Caught Between ISIS and Assad. Illustrations by Molly Crabapple “ISIS are good fighters, but we fucked them,” Yusuf Halap said in fluent English.
Journalist Patrick Hilsman and I were sitting with Yusuf and two other young media activists in the Bab al Salam camp for internally displaced Syrians, a hundred yards south of the Turkish border. Bab al Salam houses 20,000 refugees, mostly women and children. Under dusty tarps, these refugees live in horrid conditions. Barefoot kids play next to rivers of sewage. The Saudis and the government of Qatar are showier, flaunting their generosity with branded tents. In this wasteland, young people like Yusuf are trying to cobble together a future. Yusuf works under the banner of the Islamic Front, an alliance of more or less religious fighting groups.
Yusuf is 24, short and skinny with a skeptical smirk. When Patrick and I crossed into Syria from Turkey, we saw civilization begin to fray. Trucks, perhaps smuggling weapons, snaked into Syria. Russia and China announce decoupling trade from Dollar – The End for the USA is nigh by Peter Koenig. Russia has just dropped another bombshell, announcing not only the de-coupling of its trade from the dollar, but also that its hydrocarbon trade will in the future be carried out in rubles and local currencies of its trading partners – no longer in dollars – see Voice of Russia Russia’s trade in hydrocarbons amounts to about a trillion dollars per year.
Other countries, especially the BRICS and BRCIS-associates (BRICSA) may soon follow suit and join forces with Russia, abandoning the ‘petro-dollar’ as trading unit for oil and gas. This could amount to tens of trillions in loss for demand of petro-dollars per year (US GDP about 17 trillion dollars – December 2013) – leaving an important dent in the US economy would be an understatement. “During his visit to Duisburg, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a master stroke of economic diplomacy that runs directly counter to the Washington neo-conservative faction’s effort to bring a new confrontation between NATO and Russia.” The Dirty Hand of the National Endowment for Democracy in Venezuela. Anti-government protests in Venezuela that seek regime change have been led by several individuals and organizations with close ties to the US government.
Leopoldo Lopez and Maria Corina Machado- two of the public leaders behind the violent protests that started in February – have long histories as collaborators, grantees and agents of Washington. The National Endowment for Democracy “NED” and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have channeled multi-million dollar funding to Lopez’s political parties Primero Justicia and Voluntad Popular, and Machado’s NGO Sumate and her electoral campaigns. These Washington agencies have also filtered more than $14 million to opposition groups in Venezuela between 2013 and 2014, including funding for their political campaigns in 2013 and for the current anti-government protests in 2014. Throughout the Chavez administration and now against President Maduro. Auditors' role in conflict gold trade. Auditors' role in conflict gold trade. Is hoarding causing Venezuela food shortages? - Features.
Valencia, Venezuela - These are tough times for small shop owners like Darwin Calero.
Surveying jars of mayonnaise, canned tuna and eggs at his stall in a working-class market of Caracas, he's worried product shortages and ongoing demonstrations are ruining his already-struggling business. "Cooking oil, corn flour, margarine, milk, soap and detergent are the hardest things to get," he said. "Distributors come here but sometimes they have no products to sell. " Shopping at a similar outdoor market in Valencia, the country's third-largest city, Aleimar Gimez is also fed up. Thailand: US-backed Regime Using Terrorism Against Occupy Bangkok Protesters. Since TIME’s report warning of regime’s Hitleresque “red shirts” stockpiling weapons to assault protesters in Bangkok there have been 3 grenade attacks aimed at protest leaders and one shooting critically wounding a protest guard.
LD : “Occupy Bangkok” protesters rising up against the US-backed dictator Thaksin Shinawatra and his proxy regime in Thailand are now the target of daily terrorist attacks carried out by the regime itself. TIME magazine on January 16 reported in their article, “”Bangkok Shutdown: Yingluck Supporters Prepare to Fight for Democracy,” that: As Thailand’s anti-government protests enter their fourth day, observers say prospects for violent confrontation are increasing, with reports of government supporters stockpiling weapons in case of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s ouster. After the Pollution Comes the CleanUp: How Will China Manage?
To begin, I couldn’t help but think that China’s alternative energy is vibrant, but changing.
The shift away from the solar energy hype is not only happening in America, but also in China. You will see in charts below that China plans on using hydropower, wind and natural gas as its primary sources of energy through 2020. That signals that the cleantech and alternative energy industry will continue to be somewhat of a goldrush throughout the coming decade. Many will flood the markets specifically targeted by the government, but few will succeed. I suppose that this is generally indicative of the “competitive market” in China, and it’s useful to note how investments and economic activity marches to the governments tune. Second, it is clear that this is not only an important issue with environmental underpinnings, but also political.
Thai PM Yingluck probed over 'corrupt rice subsidy scheme' 16 January 2014Last updated at 13:28 GMT The investigation casts another shadow over the PM has she prepares for February's election Thailand's official anti-corruption commission says it is investigating Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in connection with the government's controversial rice subsidy scheme. The policy guarantees Thai rice farmers a much higher price than on the global market, but critics say it is too expensive and vulnerable to corruption.
The commission has already charged one minister, and is investigating others. Despite Violence, Cambodian Workers Vow To Continue Their Fight. Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014, 2:17 pm.
40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World. If you’re a visual learner like myself, then you know maps, charts and info graphics can really help bring data and information to life.
Maps can make a point resonate with readers and this collection aims to do just that. Barber Kicks Dudes Ass For Selling Drugs In His Barber Shop. The Heavy Metal Subculture of Botswana, Africa. The heavy metal cowboy get-ups sported by Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider and Mel Gibson in Mad Max are probably considered more than a little passé in the world of men’s style, better left in the 1970s.
But in Sub-Saharan Africa, the art of dressing like you’ve just stepped out of a Metallica concert is still very much alive. South African photographer Franck Marshall found the unlikely subculture in the Republic of Botswana, taking their heavy metal style of dress very seriously. “There’s a competition between them to see who can look the most brutal,” says Marshall, who calls his subjects the renegades– ‘an underground minority rebelling against the status quo, redrawing the borders of both Heavy Metal and orthodox culture in Botswana’.
Why I voted for an academic boycott of Israel. Obama Ignores Morocco’s Illegal Occupation and Human Rights Abuses. In his meeting with King Mohammed VI, President Obama praised the “reform process” in Morocco even as the country maintains its abusive occupation of Western Sahara.
Here, Western Saharan demonstrators flee security forces in Laayoune. (Photo: Saharauiak / Flickr)Late last month, President Barack Obama met with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI in Washington for their first face-to-face meeting. The result was a bitter disappointment for supporters of human rights and international law. Two days before the summit, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement calling on the U.S. president to tell the king that “U.S. support for the reform process in Morocco depends on moving beyond rhetoric and making tangible change.”
Specifically, the human rights group called for “stronger legal protections for rights and an end to impunity for police who use violence and commit other abuses.” Copyright 2013 Foreign Policy in Focus. A Nelson Mandela And South Africa Reading List. By Alyssa Rosenberg "A Nelson Mandela And South Africa Reading List" Credit: The New Yorker. East African nations agree on monetary union - Africa. The leaders of five East African countries have signed a protocol laying the groundwork for a monetary union within 10 years that they expect will expand regional trade. Heads of state of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, which have already signed a common market and a single customs union, said on Saturday that the protocol would allow them to progressively converge their currencies. In the run-up to achieving a common currency, the East African Community (EAC) nations aim to harmonise monetary and fiscal policies and establish a common central bank.
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda already present their budgets simultaneously every June. The plan by the region of about 135 million people, a new frontier for oil and gas exploration, is also meant to draw foreign investment and wean EAC countries off external aid. Haitian Man Slaughtered "Live" In The Dominican Republic. Haitian Man Slaughtered "Live" In The Dominican Republic Written by JC Laurent Tuesday, November 26, 2013 2:57 PM. CIA's most senior officer in Pakistan 'unmasked' by Imran Khan's party. The political party led by the former cricket star Imran Khan claims to have blown the cover of the CIA's most senior officer in Pakistan as part of an increasingly high-stakes campaign against US drone strikes. Iran deal saps oil prices, cheers Asia shares. Exclusive: US blocks publication of Chilcot’s report on how Britain went to war with Iraq - UK Politics - UK.
BEFORE THEY PASS AWAY. M23: On the brink of defeat? - Inside Story. The M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are on the brink of defeat, according to the United Nations. The special envoy told the UN Security Council that the armed rebel group no longer posed a military threat. The M23 rebels abandoned most of their military positions in the eastern Congo after four days of heavy fighting against government soldiers.
In El Salvador, 'The Engineer' excavates the remnants of gang violence. M23 expect 'breakthroughs' in DR Congo talks - Africa. DR Congo: Cursed by its natural wealth. 8 October 2013Last updated at 20:48 ET. Egypt aims for revolution in desert farming - Features. How Detroit went broke: The answers may surprise you — and don't blame Coleman Young. Www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/revealed-uk-government-let-british-company-export-nerve-gas-chemicals-to-syria-8793642.html. Shots Fired at Haitian Human Rights Defender’s Home. The True Food Prize Goes to the Haitians. Fukushima... TEPCO admits Fukushima-1 reactors leak radioactive water to Pacific Ocean. Colombia Nationwide Strike Against 'Free Trade,' Privatization, Poverty. The US must not bear silent witness to another crackdown in Bahrain. "Now They're All Dead": Threats of Assassination to Human Rights Advocates in Haiti. Greg Palast: Why Are the Greek People Agreeing to Their Own Destruction?
Germany scraps old surveillance pact with US, Britain over NSA leaks. The Subway Gangs of Mexico City. Get the Data: The Pakistan government’s secret document. Interview with Whistleblower Russ Tice. 1,200 Year Old Egyptian City Discovered Underwater. ODS - One Democratic State.