The 600 Mile Wall That Separates U.S. and Mexico By Julio Godoy – allafrica.com
Sub-Saharan countries have of late become the target of a new form of investment that is very strongly reminiscent of former Colonialism. Investors from both the industrial countries and emerging economies buy large tracts of farmland across this African continent – either to guarantee their own food supply or simply as another profitable business. In doing so, these investors deal also with warlords who claim their own property rights.
Organizations and activists all over the world are denouncing this land grab in Egypt, Sudan, Cameroon, Senegal, Mozambique and elsewhere in Africa as a new form of Colonialism.
Although these investors are targeting also fertile lands in other areas of the world, the sub-Saharan Africa appears to be for these imperialist investors the main destination. The reasons are multiple.
On the one hand Africa possesses enormous land reserves and – according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization – only about 14% of the suitable land on the African continent is presently being cultivated. Also, the present capitalist governments in most of these countries are willing to allow this land to be sold and grabbed on their territory.
UN reports that countries like Sweden, Japan, China, India and oil-rich countries, especially from the Arab Gulf region, and even Libya, are buying up immensely large estates on the African Continent.
There are also top multinational corporations and banks like Blackstone Group, Deutsche Bank, Goman & Sachs and Dexion Capital who are buying up huge landmasses in the heartland of Africa.
A private industrial conglomerate like the South Korean Daewoo leased-to-buy over 1.3 MILLION HECTARES in Madagascar – which is about one half of its total territory.
This is a case, which recalls the worst colonial grabs in Africa by the British, French, German and Belgian colonialists.
From info@mikp.info
The brutal methods of killing used by the state in Turkey in the 1980's and 1990's in its dirty war against the Kurdish people have continued to be exposed. The confessions made recently by the former counter-guerrilla member show "Nazi methods" used by the Turkish state against the Kurdish people and other opposition forces. As a result of this confession of the "JITEM" member Abdulkadir Aygan, some mass graves have been found at an acid well belonging to Botas factory and in other locations. Hundreds of humans bones, pieces of clothing and ropes have been found. Bodies have been found of people that disappeared under arrest since 1995.Another informant Yildirim Begler reported that he was an interpreter for the Turkish General Staff for 14 years and he also told that they were ordered to kill about 1,000 people, whose names were on the "black list". He also confessed that the Turkish public prosecutors knew about the killings but turned a blind eye. Most of the prisoners died because of inhuman torture. Many prisoners after tortures were thrown out of helicopters or burned alive in acid tanks.
LONG LIVE PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM!
MLCPThe 600 Mile Wall That Separates U.S. and Mexico This wall between US and Mexico stretches over 600 miles in length and the Obama administration is building it another couple of hundred miles. This border wall separates families, fractures critical habitat for the endangered animal species and causes devastating floods which affects both the US and Mexico alike.
To make matters worse, because of the Bill that was enacted by Bush in 2005, the US government is allowed to ignore nearly 36 US laws in order to expedite the building of the additional wall.
The Sierra Club is working with other protest groups and individuals in the US to organize a lobby protest to demand that the US Congress stop this construction and to address the problems that this Wall has created.
By G.M. Tamas – Socialist Review
The economic crisis in Hungary has led the Hungarian politicians to blame the poorest segment of the population for the society's problems, and far right forces are on the rise.
We are witnessing a peculiar rebellion by the impoverished middle class of the population, but not against the "neo-liberal world order or the ruling class in Hungary". The rebellion is very strong against the poorest part of the Hungarian population. When a society appears to come apart at the seams, it is no solidarity or sympathy that is invoked, but the persecution of the poorest.
While an increasing number of Hungarian people are in danger of starving and freezing, the vocal minority is demanding that all social services for needy be ended, while uniformed fascist paramilitary battalions are marching through the poorest districts of Budapest and other cities to keep the hungry voices way down, while their own voices are loud and clear and the media picks them up all across the country.
How is this possible? It is very simple – the oldest of all political recipes. Identify the poor and oppressed with an unpopular race, in Hungary it is the Roma-Gypsy. Then the causes of the oppression that will be unleashed will be justified as the gallant defense of the working majority against what these Hungarian Nazis are calling "genetic garbage", "welfare dependent", "work-shy" "crime prone" and "sub-human".
A law was passed that no social assistance will be given to these people, and this new law found complete enthusiasm amongst Hungarians – since the message was that it was these people that are the cause of all the problems in Hungary.
During the last election, which saw the right forces win in Hungary, here is just one example of how the right-wing authorities sway the population. In the industrial town of Miskolc, the local police chief declared that all robbers in that town were Roma and that "coexistence with Roma proves unfeasible". He was fired by the Central Government's Home Secretary – but this caused such an uproar and people gathered en mass in the main square, with all forces from the "democratic party', the "Neo Nazis and the Nazi Hungarian Gua" in uniforms in protest. The government backed down and the police chief was reinstated the same night. The right-wing newspapers and the TV media all across Hungary trumpeted, "Truth has finally triumphed!" – "All Roma are Criminals!"
In a recent survey, 82 per cent of Hungarians are in favour of restrictions and school segregation, forcible adoption of Roma children. The fascists are campaigning for the death penalty and organizing various vigilante groups.
In this atmosphere of hysteria very few Hungarians would volunteer to protest against the present economic hardships and austerity measures in Hungary.
By Rick Rozoff (shortened)
"...if there has ever been a nation that never truly possesses a foreign policy of its own – particularly in respect to military conflicts – that country is Canada."
Canada is the only country in the world whose mainland borders three of the world’s five oceans: The Arctic, The Atlantic and The Pacific.
USA only secured access to the Arctic Ocean with the sale by the Russian Czar of Alaska in 1867. Russia now can only access the Atlantic through the Barents and Norwegian Seas.
The campaign to employ Canada as a spearhead against Russia in the Arctic and generally in furtherance of NATO's plans for the Northwest Hemisphere will have little to do with the word that has become so popular with Prime Minister Harper – Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic, and still less with defense against Russia. It also has nothing to do with Canadian independence.As Canada did when it supplied its military troops to its colonial master, Great Britain, Canada has rarely barked at demands by the US for military and political complicity as demanded by USA and Great Britain.
In the war in Afghanistan, the number of deaths at the end of April was 117 Canadian soldiers; about 10 per cent of the total Western military deaths, the number and ratio is out of proportion to Canada's population of a little more than 33 million.
COMMENT:
Canada contributed more soldiers in the US inspired conflicts than other countries proportionally. Why? Because Canada is under the thumb of both Britain and US Imperialism!
Over the last year and more coming this year, the Bush and Obama Administrations have given over $10 TRLLION to bail out the US Banks and other financial institutions that crashed after years of giving themselves and raking off extravagant profits. Last year the US Congress gave out over $700 Billion as a start.
There is still no accounting of where all of this money has been going or has already gone to offshore accounts.
Here is just a small list of the US biggest corporations on Wall Street that have received this handout of US taxpayer's money.
It seems that these crooks and Mafiosi tycoons all they have to do is hold out their hands and gold coins just rained on them.
Bank of America – $45 BillionImagine what all of these trillions – and more to be given by President Obama – could have done to improve the life of the American people?
http://lenta.ru/news/2009/04.05/fail
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed last month that the DPRK space launch was a success and the satellite is in space and in orbit as planned.
The hysteria by South Korea, Japan and even Mr. Obama threatened sanctions against DPRK and they will use the UN to impose sanctions also.
This outright lie of "failure" by N. Korea is another imperialist attempt to besmirch the efforts of DPRK to move forward against all odds and develop its industrial and defense potential.
The lie that North Korea will now be a threat to other countries is meant to ostracize even more this Socialist country and present it as a threat to the whole world! Meanwhile close to a dozen countries have nuclear weapons and launched satellites.
Why are China and Russia keeping mum? Why are they not defending the right of DPRK to launch its satellite?
Hey Mr. Obama – pretty soon you and Washington will say that America did not invade Iraq!
By RICK ROZOFF
This US Imperialism's Afghan war – going on now into 7 years – is also NATO's first armed conflict outside of Europe. It is being waged with the participation of armed units from 26 countries and 12 other European and Caucasus nations, linked to NATO through the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the Partnership for Peace and the Adriatic Charter.
The 12 European NATO partners who have sent troops to Afghanistan include the continent's five former neutral countries (who were never neutral – Editor): Austria, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland.
NATO also counts among its countries that sent troops to Afghanistan – six former Soviet Republics – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine plus Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Russian ITAR-TASS news agency let the cat out of the bag when they reported that NATO had sent over 12,000 US armed troops and supplies through the air base Manas – in Kyrgyzstan in 2008.
In March of 2009, US-NATO had signed an agreement with Poland to train its Special Forces – as US has done already with Georgia – to be sent to Afghanistan and Iraq. It is a known fact that NATO has opened bases in Romania and Bulgaria and is now already building and staffing bases in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
NATO was not, is not a nation-building, peacekeeping or humanitarian outfit – it is nothing more than an aggressive military bloc.
COMMENT:
Do not these present blind leaders of Russia see this? Do they not realize what awaits Russia if NATO and US Imperialism are not stopped? Or is the old adage correct now – The Blind leading the Blind!
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