Story Archives - Page 587 of 661

America the Greatest?

Steven G. Herbert September 20, 2005 Steven G. Herbert

In a speech at the Republican National Convention in 2004, President Bush referred to the United States as "the greatest country in the world". Certainly this is a sentiment that many Americans share, but what kind of objective basis is there behind the statement? It's time to take a closer look. Do we make the pronouncement because we are the wealthiest nation in the world? Based on Gross Domestic Product per capita, in 2003 we were not first but fourth. Luxembourg at $43,940 was considerably ahead of the US ($36,000) by a 17% margin. Norway and Switzerland were in between. Most of us believe we have the highest standard of living in the world. But according to the UN Human Development Report of 2004, their list of the world's most livable countries show the US in eighth place, four places behind Canada, and trailing Norway and Sweden in first and second place.

Labor and the Iraq War

Charlotte Dennett September 19, 2005 Charlotte Dennett

There's an old adage among investigative journalists: if you want to know what's really going on, ask the workers.

If you want to know what's really going on in Iraq - to American soldiers, to their families back home, to Iraqi women - read this column, and learn what I did at the historic AFL-CIO convention held this summer in Chicago.

U.S. Military in Paraguay Prepares to “Spread Democracy”

Benjamin Dangl September 15, 2005 Benjamin Dangl

Estigarribia Military Base in Paraguay, © Clarin

Controversy is raging in Paraguay, where the U.S. military is conducting secretive operations. 500 U.S. troops arrived in the country on July 1st with planes, weapons and ammunition. Eyewitness reports prove that an airbase exists in Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay, which is 200 kilometers from the border with Bolivia and may be utilized by the U.S. military. Officials in Paraguay claim the military operations are routine humanitarian efforts and deny that any plans are underway for a U.S. base. Yet human rights groups in the area are deeply worried. White House officials are using rhetoric about terrorist threats in the tri-border region (where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet) in order to build their case for military operations, in many ways reminiscent to the build up to the invasion of Iraq. (1) The tri-border area is home to the Guarani Aquifer, one of the world's largest reserves of water. Near the Estigarribia airbase are Bolivia's natural gas reserves, the second largest in Latin America. Political analysts believe U.S. operations in Paraguay are part of a preventative war to control these natural resources and suppress social uprisings in Bolivia.

Private military arrives in New Orleans

Super User September 14, 2005 Super User

NEW ORLEANS – Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from Blackwater, a private security firm that also works in Iraq, began patrolling the streets of New Orleans last week. Some of them said they have been "deputized" by the Louisiana governor, and have been given the authority to use lethal force by the Department of Homeland Security, according to a report by Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo for Democracy Now!

"This is a totally new thing to have guys like us working CONUS (Continental United States)," a heavily armed Blackwater mercenary told the journalists. "We’re much better equipped to deal with the situation in Iraq." Some Blackwater employees are among the most feared professional killers in the world, accustomed to operating without concern for legal consequences. Some of the men in New Orleans had returned from Iraq as recently as two weeks before. read more

Germany, Russia join forces on gas pipeline

Super User September 14, 2005 Super User

BERLIN – While critics within the European Union complain that Germany is putting its own interests above those of other member states, it has signed a $5 billion pipeline agreement with Russia that will bypass the current energy network and transport gas under the Baltic Sea, RIA Novasti, the Russian news agency, reported last week. Russia’s Gazprom will own 51 percent of the pipeline, with Germany’s EON and BASF each taking 24.5 percent.

Germany needs energy agreements to secure its long-term development and revitalize its economy. Russia supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas needs, but German dependency is even greater – a third of all oil and gas imports. read more

Mahathir’s Iraq war criticism triggers walkout

Super User September 14, 2005 Super User

KUALA LUMPUR – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad triggered a diplomatic walkout from a human rights conference in Malaysia’s capital last week when he accused the United States and Britain of killing innocent civilians in Iraq. According to Agence France Press, Mahathir told an audience of some 350 diplomats and human rights activists that the invasion was made on false pretenses, and the claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction "was a lie."

British High Commissioner Bruce Cleghorn, one of the diplomats who left, said he "was not prepared to listen to a tirade of abuse and misrepresentation of his country and its foreign policy." Hungarian Ambassador Tamas Toth also walked out in protest, saying his country was part of the "coalition of the willing." The U.S. embassy said none of its officials attended the conference, sponsored by the government-backed National Human Rights Commission, but that it was preparing a response to Mahathir’s allegations. read more