Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Chess game for Spain - and others Posted here Wednesday, March 17, 2004 at 4:17:26 PM     this is an extraordinary chess game. CAIRO (Reuters) - A group claiming to have links with al Qaeda says it is calling a truce in its Spanish operations to see if the new Madrid government would withdraw its troops from Iraq, a pan-Arab newspaper says. In a statement sent to the Arabic language daily al-Hayat, the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, which claimed responsibility for the Madrid bombings that killed 201 people, also urged its European units to stop all operations. "Because of this decision, the leadership has decided to stop all operations within the Spanish territories... until we know the intentions of the new government that has promised to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq," the statement said. "And we repeat this to all the brigades present in European lands: Stop all operations http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&;storyID=478050&section=news  ********

Taiwan straits and arms sales Posted here Wednesday, March 17, 2004 at 3:56:34 PM     arms trade.. http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/article.print?id=3504 Europe has not been a bystander in this Pacific drama, despite how seemingly far removed it may be. Most notably, France has clearly taken the lead in pushing for the lifting of the embargo and letting the European Union's arms exports be regulated by the fairly liberal "code of conduct" approved in 1998. At first glance, Paris' motivation for supporting China's military build-up is two-fold: firstly, garner from China the political and economic rewards for such a stance; and secondly, address the French and European armament industry's hopes of selling sensitive military and dual-use technologies to China. France already has a few large deals in view, among them the BeijingShanghai high-speed train and the coming extension of China's nuclear energy program. The US should be the leader in a world wide effort to reduce arms sales. And just to make it more complicated. However, geopolitical concerns about France's and Europe's role in world affairs - in particular vis-avis the United States - explain, probably to a larger extent, Chirac's stance. He has not only pushed for the end of the embargo but also, on the occasion of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Paris in late January, criticized President Chen Shui-bian's referendum plan in terms that went well beyond George W. Bush's critical remarks or even the recommendations of the French Foreign Ministry. He asserted that even Chen's revised initiative was "irresponsible", "aggressive", and "dangerous for everybody." Though this statement surprised many people - including people within his own NeoGaullist Party - it was a clear illustration of Chirac's multipolar worldview. Chirac aims to privilege closer relations not only with China but any country able to resist US domination of world affairs, whatever their political regime may be. Conversely, Taiwan is perceived by Chirac and the "European Nationalists" as a troublemaker and an impediment to their efforts to re-balance world power.  [emphasis mine . dc]   ********

Haiti's impact - then Posted here Wednesday, March 17, 2004 at 3:38:50 PM     a different way of thinking.. Haiti hosted the liberator, Simon Bolivar, who abolished slavery in independent Latin America. Haiti inspired Gabriel's 1800 Richmond, Virginia, revolt. In Rio de Janeiro in 1805 the soldiers honored Toussaint. It inspired Aponte's revolt in Cuba in 1812. The Haitians inspired Denmark Vesey's conspiracy in South Carolina in 1822. In the abolitionist movement on the ground, that is, among the plantation workers, such a breathing may be felt in the sighing, in the heaving. It was inhaled in Barbadoes in 1817, Demerara in 1823, Jamaica in 1833 that immediately prepared the way for the abolition of slavery in the British dominions. Nat Turner and William Lloyd Garrison took a deep breath of this common wind. It blew with hurricane force during the war of liberation against slavery in the U.S.A. where the 13th, the 14th, and the 15th amendments to the constitution provide a confirmation of victory only to exhale in a flatulent burst of betrayed aspiration, because one of these amendments became the excuse for prison labor while another became the charter of irresponsibility for U.S. corporations. (from Spirits of Haiti Bush: Blanc Blanc By PETER LINEBAUGH at Counterpunch And it made me look..  Amendment XIII [1865] Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist  within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. We are seeing more than normal, the power of history to frame and literature to express, what we need to know. ********

Posted here Wednesday, March 17, 2004 at 1:04:14 PM     Title: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 1:03:37 PM FT.com Home US Text: US stalls on Iranian offer of reform deal By Guy Dinmore in Washington Published: March 16 2004 21:57 | Last Updated: March 16 2004 21:57 The US has for 10 months been stalling over an Iranian offer of landmark talks that would see the Islamic republic address Washington's concerns on nuclear weapons, terrorism and Israel - because of divisions within the Bush administration. US officials and go-betweens say the talks, which could in return establish normal diplomatic relations between the countries, have been resisted by hawks in Washington who adamantly oppose opening a dialogue with the clerical regime in Iran, which George W. Bush, the US president, branded part of the "axis of evil". Washington hardliners wary of engaging with Iran Click here Comment: The US must make peace with Iran Click here However, Colin Powell, the secretary of state, recently told an internal meeting that Mr Bush was looking for an "opening" with Iran, raising the possibility of a positive reply. The recent example of Libya has shown how some countries that Washington has labelled "rogue nations" can begin to rehabilitate themselves in US eyes. What has become known in diplomatic circles as Iran's "grand bargain" was first communicated to the US State Department through the "Swiss channel" on May 4 last year. Switzerland represents US interests in Iran. The communication quoted a senior Iranian official as laying out a "road map" to normalise relations, which have been hostile since the Iranian revolution of 1979. Comment: this gos deep into incompetence. But the charge is broad, into the stae department for example mfor not being strategic in the way pieces fit together. This was already an issue, as old timers were retiring in large numbers, in the 19080's. The Departmetn seems thin on strategic thinking and detailed knowledge of issues and people in key countries. From: http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&;c=StoryFT&cid=1079419684529&p=1012571727088 Title: Monday, March 15, 2004 9:29:59 AM Juan Cole * Informed Comment * Text: Blix: Iraq War Strengthened Terrorism Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix told the Italian newspaper La Stampa, “The fact is that the war on Iraq, sought by the United States following (the) September 11 (2001 attacks), has not put an end to terrorism in the world . . . On the contrary, the result of this iron-fisted approach has been to give it a boost.” “It is now clear that terrorism must not be tackled through repression alone, but also through an understanding of its root causes . . . By waging unilateral pre-emptive war, the United States violated international principles to show its strength to the Islamic world after September 11, and by doing so has weakened the United Nations.” Comment: From: http://www.juancole.com/ Title: Monday, March 15, 2004 8:35:58 AM The Agonist--Fast Paced, Progressive News From Around The World Text: UPDATE: Stratfor comments: The Islamists are thinking over their effect on the Spanish election. They are also aware that an election is coming in the United States and they would dearly like to bring down President George W. Bush. They must know that presidents always get a bounce after an attack, and that that bounce bleeds off over the course of months when no progress appears to be made. That would argue that an al Qaeda attack in the United States should come in the spring or summer. The mention of "Black Wind" in a militant communiqué clearly refers to a dirty bomb or chemical attack, but al Qaeda has rarely been kind enough to telegraph its punches. However, there can be little doubt now that we are in a new phase of the war. Having won the first phase, the United States is facing a sustained counterattack. Comment: Sounds right, but makes it very hard to anticipate. My view is, as well known, that we should not accentuate the security issues, but the other major issues, making terrorism a mosquito, not a brontosaurus. 40,000 dead in auto crashes in the US each year... From: http://agonist.org/ Title: Monday, March 15, 2004 8:30:39 AM Google News Text: Kerry criticizes Bush's homeland security record Houston Chronicle - 15 minutes ago WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry today criticized President Bush's record on homeland security, saying his Republican rival is "big on bluster and short on action" in protecting the nation. Comment: the kerry approach to language shows stgrength without nasty. blustering is an interesting choice. From: http://news.google.com/ Title: Sunday, March 14, 2004 1:45:03 PM China amends constitution to protect capitalists; promises to help poor Text: Communist-led China took the historic step Sunday of amending its constitution to protect the property rights of capitalists who are driving its economic boom, while promising to focus on helping farmers and millions of others left behind. The nation's parliament, making changes dictated by the Communist Party, also passed an amendment declaring respect for human rights but not promising free political expression -- a key issue for government critics. The changes came as the figurehead National People's Congress closed a 10-day annual session dominated by promises to shift development to the poor countryside, where 800 million Chinese live. "We should unite all the people of China in focusing on construction and development in order to build a better future," the country's No. 2 leader, NPC chairman Wu Bangguo, said in a nationally televised address to the parliament's closing ceremony. Comment: It is hard to imagine any talk of really helping the poor in the US. The best is to help the middle class. China in some ways is ahead of the US in social dialog. See the fascinating book, One China, Many paths ed wang. From: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/03/14/international1531EST0545.DTL ********

alternative to war in iraq.. Posted here Wednesday, March 17, 2004 at 8:45:34 AM     overheard in the discussion at billmon In my view the Spanish are simply endeavoring to uncouple two tasks that the US has managed to bind at the hip: the war on al-Qaeda (the bastards who killed 3000 Americans and 201 Spaniards) and the Bush-war on Saddam (who narrowly missed Bush 41 but is now in custody), letting the Neo-Cons thrash in fury. The war on Iraq only became part of the war on terror because we let it happen: Saddam would have had these al-Qaeda folk (now operating fairly openly in Iraq) up on meathooks begging for a bullet. If we would have deployed 150,000 people and $150,000,000 billion directly at al-Qaeda we would not only have 200 Spaniards probably alive today, but 574 US Soldiers. And maybe solved African hunger and disease on the side. and why does billmon keep on talking about the "War on Terror" as if it was anything other than a political powerplay within the US? as far as I have been able to gather, Osama is a pretty marginal figure in Arab politics... though he is a publicity hound for sure. Just because a bunch of criminals and religious fanatics declare war on the US doesn't mean we have to declare war on them. e.g. WAR and Aryan Nation certainly had involvement with the Oklahoma City bombing and spend alot of time talking about their war against the 'zionist' US government. I don't see 'War on Neonazism' coming anytime soon. It is treated as a domestic criminal matter. There is no reason to treat Osama as anythign other than an international criminal. There is no war. If we don't find another way to talk about the security of the US we will be stuck with this damn war after Bush is defeated. ********

New world disorder Posted here Wednesday, March 17, 2004 at 8:40:37 AM     This is likely to be a very common perception The Bushes' new world disorder By James Carroll, 3/16/2004 "IT MUST BE considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things." This warning is from Niccolo Machiavelli, yet it has never had sharper resonance. Wore than a decade ago, after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, President George H. W. Bush explicitly sought to initiate, as he put it to Congress, a "new world order." He made that momentous declaration on Sept. 11, 1990. Eleven years later, the suddenly mystical date of 9/11 motivated his son to finish what the father began. A year ago this week, Bush the younger launched a war against the man who tried to kill his dad, initiating the opposite of order. It will be important to understand why some people (half, more or less, of the US population?) do not agree. I think primarily is is fear of the democrats, of big government, big bureucracy, loss of local community control of assets. I am not saying this fear is well grounded (and the turn of the right against Bush for big government is real), but not totally stupid. The stronger conservative agenda of bankrupting the countryb to get rid of all vetiges of new deal thinking can also bind loyalty to the Bush side, and needs to be taken seriously.   ********

Two futures Posted here Wednesday, March 17, 2004 at 8:30:20 AM     The future lies between a mechanized (I mean at th level of image of reality and human nature) authoritarian digitalized money centered world, or  a humane, loosely democratic, community and culture oriented and optimistic society with an appropriate and vigorous use of tech, education, knowledge and reason. The real issue here is culture and the spectrum of human development within the populations. I know this is too simple, but it is the way it feels this morning. Note that the "US way' mixes the two, with a trend toward a fascist centralization of power and ownership with the rhetoric of a humane life. Though even here Bush has  militarized the agenda, losing the "kinder softer" edge that was his best (who wrote it?) line. ********

Blair Bush and al quesda both lose Posted here Wednesday, March 17, 2004 at 8:24:46 AM     On spain. It is both a  defeat for Bush and Blair, and a turning towards the need for a more realistic european response, which is also a loss for al queda. But beware that al queda is a myth, a lose network, not a drill team, and anyone can play. The real policy is to make it tough on the players who kill, and make the game l;ess interesting than other games for the rest. That means politcs, economics, culture and family interests: normal life.Redemption rather than revenge. ********