Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... , defying Ukrainian protests and Western sanctions, yesterday signed a treaty making Crimea part of Russia but said he did not plan to seize any other regions of Ukraine. In a fiercely patriotic address to a joint session of the Russian parliament in the Kremlin, punctuated by standing ovations, cheering and tears, Putin lambasted the West for what he called hypocrisy. Western nations had endorsed Kosovo's independence from Serbia but now denied Crimeans the same right, he said. "You cannot call the same thing black today and white tomorrow," he declared to stormy applause, saying Western partners had "crossed the line" over Ukraine and behaved "irresponsibly." He said Ukraine's new leaders, in power since the overthrow of pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovich last month, included "neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites." Putin said Crimea's referendum vote on Sunday had shown the overwhelming will of the people to be reunited with Russia after 60 years as part of the Ukrainian republic. La Belle France's foreign minister, meanwhile, said leaders of the Group of Eight world powers have suspended Russia's participation in the club. The other seven members of the group had already suspended preparations for a G8 summit that Russia is scheduled to host in June in Sochi. To the Russian national anthem in Moscow, Putin and Crimean leaders signed a treaty on making Crimea part of Russia. During his address, Putin was interrupted by applause at least 30 times. "In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia," Putin said. He thanked China for what he called its support, even though Beijing abstained on a UN resolution on Crimea that Moscow had to veto on its own, and said he was sure Germans would support the Russian people's quest for reunification, just as Russia had supported German reunification in 1990.

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Europe

Canada warns Russia on Ukraine, says G8 membership at risk

2014-03-04

It's a new feeling, this envy of Canada's political leadership. A pity PM Harper could never come south to take over our presidency. [Al Ahram] Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper Monday added his name to warnings that Russia could be stripped of membership in the Group of Eight industrialized nations if it doesn't reverse course in Ukraine. The move is being considered by Canada and other G8 members as part of a basket of sanctions targeting Russia over its military intervention in the Crimea region of Ukraine. On Sunday, the group withdrew from preparations for June's G8 summit in Sochi to protest Russia's violation of Ukraine's illusory sovereignty. "(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin's action has put his country on a course of diplomatic and economic isolation, and that could well see Russia exit the G8 entirely," Harper said. Earlier, Harper spoke by telephone with his Ukrainian counterpart, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, pledging his support and Canada's assistance "during this important period of transition, including related to the upcoming elections." Canada was the first Western nation to recognize an independent Ukraine in 1991. Canada has a large Ukrainian community -- there are 1.2 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent, according to the latest census.

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Government

Champ to meet with Russian 'Coming Outers' at G-20 summit

2013-09-03

[Buzzfeed] Following his cancellation of a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Barack Obama may infuriate the Kremlin further by meeting Russian human rights activists, including LGBT rights groups, during his upcoming trip to St Petersburg for the G20 summit. G20, a meaningless gathering highlighted by overpriced hotels, drunkenness, and culinary debauchery. Four Russian non-governmental organizations told BuzzFeed Monday they had been invited to the meeting, scheduled for this Thursday at St. Petersburg's Crowne Plaza Hotel. The groups include veteran human rights activists Lev Ponomarev and Lyudmila Alexeyeva, legal aid NGO director Pavel Chikov, and Coming Out, a St. Petersburg-based LGBT organization. Another local LGBT group, the LGBT Network, is believed to be attending, though director Igor Kochetkov declined to comment to BuzzFeed, saying that he had been "asked not to say anything." If they're smart, they'll decline the invite.... and live. Election monitoring group Golos is also believed to have been invited, though BuzzFeed could not reach its director or deputy director to confirm. Russia's justice ministry forced Golos, which used to receive funding from USAID, to disband this summer under a law on "foreign agents" that many believed was created specifically to target the group. USAID, very effective in Iraq and Afghanistan, just LOOK! Obama's trip to Russia for a summit of the Group of 20 industrialized nations comes amid a deep rift between the US and Russia, not least over the countries' competing stances on Syria. Obama was due to hold a one-on-one meeting with Putin in Moscow before heading to the summit, but abruptly called that off last month in the wake of deteriorating relations and Russia's sheltering of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Putin has repeatedly accused members of Russia's civil society as being in the pay of the U.S. State Department. Was that before or after he picked up Snowdenski's Hong Kong hotel bill ? Thursday's meeting is not unique or unprecedented. Obama met with civil society and opposition activists during his last visit to Russia in 2009. George W. Bush met with NGOs during the G8 summit in 2006. Not his first brush with alternative lifestyles you say ? It is believed to be the first time Obama has met with members of the Russian LGBT community. Asked about Russia's anti-LGBT law in August, Obama told Jay Leno that he had "no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them." Champ appearing on the Jay Leno forum for foreign policy again ? A U.S. Embassy representative did not return several requests for comment. But were seen smiling broadly and holding hands.

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-Short Attention Span Theater-

Obama Confuses UK Finance Minister with Soul Singer

2013-06-22

[An Nahar] U.S. President Barack Obama I am not a dictator!... repeatedly called British Finance Minister George Osborne "Jeffrey" at the G8 summit, media reported on Thursday. The U.S. president said three times that he agreed fully with "Jeffrey" during his presentation on G8 host Britannia's plans to crack down on tax evasion, leaving Osborne red-faced. Realising his blunder afterwards, Obama joked that he had mistaken the chancellor of the exchequer for the U.S. soul singer Jeffrey Osborne, The Sun and the Financial Times reported. "I'm sorry, man. I must have confused you with my favorite R and B singer," Obama was quoted as saying. The chancellor, 42, bears little resemblance to Jeffrey Osborne, a 65-year-old African-American hit singer-songwriter known for his 1982 classic "On the Wings of Love". The singer told Sky News television: "I was really delighted actually. I was really not aware that (Obama) was that much of a fan that he would call the chancellor Jeffrey Osborne.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Clashes Continue in Damascus as Rebels Demand Arms, No-Fly Zone

2013-06-21

[An Nahar] Syrian rebels urged friendly world powers on Thursday to provide them with heavier weapons and to impose a no-fly zone over parts of the country they control to avert a humanitarian disaster. On the ground, troops and rebels battled in several districts and suburbs of Damascus, and the army shelled bully boy positions using heavy artillery and mortars, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Western and Arab powers from the so-called Friends of Syria group will meet in Doha on Saturday, and Free Syrian Army front man Louay Meqdad said "the regime could use Scud missiles with unconventional warheads to shell liberated areas. So we need a safe haven." "It is necessary to establish secure areas and impose no-fly zones in the south or north," he told Agence La Belle France Presse in Dubai. Calling for anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, he said that "if they do not provide us with arms to protect civilian areas, a humanitarian disaster will occur because regime troops are committing massacres in the areas they are recapturing". Meqdad said "foreign militias, including Hizbullah and Abulfadhl al-Abbas brigades (made up mainly of Iraqi Shiites) do not respect any international conventions". Foreign ministers from Britannia, Egypt, La Belle France, Germany, Italia, Jordan, Qatar, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States are to discuss aid for the rebels, including military help, a French diplomat said on Wednesday. Western powers have so far refused to arm rebels fighting Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... 's troops -- backed by Shiite militias from neighboring countries -- out of fear they could fall into the hands of radical Islamists. But Meqdad said "we are committed to ensuring that these weapons do not fall into the hands of unorganized or myrmidon groups". FSA chief of staff General Selim Idriss is seen as a reliable partner by the West, who mainly voice fears of groups such as Al-Nusra Front, whose aim is to establish an Islamic state in Syria. Meqdad said the regime has been amassing troops in preparation for an offensive on rebel-held areas on the outskirts of Damascus and second city Aleppo. The expected campaign comes after Assad forces regained control of the strategic town of Qusayr, on the border with Leb, with Hizbullah help. On Thursday, President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... urged Hizbullah to end its participation in the war and "return to Leb... because this intervention leads to tensions in Leb". Last week, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said his fighters would stay in Syria. The opposition has said Hizbullah forces are now deploying at other key sites in the country, including in the north. "If they (Hizbullah) participate in the battle in Aleppo and there are more deaths in the ranks of the party it will raise tensions further. Qusayr must be the end, and they must return to Leb," Suleiman said. In Moscow, meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the West was dragging its feet on agreeing to a date for a peace conference because "they are not at all sure that they will be able to sell the opposition". Speaking of this week's G8 summit in Northern Ireland, Lavrov said Russia pushed for a concrete time frame to be spelled out but its Western partners refused to do so. The opposition has long insisted that Assad's departure is a precondition for any settlement, and said it "reserves the right to use all means at its disposal" to bring him down, "chiefly military action". The army, in some instances backed by Hizbullah, was seeking to retake rebel positions in suburbs south of the capital, and to cut off supply lines to others inside the capital, the Britannia-based Observatory said. Meanwhile in the war-torn country, Syrian troops and rebels battled in several southern and eastern districts of Damascus on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding the army used heavy artillery to target some bully boy positions. Clashes that began a day earlier in the north-eastern Qabun neighborhood were continuing, as army troops sought to storm the district, firing mortar shells and heavy artillery, the Observatory said. Several homes in the area caught fire as a result of the bombardment, the group said. The northern Barzeh district and eastern Jubar neighborhood, both home to pockets of rebel fighters, were also under fire. In the south of the capital, the contested neighborhoods of Al-Hajar al-Aswad and Qadam were the scene of ongoing festivities, with shelling forcing the closure of the road leading to the Paleostinian Yarmuk refugee camp. A woman and a child were killed by an army sniper in the area, according to the Observatory, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers on the ground. Rebel have established rear bases in parts of the southern and eastern districts of the capital, prompting the Syrian military to launch raids in a bid to uproot them. Earlier this week, a rebel attack in Qadam killed 11 Syrian soldiers. In southern and eastern suburbs of the city, rebels were also battling troops backed by members of Hizbullah, the Observatory said. Government troops are pushing in particular to retake the village of Zayabiya and Babila, south of the capital, mixed Sunni-Shiite villages near the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, a Shiite pilgrimage site.

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Home Front: WoT

NSA targeted Medvedev at London G20 summit

2013-06-17

Of course we did. The Russian intel services targeted Champ. So what? American spies based in the UK intercepted the top-secret communications of the then Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, during his visit to Britain for the G20 summit in London, leaked documents reveal. The details of the intercept were set out in a briefing prepared by the National Security Agency (NSA), America's biggest surveillance and eavesdropping organisation, and shared with high-ranking officials from Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The document, leaked by the NSA whistleblower and traitor Edward Snowden and seen by the Guardian, shows the agency believed it might have discovered "a change in the way Russian leadership signals have been normally transmitted". The disclosure underlines the importance of the US spy hub at RAF Menwith Hill in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, where hundreds of NSA analysts are based, working alongside liaison officers from GCHQ. The document was drafted in August 2009, four months after the visit by Medvedev, who joined other world leaders in London, including the US president, Barack Obama, for the event hosted by the British prime minister, Gordon Brown. Medvedev arrived in London on Wednesday 1 April and the NSA intercepted communications from his delegation the same day, according to the NSA paper, entitled: "Russian Leadership Communications in support of President Dmitry Medvedev at the G20 summit in London – Intercept at Menwith Hill station." The document starts with two pictures of Medvedev smiling for the world's media alongside Brown and Obama in bilateral discussions before the main summit. The report says: "This is an analysis of signal activity in support of President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to London. The report details a change in the way Russian leadership signals have been normally transmitted. The signal activity was found to be emanating from the Russian embassy in London and the communications are believed to be in support of the Russian president." The NSA interception of the Russian leadership at G20 came hours after Obama and Medvedev had met for the first time. Relations between the two leaders had been smoothed in the runup to the summit with a series of phone calls and letters, with both men wanting to establish a trusting relationship to discuss the ongoing banking crisis and nuclear disarmament. In the aftermath of their discussions on 1 April, the two men issued a joint communique saying they intended to "move further along the path of reducing and limiting strategic offensive arms in accordance with the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons". A White House official who briefed journalists described the meeting as "a very successful first meeting focused on real issues". The official said it had been important for the men to be open about the issues on which they agreed and disagreed. Obama had stressed the need to be candid, the official noted. While it has been widely known the two countries spy on each other, it is rare for either to be caught in the act; ...because each side has relatively few traitors... the latest disclosures will also be deeply embarrassing for the White House as Obama prepares to meet Vladimir Putin, who succeeded Medvedev as president, in the margins of the G8 summit this week. The two countries have long complained about the extent of each other's espionage activities, and tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats are common. A year after Obama met Medvedev, the US claimed it had broken a highly sophisticated spy ring that carried out "deep cover" assignments in the US. Ten alleged Russian spies living in America were arrested. Putin was withering of the FBI-led operation: "I see that your police have let themselves go and put some people in jail, but I guess that is their job. I hope the positive trend that we have seen develop in our bilateral relations recently will not be harmed by these events." Last month, the Russians arrested an American in Moscow who they alleged was a CIA agent. The new revelations underline the significance of RAF Menwith Hill and raise questions about its relationship to the British intelligence agencies, and who is responsible for overseeing it. The 560-acre site was leased to the Americans in 1954 and the NSA has had a large presence there since 1966. It has often been described as the biggest surveillance and interception facility in the world, and has 33 distinct white "radomes" that house satellite dishes. A US base in all but name, it has British intelligence analysts seconded to work alongside NSA colleagues, though it is unclear how the two agencies obtain and share intelligence – and under whose legal authority they are working under.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Putin Meets Cameron, Warns against Arming Syria Rebels

2013-06-17

[An Nahar] Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... on Sunday insisted that Moscow had abided by "rules and norms" when providing weapons to Syria and demanded other G8 countries which are contemplating arming rebels do likewise. Putin was speaking in London after holding talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... which could set the tone for the G8 summit, with the West at odds with Moscow over the conflict. Cameron is seeking to forge an international consensus on handling the unrest as he hosts the leaders of the world's top industrialized nations in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, from Monday. Putin, who has provided military support to Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... despite pleas from the West, has been dismissive of U.S. claims that the regime has used chemical weapons and insisted Russia had acted appropriately. "We are not breaching any rules and norms and we call on all our partners to act in the same fashion," he said. Washington has vowed to send military aid to rebel forces battling to topple Assad after saying it had proof that his regime had crossed a "red line". Putin warned that countries supplying arms to forces fighting against Assad's regime risked tarnishing their reputation after footage emerged last month of one rebel apparently eating the heart of a dead soldier.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

More than 70 Syrian Officers Defect to Turkey

2013-06-16

[An Nahar] More than 70 Syrian military officers have defected to the opposition and crossed into Turkey, an official there said on Saturday, as world leaders prepared to discuss the Syrian conflict at the G8 summit. The defections followed a U.S. decision to give the rebels "military support" after Washington reviewed evidence showing the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons. But Russia said the regime, which bombarded the outskirts of Damascus on Saturday, had no need to use chemical weapons because its forces were making steady advances on the ground. The defection of 71 army officers and two coppers came over a period of 36 hours, the Turkish official told Agence La Belle France Presse. The group included six generals and 22 colonels, the official added, and was the highest-level defection in months.

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China-Japan-Koreas

Norks rule out nuke test for now

2012-05-28

SEOUL -- North Korea on Tuesday (May 21) ruled out an imminent nuclear weapon test, but vowed to expand and bolster its nuclear deterrence as well as its sovereign right to launch satellites, while slamming the Group of Eight nations' condemnation of its failed long-range rocket launch in April. In a remark given to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency, a spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry said that the North didn't have a plan for a nuclear test from the beginning, because it sought to launch a scientific and technical satellite. "From the beginning, we did not envisage such a military measure as a nuclear test as we planned to launch a scientific and technical satellite for peaceful purposes," said the official. "Several weeks ago, we informed the U.S. side of the fact that we are restraining ourselves in real actions though we are no longer bound to the February 29 DPRK-U.S. agreement, taking the concerns voiced by the U.S. into consideration for the purpose of ensuring the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula necessary for focusing every effort on the peaceful development." There has been speculation that the communist country may carry out a nuclear test to try to compensate for last month's botched rocket launch. The North has a track record of carrying out a nuclear test following a long-range missile test. In 2006, the North conducted its first nuclear test, three months after the test-firing of its long-range Taepodong-2 rocket. The second nuclear test in 2009 came just one month after a long-range rocket launch. The North Korean official went on to strongly hit back at a statement issued at a G8 summit in the U.S. last week. "Absolutely intolerable is G8's reckless political provocation to violate the sacred sovereignty of the DPRK (North Korea) steeped in the bad habit of supporting the U.S. hostile policy towards the DPRK in disregard of justice and truth. We will bravely frustrate all the obstructions of the hostile forces and continue legitimately exercising our sovereign right to launch satellites to meet the indispensable requirements for building an economic power," said the official. "We had access to nuclear deterrence for self-defense because of the hostile policy of the U.S. to stifle the DPRK by force and we will expand and bolster it nonstop as long as this hostile policy goes on. If the U.S. persists in its moves to ratchet up sanctions and pressure upon us despite our peace-loving efforts, we will be left with no option but to take counter-measures for self-defense."

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Home Front: Culture Wars

NATO Protesters Demand 'Robin Hood' Tax

2012-05-19

[An Nahar] Hundreds of nurses wearing Robin Hood hats and red t-shirts calling for "an economy for the 99 percent" rallied in Chicago Friday ahead of the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... summit. "NATO is here, the time is right for dancing in the streets," they sang as the cheerful crowd broke out into a dance routine. "They'll be teachers teaching and nurses healing -- dancing in the streets.... it's time to tax Wall Street!" Sharon Tobin, a nurse from San Francisco, laughed and shouted "lets do that again" when the song wound up. "We were practicing and practicing and practicing," she told Agence La Belle France Presse. "Demonstration or no demonstration, we always have fun." The nurses and over 100 other groups are using the summit to call attention to a global movement to enact a Robin Hood tax on financial transactions such as stock, bond and derivatives sales that would raise an estimated $350 billion every year to pay for healthcare, education, and other basic needs and services. Thousands of protesters are expected to descend on Chicago as the leaders of 50 countries gather for a NATO summit on Sunday and Monday. Fears that the protests could turn violent have put the city on edge, with some downtown businesses even telling office workers to ditch their suits and ties and dress down to avoid being hassled or targeted on the streets. Police and protest organizers have vowed that there will be no repeat of the trouble that erupted at G20 summits in London and Toronto or the riots that scarred Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The decision to move the G8 summit -- set for Friday and Saturday -- from Chicago to the presidential retreat of Camp David outside Washington is expected to lessen the intensity of demonstrations in President Barack Obama The campaign's over, John... 's adoptive home town. Several rallies held so far have been peaceful, although four protesters were cooled for a few years Drop the rosco and step away witcher hands up! Tuesday at a rowdy rally outside a Chicago immigration court. Eight protesters were charged with trespassing after they refused to leave the Chicago office tower which houses Obama's campaign headquarters. Turnabout is fair play, and all that. Or sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander -- I get the two confused.

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