From the New York Times

Huge Protest in Iraq Demands U.S. Withdraw
By EDWARD WONG
Published: April 10, 2007

BAGHDAD, April 9 — Tens of thousands of protesters loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric, took to the streets of the holy city of Najaf on Monday in an extraordinarily disciplined rally to demand an end to the American military presence in Iraq, burning American flags and chanting “Death to America!”

Residents said that the angry, boisterous demonstration was the largest in Najaf, the heart of Shiite religious power, since the American-led invasion in 2003. It took place on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, and it was an obvious effort by Mr. Sadr to show the extent of his influence here in Iraq, even though he did not appear at the rally. Mr. Sadr went underground after the American military began a new security push in Baghdad on Feb. 14, and his whereabouts are unknown.

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Gus: looking at the pictures of the "protest" the ten of thousands look more like several hundred thousands. And one cannot be smug about it. Every one in that crowd has the potential of being a suicide bomber, an insurgent, a "resistance" fighter, or a support family member who seeks revenge against "death in the family". The task of the coalition forces is beyond victory. thus troops will be there for another 25 years. But this won't bother this administration and might burn the fingers of the few next ones...

The problem facing the US is not Iraq but its gigantic thirst for oil. Iraq is only a small cog in an enormous machine of sux. Sucking oil... If tomorrow's oil is not "supplied" (war or peace who cares) the foundation of the Grab-all capitalist system would collapse.

Thus no mater the political rhetoric about democracy this or that, the important part of keeping troops in Iraq is not "victory" (an impossibility) but making sure the US pyramid is fed so the dollar can state its supremacy. This is the true state of the world. The games are played by kids, in short, with slingshots, who masquerade as adult of humanitarian ideals. They all deserve a good spanking...

From our ABC

Top Iraqi adviser urges US 'U-turn'

One of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's top advisers has urged Washington to lead a policy "U-turn" in Iraq and recognise that military force will fail to stem the bloodshed.

"The time has come for the United States to take the lead, actually, in doing a U-turn," Ali Allawi said.

"By that I mean there has to be a recognition that the military solution is insufficient, that the political resolution of domestic Iraqi groups is impossible if you don't relate it to the loss or gain of power and the security interests of nearby countries."

Mr Allawi is in Washington to promote the US publication of his book, The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace.

High Stakes: Chávez Plays the Oil Card
David Rochkind/Polaris for The New York Times
By SIMON ROMERO and CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Published: April 10, 2007

CARACAS, Venezuela, April 9 — With President Hugo Chávez setting a May 1 deadline for an ambitious plan to wrest control of several major oil projects from American and European companies, a showdown is looming here over access to some of the most coveted energy resources outside the Middle East.

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With Bushy the kid stirring up hornets' nest everywhere, no wonder some people, like Chavez, are trying to"give" their people a better cut of their natural resources.... In Australia where we live reasonably comfortably despite our plastic fantastic being so in the red, we do not pay much atention how much the "government" (should be us) is getting for letting "private" enterprise do the digging of our "national" estate. In country where poordom is the ugly norm, the only way to lift people from the mud is to control and sell "national" resources, with the best of the country at heart, not just profits for big fat cigar-smoking foreigners...

Yes many a silly war has been fought on blaming the poor bastards from doing whatever wrong so we can put our mitts on the black gold, the rubber, the coffee, the drugs, the Cocoa beans, the fruit, etc...

Of course oil, petrol and kerosene are the first necessity of "life" for the big fat cigar-smoking capitalists. The problem is they're not all fat, nor are they all smoking stupid cigars. Thus they are difficult to spot... But they all have petrol/diesel motors with overinflated needs and travel allowances that eat the future — by the Airbus and Boeing loads...

Urgent need to revise our energy goals... Urgently.

From the Guardian

Russia threatening new cold war over missile defence

Kremlin accuses US of deception on east European interceptor bases

Luke Harding in Moscow
Wednesday April 11, 2007
The Guardian

Russia is preparing its own military response to the US's controversial plans to build a new missile defence system in eastern Europe, according to Kremlin officials, in a move likely to increase fears of a cold war-style arms race.

The Kremlin is considering active counter-measures in response to Washington's decision to base interceptor missiles and radar installations in Poland and the Czech Republic, a move Russia says will change "the world's strategic stability".

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Gus: anyone who believes that a new US missile defence system in eastern Europe is not an "offence" system ought to have their marbles examined. Bush is a war president bent on having grabbed all resources and strategic advantage before the energy crisis hits the fan. Building theses bases in Poland and other places of Eastern Europe is not going to help anyone, except the US military and their suppliers on the gravy train...

Meanwhile people who starve are only surviving on the small crumbs from very dedicated charitable organisations. The world's problems are spurned at governmental levels in which the US expenditure on armament is making sure the survival game of the poor is played the US way to favour the US, in its control of resources leaving peanuts behind. In this climate, the poor have ever which way to lose, no matter how charitable we are.

And Russia has no choice but to "counteract" the silly implantation of US "defence" systems in Eastern Europe.  

From the Guardian

Fascist America, in 10 easy steps
From Hitler to Pinochet and beyond, history shows there are certain steps that any would-be dictator must take to destroy constitutional freedoms. And, argues Naomi Wolf, George Bush and his administration seem to be taking them all

Tuesday April 24, 2007
The Guardian

...

You won't have a shutdown of news in modern America - it is not possible. But you can have, as Frank Rich and Sidney Blumenthal have pointed out, a steady stream of lies polluting the news well. What you already have is a White House directing a stream of false information that is so relentless that it is increasingly hard to sort out truth from untruth. In a fascist system, it's not the lies that count but the muddying. When citizens can't tell real news from fake, they give up their demands for accountability bit by bit.

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Gus: as mentioned on this site many times, the Nuz business (see only the nuz posted 2 years ago) infotainment, shock jocks and public relations have blurred the values of what is important. The conquest of minds is made by dilution with trivia and fluff.

We are lulled into comfort and voyeuristic dullness by media using the tits and bums of fake stars and other artifices. While people die on our behalf or because of us, while the planet bio diversity is plummeting at light speed, we are paying more attention to a few lost mismatched souls in a make-believe world of Big Brother... Meanwhile the easy steps are taken towards the new fascism by our leaders, fascist capitalism. Softened by constant stock market reports that are obscene. And burning oil...