Qualcosa per il weekend

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Bipartisan Congress declares war on ports deal
House committee votes 62-2 to block White House approval
Thursday, March 9, 2006

Defying the White House, a Republican-dominated House committee has approved an amendment that would block a deal under which a United Arab Emirates-based company is to assume operations of some terminals at U.S. ports in six cities. President Bush favors the deal to transfer the operations to the UAE firm, and he has threatened to veto any attempt to block it.[...]

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Report: DEMOCRACY NO GUARANTOR OF RIGHTS
State Department report singles out Iran, Venezuela, Russia
Wednesday, March 8, 2006

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The State Department on Wednesday said that laudable human-rights practices tend to occur in democracies, but it noted in its annual report on human rights that democracy does not guarantee what President Bush has called a commitment to "the non-negotiable demands of human dignity."
Human rights are linked closely to democracies that provide long-term stability and security, said Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Barry Lowenkron, who oversaw the report's compilation.
But, he said, "Some states still have weak institutions of democratic government and continue to struggle; others have yet to commit fully to the democratic process."[...]

CNN


'Israel respects citizens' rights, but discrimination exists'
By Haaretz Service and Agencies
09/03/2006

The U.S. State Department said in its human rights report on Wednesday that the Israeli government generally respected the rights of its citizens, but noted that discrimination, violence and corruption still existed in the country.
In particular, the report said there were "serious abuses by some members of the security forces against Palestinian detainees."
The report also said there was discrimination against Israeli Arabs, women, and handicapped citizens. It also mentioned discrimination faced by non-Orthodox Jews.

Haaretz


US report on human rights blasts Arabs
By ASSOCIATED PRESS AND JPOST STAFF
Updated Mar. 9, 2006

The annual US State Department report on human rights detailed Israeli transgressions, citing discrimination, violence, and corruption, while still maintaining that the Israeli government respects the rights of its citizens.
The report said discrimination was directed mostly at the disabled, women, and foreign workers, as well as at Israeli-Arabs.

JPost

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NeoCon allies desert Bush over Iraq
These are the right-wing intellectuals who demanded George Bush invade Iraq.
Now they admit they got it wrong. Are you listening, Mr President?
Published: 09 March 2006
The Independent

William Buckley Jnr
INFLUENTIAL CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST AND TV PUNDIT

'One can't doubt the objective in Iraq has failed ... Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an army of 130,000 Americans. Different plans have to be made. And the kernel here is the acknowledgement of defeat.'

Francis Fukuyama
AUTHOR AND LONG-TERM ADVOCATE OF TOPPLING SADDAM

'By invading Iraq, the Bush administration created a self-fulfilling prophecy: Iraq has now replaced Afghanistan as a magnet, a training ground and an operational base for jihadists, with plenty of American targets to shoot at.'

Richard Perle
ARCH-WARMONGER AND PIVOTAL REPUBLICAN HAWK

'The military campaign and its political aftermath were both passionately debated within the Bush administration. It got the war right and the aftermath wrong We should have understood that we needed Iraqi partners.'

Andrew Sullivan
PROMINENT COMMENTATOR AND INFLUENTIAL BLOGGER

'The world has learnt a tough lesson, and it has been a lot tougher for those tens of thousands of dead, innocent Iraqis ... than for a few humiliated pundits. The correct response is not more spin but a sense of shame and sorrow.'

George Will
RIGHT-WING COLUMNIST ON 'THE WASHINGTON POST' AND TV PUNDIT

'Almost three years after the invasion, it is still not certain whether, or in what sense, Iraq is a nation. And after two elections and a referendum on the constitution, Iraq barely has a government.'

Rupert Cornwell: At last, the warmongers are prepared to face the facts and admit they were wrong

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Società di Dubai dopo polemiche rinuncia alla gestione porti Usa
venerdì, 10 marzo 2006 8.31

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - La società di stato araba Dubai Ports World ha promesso di trasferire ad una società americana le operazioni riguardanti sei porti americani, un passo che secondo la Casa Bianca dovrebbe metter fine alle polemiche sull'accordo. Anche se il Congresso ha espresso il proprio scetticismo.

Molti deputati avevano chiesto di bloccare l'incarico alla società di Dubai di gestione dei porti per via di potenziali rischi per la sicurezza, contestando il presidente George W. Bush, la cui amministrazione lo scorso gennaio aveva approvato l'incarico alla società araba.

"Ha fornito una via d'uscita per risolvere la questione ...", ha detto il portavoce della Casa Bianca Scott McClellan a proposito dell'annuncio della società araba, che ha dichiarato di voler trasferire ad un "entità Usa" la gestione di terminali portuali del Nordamerica acquisita dalla società britannica P&O.

Ma i critici in Campidoglio, in entrambi i partiti, hanno detto di voler vedere la cosa per iscritto prima di ritirare la proposta che chiedeva di sciogliere il contratto, rilevando che la società araba non ha precisato a chi intenda cedere l'attività.

"Dire semplicemente che l'entità Usa sarà separata non è abbastanza. Come sarà separata? E di quanto?", ha chiesto il senatore democratico di New York Charles Schumer.

Gli arabi si ritirano: i porti americani a una società Usa
ilgiornale

A cargo ship sits at the dock at the Port of Miami, in Miami, Florida. A powerful House of Representatives committee has voted overwhelmingly to block Dubai Ports World from managing six US ports, moving closer to a showdown with the White House over the deal.(AFP/File/Robert Sullivan)

Full Coverage: United Arab Emirates
© 2006 Yahoo


Dubai Ports World Is Considering Selling U.S. Operations To Halliburton
Think Progress - A SECURE AMERICA
March 9, 2006

Today Dubai Ports World announced it would “transfer fully the U.S. operations…to a United States entity.” This evening on the PBS News Hour, AEI scholar Norm Ornstein said that DP World was considering selling its U.S. operations to Halliburton:

AEI scholar Norm Ornstein

If this is done now through the backdoor, where D.P. [Dubai Ports World] has any role at all, Congress is going to go ballistic, and it’s going to be a disaster, I think, for the administration.

They have got a dilemma now, because there simply aren’t American companies that have the know-how and the breadth to do this. Interestingly, and perhaps ironically, what I had heard earlier in the day, as they were looking at those that have the — the kind of resources, Halliburton was a name that came up.

Very interesting.
© AEI(American Enterprise Institute)

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Paul White / AP file
Two-year investigation concludes that terrorists were homegrown radicals
AP - March 9, 2006

A two-year probe into the Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2004, has turned up no evidence the Islamic terrorists that carried out the attacks got logistical or financial support from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

msnbc

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HILL TESTIMONY – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld speaks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prior to testimony before a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., March 9, 2006. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace and U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander, U.S. Central Command, joined Rice and Rumsfeld in testifying before the committee. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Rumsfeld, Rice Urge Quick Budget Action

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2006 — In a rare joint appearance before Congress, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to quickly pass a $91 billion supplemental spending bill. Story | Photos

* Pace Details DoD's Supplemental Funding Needs
* Abizaid Stresses Need for Supplemental Funds
* EUCOM: Funds Needed for Changing Environment

Condi Rice Heckled by Anti-War Protester

Today, Condi was testifying at the defense budget hearings when an anti-war protester stood up and interupted her statement.

Video-WMP Video-QT (David Edwards)
"How many of you have children in this illegal and immoral war. The blood is on your hands and you cannot wash it away."
"Fire Rumsfeld"
crooksandliars


Rumsfeld ha rassicurato che i soldi non verranno usati in nessun caso contro ... l’Iran
Rumsfeld: Iraqis Would Deal With Civil War
By ROBERT BURNS, AP
Thu Mar 9, 2006

"The plan is to prevent a civil war, and to the extent one were to occur, to have the — from a security standpoint — have the Iraqi security forces deal with it, to the extent they are able to," Rumsfeld said.

"Obviously, it's not realistic to depend on the Iraqi security forces, which are not yet able to fight on their own," Kennedy said. "So, Secretary Rumsfeld is basically saying that if the prevention strategy fails and Iraq plunges into civil war, U.S. troops will inevitably be deeply involved."

Yahoo

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US President George W. Bush waves after speaking at a fundraiser dinner for the Georgia Republican Party 09 March, 2006, in College Park, Georgia. Bush is making a brief visit to the state of Georgia for a Republican party fundraiser. Bush on Thursday signed into law a toughened version of the anti-terrorism Patriot Act, a controversial law that critics say erodes freedom in the name of security. Dubai Ports World (DP World) announced it will sell its US port operations after leading Republicans told Bush that Congress would block the takeover. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
10:46 a.m. ET, 3/10/06
Poll: Bush at low point, GOP support weakens
Concerns by some party loyalists could impact congressional elections

... Lowest approval of presidency
The poll suggests that most Americans wonder whether Bush is up to the job. The survey, conducted Monday through Wednesday of 1,000 people, found that just 37 percent approve of his overall performance. That is the lowest of his presidency.

msnbc

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Smoking Laptop
by Gordon Prather
February 11, 2006

... The resolution (IAEA) did not "refer" Iran’s nuclear program to the Security Council for possible action, nor did it contain any mention of a military UF4 project.

Why not? Perhaps, because the just-in-time discovery on the Iranian laptop of a link between the IRG and UF4 production doesn’t pass the smell test.

Obviously – much too obviously – someone wanted the IAEA Board to be able to charge that Iran had used "source or special nuclear material in furtherance of a military purpose."
(... "la scoperta giusto-in-tempo sul laptop iraniano di un collegamento fra la produzione IRG ed UF4 non supera la prova dell'odore.")

antiwar




Iran: U.S. Expert Weighs Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Compromise
L'Iran: L'Esperto statunitense pesa il Pro ed il Contro di un compromesso nucleare
Radio Free Europe
Thursday, 09 March 2006

As the UN Security Council prepares to debate possible action over Iran's nuclear activities, Radio Farda turned for a fresh look at the situation to Joseph Cirincione, director for nonproliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of "Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological And Chemical Threats." Cirincione spoke with Farda's Fatemeh Aman on March 8 about why he thinks it is "too early" for the international community to compromise, Tehran's "bluff" over a possible pullout from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and how the recent U.S.-Indian nuclear deal "will come back to haunt us."

RFE/D: Bluff di Tehran?
Cirincione: Penso che sia molto improbabile che l'Iran stia lasciando il NPT a questo punto. Perderebbero tutta l'assistenza se è così. Per esempio, la Russia dovrebbe arrestare il lavoro sul reattore di Bushehr immediatamente.

RFE/D: La credibilità degli STATI UNITI
… la dichiarazione da U.S., del Vice presidente Cheney o altri che implica le azioni militari possibili contro l'Iran.
Cirincione: Sì. La cosa che disturba circa le osservazioni del vice presidente è, numero uno, …perché la gente si ricorda del ruolo che ha svolto in Irak, dove ha fuorviato basilarmente il mondo, ha fuorviato la gente americana, ha fornito le informazioni molto false ed era l'architetto principale della guerra contro Irak. Il numero due, …

rferl

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