Pacific Views

Those Big, Foreign, Other Places

British intelligence documents reveal that the US considered occupying Arab countries in 1973 because of the oil embargo. An amusing assumption made at the time was that it would have only taken us 10 years after that point to switch to an alternate fuel source. Did they ever overestimate us.

Those crazy Iranians decide to spare Bam residents a visit by Elizabeth Dole. However, the government of Iran does intend to prosecute building code violators, an action which is likely to save many lives down the road.

According to The Nation, a French judge may indict Cheney in relation to bribes paid by Halliburton to Nigerian officials during his tenure as CEO. The investigating judge stumbled upon leads to the allegations while investigating fraud by a French company. A Nigerian editorialist discusses corruption in Nigeria, described by The Nation article as the second most corrupt country on the planet.

Land reform done right can yield dividends for ex-colonies. Land reform as done in Zimbabwe has been a disaster from the beginning, with no signs that cooler heads will yet prevail.

Religious extremism gets worse in Kashmir, a region disputed by nuclear nations India and Pakistan.

The Asia Times recaps India's year, gives us a comparison between Hinduism and Islam, and discusses the vast sucking sound of North American jobs departing overseas.

Islamic fashion [multi-page article] is hip in Indonesia.

Al-Jazeera posts an article about the women left behind when US soldiers round up their husbands and sons. The sentiments expressed, if widespread, mean trouble for continuing occupation.

In Afghanistan, women aren't much better off than they were before the US invasion.

Libya, a country that's been trying to get back on the US' good side for years now, wants immediate payback for their capitulation. Qaddafi, dude, Bush hasn't even been that nice to Tony Blair. Only Faux Gnus is surprised.

The Parmalat scandal reaches Brazil. The scale of corruption has led to Parmalat's collapse being described as Europe's Enron, and presided over by a head of state that casts a forgiving eye on corporate fraud. (Italian PM Berlusconi is, at least, no hypocrite.) Begging the comparison further, the company plans to hire the bankruptcy law firm used by Enron and Worldcom.

Swedish doctors have determined that CT scans can damage developing brains.

In Iraq, a US helicopter has been shot down, killing one soldier.

Anti-government protests continue in Haiti, as opposition groups demand that President Aristide step down among widespread concerns over election fraud. They may have been emboldened by the success of Bolivians in getting their President to resign after troops killed protestors involved in massive anti-privatization demonstrations.

And, BTW, you should support Narco News now because your donation will be doubled thanks to a matching grant. Al Giordano has fostered the Authentic Journalism movement in Latin America, and brings out consistently good reporting on democracy movements and the drug war. If you aren't familiar with Narco News, browse their archives for an idea of the quality of information they provide.

Posted by natasha at January 3, 2004 04:51 AM | TrackBack