March 31, 2011

PRESIDENT OBAMA AUTHORIZES SECRET OPERATIONS TO HELP LIBYA REBELS

       WASHINGTON, D.C.--President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters on Wednesday.  Obama signed the order, known as a presidential "finding", within the last two or three weeks, according to government sources familiar with the matter. Such findings are a principal form of presidential directive used to authorize secret operations by the Central Intelligence Agency. This is a necessary legal step before such action can take place but does not mean that it will. The CIA and the White House declined immediate comment.

      News that Obama had given the authorization surfaced as the President and other U.S. and allied officials spoke openly about the possibility of sending arms supplies to Gaddafi's opponents, who are fighting better-equipped government forces. The United States is part of a coalition, with NATO members and some Arab states, which is conducting air strikes on Libyan government forces under a U.N. mandate aimed at protecting civilians opposing Gaddafi. Interviews by U.S. networks on Tuesday, Obama said the objective was for Gaddafi to "ultimately step down" from power. He spoke of applying "steady pressure, not only militarily but also through these other means" to force Gaddafi out. Obama said the U.S. had not ruled out providing military hardware to rebels. "It's fair to say that if we wanted to get weapons into Libya, we probably could. We're looking at all our options at this point," he told ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer.

     In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted to reporters on Wednesday that no decision had yet been taken. U.S. officials monitoring events in Libya say neither Gaddafi's forces nor the rebels, who have asked the West for heavy weapons, now appear able to make decisive gains. While U.S. and allied airstrikes have seriously damaged Gaddafi's military forces and disrupted his chain of command, officials say, rebel forces remain disorganized and unable to take full advantage of western military support. People familiar with U.S. intelligence procedures said that Presidential covert action "findings" are normally crafted to provide broad authorization for a range of potential U.S. government actions to support a particular covert objective. In order for specific operations to be carried out under the provisions of such a broad authorization -- for example the delivery of cash or weapons to anti-Gaddafi forces -- the White House also would have to give additional "permission" allowing such activities to proceed.

US AMBASSADOR SUSAN RICE SAYS PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS NOT RULED OUT ARMING LIBYA'S REBELS

        UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK--US AMBASSADOR to the United Nations Susan Rice said yesterday the Obama administration had not ruled out arming Libya’s rebels as an option for trying to end Muammar Gaddafi’s 41-year rule. Ms Rice said Mr Gaddafi had shown no sign of leaving power without continued pressure from western powers impos ing a no-fly zone and us ing air strikes to constrain his ground forces.

     "Over the long term, as the president said, there are other things that are at our disposal that perhaps will assist in speeding Mr Gaddafi’s exit," she told CBS’s The Early Show . "It may not happen overnight," she said.  She spoke as more than 40 countries and international organisations gathered in London to chart a post-Gaddafi future for Libya. Britain and Italy suggested he be allowed to go into exile. Ms Rice said the US would maintain financial and diplomatic pressure until Mr Gaddafi left and hinted that new steps could be in the offing, including the arming of Libyan rebels. "We have not made that decision, but we’ve not certainly ruled it out," she said on ABC’s Good Morning America .

    Referring to reports that members of Mr Gaddafi’s inner circle had begun to reach out to the West, Ms Rice said: "We will be more persuaded by actions rather than prospects or feelers. "The message for Mr Gaddafi and those closest to him is that history is not on their side. Time is not on their side. The pressure is mounting."  Republican Senator John McCain criticised US President Barack Obama’s decision to limit the current military operation . "If Gaddafi remains in power, you will see a stalemate … the same kind of thing we saw with Saddam Hussein … and it lasted for 10 years. We’ve seen that movie before." Reuters

SYRIAN GOVERNMENT RESIGNS IN EFFORTS TO APPEASE PROTESTERS

     DAMASCO, SYRIA--Announcement on Syrian state TV says President Assad has accepted government's resignation; Assad expected to address nation later on in speech which may include decision to abolish emergency laws following weeks of anti-government protests. Syria's Cabinet resigned Tuesday to help quell a wave of popular fury that erupted more than a week ago and is now threatening President Bashar Assad's 11-year rule in one of the most authoritarian and closed-off nations in the Middle East.  Assad, whose family has controlled Syria for four decades, is trying to calm the growing dissent with a string of concessions. He is expected to address the nation in the next 24 hours to lift emergency laws in place since 1963 and moving to annul other harsh restrictions on civil liberties and political freedoms.

     The resignations will not affect Assad, who holds the lion's share of power in the authoritarian regime.  The announcement came hours after hundreds of thousands of supporters of Syria's hard-line regime poured into the streets Tuesday as the government tried to show it has mass support.  Protests that began March 18 and ensuing violence has brought sectarian tensions in Syria out in the open for the first time in decades, a taboo topic here because the country has a Sunni majority ruled by minority Alawites, a branch of Shiite Islam. Assad has placed his fellow Alawites into most positions of power in Syria.  But he also has used increased economic freedom and prosperity to win the allegiance of the prosperous Sunni Muslim merchant classes, while punishing dissenters with arrest, imprisonment and physical abuse.

     Many of the pro-regime demonstrators emphasized national unity Tuesday.  "Sectarianism was never an issue before, this is a conspiracy targeting Syria," said Jinane Adra, a 36-year-old Syrian who came from Saudi Arabia to express support for Assad.  The president of 11 years, one of the most anti-Western leaders in the Middle East, is wavering between cracking down and compromising in the face of the protests that began in a southern city and spread to other areas.  The unrest in the strategically important country could have implications well beyond the country's borders given its role as Iran's top Arab ally.  Syria has long been viewed by the U.S. as a potentially destabilizing force in the Mideast. An ally of Iran and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, it has also provided a home for some radical Palestinian groups.  But the country has been trying to emerge from years of international isolation. The U.S. recently has reached out to Syria in the hopes of drawing it away from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas - although the effort has not yielded much.

NO HAY PEOR BOBO, QUE EL QUE NO QUIERE VER...
 

March 30, 2011

US rep. connie mack asked colombian president to extradite walid makled to the us not to venezuela

       WASHINGTON, D.C.--Rep. Connie Mack on Monday asked Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos to extradite alleged Venezuelan drug trafficker Walid Makled to the United States and not to Venezuela. Mack, who serves as president of the Western Hemisphere subcommittee of the House of Representatives called Makled as extremely important to the U.S. and the security of the region"and argued that" his extradition has serious foreign policy implications ", in a letter released by his press office and distributed by The Associated Press.

     Mack warned that a decision to release Makled to Venezuela "would be viewed very negatively from the U.S. Congress" because “if Makled is sent to Venezuela his future and the future of those who would be implicated by his testimony is questionable.” The Colombian Supreme Court approved the extradition last week Makled, he was arrested in Colombia in August 2010,  but the Court  left in the hands of Santos to decide whether to surrender the drug trafficker to Caracas or the U.S., which also seeks his arrest on drug charges.

     Makled has accused high Venezuelan officials, relatives and friends of dictator Hugo Chávez of accepting bribes, which is strongly denied by those accused. " Security of your nation is paramount to many in Congress, and despite the Obama Administration’s signals to the contrary, the threat of Hugo Chavez is taken seriously by many American lawmakers.  " Mack wrote in his letter to Santos. Mack concluded his letter by expressing his intention to lead a delegation to Bogotá in the near future to meet with the Colombian president and review the important relationship between their countries, as well as continuing to work together for common causes.

former president jimmy carter says he is not in cuba to geT FREEDOM FOR alan gross

        havana, cubA--Former President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday he has met Cuban officials and discussed the case of a US government contractor who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes against state security, but said he is not in Cuba to bring the man home. Carter said he talked with Cuban officials about the case of Alan Gross, who was arrested in December 2009 while working on a USAID-backed democracy-building project, but added, "I am not here to take him out of the country." "We are here to visit the Cubans, the heads of government and private citizens. It is a great pleasure for us to return to Havana," the former president said in Spanish during a visit to a senior center, accompanied by his wife, Rosalynn Carter. "I hope we can contribute to better relations between the two countries."

    Already poor relations have been strained by the conviction of Gross this month. Washington has encouraged Carter to lobby for the release of Gross, who was convicted of illegally importing telecommunications equipment. Gross has said he was helping improve Internet access for the island's small Jewish community, though Jewish leaders here have denied dealing with him. Havana considers USAID programs such as the one Gross was working for to be aimed at undermining the government. Carter, who arrived Monday, was scheduled to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro later Tuesday as part of his three-day trip to explore ways to improve ties soured by a half-century of opposition.

     Washington and Havana have not had formal diplomatic relations since the 1960s, and the United States maintains economic and financial sanctions on the island, one of the biggest points of contention for the Cuban government. Havana also wants the United States to release five Cubans convicted of being unregistered foreign agents and sentenced to lengthy prison sentences. The "Cuban Five" are considered national heroes by the government, which says they were monitoring anti-Castro groups in the United States and posed no threat to U.S. national security. In previous public comments, Cuban officials have played down the possibility of swapping Gross for the agents. U.S. officials say no thaw in relations is possible while Gross is in prison.

DICTATOR HUGO CHAVEZ REPORTS EFFORTS TO RELATE HIM TO DICTATOR GADHAFI

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA--UENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA--

The Venzuelan dictator, Hugo Chávez, said that powerful countries try to associate him with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and to label both of them as “cruel dictators”  to justify "anything"against his government. Shortly before flying to Buenos Aires, where he will begin a tour of the region,

     Chavez said the U.S. should think "a hundred times" before it iundertakes  a military intervention in Venezuela, reported DPA. He added that Venezuela is on the list of military targets of the US "imperialism" and its allies. "If that happens here, we are ready to shed our last drop of our blood. We have to neutralize their  plans of war, we know how to do it. Not only against Venezuela but in Latin America. We do so to continue building socialism, "he said in a meeting with leaders of his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

     The dictator said that military intervention in Libya, backed by the United Nations and now the powerful countries arfe trying  to label him and Gaddafi as dictators, cruel dictators who harass their peoples,?" The Venezuelan Head of State said that the list of military targets of the US imperialism also includes other Latin American countries, but "we are the first country on the list."  "Now, we see how the imperialists are taking off their masks; they attack without any moral limits, and invent anything to bomb and kill people to 'protect them,'" Chávez said in a televised speech, Efe reported. "  He indicated that various allegations raised against his government for "making him the bad guy and justify anything. "

March 29, 2011

US REDUCING NAVAL FIREPOWER AIMED AT DICTATOR GADHAFI

       WASHINGTON, D.C.--In a sign of U.S. confidence that the weeklong assault on Libya has tamed Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses, the Pentagon has reduced the amount of naval firepower arrayed against him, officials said Sunday. The move, not yet publicly announced, reinforces the White House message of a diminishing U.S. role - a central point in President Barack Obama's national address Monday night on Libya. The White House booked Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on three Sunday news shows to promote the administration's case ahead of the speech. Yet Gates, asked whether the military operation might be over by year's end, said, "I don't think anybody knows the answer to that."

     At least one of the five Navy ships and submarines that have launched dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libyan targets from positions in the Mediterranean Sea has left the area, three defense officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive military movements.
 That still leaves what officials believe is sufficient naval firepower off Libya's coast, and it coincides with NATO's decision Sunday to take over command and control of the entire Libya operation. Aided by international air power, Libyan rebels were reported to have made important gains by capturing two oil complexes along the coast. The shrinking of the naval presence adds substance to Obama's expected reassurance to the American people that after kicking off the Libyan mission, the U.S. is now handing off to partner countries in Europe and elsewhere the bulk of the responsibility for suppressing Gadhafi's forces.

    NATO's governing body, meeting in Brussels, accepted a plan for the transfer of command. That is expected to mean that U.S. Army Gen. Carter Ham, who has been the top commander of the Libya operation, will switch to a support role. Obama administration officials claimed progress in Libya, but lawmakers in both parties voiced skepticism over the length, scope and costs of the mission.   Asked if the Libyan conflict posed a threat to the United States, Gates said it was "not a vital national interest" but he insisted that the situation nevertheless demanded U.S. involvement. With tenuous democratic transitions under way in the neighboring countries of Tunisia and - more important to the U.S. - Egypt, allowing the entire region to be destabilized was a dangerous option. Citing military gains against Libya over the past week, Gates said Pentagon officials are now planning the start of a force reduction. He was not specific, but he appeared to refer to moving some of the dozens of American ships or aircraft - or both - out of the immediate area.

AT LEAST 100 PEOPLE KILLED IN EXPLOSION AT WEAPONS FACTORY IN YEMEN

        SANAA, YEMEN--At least 100 people were killed when a powerful blast ripped through a weapons factory in southern Yemen on Monday after Islamic militants temporarily seized control of the plant and local residents began looting, media reports said.The death toll from the blast varied widely among news agencies, with some reporting more than 100 dead. A local journalist and other media reports said the death toll was at least 80. According to the Associated Press, quoting doctors in the town of Jaar where the explosion occurred,  more bodies were expected to be pulled from the rubble. The medical workers said men, women and children were among the dead.

     "This accident is a true catastrophe, the first of its kind" in the Abyan region, where Jaar is located, a doctor at the town's state-run hospital was quoted as saying. “There are so many burned bodies. I can't even describe the situation.” Yemen's state-run Saba news agency said the local governor had instructed that a committee be formed to investigate the incident.  It added that the factory was completely destroyed in the blast. Some reports suggested the explosion might have been caused by a cigarette. The incident came a day after clashes broke out between militants and the Yemeni army, fueling fears that Yemen might descend into chaos and boost Al Qaeda in the country while the government of President Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled for more than 30 years, is in deep crisis after massive popular protests.

     Islamist militants reportedly took control of a number of buildings in Jaar, including the weapons plant, on Sunday. They reportedly entered the factory, took what they wanted and left. Looters from the area then entered the building.  The plant reportedly makes Kalashnikov rifles, munitions, and explosives used in road construction. Media reports say police and security forces have recently deserted some towns in Yemen amid an escalating wave of anti-government protests. In some cases, they were chased out by protesters from villages and cities, including the area surrounding the weapons factory.

ISRAEL QUESTIONS ARGENTINA OVER BUENOS AIRES TERRORIST ATTACK REPORTS

     BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA--Israel has demanded an explanation from Argentina over reports it proposed to Iran it would stop investigating two bombings if trade ties improved. Argentina, Israel and the US have blamed Iran for the bombings of the Israeli embassy and a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in the 1990s. Iran has denied involvement in the bombings, which killed 114 people.

    An Israeli spokesman said if true, "it would be a display of infinite cynicism and a dishonour to the dead". A car bomb exploded outside a Jewish community centre known as the AMIA on 18 July 1994, killing 85 people.  Twenty-nine people were killed two years earlier when a bomb destroyed the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. The report about a putative deal appeared on Saturday in Argentine media. The newspaper Perfil quoted a leaked Iranian diplomatic cable that detailed the offer.

   The cable reportedly said: "Argentina is no longer interested in solving those two attacks, but in exchange prefers improving its economic relations with Iran". According to Perfil, Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman made the offer through Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a meeting in Syria in January. Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel wanted "official clarifications by the Argentinian Foreign Ministry concerning the article". Israeli media reported on Sunday that the foreign ministry was considering cancelling a planned visit next week by Mr Timerman if the reports proved to be reliable.

March 28, 2011

venezuelan dictator hugo chavez says that syria's president is "humanist"

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA--Venezuelan DICTATOR Hugo Chavez expressed support for Syria's president on Saturday, calling him a "humanist" and a "brother" facing a wave of violent protests backed by the United States and its allies. Chavez's support for President Bashar Assad follows his defense of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who is fighting rebels backed by international airstrikes. Venezuela's socialist leader accused Washington of fomenting the protests in Syria as a pretext for Libya-style airstrikes.  

    "Now some supposed political protest movements have begun (in Syria), a few deaths ... and now they are accusing the president of killing his people and later the Yankees will come to bomb the people to save them," Chavez said in a televised speech. The anti-government protests erupted nationwide in Syria on Friday, and follow unrest in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Libya in what has been called the Arab Spring. Chavez has developed close ties to Gadhafi and Assad over the years. "How cynical is the new format the empire has invented, to generate violent conflict, generate blood in a country, to later bombard it, intervene and take over its natural resources and convert it into a colony," he said. Chavez often refers to the United States as the empire.

     Chavez said he spoke to Assad late Friday and referred him as our "brother." Assad, who opponents have called a repressive autocrat, "is a humanist, doctor, educated in London, in no way an extremist; he is a man of great human sensitivity," said Chavez. "We salute him from here." Syria's administration has promised increased freedoms for discontented citizens and increased pay and benefits for state workers - a familiar package of incentives offered by other nervous Arab regimes in recent weeks.

SECRETARY GATES SAYS THAT GADHAFI IS PLACING BODIES AT SITES OF COALITION ATTACKS

        WASHINGTON, D.C.--In an interview to be broadcast Sunday on the CBS program "Face the Nation," SECRETARY Gates said he was unaware of coalition attacks causing civilian casualties. "The truth of the matter is we have trouble coming up with proof of any civilian casualties that we have been responsible for," Gates said in the interview conducted Saturday. "But we do have a lot of intelligence reporting about Gadhafi taking the bodies of the people he's killed and putting them at the sites where we've attacked." Asked how often it has happened, Gates replied: "We have a number of reports of that." A senior defense official told CNN on Sunday that the U.S. military has information gleaned from intelligence sources that Gadhafi has tasked his aides to search morgues and hospitals for dead bodies to be posed as civilian casualties.

     NATO military planners are drafting rules of engagement for coalition forces to follow once the alliance takes over the Libyan mission. A key question is how robust the NATO-led forces will be in attacking Libyan ground forces to protect civilians. Gadhafi has claimed that coalition missile attacks have killed civilians, and some NATO members and Arab nations responded with concern that the Libyan military mission might exceed the intent of the U.N. Security Council resolution that authorized it. In the CBS interview, Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the military mission was proceeding well so far.

     Asked if there was a problem between the military mission's limited goal of civilian protection and President Barack Obama's stated policy objective of ousting Gadhafi, both said no. "You don't, in a military campaign, set as a mission or a goal something you are not sure you can achieve," Gates said. "And as we've learned over the past number of years, regime change is very complicated and can be very expensive and can take a long time. So I think the key here was establishing a military mission that was achievable, was achievable in a limited period of time and could be sustained." Clinton noted how former Serbian Slobodan Milosevic remained in power despite mounting internal and external pressure for his ouster that ended with Milosevic dying while on trial in the international war crimes court. She likened that situation to Gadhafi today. "It took a while for Milosevic to leave, but you could see his days were numbered even though he wasn't yet out of office," Clinton said.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ACCUSES DICTATOR CHAVEZ OF NEUTRALIZING THE JUDICIARY

     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK -- The expansion in the number of Justices in the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) prompted by DICTATOR Hugo Chávez's government in 2004 served to "neutralize the independence of Venezuela's Judiciary" and "systematically undermined freedom of expression and the ability of human rights groups to promote basic rights."  The complaint was made by Human Rights Watch in a report it submitted on March 21 to South African Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, and to the UN Human Rights Council, in the framework of the Universal Periodic Review, a process which involves a review of the human rights record of all 192 UN Member States. Venezuela will undergo such review this year.

        HRW -which makes human rights reporting on over 70 countries worldwide- said that with the expansion in the number of Justices from 20 to 32 stand-ins, the TSJ "has largely abdicated its role as a check on the Executive Power."  "The impact of the political takeover of the Supreme Court soon extended to the entire Judiciary. The packed Supreme Court, in charge of appointing and removing lower court judges, has significantly altered the composition of the Judiciary," the report read.  As an example of Venezuelan government's control over the TSJ, Human Rights Watch quoted the speeches of the president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, Luisa Estella Morales, and Justice Fernando Vegas Torrealba during the opening of judicial activities in 2011. Morales said in her speech that Venezuelan laws "respond to an ideological purpose," while Vegas stated "that all courts, including the Supreme Court, must severely sanction the behaviors or cases that undermine the construction of the Bolivarian and democratic socialism."

     Both Justices are part of the group of 12 judges who entered the TSJ when it was expanded in 2004.  The situation of the Caracas 31st Control Judge, María Lourdes Afiuni was mentioned by HRW as a "paradigmatic case" that shows the lack of judicial independence in Venezuela. She adopted a decision (to authorize the conditional release of Eligio Cedeño, a banker accused of corruption) that did not please government authorities. Afiuni ended up behind bars.  This case was also mentioned by Venezuelan human rights groups such as the Venezuelan Program of Education-Action in Human Rights (Provea), Convite y Acción Solidaria contra el Sida, in their report to the UN. Both groups also questioned the functioning of the judicial system.

March 27, 2011

coalition air raids force gadhafi retreat, rebels seize ajdabiya

        tripoli, libya--Libyan rebels clinched their hold on the east and seized back a  ajdabiya on Saturday after decisive international airstrikes sent Moammar Gadhafi's forces into retreat, shedding their uniforms and ammunition as they fled. Ajdabiya's initial loss to Gadhafi may have ultimately been what saved the rebels from imminent defeat, propelling the U.S. and its allies to swiftly pull together the air campaign now crippling Gadhafi's military. Its recapture gives President Barack Obama a tangible victory just as he faces criticism for bringing the United States into yet another war. In Ajdabiya, drivers honked in celebration and flew the tricolor rebel flag. Others in the city fired guns into the air and danced on burned-out tanks that littered the road.

     Their hold on the east secure again, the rebels promised to resume their march westward that had been reversed by Gadhafi's overwhelming firepower. Rebel fighters already had pushed forward to the outskirts of the oil port of Brega and were hoping to retake the city on Sunday, opposition spokeswoman Iman Bughaigis said, citing rebel military commanders. "Without the planes we couldn't have done this. Gadhafi's weapons are at a different level than ours," said Ahmed Faraj, 38, a rebel fighter from Ajdabiya. "With the help of the planes we are going to push onward to Tripoli, God willing."

     The Gadhafi regime acknowledged the airstrikes had forced its troops to retreat and accused international forces of choosing sides.  "This is the objective of the coalition now, it is not to protect civilians because now they are directly fighting against the armed forces," Khaled Kaim, the deputy foreign minister, said in Tripoli. "They are trying to push the country to the brink of a civil war." Ajdabiya's sudden capture by Gadhafi's troops on March 15 - and their move toward the rebel capital of Benghazi - gave impetus to the U.N. resolution authorizing international action in Libya, and its return to rebel hands on Saturday came after a week of airstrikes and missiles against the Libyan leader's military. Airstrikes Friday on the city's eastern and western gates forced Gadhafi's troops into hasty retreat. Inside a building that had served as their makeshift barracks and storage, hastily discarded uniforms were piled in the bathroom and books on Islamic and Greek history and fake pink flowers were scattered on the floor.

Dozens of syrian reported killed in the city of daraa

        damascus, syria--Violent protests erupted Friday in Syria, with dozens of people killed in and around the restive city of Daraa and a boy slain in the coastal town of Latakia, reports said. "The situation in Syria has worsened considerably over the past week, with the use of live ammunition and tear gas by the authorities having resulted in a total of at least 37 people being killed in Daraa , including two children," said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  Among the dead were 15 people who tried to march to Daraa, sources said, and nine others who died when security forces fired on demonstrators in Daraa's main square, said Wissam Tarif, a human rights activist.

    There were many casualties in Daraa, said Abdullah, who asked that his full name not be reported due to security concerns. He said he saw Friday's events in the city, where deadly clashes have taken place in recent days between security forces and protesters. "Thousands gathered and moved to the governor's building in Daraa, and there they burned a large picture of Bashar al-Assad, and then they toppled a statue of Hafez al-Assad in the center of the square," Abdullah said, referring to the current president and his late father, the former president. "After that, armed men came out from the roof of the officers' club in front of the governor's office and started firing at the crowd," he said.

     Aman al Aswad, a political dissident, said dozens of people appeared to have been killed or wounded in clashes with security forces in the square, but he could not be precise on the totals. Earlier, more than 100,000 people attended an anti-government demonstration in the town, according to Kamal Aswad, a political activist in Daraa. There, people ridiculed recent government pronouncements for reforms and an assertion by government spokeswoman and adviser Bouthaina Shabaan that the country's president had ordered "no live bullets" would be used against demonstrators. One witness said the people chanted, "Bouthaina we do not want your bread, we want dignity!" He said an "overwhelming number" of protesters showed up in Daraa to support "martyrs," people killed in recent clashes. "The whole of the city was out in the street to bury the dead and demand that those responsible be tried for their crimes against the people of Daraa," the witness said. "We broke the barrier of fear today and the security forces could not touch us."

VENEZUELAN STUDENTS END HUNGER STRIKE AFTER SIGNING OF LETTER OF INTENT

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA--In the early hours of March 26, a group of students that were on hunger strike for 31 days in front of the headquarters of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), east Caracas, ended the protest, after receiving from university authorities a letter of intent signed by representatives of the Ministry of Education, which met their requirements.

     After the strikers signed the agreement and chanted the national anthem, Gabriela Arellano, a student at the Andes University, spoke on behalf of students and especially on behalf of the 49 hunger strikers who protested around the country. She said that this was a great victory. "We have achieved the five requests we outlined on 23 February when we started this protest. Even if they wanted to crush our dignity, they failed. Our dignity is not negotiable."  She added that universities are faced with budget deficit because the government refuses to provide the funds required. "Today, we proudly say that we have succeeded. Here we are, youth, employees, workers, reaffirming that the university is a single bloc."

      Arellano stressed that during the early hours of March 26, the Venezuelan government met the requirements made by students across the country, even though government authorities mocked at students and tried to discredit their peaceful protest. "When universities protest judiciously and united, no government can stop them."  Under the letter of intent, scholarships will be raised to USD 93 a month, and the number of scholarship holders will be expanded as well.  The methodology and composition of the bargaining tables that are to discuss issues related to social benefits and labor liabilities will be agreed upon during the next meeting of the National University Council.

March 26, 2011

NATO AGREES TO TAKE COMMAND OF NO-FLY ZONE IN LIBYA

        WASHINGTON, D.C.--NATO will assume leadership from the United States of patrolling the skies over Libya but the military alliance remains divided over who will command aggressive coalition airstrikes on Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s ground troops, NATO and American officials said Thursday. After a day of confusion and conflicting reports out of NATO headquarters in Brussels, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced late Thursday in Washington that NATO had agreed to lead the allies in maintaining the no-fly zone. Effectively, that means that planes from NATO countries will fly missions over Libya with little fear of being shot down since Tomahawk missiles, most of them American, largely destroyed Colonel Qaddafi’s air defenses and air force last weekend.

     But NATO and American officials said NATO had balked at assuming responsibility, at least for now, of what military officials call the “no-drive zone,”  which would entail  bombing Colonel Qaddafi’s ground forces, tanks and artillery that are massing outside crucial Libyan cities, and doing so without inflicting casualties on  civilians.   Late Thursday night a senior Obama administration official insisted that NATO had agreed to assume responsibility for the no-fly and “no-drive” zones but said the details remained to be worked out. The official’s statements appeared to contradict those of the secretary-general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who said in Brussels earlier Thursday that NATO was still considering whether to take on “broader responsibility” for the war.

     A NATO official said that two member nations, Germany and Turkey, objected to NATO participating in strikes that they consider beyond the mandate of the United Nations Security Council resolution that authorized the military action in Libya. The announcement of at least a partial handoff of responsibility to NATO came only five days after the conflict started and reflected the intense pressure on President Obama to deliver on his promise that the United States would step back “within days, not weeks” from command of the effort.  Mrs. Clinton, in her comments on Thursday night, said the United States was already cutting back its role. “As expected, we are already seeing a significant reduction in the number of U.S. planes,” she said. At the Pentagon earlier Thursday, Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, the director of the joint staff, said that American fighter jets would continue bombing Libya and that American surveillance planes would provide reconnaissance even after NATO, in partnership with other coalition members, assumes leadership of the coalition. He also said the United States would provide airborne refueling tankers for coalition warplanes as well as other logistical support.

FIRST LIBYAN PLANE SHOT DOWN AFTER ENTERING NO-FLY

        TRIPOLI, LIBYA--Western forces shot down a Libyan plane for the first time on Thursday  after it violated the no-fly zone. A French Rafale fighter fired a guided air-to-ground missile at the jet after a surveillance patrol noticed it was flying near the key rebel town of Misrata in western Libya. The Libyan plane, believed to be a military trainer aircraft, was hit just after landing at Misrata air base, France’s joint chiefs of staff said. Misrata has been besieged by pro-Gaddafi forces and saw fresh fighting yesterday. One doctor said pro-Gaddafi forces had killed more than 100 people and injured 1,300 this week. It is the first such incident since the zone was enforced on Saturday. RAF Gp Capt Martin Sampson said: ‘It sends a powerful message that the coalition planes in the air at the moment are flying equipped to deal with anything that Gaddafi throws at them. ‘And if he does fly planes, we’re effecting a no-fly zone and one of the ways we do that is to shoot a plane down, if necessary.’

    William Hague faced mild embarrassment when he told MPs Libyan military aircraft were unable to take to the air as news emerged that French fighter jets had shot down an aircraft. In a statement to MPs on the military campaign against Muammar Gaddafi's regime, the foreign secretary said coalition forces had successfully established a no-fly zone after "comprehensively" degrading Libya's air defence system. Hague added: "There are no Libyan military aircraft flying." But shortly after he spoke to MPs, ABC News reported that a French fighter jet had shot down a single-engine Libyan Galeb plane. The Associated Press later quoted a US official as confirming that a French jet had attacked and destroyed a Libyan plane. The news emerged after Hague had updated MPs on the progress of the military campaign against Gaddafi's regime. The foreign secretary said the allied action was saving lives and protecting hundreds of thousands of civilians in Benghazi and Mistrata.

     Hague told the Commons: "UK forces have undertaken a total of 59 aerial missions over Libya in addition to air and missile strikes. "Last night, our forces again participated in a co-ordinated strike against Libyan air defence systems. A no-fly zone has now been established and the regime's integrated air defence system has been comprehensively degraded. There are no Libyan military aircraft flying. "Over 150 coalition planes have been involved in military operations, including Typhoon and Tornado aircraft from the Royal Air Force. "Thirteen nations have currently deployed aircraft to the region. A number of additional nations have made offers of aircraft and other military support, which are in the process of being agreed. Royal Navy vessels are in the region supporting the arms embargo." The foreign secretary expressed confidence that agreement would be met on running the military campaign after the US gives up its command.

ISRAEL DEPLOYS A NEW ANTI-MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM CALLED "IRON DOME"

     JERUSALEM, ISRAEL--Israel deployed its newly developed "Iron Dome" rocket defense system for the first time Friday to defend its southern communities from attacks by Gaza militants after a bloody week of Palestinian strikes and Israeli reprisals. There was no rocket fire on Friday when Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak visited soldiers at a military base near the Gaza border and announced the new system was being put into use. "We won't allow terror to reach our cities. If the shooting continues, we will respond as needed," Barak told reporters. He said he had approved the Iron Dome deployment as "an operational experiment." He said this is the first battery and that it would "take years for Israel to be fully equipped" with a system that would protect the entire area. He said Israel did not want to see an escalation in this week's violence.

    Israel developed the system to protect its civilians from the thousands of rockets fired over the years from Palestinian militants in the south and Lebanon's Hezbollah in the north. Palestinian militants have been firing rockets at Israel for almost a decade and Hezbollah pummeled northern Israel with over 4,000 rockets in the 2006 war. Millions of Israeli civilians are within rocket range. The Iron Dome system uses cameras and radar to track incoming rockets and shoot them down within seconds of their launch. It was developed at cost of more than $200 million. The Israeli military said the battery will be operational in a few days but would not elaborate. The system "will provide part of the answer to the threat of rocket fire at Israel's southern communities, not discounting shelters and offensive measures," the military said.

     Violence along the Gaza border has escalated for several weeks. Last Saturday, Gaza militants bombarded southern Israel in the heaviest mortar barrage since a military campaign in Gaza two years ago aimed at ending daily rocket attacks by Palestinian militants. Also this week, Israeli shelling missed its target and killed three children and their uncle in Gaza. As the violence increased on the border, a bomb exploded at a bus stop in Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing a British tourist and injuring dozens of Israelis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his country "will not tolerate such wanton attacks on its civilians, and we stand ready to act with great force and great determination to put a stop to them." Netanyahu spoke before a meeting with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Earlier Friday, a Palestinian struck a soldier in the head with a rock as he waited for a bus in the West Bank, the military said. The Palestinian was then shot and wounded by Israeli police. Both men were evacuated to a hospital by helicopter, the military said.

LA CIBERGUERRA SEGÚN EL COMA-ANDANTE

 

March 24, 2011

HILLARY CLINTON: GADHAFI NEEDS TO LEAVE POWER

        WASHINGTON, D.C.--Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Gadhafi and his closest advisers have decisions to make as coalition forces launched a fifth day of air strikes against military targets in the North African country. Clinton says the U.S. wants the Libyan government to "make the right decision" by instituting a cease-fire, withdrawing forces from cities and preparing for a transition that doesn't include the longtime dictator. The secretary of state stopped short of delivering an "or-else" ultimatum.

    Earlier Wednesday, as coalition forces launched a fifth day of air strikes against government military targets in the North African nation, President Barack Obama categorically ruled out a land invasion to remove Gadhafi. Also, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he cannot predict how long the no-fly zone operation will last but said the U.S. could turn over control of it as early as Saturday. A top U.S. officer in the campaign, Rear Adm. Gerard Hueber, said Wednesday that international forces were attacking Libyan government troops that had been storming population centers. "From Benghazi, which we now believe to be under opposition control, we have moved west to Ajdabiya," Hueber told Pentagon reporters by phone from the U.S. command ship in the Mediterranean sea. And from Ajdabiya to Misrata, the coalition's "targeting priorities" included Gadhafi's mechanized forces, mobile surface-to-air missile sites and lines of communications that supply "their beans and their bullets," Hueber said.

     Earlier, officials said missiles from F-15 fighter jets destroyed Gadhafi missile sites around Tripoli and that international forces also struck a government ammunition depot outside Misrata and ground forces outside Ajdabiya. Residents in Misrata said coalition attacks forced government troops to withdraw tanks there. Obama was asked in an interview with the Spanish-language network Univision if a land invasion would be out of the question in the event air strikes fail to dislodge Gadhafi from power. Obama replied that it was "absolutely" out of the question. Asked what the exit strategy is, he didn't lay out a vision for ending the international action, but rather said: "The exit strategy will be executed this week in the sense that we will be pulling back from our much more active efforts to shape the environment." "We'll still be in a support role, we'll still be providing jamming, and intelligence and other assets that are unique to us, but this is an international effort that's designed to accomplish the goals that were set out in the Security Council resolution," Obama said.

DICTATOR GADHAFI'S COMPOUND destroyed by coalition forces

        TRIPOLI, LIBYA--International forces have launched new airstrikes near the rebel-held city of Misrata, according to BBC News, as dozens have been killed in fighting in the western city. Snipers killed at least five people on Wednesday, according to Reuters. "This morning, airstrikes twice hit the airbase where Qaddafi's brigades are based," a resident of Misrata told Reuters. Residents say that coalition attacks forced government troops to withdraw tanks from Misrata. Rear Adm. Gerard P. Hueber, chief of staff of Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn, says they have increased combat operations in the rebel stronghold over the past 24 hours. Hueber said the coalition was targeting Qaddafi's mechanized forces, his artillery and mobile missile sites as well as ammunition and other military supplies. He said coalition forces have moved west to try to protect Ajdabiya and Misrata.

    U.S. officials say forces loyal to Qaddafi continue to advance on opposition-held areas. "Some of these cities still have tanks advancing on them to attack the Libyan people," Rear Adm. Peg Klein, commander of the expeditionary strike group aboard the USS Kearsarge, told Reuters. The U.S. bombed the wreckage of the F-15 fighter jet that went down Tuesday, a military official told Reuters. The wreckage was bombed overnight "to prevent materials from getting into the wrong hands," the U.S. official told Reuters. The Pentagon said Wednesday that there is no evidence that the U.S.-led assault has caused any civilian casualties.

    A British military official says Qaddafi's air force "no longer exists as a fighting force," according to BBC News. "We have Libyan ground forces under constant observation and we attack them whenever they threaten civilians or attack population centers," Britain's Air Vice Marshal Greg Bagwell told the BBC. Qaddafi's forces intensified the shelling of rebel positions outside a strategic eastern city as they fought to prevent the opposition from taking advantage of the five-day-old international air campaign to regroup in the east. Western diplomats, meanwhile, said an agreement was emerging about NATO would take responsibility for a no-fly zone over Libya after the United States which has effectively commanded the operation until now -- reiterated that it was committed to the transition. In what has become a common pattern, pro-Qaddafi troops who have besieged Ajdabiya -- a city of 140,000 that is the gateway to the east -- attacked a few hundred rebels gathered on the outskirts. The rebels fired back with Katyusha rockets but have found themselves outgunned by the Libyan government's force.

DICTATOR GADHAFI'S AIR FORCE DESTROYED

     TRIPOLI, LIBYA-RAF Air Vice-Marshal Greg Bagwell disclosed that allied forces had all but wiped out the Libyan air force and were attacking ground troops wherever they threatened the civilian population.  "We are now applying sustained and unrelenting pressure on the Libyan armed forces," he said, during a visit to the RAF base at Gioia del Colle in southern Italy. "Effectively, their air force no longer exists as a fighting force and his integrated air defence system and command and control networks are severely degraded to the point that we can operate with near impunity across Libya."  But although the tanks rolled back to some extent in Misurata, there were reports of renewed fighting in Ajdabiya in the east and Zintan in the west. US Rear Adm Gerard Hueber, chief of staff of Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn, said that Col Gaddafi's forces were attacking Misurata and Ajdabiya with tanks, artillery and rocket launchers and making incursions into both cities.

     Despite coalition air strikes, he said the Libyan forces had not yet pulled back from either city. "Our primary focus is to interdict those forces before they enter the city, cut their lines of communication and cut their command and control," he said, speaking by telephone aboard the US command ship, the USS Mount Whitney, in the Mediterranean Sea.  Access to Misurata has been blocked but witnesses said that snipers continued to target civilians from rooftops. Mohamed, a spokesman for the rebels in Misurata, said: "We almost lost all hope, but the strikes came at a good time with good intensity and frequency. The strikes made such a difference, Gaddafi's forces are scared of them."  

     Admiral Samuel Locklear, the head of the US forces in Libya, said coalition aircraft planned to target a Libyan army brigade commanded by one of Col Gaddafi's sons. He said planes would target the 32nd Brigade, a "premier force for Colonel Gaddafi", in the "coming hours and days". The unit, led by Col Gaddafi's youngest son, Khamis, is estimated to have as many as 10,000 troops.  Although the coalition has insisted there will be no boots on the ground, American ships in the Mediterranean – on standby to carry out humanitarian operations – are also crammed with Humvees, armoured trucks and weaponry and are capable of delivering hundreds of Marines to beach landings. Meanwhile, a US military official said the wreckage of an F-15 fighter jet that went down in eastern Libya on Tuesday had been bombed "to prevent materials from getting into the wrong hands." Despite previous denials, a military source told The Daily Telegraph that as the pilot was rescued, strafing runs were carried out and two Harriers dropped two 500lb bombs on a convoy of Libyan vehicles. The cannon fire could explain why several civilians were injured by bullets fired during the mission near Benghazi.

March 23, 2011

CUBA ACCUSES AWARD-WINNING BLOGGER OF CYBERWAR AGAINST THE COUNTRY

        HAVANA, CUBA--A dissident Cuban blogger who was hailed last year as a hero of press freedom has again been attacked by the island's government for waging a "cyberwar" against the communist regime. Yoani Sánchez – whose Generacion Y blog has won numerous prizes and attracted an international readership for its blunt reflections on Cuban life – was the subject of a TV program on Monday. The latest in a series of programs called Cuba's Reasons claimed Sánchez was part of a media campaign intent on "demonizing" socialism. It included grainy videos in which the blogger enters European embassies and the US interests section in Havana, and said she has collected $500,000 [£306,000] in international prizes for her work. "Cyberwar is not a war of bombs and bullets, but of information, communication, algorithms and bytes. It is the new form of invasion that has originated in the developed world," said the narrator.

    The Cuba's Reasons series has tried to show that the US is using new technologies to try to subvert the Havana government. It has coincided with the trial and conviction of US aid contractor Alan Gross, who has been jailed since December 2009 for allegedly trying to bring the internet to government opponents. Earlier this month, Gross was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a panel of judges in a case that has strained US-Cuba relations. Sánchez herself has shrugged off the latest attack, taking to Twitter to announce: "I am so happy. Finally the alternative blogosphere on official television, although it's to insult us." She added: "They don't know what they've done! Pandora's Box has been smashed open!"

    Sánchez also thanked all those who had texted her. "I can't keep tweeting all the texts of support," she wrote. "There are too many of them and I have only 10 fingers!" It is not the first time that Sánchez has drawn the ire of the ruling regime. In November 2009, the blogger said she had been beaten up by a group of thugs hired to silence her as she travelled to a peaceful protest. And three years ago – shortly after Cuba denied her permission to travel to Spain to collect the prestigious Ortega y Gasset journalism award for her blog – Fidel Castro himself appeared to express his disapproval. In a book about his relationship with Bolivia, Castro alluded to the fact that Sánchez had told an international news agency that she had been barred from travelling to Europe. "What is grave isn't so much affirmations of this type that are divulged immediately by imperialism's mass media," the former president wrote, but that there are young Cubans who "assume the job of those who undermine, and of the neocolonial press of the ancient Spanish metropolis that awards them".

CUBAN DISSIDENTS HARASSED ON ANNIVERSARY OF CRACKDOWN

        HAVANA, CUBA--Cuban government supporters harassed a group of WOMEN dissidents who met at a home in this capital to commemorate the eighth anniversary of a sweeping crackdown on dissent. Hundreds of mostly young counter-demonstrators gathered Friday outside the home of Laura Pollan, leader of the Ladies in White organization that comprises relatives of dozens of government opponents arrested and given long prison terms in 2003, the vast majority of whom have since been released.

     Twenty-seven dissidents met at the residence, including members of the Ladies in White and dissident Guillermo Fariñas – both winners of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought – as well as recently released Amnesty International-adopted prisoners of conscience Hector Maseda and Angel Moya. The dissidents were marking the eighth anniversary of the Black Spring crackdown of 2003, when 75 independent journalists and democracy activists were rounded up and sentenced to prison terms of between six and 28 years. They were accused of conspiring with the United States to undermine the independence of the state and “the principles of the revolution.”

    On Friday, the large pro-Castro crowd forced the Ladies in White and the other dissidents to remain inside the home and shouted slogans in support of the government and against the dissidents, whom they denounced as “traitors.” They also hung a large Cuban flag from a rooftop and blared the national anthem and music by Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez. A contingent of police and state security agents also had been deployed to the area surrounding the home and several streets were blocked off to traffic.  Tensions flared at one point during the hours-long “act of repudiation” against the dissidents, when one member of the Ladies in White tried to leave Pollan’s home to hold a peaceful march on the street.  The government supporters prevented her from doing so and pushing and shoving erupted between the two sides. In statements by phone early in the day, Ladies in White spokeswoman Berta Soler had vowed that the harassment would not prevent her group from commemorating the anniversary of the Black Spring

FOURTH DAY OF OPERATIONS: THE COALITION FORCES PRESSED THEIR ATTACK ON LIBYAN GOVERNMENT ARMY

     TRIPOLI, LIBYA-US and British military forces have launched more than 120 cruise missiles, targeting Libyan air defence systems. France began military action in the face of initial US reluctance, starting the assault earlier on Saturday (local time) with a series of air strikes. Officials from the US and France say air attacks against Libya will continue over the next few days until Mr Gaddafi complies with a UN resolution mandating a ceasefire against rebels. The secretary-general of the Libyan parliament, Mohamed al Zawi, says civilian targets were among those hit by the missiles, claiming the lives of 48 people. "This barbaric aggression against the Libyan people comes after we announced the ceasefire against the armed militias, which are part of Al Qaeda in the Islamic maghreb," he said.

     Revealing he had authorised US armed forces to begin a limited military action, US president Barack Obama said it was not America's first choice. "But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people that there will be no mercy," he said.  Gaddafi, in a brief audio message broadcast on state television, fiercely denounced the attacks as a "barbaric, unjustified crusaders' aggression." He vowed retaliatory strikes on military and civilian targets in the Mediterranean, which he said had been turned into a "real battlefield." "Now the arms depots have been opened and all the Libyan people are being armed," to fight against Western forces, the veteran leader warned.

     At the Pentagon, US Vice Admiral William Gortney says it will take time to assess the impact of the strikes. He says missiles were launched from American navy ships in the Mediterranean at sites along the Libyan coast. "Earlier this afternoon over 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from both US and British ships and submarines struck more than 20 integrated air defence systems and other air defence facilities ashore," he said. "These strikes were carefully coordinated with our coalition partners. The targets themselves were selected based on a collective assessment that these sites either pose a direct threat to the coalition pilots, or through use by the regime, pose a direct threat to the people of Libya. "I want to stress however that this will be just the first phase of a multi-phased military operation designed to enforce the United Nations resolution."

at defiant march, syrians shout 'no more fear!'

         daraa, syria--Syrians chanting "No more fear!" held a defiant march Monday after a deadly government crackdown failed to quash three days of mass protests in a southern city - an extraordinary outpouring in a country that is known for brutally suppressing dissent. Riot police armed with clubs chased the small group away without casualties, but traces of earlier, larger demonstrations were everywhere: burned-out and looted government buildings, a dozen torched vehicles, an office of the ruling Baath party with its windows knocked out. Protesters also burned an office of the telecommunications company Syriatel, which is owned in part by the president's cousin.

     The unrest in the city of Daraa started Friday after security troops fired at protesters, killing five people. Over the next two days, two more people died and authorities sealed the city, allowing people out but not in, as thousands of enraged protesters set fire to government buildings and demonstrated around the city.  U.S. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor complained Monday that reports indicate the Syrian government "has used disproportionate force against civilians, and in particular against demonstrators and mourners in Daraa." Human Rights Watch said in a statement that Syria should "cease use of live fire and other excessive force against protesters."  On Monday, an Associated Press team was allowed into Daraa, accompanied by two government minders who kept them away from protesters and would not allow photographs of demonstrations. Army checkpoints circled the city and plainclothes officers were deployed in key areas.

    The military tightened security around the old part of the city that witnessed much of the violence. Soldiers were stopping cars trying to go to the old part, checking identity cards and searching vehicles to make sure no one was carrying weapons. The minders prevented the AP team from going to the old quarter. Lawyer Samir Kafri told the AP that criminal records were destroyed as people ransacked and burned the two-story Palace of Justice, which houses a criminal court and a police station. Every room in the building was burned, and more than 20 computers were stolen, he said. About a dozen lawyers who gathered outside the building said the attack on the courthouse appeared to be well organized, as the attackers managed to destroy all files related to crimes such as drugs and arms dealings. Among the buildings set on fire were the offices of the anti-drug department, about 200 yards (meters) from the court.

March 21, 2011

DICTATOR GADHAFI CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CEASE FIRE

        TRIPOLI, LIBYA--DICTATOR AL GADHAFI on Sunday called for an immediate cease-fire, a day after U.S., British and French forces began to enforce a United Nations-mandated no-fly zone.  Earlier, heavy anti-aircraft fire could be seen being fired into the skies of Tripoli, though no allied fighter jets appeared to be approaching or attacking.  "The armed forces issued command to all military units to safeguard immediate cease-fire everywhere," Libyan spokesman Milad al Fuqhi said in a televised address.  Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi had called the allied nations bombing his country "terrorists."

     There was violence across the country Sunday, with Gadhafi apparently shelling rebels in the west while allied airstrikes destroyed one of Gadhafi's convoys in the east, according to rebels. There were no immediate reports of whether the call for ceasefire had any quick effect.  Gadhafi had said the strikes were a confrontation between the Libyan people and "the new Nazis," and promised "a long-drawn war." "You have proven to the world that you are not civilized, that you are terrorists -- animals attacking a safe nation that did nothing against you," Gadhafi had said in an earlier televised speech. Gadhafi did not appear on screen during his address, leading CNN's Nic Robertson in Tripoli to speculate that the Libyan leader did not want to give the allies clues about his location.

     Throughout the address, an image of a golden fist crushing a model plane that said "USA" filled the screen -- a monument in Tripoli to the 1986 American bombing of Libya, in which one U.S. plane was downed. At the same time Gadhafi spoke, his regime was shelling the city of Misrata on Sunday morning using tanks, artillery and cannons, a witness said. "They are destroying the city," said the witness, who is not being identified for safety reasons. He said rebels were fighting back. Sounds of heavy gunfire could be heard during a telephone conversation with the man. There was no immediate word on casualties. On Sunday, more rebel checkpoints were noticeable throughout Benghazi, and searches there were much more diligent. While fears of an attack by pro-Gadhafi forces have decreased, the opposition does fear attacks from Gadhafi supporters among their population.  CNN's Arwa Damon saw the remains of a convoy of at least 70 military vehicles destroyed by multiple airstrikes Sunday, leaving at least five charred bodies, plus twisted tanks and smashed trucks as far as she could see.

SECOND DAY:  UN COALITION FORCES FIRED MISSILES ON LIBYA

     TRIPOLI, LIBYA-Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CNN Sunday there would be continuous allied air cover of Benghazi. The no-fly zone is effectively already in place, he said on CNN's "State of the Union," adding that air attacks by coalition forces have taken out most of Libya's air defense systems and some airfields.  The international military coalition targeted air defense positions near the capital, Tripoli, for a second day Sunday.

     Also on Sunday, the Arab League -- whose call for a no-fly zone was an essential piece of the diplomacy leading to the United Nations resolution -- held an emergency meeting about the bombardment. Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa told reporters before the meeting that what is happening in Libya is different from what was intended by imposing a no-fly zone, according to Egypt's state-run Ahram newspaper. .  "What we want is the protection of civilians and not the shelling of more civilians," Moussa said, adding that "military operations may not be needed in order to protect the civilians." But Arab League chief of staff Hisham Youssef said Moussa's comments did not signify a shift by the organization.  "The Arab League position has not changed. We fully support the implementation of a no-fly zone," Youssef said. "Our ultimate aim is to end the bloodshed and achieve the aspirations of the Libyan people." 

     A spokesperson for the U.K. Foreign Office said that for the no-fly zone to be enforced, it was necessary to target Libyan air defenses.  "Unlike Gadhafi, the coalition is not attacking civilians," the spokesperson said. "All missions are meticulously planned to ensure every care is taken to avoid civilian casualties. We will continue to work with our Arab partners to enforce the resolution for the good of the Libyan people." At least one Arab nation, Qatar, is making direct contributions to the allied airstrikes. The country made available four fighter planes, the French foreign minister said.  The multinational military forces launched the attacks Saturday, convinced that Gadhafi was not adhering to a cease-fire mandated by the United Nations. Nineteen U.S. warplanes, including stealth bombers and fighter jets, conducted strike operations in Libya on Sunday morning, officials said. Tomahawk cruise missiles are unmanned and fly close to the ground, steering around natural and man-made obstacles to hit a target programmed into them before launch.

ARAB LEAGUE AND THE AFRICAN UNION CRITICIZE UN COALITION FORCES OPERATIONS IN LIBYA

         CAIRO, EGYPT--The Arab League on Sunday criticised Western military strikes on Libya, a week after urging the United Nations to slap a no-fly zone on the oil-rich North African state. "What has happened in Libya differs from the goal of imposing a no-fly zone and what we want is the protection of civilians and not bombing other civilians," Arab League secretary general Amr Mussa told reporters. "From the start we requested only that a no-fly zone be set up to protect Libyan civilians and avert any other developments or additional measures," Mussa added. On March 12, the Arab League urged the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone on Libya and said Moamer Kadhafi's regime had "lost legitimacy" as it sought to snuff out a rebellion designed to oust him from power.

    In the West's biggest intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, US warships and a British submarine fired more than 120 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya on Saturday, the US military said. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1973 on Thursday authorising military action to prevent the forces of Libya's longtime leader Kadhafi from attacking civilians.  Mussa said preparations were under way to convene an emergency meeting of the 22-member Arab League at which Libya would top the agenda. "We are currently consulting about a meeting," he said.

    The African Union’s panel on Libya Sunday called for an “immediate stop” to all attacks after the United States, France and Britain launched military action against Moamer Kadhafi’s forces. After a more than four-hour meeting in the Mauritanian capital, the body also asked Libyan authorities to ensure “humanitarian aid to those in need,” as well as the “protection of foreigners, including African expatriates living in Libya.” It underscored the need for “necessary political reforms to eliminate the causes of the present crisis” but at the same time called for “restraint” from the international community to avoid “serious humanitarian consequences.” The panel also announced a meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on March 25, along with representatives from the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Conference, the European Union and the United Nations to “put in place a mechanism for consultation and concerted action” to resolve the Libyan crisis.

EL FACTOR TORTOLÓ EN LIBIA
 

March 20, 2011

french jets flying over libya

        paris, france--French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after an emergency summit in Paris that French jets were already targeting Gadhafi's forces. The 22 participants in Saturday's summit agreed to do everything necessary to make Gadhafi respect a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday demanding a cease-fire, Sarkozy said. "Our consensus was strong, and our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected, and in the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians our coalition is prepared to act, and to act with urgency," President Barack Obama said in Brasilia, Brazil, on the first day of a three-country Latin American tour.

    The rebels, who have seen their advances into western Libya turn into a series of defeats, said they had hoped for more, sooner from the international community, after a day when crashing shells shook the buildings of Benghazi and Gadhafi's tanks rumbled through the university campus. "People are disappointed, they haven't seen any action yet. The leadership understands some of the difficulties with procedures but when it comes to procedures versus human lives the choice is clear," said Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the opposition. "People on the streets are saying where are the international forces? Is the international community waiting for the same crimes to be perpetrated on Benghazi has have been done by Gadhafi in the other cities?"

     Earlier Saturday, a plane was shot down over the outskirts of Benghazi, sending up a massive black cloud of smoke. An Associated Press reporter saw the plane go down in flames and heard the sound of artillery and crackling gunfire. Before the plane went down, journalists heard what appeared to be airstrikes from it. Rebels cheered and celebrated at the crash, though the government denied a plane had gone down -- or that any towns were shelled on Saturday. The fighting galvanized the people of Benghazi, with young men collecting bottles to make gasoline bombs. Some residents dragged bed frames and metal scraps into the streets to make roadblocks.  "This city is a symbol of the revolution, it's where it started and where it will end if this city falls," said Gheriani.

STATE OF EMERGENCY IN YEMEN

     SANAA, YEMEN--Beleaguered Yemen president Ali Abdullah Saleh has ordered a state of emergency after regime loyalists killed at least 41 protesters in the deadliest incident in weeks of unrest, according to medics.  Witnesses said pro-Saleh 'thugs' on Friday rained bullets from rooftops around a square at Sanaa University, the centre of demonstrations against Saleh, adding that more than 200 people were wounded. An AFP correspondent saw protesters rush into the surrounding buildings and throw six alleged gunmen from the rooftops. 'We were protesting peacefully and they shot at us. I won't leave this place until the president goes, even if I have to die,' said one demonstrator, Ahmad, 25. US President Barack Obama strongly condemned the violence, calling on on his key anti-terror ally to live up to a pledge to allow peaceful protests and engage with the opposition.

    The bloodshed brought the death toll to more than 70 since the outbreak of demonstrations calling for Saleh to step down after 32 years in power in late January. 'Most of the injured were shot in the head, neck and chest,' a doctor told AFP. Many of the casualties were taken to a makeshift hospital at the university, where witnesses described bodies lined up with Korans placed on their chests. Saleh expressed his 'regret' at the bloodshed, describing the victims as 'martyrs of democracy' and accusing those responsible of trying to undermine a peace initiative backed by Saudi Arabia. 'What happened today was very regrettable, the death of our children,' he added, a week after saying he had ordered his security forces to ensure the safety of protesters. Saleh denied to reporters that police had fired any shots, while Interior Minister Mutahar al-Masri said they had intervened only after protesters 'made several attempts to break into houses because they were trying to expand in the neighbourhood'.

     Yemeni parliamentary opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabri accused the regime of a 'massacre' and said 'these killings will not help keep Ali Abdullah Saleh in power.' Thousands of people have camped out in the square since February 21, demanding the departure of Saleh, an autocratic US ally in the war against al-Qaeda. On March 10, Saleh offered to devolve power to parliament under a new constitution and pledged to protect protesters. The United States, which sees Saleh as a pillar of stability in a fragile region, welcomed the gesture, but Yemen's parliamentary opposition says the president has lost all credibility and must resign this year. Opposition leaders last week called off negotiations with the regime, but in the wake of Friday's killings Washington again called for dialogue. 'Those responsible for today's violence must be held accountable,' Obama said in a written statement. 'The United States stands for a set of universal rights, including the freedom of expression and assembly, as well as political change that meets the aspirations of the Yemeni people,' he said.

JAPAN'S RADIATION REACHES CALIFORNIA SHORES

         TOKYO, JAPAN--Japan’s nuclear fallout reached the shores of Southern California on Friday, but the readings pose no health concerns, a diplomat told AP. The levels are “about a billion times beneath levels that would be health threatening," the diplomat, who has access to U.N. radiation tracking, said after reading from one of its California-based measuring stations. He asked for anonymity Friday because the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization does not make its data public. That announcement comes a day after California officials spent the day trying to alleviate rising health concerns over how Japan’s radioactive disaster would affect the U.S. About 1,000 worried Californians have been flooding a state hotline wondering if their lives were in danger. "Radiation is one of those words that get everybody scared, like 'plague,'" said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health for Los Angeles County. "But we're 5,000 miles away."

    Officials said particles wafting to the U.S. coast would be so diluted that it would not pose any health risk. Wind, rain and salt spray will help clean the air over the vast ocean between Japan and the United States. Nuclear experts say the main elements released are radioactive cesium and iodine. They can combine with the salt in sea water to become cesium chloride and sodium iodide, which are common and abundant elements and would readily dilute in the wide expanse of the Pacific, according to Steven Reese, director of the Radiation Center at Oregon State. "It is certainly not a threat in terms of human health" added William H. Miller, a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Missouri.

    Earlier this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deployed extra radiation detectors throughout the country to allay public concerns. On Thursday, President Barack Obama said "harmful levels" of radiation from the damaged Japanese nuclear plant are not expected to reach the U.S. The radiation stations will send real time data via satellite to EPA officials, who will make the data available to the public online. The monitors also contain two types of air filters that detect any radioactive particles and are mailed to EPA's data center in Alabama. That information, as well as samples that numerous federal agencies are collecting on the ground and in the air in Japan, also will be sent to the Department of Energy's atmospheric radioactivity monitoring center in California, where teams are creating sophisticated computer models to predict how radioactive releases at Fukushima could spread into the atmosphere.

March 19, 2011

LIBYA DECLARES IMMEDIATE HALT TO MILITARY ACTION AGAINST ANTI-GADHAFI FORCES

        TRIPOLI, LIBYA--Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa declared an immediate halt to military action on anti-government forces Friday in an effort to "take the country back to safety and security for all Libyans." Libya's decision comes just after the U.N. voted to authorized a no-fly zone and "all necessary measures" to protect the Libyan people, including airstrikes.  "The government is opening channels for true, serious dialogue with all parties," he said during a news conference in Tripoli.  Koussa told reporters during a press conference in Tripoli that the cease-fire is meant to ensure security for all Libyans. He also criticized the U.N.'s authorization of international military action, calling it a "violation of the national sovereignty of Libya."

    Earlier Friday, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's said "hell" awaited anyone who attacked the country, as the international community prepared for intervention, state TV reported. The U.N. Security Council resolution, which was passed late Thursday after weeks of deliberation, set the stage for airstrikes, a no-fly zone and other military measures short of a ground invasion. Koussa  criticized the U.N.'s authorization of international military action, calling it a "violation of the national sovereignty of Libya." He said Libya found it "strange" and "unreasonable" to use a resolution that "authorizes military power," and claimed the U.N.'s decision would "increase the suffering of the Libyan people."

    Earlier Friday, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's said "hell" awaited anyone who attacked the country, as the international community prepared for intervention, state TV reported. Koussa's announcement of a ceasfire followed a fierce attack by Qaddafi's forces against Misrata, the last rebel-held city in the western half of the country. A doctor said at least six people were killed. The attack on Misrata, Libya's third-largest city, came as the rebels were on the defensive in their eastern stronghold after Qaddafi vowed to launch a final assault and crush the nearly 5-week-old rebellion against him. The opposition expressed hope the U.N. resolution would help turn the tide in their favor after days of fierce fighting. "We think Qaddafi's forces will not advance against us. Our morale is very high now. I think we have the upper hand," Col. Salah Osman, a former army officer who defected to the rebel side, said. He was speaking at a checkpoint near the eastern town of Sultan.

BRITAIN, FRANCE READY TO ENFORCE LIBYA NO-FLY ZONE

     PARIS, FRANCE--Britain and France, with backing from the U.S. and at least two Arab nations, are prepared to launch airstrikes against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces to protect civilians in rebel-held areas if the United Nations Security Council authorizes the operation, European and U.S. officials said. The actions would be undertaken in conjunction with a no-fly zone - which will have the effect of grounding Gadhafi's air force, the officials said. The U.S. also would take part, but the U.S. role was still being decided by President Barack Obama, according to a U.S. official who asked not to be further identified in order to talk about the issue.  "This is an ongoing discussion," he said.

    The operation would be launched under a resolution that the Security Council was expected to vote on Thursday evening, said the U.S. official and a European diplomat, who couldn't be named because of the sensitivity of the subject. The European diplomat said he was "confident that we will have an adoption" of the resolution. He added: "We think it is time for everyone to act on their responsibilities." But it wasn't certain whether Russia and China, which have expressed reservations about outside intervention, would abstain and allow the resolution to pass, or use their veto. The resolution would expand international sanctions against the Gadhafi regime and authorize the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent the regime from using its aircraft against the rebels, who have been driven back in recent days toward the eastern city of Benghazi by Gadhafi's forces, they said. "We are in a race for time," said the European diplomat.

    The resolution also would authorize the nations that enforce the no-fly zone to use "all necessary means to protect civilians short of military occupation," he said. That wording would allow the nations enforcing the zone to launch airstrikes to prevent Gadhafi's forces from overrunning Benghazi, home to about 1 million people, and other eastern cities and towns where the revolt against the Arab world's longest-ruling leader erupted in mid-February. The bar on a foreign military occupation of Libya was included in the resolution to assuage Russia and China, which as permanent members of the Security Council could block the resolution. France and Britain are prepared to begin enforcing the no-fly zone fairly quickly should the measure be approved, and at least two Arab nations have agreed to participate, according to the European diplomat and the U.S. official. They declined to identify the two Arab countries. One was believed to be the United Arab Emirates, the federation of pro-West oil-producing sheikhdoms in the Persian Gulf.

JAPAN RAISES SEVERITY OF NUCLEAR ACCIDENT

         TOKYO, JAPAN--Japan's nuclear safety agency raised the severity rating of the country's nuclear crisis Friday from Level 4 to Level 5 on a seven-level international scale, putting it on par with the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania in 1979.

     Ryohei Shiomi, a spokesman for the nuclear safety agency, said Friday that the agency raised the rating of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear crisis on the International Nuclear Event Scale. The scale defines a Level 4 incident as having local consequences and a Level 5 incident as having wider consequences. The hallmarks of a Level 5 emergency are severe damage to a reactor core, release of large quantities of radiation with a high probability of "significant" public exposure or several deaths from radiation.

     A partial meltdown at Three Mile Island also was ranked a Level 5. The Chernobyl accident of 1986, which killed at least 31 people with radiation sickness, raised long-term cancer rates, and spewed radiation for hundreds of miles (kilometers), was ranked a Level 7. France's Nuclear Safety Authority has been saying since Tuesday that the crisis in northeastern Japan should be ranked Level 6 on the scale.

March 18, 2011

LIBYA THREATENS RETALIATION AS UN APPROVES RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING NO-FLY ZONE AND STRIKES

        TRIPOLI, LIBYA--Libya's defense ministry warned Thursday that any military action against the African nation resulting from  the approved U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing airstrikes and other measures will be met with retaliatory strikes on air and sea traffic in the Mediterranean region. A statement by the regime of Muammar al-Qaddafi broadcast on Libyan television warned that "the Mediterranean basin will face danger not just in the short-term, but also in the long term." The Obama administration pushed for a Thursday vote for a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing airstrikes and other measures against Qaddafi's regime. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that a U.N. no-fly zone over Libya "requires certain actions taken to protect the planes and the pilots, including bombing targets like the Libyan defense systems."

    The move comes as Qaddafi forces have made "significant strides" against the rebels in Libya. Qaddafi forces said it would cease military operations on Sunday to give rebels a chance to surrender, without giving further details about the offer, Reuters reported, citing Al Arabiya TV. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. in particularly blunt terms questioned Undersecretary of State Williams Burns at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday about whether the U.S. would have the wherewithal to take action absent approval from other nations. During the tense exchange, Rubio said Russia and China aren't interested in trying to end the violence in Libya, and asked if the U.S. doesn't step in, who would.  Burns responded that he is confident the U.N. Security Council will pass a resolution. "I'm not assuming that it's going to fail," he said. "I think we can produce a resolution. I hope we can today."  The undersecretary noted that forces loyal to Qaddafi are roughly 100 miles from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Burns said Qaddafi is taking full advantage of his military firepower in turning back rebels in Libya.

     Libyan rebels shot down at least two bomber planes that attacked the airport in their main stronghold on Thursday, according to residents who witnessed the rare success in the struggle against Qaddafi's superior air power. Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain, who has been pushing the Obama administration to impose a no-fly zone for weeks, questioned Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz at the committee hearing on why that move would now be too little too late. Schwartz did not say that the U.S. military should have implemented a no-fly zone but he did agree that if one were to be imposed now it would require additional military action. "A no-fly zone would not be sufficient," Schwartz said. "As opposed to a few weeks ago when it would have been," McCain replied.

ISRAEL: VESSEL LADEN WITH GAZA-BOUND WEAPONS INTERCEPTED

     JERUSALEM, ISRAEL-- Israeli commandos intercepted a ship in the Mediterranean Sea Tuesday and found weapons bound for Gaza militants, according to the Israeli government.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the weapons came from Iran. He insisted the cargo vessel was overtaken in accordance with international conventions, and said he gave the order to board the ship on the "solid basis" that the arms on the ship that were "meant to target Israel."

    The cargo vessel "Victoria" -- flying under a Liberian flag -- was stopped about 200 miles west of Israel's coast. The vessel was on its way from the port of Mircin in Turkey to the port of Alexandria in Egypt. The Israel Defense Forces said that according to ship documents and information gathered from the crew the vessel initially departed from Lattakia in Syria and then proceeded to Mersin in Turkey. Turkey had no connection to the incident, the IDF said.

    The IDF said the ship interception is part of the Israeli Navy's routine activity to maintain security and prevent arms-smuggling, efforts to keep weapons from being transported to anti-Israeli militants in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Israel's military "acted in order to defend the security of the country," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. "The attempt to smuggle weaponry to Gaza shows that radical elements are continuing in their attempts to attack Israel and undermine regional stability." The IDF said the crew didn't resist the commandos and the vessel was being led to the Israeli port of Ashdod for inspection.

JAPAN'S WOES PROMPT VENEZUELAN DICTATOR HUGO CHAVEZ TO HALT NUCLEAR PLANT PROJECT

         CARACAS, VENEZUELA--VENEZUELAN DICTATOR Hugo Chavez said that the crisis at a Japanese nuclear plant after the country's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami have prompted him to halt Venezuela's plans to develop nuclear energy. Chavez announced last year that his government was carrying out initial studies to start a nuclear energy program.

    Russia's government had agreed to help Venezuela build a reactor last year during a visit to Moscow by Chavez. But Chavez said watching events unfold in Japan has prompted him to reconsider. "It's something extremely risky and dangerous for the whole world because despite the great technology and advances that Japan has, look at what is happening with some nuclear reactors," Chavez said in a televised speech. Chavez warned that radioactive material from Japan's damaged plants could pose a threat to neighbors such as China. "We pray to God that... it doesn't have serious impacts on the population of Japan and other neighboring nations," he said.

    Chavez said he had ordered his vice president and energy minister to "freeze the plans that we have been moving forward with, some very preliminary studies" toward starting a nuclear program. Chavez said he believes the problems at the Japanese nuclear reactors will make other countries aside from Venezuela reconsider the need for nuclear programs. "I don't have the slightest doubt that this will alter... in a strong way nuclear energy development plans in the world," Chavez said. He also predicted that would increase demand for oil "in the short, medium and long term."  Venezuela is a major oil exporter.

March 16, 2011

DICTATOR HUGO CHAVEZ: THE EMPIRE BEHIND FOES SEEKING LIBYA-LIKE UPRISING IN VENEZUELA 

        CARACAS, VENEZUELA-- DICTATOR Hugo Chavez accused his political opponents on Sunday of trying to divide the military as part of a broader plan aimed at spurring a Libya-like uprising in Venezuela following next year's presidential election. Chavez said such a conflict would give Washington a justification to lead a military invasion of Venezuela. "They want to divide the armed forces," said Chavez, referring to Venezuela's opposition. "The Yankee empire, the CIA and the State Department is behind them." "The empire has a plan that has worked in Libya," he said during his weekly television and radio program. Chavez commonly refers to the United States as "the empire."

     Venezuela's opposition leaders deny conspiring to topple Chavez by provoking a military coup attempt, saying they plan to unseat the former paratroop commander-turned-president at the ballot box in December 2012. Opposition lawmaker Alfredo Ramos called the president's accusations unfounded, saying he's heard similar charges in the past. "He sounds like a broken record," Ramos said in a telephone interview. "Chavez feels the possibility of losing in 2012." U.S. officials have also rejected Chavez's repeated accusations of coup plotting. Chavez, a friend and ally of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, lambasted U.S. and European leaders for forging business ties with Libya in recent years only to turn their backs on Libya's leader after the popular uprising aimed at forcing his ouster began over three weeks ago. "Now he's the biggest monster in the world," he said. "I'm not like that," Chavez added, noting that he has refused to condemn Gadhafi's actions like other leaders across the globe. Chavez has accused Washington and its allies of maneuvering to seize control of Libya's oil.

    The Arab League asked the U.N. Security Council on Saturday to impose a no-fly zone. But the U.S. and many of its allies have expressed deep reservations about a tactic that would require them to destroy Gadhafi's air defenses and possibly shoot down his planes. Libya's rebel forces have asked for a no-fly zone, but foreign nations seem reluctant to impose such a measure. Chavez warned on Sunday that international oil prices would quickly top $200 if NATO and U.S. forces invade the North African country. NATO has so far ruled out direct military intervention in Libya.

BAHRAIN KING DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY AS GULF FORCES ARRIVE

     MANAMA, BAHRAIN--Bahrain declared a three-month state of emergency as a second contingent of forces from Gulf states arrived in the kingdom to support its government following persistent protests. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa asked the head of the military to guarantee security, state television said. Police opened fire on protesters in the village of Sitra, the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights said in a statement. Ali Al-Akri, a doctor at the emergency room of the Salmaniya Medical Complex, said at least two people have been killed in clashes today and 250 others were hurt. He didn’t have details on the kind of injuries sustained. Imposing a state of emergency “probably means they are running out of options,” said Gala Riani, a Middle East analyst at London-based forecaster IHS Global Insight. “If we see more violence against protesters than I suspect it’ll incite further unrest.”

     Clashes between mainly Shiite protesters and Bahraini forces escalated on March 13, with more than 100 people injured as demonstrators demanded democracy through elections from their Sunni monarch. The protests have fueled fears that unrest may spread to Saudi Arabia. Many Shiite Bahrainis retain cultural and family ties with Iran and Shiites in eastern Saudi Arabia; Bahrain’s ruling family has close links with Saudi Arabia, which holds 20 percent of global oil reserves. Shiites comprise as much as 70 percent of the Bahraini population. Troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, moved into Bahrain yesterday, the first cross-border intervention since a wave of popular uprisings swept through parts of the Arab world. Additional forces arrived today, the official Bahrain News Agency reported.

     The U.S. has “made clear that we believe that there is no military solution to the unrest in Bahrain or in other countries in the region,” Jay Carney, President Barack Obama’s spokesman, said in Washington. Carney declined to answer a question about whether U.S.- Saudi relations were strained by the confrontation in Bahrain. Obama’s message isn’t “tailored for a specific country. We understand that each country is different,” he said. Iran criticized the GCC deployment. “The presence of foreign troops and meddling into Bahrain’s internal affairs will only further complicate the issue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in Tehran today. Bahrain, which is home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, recalled its ambassador to Iran after Mehmanparast’s statement, Bahrain’s state television reported.

CHINA SEEKS LANDS TO GROW CROPS IN VENEZUELA

         PEKIN, CHINA--Heilongjiang Beidahuang Nongken Group, China's largest agricultural company, said on Monday that it plans to acquire or lease 495,000 acres of farmland in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Russia, the Philippines, Australia and Zimbabwe, as reported by the Chinese official newspaper China Daily.

     The group's chairman Sui Fengfu told the newspaper that the Chinese corporation plans to acquire the lands throughout 2011.  The state-owned group invested more than USD 38 million in 2005-2010 in overseas plans which differ according to the country, Sui said. The business leader is also a deputy to the National People's Congress, which ended on Monday its annual plenary session.

    "In Venezuela and Zimbabwe, the Chinese group mainly supplies machinery and labor force, and takes about 20 percent of the harvest in return," he said, as reported by Efe.  "In Australia, the group mainly acquires local farmland while in Brazil and Argentina, the business model involves the leasing of land."  "For instance, countries such as those of South America have arable land and need our technology and investment. Therefore, they welcome our companies. It's a win-win solution," Wang said.

LA CIBERGUERRA GERIÁTRICA
 

March 15, 2011

JAPAN FACING A NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE

        TOKYO, JAPAN--Initial estimates say that the Magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami killed about 10,000 people and made hundreds of thousands homeless; Japan is facing another threat: radioactive contamination from four damaged nuclear power plants; the tremor damaged the cooling systems in the reactors, forcing the companies operating the plants to flood the reactors with corrosive sea water and boric acid; one containment vessel was destroyed in an explosion, and in order to prevent more explosion, radioactive-contaminated hydrogen had to be released, increasing the radioactive levels to unsafe levels; more than 200,000 people living in the vicinity of the reactors were evacuated; the government has began distributing iodine pills to citizens (the pills are used to protect the thyroid gland from the effects of radiation); the difficulties at the nuclear power plants mean that rotating power outages will be imposed across Japan as of Monday.

     Four days after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami struck Japan, killing an estimated 10,000 people and leaving many more destitute, the country is still struggling to avert nuclear disaster, with problems reported at four separate nuclear power plants (two of the plants are located in the same facility – the Fukushima-Daiichi plant). Fukushima-Daiichi plant. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) is continuing attempts to cool down two reactors at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant 240 kilometers north-east of Tokyo, where a dramatic explosion destroyed the roof of the building housing reactor No. 1 on Saturday. In an emergency measure, seawater mixed with boric acid has been introduced to reactors Nos. 1 and 3 in an attempt to cool the reactors’ cores and kill the nuclear fission reaction more quickly.

    The decision to flood the reactor’s core with corrosive sea water, experts say, is an indication of how desperate the situation is: it means that Tepco has probably decided to scrap the plant (the plant, in any event, is 40-year old). It is not clear how much progress has been made, although nuclear power experts canvassed by Reuters were cautiously optimistic that the situation was being brought under control. New Scientist reports that the Japanese government has acknowledged that fuel roads at one or both reactors may not have been fully submerged for a time, and may have melted or become deformed as a result, but that would fall short of a complete meltdown and does not necessarily constitute a risk to the public unless the situation worsens.

A VILLAGE WIPED OFF THE FACE OF EARTH

     SENDAI, JAPAN--In a nation besieged with grief over mounting casualties, fears of possible radiation and the threat of more earthquakes, the nightmare grew for Japanese residents Monday as thousands of bodies reportedly were found and crews struggled to keep damaged nuclear plants under control.  New video Monday from the area showed a broad wave of Thursday's tsunami washing away an entire residential neighborhood, as residents who had fled to higher ground could be heard crying out in despair. Some people can be seen perilously close to the churning debris and running away on a road leading out of the neighborhood.

     The town of Minami Sanriku -- about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Pacific Ocean -- had morphed into a massive pile of wood that used to house 20,000 residents. An eerie silence prevailed as emergency rescue officials said they didn't think anyone was still alive under the rubble. About half of Minami Sanriku's population was unaccounted for.  In the Sendai area, where buildings were disintegrated by rushing water within seconds during the tsunami, a bizarre mix of sport-utility vehicles, cabinets, sofas, a taxi and a doll were heaped in a pile outside the remnants of a house. A white car sat precariously at the top of a sloped house.

    Solemn residents waited in lines that stretched blocks for food, water and gas. Despite the devastation surrounding them, the crowds appeared calm and orderly.  At a shelter in Sendai, a shell-shocked man who fled the tsunami would not let go of his 3-week-old infant. "I have to protect my children. I have to protect my children," he said. Some areas in the city of Ishinomaki remained inaccessible by ground Monday. Japanese troops had gone door-to-door in hopes of finding survivors -- but found mostly the bodies of elderly residents.  Cold weather has increased the hardship for disaster victims and rescuers. Rescuers report that some victims have been exposed to cold weather and water, in some cases for days. Conditions are expected to worsen, with temperatures forecast to drop below freezing by Wednesday across portions of the earthquake zone, accompanied by snow, heavy rain and the threat of mudslides. About 15,000 people have been rescued, Kyodo News reported Monday, citing Prime Minister Nato Kan.

OSCAR ELIAS BISCET CALLED ON CUBANS TO ACT NOW, asked the castro brothers to leave power

         HAVANA, CUBA-- In one of his first contacts with the press after his release from prison, the well-known Cuban dissident Oscar Elias Biscet, the more vocal and best known of the 75 dissidents jailed in 2003 during a crackdown, called for  a free Cuba, while asking the Castro brothers to leave power.  "It seems that we are rapidly approaching a crossroads in our history that will determine the happiness and prosperity of our people in the years to come,” he said." We call on all Cubans to take action now. We must take advantage of the moment.''

    Biscet was speaking in today’s morning hours in a video-conference from Havana that was organized by the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights and the Miami Dade College.  During the talk, Biscet reaffirmed his decision to remain in Cuba and to continue his work for the democratization and pacification of the island.  "That's why all Cubans must act with restraint, fairness and firmness in the defense of our principles, without engaging in sectarian extremism but always uncompromising in terms of freedom, justice and democracy for Cuba,'' said Biscet, the 49 years old dissident.  

     The activist and medical doctor was released last Friday. He gained international fame when he released a document that condemns the indiscriminate use in Cuba of Rivanol, a drug to induce abortions. When he was freed, he was serving a 25 years sentence. He was arrested dozens of times between 1997 and 1999. Since then, it has only been 36 days out of a Cuban prison.

March 14, 2011

FRANCE WELCOMED ARAB LEAGUE SUPPORT FOR A FRENCH-BRITISH LED INITIATIVE AGAINST DICTATOR GADHAFI

        BRUSSELS, BELGIUM--In a statement Sunday, the French foreign ministry said it will speed up efforts to build support for a resolution through contacts with the European Union, the Arab League, the U.N. Security Council and the rebels' Libyan National Transition Council.

     France is the first country to recognize the rebel council as Libya's legitimate ruler.  German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also welcomed the Arab League call for a no-fly zone, but said "many questions" remain about how to implement it without violating the League's other demand for no foreign troop intervention in Libya.

    The United States is participating in planning for a no-fly zone, but has expressed doubts about the effectiveness of such a measure, and wants a clear legal mandate before taking action. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to hold talks with representatives of the Libyan opposition council in Paris on Monday.  In another development, Gadhafi's government appealed to foreign oil companies to resume exports from Libyan oil terminals Sunday, after many foreign workers left the country to escape the unrest. Libyan state television said the oil terminals are secure, and it urged their employees to return to work.

STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN P. J. CROWLEY RESIGNS AFTER CRITICIZING  THE PENTAGON

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--The State Department's top spokesman, P. J. CROWLEY,  resigned on Sunday, three days after criticizing the Pentagon for its treatment of a soldier imprisoned on charges of leaking U.S. government documents posted on the WikiLeaks website.  Crowley, the assistant secretary of state for public affairs, told a group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last Thursday that the Pentagon's treatment of Pfc. Bradley Manning was "ridiculous and stupid and counterproductive." His comments were made public by a blogger who attended the session. Manning was forced to sleep naked for several days under military rules intended to keep maximum-security prisoners who may be suicidal from injuring themselves. Manning's lawyers say he also had been made to stand at attention naked, and that there was no justification for his treatment in custody.

     President Obama defended the Pentagon at a news conference Friday, when ABC television reporter Jake Tapper pressed him about Crowley's comments. Obama said he had been assured that Manning's treatment was "appropriate and was meeting our standards." Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement Sunday afternoon that she had accepted Crowley's resignation "with regret" and praised him for his three decades of service to the government. Crowley released his own statement, saying his took "full responsibility" for his remarks but not apologizing for them. He said his comments about Manning "were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership." Manning, 23, served as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. He has been charged with 34 counts, including illegally obtaining secret government cables from a military database.

     Crowley, a retired Air Force colonel, served as a spokesman for the Air Force and for the National Security Council during the Clinton administration. But he was not a part of Hillary Clinton's inner circle that came to the State Department in January 2009, and there had been reports of differences with the secretary. State Department staff members have said in recent months that Crowley was expected to leave the position in the months ahead, to be replaced by Mike Hammer, a former National Security Council spokesman who recently moved to the State Department as Crowley's No. 2. Hammer will step into Crowley's position temporarily, Clinton said in her statement.

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU:  FACTS ABOUT THE CUBAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY

         WASHINGTON, D.C.--ACCORDING TO A REPORT FROM THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, Cuban-Americans have acquired an enormous amount of wealth and  prosperity in an extremely short period of time; no other immigrant group  has achieved this as quickly as the Cubans. Many immigrants have never achieved it at all, despite being in this country far longer than  Cubans.

    Second-generation Cuban-Americans were more educated than even Anglo-Americans. More than 26.1 % of second-generation Cuban-Americans had a bachelor's degree or better versus 20.6% of Anglos. Thus Cuban-Americans in 1997 were approximately 25% more likely to have a college degree than Anglos. Other Hispanic groups lag far behind. Only 8.1% of South Americans had a bachelor's or better. Puerto Ricans, despite being U.S. citizens by birth, recorded a disappointing 11%; Mexicans only 7%. In 1997, 55.1% of second-generation Cuban-Americans had an income greater than $30,000 versus 44.1% of Anglo- Americans.  Thus Cuban-Americans are approximately 20%  more likely to earn more than $30,000 than their Anglo-American  counterparts. All other Hispanic groups lag far behind in average  income.

     In 1997, 36.9% of second-generation Cuban-Americans had an income  greater than $50,000 versus 18.1% of Anglo- Americans. Cuban-Americans were  twice as likely to earn more than $50,000. Also, approximately 11% of Cuban-Americans had incomes greater than $100,000 versus 9% of Anglo-Americans, and less than 2% of other Hispanics.  Cubans comprise  less than 4% of the U.S. Hispanic population, Mexicans 65%, Puerto Ricans  10%, Central and South Americans 11%, and "others"  Yet of the top  100 richest Hispanics in the U.S., more than 50% are of Cuban descent (ten  times what it should be on a population basis), and 38% of Mexican descent.  The rest is scattered among all other Hispanic groups. There are two Cuban-American Senators and five representatives in the U.S. Congress. In the military area, three Cuban-Americans reached the ranks of brigadier and major general in the U.S. Armed Forces.

March 13, 2011

EXPLOSION ROCKS JAPAN NUCLEAR PLANT

        TOKYO, japan--An explosion at a nuclear power plant on Japan's devastated coast destroyed a building Saturday and added leaking radiation, or even outright meltdown, to the threats menacing a nation just beginning to grasp the scale of a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami. The Japanese government said radiation emanating from the plant appeared to have decreased after the blast, which produced an intensifying cloud of white smoke that swallowed the complex. But authorities did not say why, and the precise cause of the explosion and the extent of the ongoing danger were not clear. Japan dealt with the nuclear threat as it struggled to determine the scope of the earthquake, the most powerful in its recorded history, and the tsunami that ravaged its northeast Friday with breathtaking speed and power. The official count of the dead was 574, but the government said the figure could far exceed 1,000.

    Fukushima Daiichi power plant's Unit 1 is seen in Okumamachi, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, Friday. An explosion at the nuclear power plant following Friday's earthquake stoked fears of a nuclear meltdown.Teams searched for the missing along hundreds of miles of the Japanese coast, and thousands of hungry survivors huddled in darkened emergency centers that were cut off from rescuers and aid. At least a million households had gone without water since the quake struck. Large areas of the countryside were surrounded by water and unreachable. The explosion at the nuclear plant, Fukushima Dai-ichi, 170 miles northeast of Tokyo, appeared to be a consequence of steps taken to prevent a meltdown after the quake and tsunami knocked out power to the plant, crippling the system used to cool fuel rods there.

     The blast destroyed the building housing the reactor, but not the reactor itself, which is enveloped by stainless steel 6 inches thick. Inside that superheated steel vessel, water being poured over the fuel rods to cool them formed hydrogen. When officials released some of the hydrogen gas to relieve pressure inside the reactor, the hydrogen apparently reacted with oxygen, either in the air or the cooling water, and caused the explosion. "They are working furiously to find a solution to cool the core," said Mark Hibbs, a senior associate at the Nuclear Policy Program for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Nuclear agency officials said Japan was injecting sea water into the core - an indication, Hibbs said, of "how serious the problem is and how the Japanese had to resort to unusual and improvised solutions to cool the reactor core." It was the first time Japan had confronted the threat of a significant spread of radiation since the greatest nightmare in its history, a catastrophe exponentially worse: the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States, which resulted in more than 200,000 deaths from the explosions, fallout and radiation sickness.

ARAB LEAGUE ASKS UNITED NATIONS TO ESTABLISH A NO-FLY ZONE OVER LIBYA

     CAIRO, EGYPT--The Arab League called Saturday for the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, a surprisingly rapid and aggressive move for a bloc known more for lengthy deliberations than action. Analysts said the call reflected both a widespread dislike of Libyan autocrat Moammar Gadhafi and member nations' attention to the wave of pro-democracy protests sweeping the Middle East, which has toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and threatens others. The 22-member Arab bloc, which had already barred Libya's government from taking part in League meetings, said Gadhafi's government had "lost its sovereignty." It also said the bloc would establish contacts with the rebels' interim government, the National Libyan Council, and called on nations to provide it with "urgent help."

    Western diplomats have said Arab and African approval was necessary before the Security Council could vote on a no-fly zone that would be imposed by NATO nations such as the U.S., France, Britain and Italy to protect civilians from air attack by Gadhafi's forces. The U.S. and other countries have expressed deep reservations about any action that could draw them into the conflict. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has cautioned that establishing a no-fly zone would require an attack to take out Libya's anti-aircraft capabilities, but on Saturday he said setting up a restricted zone was possible. In Saturday's statement, the Arab League asked the "United Nations to shoulder its responsibility ... to impose a no-fly zone over the movement of Libyan military planes and to create safe zones in the places vulnerable to airstrikes."

    The Obama administration welcomed the decision, which White House spokesman Jay Carney said "strengthens the international pressure on Gadhafi and support for the Libyan people." He said the United States will prepare for all contingencies and coordinate with allies. Amr el-Shobaki, an Egyptian political analyst, said the decision reflects the upheaval in the Arab world, which also includes serious unrest in Bahrain and Yemen as well as rumblings of anti-government dissent in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq. "It would be very difficult for the Arab League to ignore the Arab people as they have in the past," he said. El-Shobaki also said Gadhafi has few real friends among Arab leaders - he has publicly clashed with and insulted many of them, including at Arab League summits. "He brings to mind a figure such as Saddam," he said. League Secretary-General Amr Moussa also acknowledged the region's rapidly shifting currents in a press conference after the meeting. "There is a new direction that has been imposed by new changes on the Arab stage," he said. Moussa said a no-fly zone would be humanitarian measure to protect Libyan civilians and foreigners in the country and not a military intervention.

LIBYAN REBEL LEADER PLEADED FOR 'IMMEDIATE ACTION' ON NO-FLY ZONE

         BENGHAZI, LIBYA--The head of the interim government in eastern Libya pleaded Wednesday for the international community to move quickly to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, declaring that any delay would result in more casualties. "It has to be immediate action," Mustafa Abdul-Jalil told CNN in an exclusive interview in this eastern opposition stronghold. "The longer the situation carries on, the more blood is shed. That's the message that we want to send to the international community. They have to live up to their responsibility with regards to this." After the uprising began February 15, Abdul-Jalil was among the government officials who broke with the regime. He has gone on to lead the opposition's National Transitional Council, a 31-member group representing most regions in Libya. The group has met in Benghazi, an eastern town that has become an opposition stronghold.

    Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi told a Turkish reporter in an interview Tuesday that the imposition of a no-fly zone would simply unite the Libyan people behind him. "They will be united against the new attempt for occupation and imperialistic interests and it will be clear that they are conspiring against Libya," he said. "It will also be clear that the intentions are to control Libya's oil, choke Libya's liberty, land and people." The risks of a Libya no-fly zone Abdul-Jalil's remarks came shortly after Gadhafi's regime announced a reward for Abdul-Jalil's capture, branding him "an agent spy." In an "urgent" banner on state television, the government said its General Administration for Criminal Investigation was offering 500,000 Libyan dinars ($410,900 U.S.) "for whoever captures and hands over" the "agent spy" Abdul-Jalil, and "another offer of 200,000 Libyan dinars ($164,300 U.S.) for whoever offers information leading to his actual arrest."

     In a letter to the U.N. General Assembly, the transitional council asked that it be recognized as "the sole representative of all Libya." It also asked the international community to "fulfill its obligations to protect the Libyan people from any further genocide and crimes against humanity without any direct military intervention on Libyan soil." The letter, which was dated March 5, was made public Wednesday. The move to target Abdul-Jalil came as Gadhafi fought to advance against rebels who have taken control of many parts of the country. On Wednesday, pro-Gadhafi forces launched fresh attacks on Ras Lanuf, using planes and heavy artillery in an effort to retake the eastern oil city. Opposition fighters, armed with anti-aircraft guns and Soviet rifles, were outgunned by the heavily armed pro-Gadhafi forces. CNN's Ben Wedeman reported that an intense artillery bombardment was under way on the western edge of Ras Lanuf, where ambulances lined up to the emergency ward at Ras Lanuf's only hospital to drop off the wounded. More than 25 people were wounded, said Dr. Ali Al-Bart, at Ras Lanuf Hospital. "It's very bad, the situation is very bad," he said.

March 12, 2011

HUNDREDS OF BODIES FOUND IN JAPAN AFTER MASSIVE TSUNAMI SPAWNED BY EARTHQUAKE

        TOKYO, japan--Japanese police say 200 to 300 bodies have been found in a northeastern coastal area where a massive earthquake spawned a ferocious tsunami Friday that swept away boats, cars and homes.  The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake -- the largest in Japan's history -- unleashed a 23-foot tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours, many of them of more than magnitude 6.0.  The bodies found were in Sendai city, the closest major city to the epicenter, Japanese police said. Officials said another 110 were confirmed dead, with 350 people missing. Police also said 544 people were injured. The death toll was likely to continue climbing given the scale of Friday's disaster.

    The U.S. Geological Survey said the 2:46 p.m. quake was a magnitude 8.9, the biggest earthquake to hit Japan since officials began keeping records in the late 1800s, and one of the biggest ever recorded in the world. The quake struck at a depth of six miles, about 80 miles off the eastern coast, the agency said. The area is 240 miles northeast of Tokyo. The Japanese government ordered thousands of residents near a nuclear power plant in Onahama city to evacuate because the plant's system was unable to cool the reactor. The reactor was not leaking radiation but its core remained hot even after a shutdown. The plant is 170 miles northeast of Tokyo. Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the epicenter."The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference.

     Even for a country used to earthquakes, this one was of horrific proportions because of the tsunami that crashed ashore, swallowing everything in its path as it surged several miles inland before retreating. The apocalyptic images of surging water broadcast by Japanese TV networks resembled scenes from a Hollywood disaster movie. The highways to the worst-hit coastal areas were severely damaged and communications, including telephone lines, were snapped. Train services in northeastern Japan and in Tokyo, which normally serve 10 million people a day, were also suspended, leaving untold numbers stranded in stations or roaming the streets. Tokyo's Narita airport was closed indefinitely. More than 300 houses were washed away in Ofunato City alone. Television footage showed mangled debris, uprooted trees, upturned cars and shattered timber littering streets. The tsunami roared over embankments, washing anything in its path inland before reversing directions and carrying the cars, homes and other debris out to sea. Flames shot from some of the houses, probably because of burst gas pipes. "Our initial assessment indicates that there has already been enormous damage," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. "We will make maximum relief effort based on that assessment."

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON CALLS ON CUBA TO RELEASE ALAN GROSS

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a strongly worded call Thursday for Cuba to free an American contractor who is awaiting a verdict on charges that he sought to undermine the island's communist government by bringing communications equipment into the country. "We deplore the injustice toward Alan Gross," Clinton said in congressional testimony in Washington. "We want him home." A panel of five Cuban judges has been deliberating Gross' fate since his two-day trial wrapped up Saturday. It is not clear when they will issue a verdict. Gross faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

    The 61-year-old Maryland native was in Cuba on a USAID-backed program that seeks to build democracy on the island when he was arrested in December 2009. His family and U.S. officials say he was trying to help the island's Jewish community improve Internet access. Cuba says programs like the one Gross was a part of aim to bring down the government. The case has sunk already poor relations between Washington and Havana to a new low. U.S. officials, including Clinton, have made clear a rapprochement between the Cold War enemies will be impossible while Gross remains jailed.

     Clinton's comment on injustice was sure to rankle Havana. Cuba's government insists its courts are independent, and Cuban officials say Washington has all but conceded Gross was a government contractor who entered the island on a tourist visa in an effort to illegally distribute communications equipment. The Cuban government has said Gross accepted some responsibility for his actions at the trial, but also blamed his employer, Development Alternatives Inc., for putting him in danger.   Peter Brennan, the State Department's top official on Cuba, did brief 15 congressional staffers on the Havana trial, which was attended by U.S. consular officials, a congressional aide who was in on the call told The Associated Press. Brennan told the staffers that two members of Cuba's Jewish community gave testimony at the trial, which Brennan characterized as "neutral." There had been speculation Jewish leaders on the island would testify against Gross, since several said publicly that they had nothing to do with him.

venezuelans resorting to hunger strikes as a form of protest against dictator chavez

         CARACAS, VENEZUELA--Venezuelans are increasingly resorting to hunger strikes as a form of protest or a way to press grievances against President Hugo Chavez's government, the representative of a human rights group said Thursday. Marco Antonio Ponce of the Provea rights group said the organization had counted 35 hunger strikes so far this year - compared to 105 in all of 2010 and five during 2009.

     He said the increase appears to stem from the government's failure to address or even discuss demands of Venezuelans who have staged traditional street protests and marches. "Venezuela's population has been turning to more radical forms of peaceful protest," Ponce said in a telephone interview. Hunger strikes involving university students have drawn the most attention. One group of students successfully pressured Chavez's administration to release several government opponents who the protesters labeled "political prisoners."

     As that strike drew to an end Feb. 23, another group of five students seeking more education spending stopped eating solid food outside the United Nations' office in Caracas. Those students say they have been consuming only saline solution and water for the last 18 days. "We are willing to go as far as it takes," Alirio Arroyo, one of the protest organizers, said Thursday. Student activist Gaby Arellano said that 14 more people, mostly fellow students, have joined the hunger strike since it began to demand increased budgets for Venezuelan universities that depend largely on government financing. Higher Education Minister Yadira Cordova said the students have not accepted proposals from authorities to discuss their demands.

March 11, 2011

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON SAYS SHE WILL MEET WITH LIBYAN OPPOSITION LEADERS

        WASHINGTON, D.C.--Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she will meet with Libyan opposition leaders as the United States steps up its outreach to groups seeking the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi. Clinton said at a congressional hearing on Thursday that she will speak to opposition leaders in Washington and when she travels to Egypt and Tunisia next week. The U.S. has confirmed talks with groups organizing in Libya's east, which has been largely wrested from Gadhafi's control. But Clinton's would be the highest-level discussions with figures fighting for an end to Gadhafi's 42-year grip on power.

    The Obama administration appeared to welcome the formation of a national opposition government in Libya, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying "we've been reaching out" to forces trying to oust dictator Moammar Gadhafi and are prepared "to offer any kind of assistance that anyone wishes to have from the United States." Clinton's comments came as former high-ranking Libyan aides to Gadhafi who resigned since the uprising and his bloody crackdown began 12 days ago met behind closed doors in rebel-held Benghazi in eastern Libya, the country's second-largest city, to create an alternative national government. Organizers said the government will include liberated cities and towns and emphasized it was temporary.

     Clinton spoke with reporters before departing for Geneva, Switzerland, where she'll discuss the Libyan situation at a meeting Monday of the United Nations Human Rights Council. President Barack Obama is to meet Monday in Washington to discuss the situation with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Clinton did not explicitly endorse the opposition government. She said the discussion is "just at the beginning of what will follow Gadhafi." "First we have to see the end of his regime with no further violence and bloodshed, which is a big challenge in front of all of us," she said. "But we've been reaching out to many different Libyans who are attempting to organize in the east and as the revolution moves westward there as well. I think it's way too soon to tell how this is going to play out, but we're going to be ready and prepared to offer any kind of assistance that anyone wishes to have from the United States."

CUBA GIVES EXIT VISAS FOR ORLANDO ZAPATA'S FAMILY

     HAVANA, CUBA--The Cuban government has issued exit visas for 13 relatives of Orlando Zapata, a political prisoner who died a year ago after a lengthy hunger strike.  Reina Luisa Tamayo said Cuban authorities issued the visas last Sunday for the family to immigrate to the United States as refugees, but no date has yet been set for exhuming and cremating her son's remains, which the family wants to take with them. Zapata's mother has said on several occasions that she will not leave the country unless she can take her son's ashes with her. In a telephone conversation Wednesday with Efe, Tamayo said indications are that the flight dates for the family members will be set before her son's remains are exhumed and cremated. "We're going to follow that process step-by-step because I don't trust (the Cuban authorities)," Tamayo, 62, said.

    A few months earlier, in October 2010, the Cuban government – through a deal reached with the island's Catholic Church – had offered Zapata's relatives the chance to leave the island. Cuba is one of a handful of countries that require citizens to apply for authorization to travel abroad. Zapata, a 42-year-old mason and political activist who was one of 75 dissidents sentenced to lengthy prison terms in a March 2003 crackdown, died at a Havana hospital on Feb. 23, 2010, after staging an 85-day hunger strike behind bars. He held the protest to demand treatment as a prisoner of conscience. International human rights watchdog Amnesty International had granted Zapata that status, but Havana considered him a common criminal who "adopted a political profile even though his criminal record was extensive."

     Critics both on and off the island, particularly in the United States and the European Union, blamed the Cuban government for Zapata's death, saying it was avoidable. Months after his death, in July 2010, the Cuban government agreed to release all 52 dissidents arrested in the 2003 crackdown who remained behind bars, a decision that followed Spanish-supported talks between President Raúl Castro and the Cuban Catholic Church. But a handful of "Group of 75" prisoners who have refused exile in Spain still remain behind bars. Zapata has become one of the symbols of the Cuban dissident movement, which sees his death as marking a turning point in terms of bringing international attention to political prisoners on the island. The island's Communist government does not recognize that it is holding political prisoners, saying imprisoned dissidents are mercenaries working with the United States to undermine the revolution.

ISAIAS RODRIGUEZ LEAVES VENEZUELA EMPASSY IN SPAIN

         CARACAS, VENEZUELA--The Venezuelan government advised the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Isaías Rodríguez has been replaced as Venezuela's Ambassador to Spain, although he occupied such post for the last three months even though he had bid farewell to King Juan Carlos I and the Spanish government authorities.

     Minister-Counselor Zulay Rodríguez is now in charge of the Venezuelan Embassy to Spain as Chargé d'Affaires, reported Juan Antonio Yáñez-Barnuevo, the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign and Ibero-American Affairs.  Yáñez-Barnuevo referred to the situation of Venezuela's Embassy during a parliamentary questioning at the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Spanish Senate intended to assess the process of change in the Arab world.

     The Venezuelan government advised that Isaías Rodríguez was replaced as Venezuelan ambassador through a verbal note, which is an unsigned diplomatic note, addressed to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Rodríguez bid farewell to King Juan Carlos and Trinidad Jiménez, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, in November.  Rodríguez was nominated as a candidate to become a Justice at the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, but he was not appointed and opted to stay in Spain, where he continued to fulfill the duties of Venezuelan ambassador in some official events.

March 10, 2011

us and european allies considering naval operations to deliver humanitarian aid to libya

        brussels, belgium--U.S. military planners and those from other NATO governments have prepared a range of alternatives, including the establishment of an air and/or naval bridge to carry humanitarian supplies or escort civilian ships into Benghazi and other rebel-held areas, as well as close-in naval patrols along the Libyan coast to monitor an existing arms embargo.

     The proposed naval actions would not require a U.N. resolution. But governments are divided on both the advisability and the legality of a no-fly zone. Russia and China, with the power to veto a Security Council resolution, have indicated opposition. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in an interview with Britain's Sky News on Tuesday, indicated that support from regional blocs might help win passage of a U.N. resolution.  In NATO, Germany has said it does not support a no-fly zone. NATO operates by consensus, and an operation would not be approved if any member chose to speak out against it. In conversations this week with his U.S. and British counterparts, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Italy would make its air bases available for no-fly operations if they were supported by NATO, the E.U. and the Arab League, another European diplomat said.

     None of those organizations has yet declared unqualified support for any outside military action. The Gulf Cooperation Council, the six-member association of the Persian Gulf Arab states, voiced its backing Monday. The French Foreign Ministry said Monday that Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa had voiced support for a no-fly zone during a meeting Monday in Paris, but the league has not declared itself, and some members, led by Syria and Algeria, are said to be opposed. The Arab, European and African organizations have each scheduled separate meetings on the Libyan crisis this week, along with Thursday's NATO gathering. "We need some signal from the region that the action was welcome," one of the European diplomats said.

DICTATOR GADHAFI OFFERS $400,000 BOUNTY FOR LIBYAN OPPOSITION LEADER

     TRIPOLI, LIBYA--Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi offered a half million-dinar reward ($410,900) for the capture of a top opposition leader, former justice minister Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, Libyan TV-channel said on Wednesday. The bounty would be paid "to whoever captures and hands over" the "agent spy" Abdul-Jalil, and "200,000 Libyan dinars ($164,300) to whoever offers information leading to his actual arrest."  Jalil heads the National Council - the body that performs the functions of the interim government in the rebels-controlled eastern part of the country with a center in the city of Benghazi.  In addition, the government promised 200,000 dinars (about 160,000 dollars) for information which would help to apprehend Abdul Jalil, whose is branded by Libyan television as a spy.

    Inspired by the recent overthrow of authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, Gadhafi's opponents are demanding an end to his 42-year rule. International human rights organizations said about 6,000 people have been killed since the anti-Gadhafi protests began on February 15. The UN said the death toll ranged from 1,000 to 2,000 people. Libya is confronting an attempt by the Al Qaeda terrorist network to destabilize the situation there and in another Arab countries, Gaddafi claimed on Wednesday in an interview with the Turkish TRT media holding.

     Gaddafi has already blamed the unrest on Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, who he said were seeking to turn Libya into a state resembling Afghanistan or Somalia. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on February 26 on "targeted measures" against the current Libyan government. The sanctions include a total arms embargo, travel bans and freezing of accounts held by the country's leadership. A UN resolution on the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace is to be debated by NATO defense ministers later this week. Russia has said it is against all military intervention.

PRESIDENT OBAMA APPROVES EIGHT MORE AIRPORTS FOR FLIGHTS TO COMMUNIST CUBA

         WASHINGTON, D.C.--Eight airports including Atlanta and Chicago's O'Hare have gained federal approval to schedule charter flights to and from Communist Cuba, opening new gateways for Cuban Americans to visit relatives in the communist island nation and for other limited travel, authorities announced Tuesday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said such charter flights can now be scheduled from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, the world's busiest airport, as well as Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and international airports in Baltimore, Dallas/Fort Worth, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Tampa, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Previously, such flights were only allowed from Los Angeles, Miami and New York.

    The decision to add airports comes as part of an expanded effort to reach out to the Cuban people announced by President Barack Obama earlier this year. In Atlanta, airport officials lauded the decision and said it will mean reunions for families and friends who have been separated for years by distance and politics. "As Hartsfield-Jackson is the largest hub in the United States, this new service will allow tens of thousands of Cuban Americans across the country to easily reunite with their friends and families, whom they may not have seen for many years," said Louis Miller, aviation general manager at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

     Flights from Atlanta would open up more convenient and affordable options for Cuban Americans across the South, Miller said, because 80 percent of the U.S. population is within a two-hour flight of Atlanta. In the past, Cuban Americans had to first travel to Miami, Los Angeles or New York and "it's been very difficult for them to go there because of the cost," Miller said. The designation of new air travel gateways stands in contracts to more restrictive policies of previous years. Under former President George W. Bush, for instance, Cuban-Americans were allowed to visit only once every three years. Those restrictions ended in April 2009 though most non-Cuban Americans are still barred from traveling to Cuba.

AROMA DEL CHE EN CARNAVAL BRASILERO

 

March 9, 2011

president obama approves cuban flights to land in tampa airport

        washington, d.c.--Tampa International Airport will soon be the fourth airport in the United States to run flights to Cuba.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave the airport its official approval on Monday. Three licensed charter operators have said they will provide service between Cuba and Tampa. Only three other U.S. airports - Miami, New York and Los Angeles - were previously authorized to offer the flights.

     Not everyone will have access to the flights. Under normal circumstances, U.S. citizens not from Cuba cannot legally travel to the island nation. But U.S. census information shows that the Tampa Bay area contains the second largest Cuban population in the nation, behind Miami-Dade County. The Tampa airport officials expect the flights to begin by summer or early fall.    "We thank the administration (of President Barack) Obama for recognizing the benefits of expanding air service (to Cuba) and  to the residents and businesses in Tampa Bay,''said Bob Rohrlack, president of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

      The relationship established between the two sites goes back to 1539, when Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrived in Tampa Bay from Cuba. The large Cuban community that has been  established since 1880  in Ybor City, District of Tampa, made this city the cigar capital of the United States.  The United States does not have diplomatic relations with Cuba during the last 50 years and it maintains an economic and trade embargo since 1962 which was eased in 2000, with exports of food that have to be paid in advance and transported in non-Cuban boat.

FOUR EXPRESS KIDNAPPINGS TAKE PLACE IN CARACAS EVERYDAY

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA--According to by Fermín Mármol García, a criminologist and expert on kidnapping, 70 percent of kidnapped victims in Venezuela do not lodge a complaint with the police. The researches were based on data issued by law enforcement agencies.

     Mármol García said that four express kidnappings take place in Caracas everyday but only 25 percent of the victims lodge a complaint with the police. "Express kidnappings have increased dramatically. People are afraid because they believe that police agents are part of the gangs and fear to get into more trouble if they lodge a complaint," the expert said.

     According to the studies conducted by Mármol García and the police, those involved in express kidnappings have changed their pattern of behavior. Criminals seek their victims from Sunday to Wednesday, because they know that in those days there are not so many police officers working in the streets of the Venezuelan capital, the expert said.  "Criminals used to kidnap people from Thursday to Saturday but they realized that there were more police officers working in those days ... Therefore, they changed their pattern of behavior," Mármol García added.

venezuelan consulate staff in miami fired over irregularities

         miami, florida--Twenty-nine diplomatic and administrative staff members of the Venezuelan Consulate in Miami were removed from service. Consul General Antonio José Hernández Borgo would have resigned in support of the fired employees after complaints of alleged irregularities, reported on Sunday a former Venezuelan official.

     "There were massive layoffs and they gave us 30 days to leave our incumbencies. We are requesting Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to inform us why they decided to remove the staff," said Román Orta, one of the fired employees and spokesmen of the group, Efe reported.

    On Friday, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry notified the Consul of the dismissal of 29 staff members in a letter that Hernández Borgo read over to his staff. Orta said that the layoffs were apparently due to complaints made by former employees of the Consulate. They would have said that the officials of the Consulate were allegedly receiving illegal payments related to the issuance of passports and other presumed illegal acts of corruption which were recently published in El Nuevo Herald, a Miami newspaper.

March 8, 2011

ARAB MEDIA SAYS DICTATOR GADHAFI LOOKING FOR EXIT DEAL

        TRIPOLI, LIBYA--Two Arab newspapers and al Jazeera television said Monday Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi  has made a  proposal to the interim council, which speaks for mostly eastern areas controlled by his opponents. It quoted sources in the council as saying Gadhafi wanted guarantees of personal safety for him and his family and a pledge that they not be put on trial. Al Jazeera said sources from the council told its correspondent in Benghazi that the offer was rejected because it would have amounted to an "honorable" exit for Gaddafi and would offend his victims. The London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat and the daily al-Bayan, based in the United Arab Emirates, also cited unnamed sources as saying Gaddafi was looking for an agreement.

     A source close to the council told the international press  he had heard that "one formula being proposed by the other side would see Gaddafi hand power to the head of parliament and leave the country with a certain guaranteed sum of money." "I was told that this issue of money is a serious obstacle from the national council's point of view," he said, adding that his information came from a single source close to the council. Jadallah Azous Al-Talhi, a leading member of the ruling establishment and a prime minister in the 1980s, appealed to rebel leaders for dialogue Monday, in the clearest sign yet Gaddafi may be ready to compromise with opponents challenging his four-decade rule. The fact that state television screened Talhi's appeal indicated that it was officially endorsed. But the council said there was no room for broad dialogue with Gaddafi and any talks must be on the basis that he quits.

     Asked about Talhi's address, rebel official Ahmed Jabreel told  the press   "Talhi is a close acquaintance of mine and he is widely respected in Libya as a man who stood up to Gaddafi. "But we have made it clear all along that any negotiations must be on the basis that Gaddafi will step down. There can be no other compromise." Al Bayan quoted a source close to Gaddafi's inner circle as saying the Libyan leader had begun looking for a safe haven outside Libya. "He has begun making contacts with African and Arab states in search for a safe haven that will allow him to leave Libya in a way that suits his position and would not infringe on his dignity," it quoted the source as saying. The source said that "great divisions" within the Libyan army had caused Gaddafi to lose control of large parts of the country to rebels, according to an advance copy of the article.

PRESIDENT OBAMA KEEPS OIL OPTIONS OPEN AS GASOLINE SURGES

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--While longstanding U.S. policy is to release reserves only in the event of a significant and immediate supply shortage, some analysts say the Obama administration may feel compelled to try to tamp down prices that are being fueled both by outages in Libya as well as concerns over Middle East unrest. Echoing comments made by a number of Obama officials over the past week, White House Chief of Staff William Daley  said on Sunday: "We are looking at the options. The issue of the reserves is one we are considering." "It is something that only is done -- has been done -- in very rare occasions. There's a bunch of factors that have to be looked at and it is just not the price," he added. "All matters have to be on the table when you go through -- when you see the difficulty coming out of this economic crisis we're in and the fragility of it."

    He spoke just before a survey showed the second-largest two-week rise in gasoline pump prices ever. The national average for a gallon of self-serve, regular gas was $3.50 on March 4, according to the influential Lundberg Survey of about 2,500 gas stations, up 32.7 cents from the February 18. Congress has pressured the Obama administration to look to the emergency oil supplies as an option to ease consumers' fears over rising U.S. gasoline prices, which are nearing the all-time high of $4.1124 per gallon hit on July 11, 2008, according to the Lundberg Survey. Higher oil prices could undermine the fragile U.S. economic recovery and damage President Barack Obama politically as he moves toward a 2012 re-election bid.

     The United States has tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which now holds 727 million barrels, only a handful of times since it was created in the mid-1970s after the Arab oil embargo. It was last used in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina. U.S. federal law allows the government to tap the reserve during a national energy supply shortage that raises petroleum prices and could damage the economy. The president has the authority to determine such an emergency. While the reserves could help make up for lost supplies, it is unclear how effective they would be in tempering fears that unrest could spread to other, bigger producers including Saudi Arabia, where security forces have detained at least 22 minority Shi'ites following protests last week.

Chile's Piñera dismisses DICTATOR Chávez s mediation in Libya

         SANTIAGO DE CHILE, CHILE--Chilean President Sebastián Piñera rejected on Monday DICTATOR Hugo Chávez's mediation efforts in the Libyan crisis. Piñera considers that those efforts will not be successful. "I believe that mediators in international conflicts have to be chosen by the two parties," Piñera, on an official visit to Spain, told the Spanish television. "I do not think that the mediation proposed by President Hugo Chávez in Libya will bear fruit," he added.  In his opinion, "there is a civil war in Libya."

     Piñera said "The best solution for Libya is that (Muammar) Gaddafi realizes that he has to step down and allow the Libyan people to express themselves freely and choose their government." Chavez, who considers Gaddafi "my friend", has condemned the attacks by Libyan troops opponents, and last week proposed sending to the African nation  "a commission of good will that  will try to help stop the killing in Libya. "

     The Venezuelan dictator said the United States is "exaggerating"about the Libyan crisis because they are "crazy about the Libyan oil. " Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said Gadhafi has authorizedVenezuela to select members of a mediation committee. The foreign ministers of Cuba, Ecuador and Bolivia, and representatives from Nicaragua, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, backed up Chavez proposal on Friday during a meeting of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of the Americas, ALBA, in Caracas.

March 7, 2011

BRITISH SPECIAL FORCES TEAM IS RELEASED BY LIBYAN REBELS

        BENGHAZI, LIBYA--A British special forces team has been released by Libyan rebel forces after they were captured in the city of Benghazi.  The eight-strong group, who were escorting a junior diplomat, left the country bound for Malta on board HMS Cumberland tonight. However, Foreign Secretary William Hague said the government intended to send further diplomatic personnel soon to 'strengthen dialogue' with rebel leaders. 'I can confirm that a small British diplomatic team has been in Benghazi,' Mr Hague said. 'The team went to Libya to initiate contacts with the opposition. They experienced difficulties, which have now been satisfactorily resolved. They have now left Libya.

    'We intend, in consultation with the opposition, to send a further team to strengthen our dialogue in due course. This diplomatic effort is part of the UK's wider work on Libya, including our ongoing humanitarian support. 'We continue to press for Gaddafi to step down and we will work with the international community to support the legitimate ambitions of the Libyan people.'  The episode was an embarrassment for the government, as it was forced to acknowledge the presence of the team, believed to be from the SAS.  It is though the soldiers, who were dressed as civilians, were challenged by a rebel guards as they approached a compound in Benghazi and detained after the Libyan rebels found fake passports and weapons.   

     The elite unit had been escorting the diplomat through rebel-held territory in the east of the country to put him in touch with opposition leaders. But the appearance of SAS soldiers alongside the diplomat 'angered Libyan opposition figures who ordered the soldiers to be locked up in a military base', The Sunday Times reported. Opponents of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi are concerned he could use evidence of Western military interference to strengthen support for his regime. The diplomat and his armed SAS escorts, who were in civilian clothes, were locked up inside a military base in Benghazi. Sources admitted last night there was huge embarrassment in Whitehall that the SAS mission had backfired.

AS CHINA VOWS TO HALT CORRUPTION, INEQUALITY, MASSES REMAIN VEXED

     PEKIN, CHINA--As his government continued to wage a crackdown on calls for protest rallies, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday pledged to rein in corruption, economic inequality and a host of other problems at the root of widespread frustrations in China. Speaking at the opening of the National People's Congress, a largely ceremonial political body, Wen acknowledged that Chinese leaders "have not yet fundamentally solved a number of issues that the masses feel strongly about."

     While the online announcements of gatherings across China have so far resulted in little or no turnout, they've clearly angered an authoritarian regime that subsequently hauled away dozens of activists, summoned foreign journalists for videotaped conversations and, on the days designated for protests, deployed overwhelming numbers of police.  An editorial in Saturday's edition of the Beijing Daily, a state newspaper, punctuated the government's concerns about people "with ulterior motives" trying to "incite unrest." Wen pointed to the nation's forthcoming five-year plan, a comprehensive growth strategy, as being crucial for both sustaining economic growth and offering a way forward for tangled matters ranging from rule of law to inflation.

     But just a short ride from the Great Hall of the People where Wen spoke, there was evidence to suggest that many of the issues the prime minister said "cause great resentment among the masses" are ongoing and deeply ingrained. At the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, people were standing in line on the sidewalk outside, holding stacks of documents they wanted to submit to the government's petitions office. One group, who'd traveled from the surrounding province of Hebei, began describing the difficulties they'd had with corrupt officials. "The government took our land away," said Wu Quanxiang, 68, who said he'd had no luck with either his local government or Beijing's in getting his farm back. As more petitioners began to tell their stories, a young man in a black jacket walked up and yelled for them to stop talking. Accompanied by three other men, he snatched people by the arms and pushed them away. A policeman came over and after checking a McClatchy reporter's credentials said it was OK for the interviews to continue.

RADICAL VENEZUELAN PRO-CHAVEZ GANG LEADER LINA RON DIES

         CARACAS, VENEZUELA--Lina Ron, a vocal supporter of DICTATOR Hugo Chavez who led radical street groups, died of a heart attack Saturday, Venezuela's government said. She was 51. Chavez praised her as "true soldier of the people." In a Twitter post, Chavez said: "A Complete Revolutionary. Let's follow her example!" Information Minister Andres Izarra confirmed Ron's death, saying she had no vital signs when she arrived at a Caracas hospital. "Honor and glory to Lina Ron," Izarra said on Twitter. Ron led groups of Chavez supporters that were involved in attacks on opposition protests, and she repeatedly said she would take up arms if necessary to defend Chavez and his socialist movement.

    With platinum-blond hair and a tough-talking nature, Ron soon became a household name in Venezuela within the first few years after Chavez took office in 1999. She founded the small political party Venezuelan Popular Union and was for years a prominent voice in the radical wing of Chavez's movement. Ron's supporters mourned her death in a Caracas plaza on Saturday, some holding the flags of her political party. Chavez once said Ron was "a good woman, but she tends toward anarchy."

    The dictator publicly opposed some of her tactics. She faced various charges related to her involvement in disturbances. In 2009, a court upheld criminal charges against Ron including assault and illegal use of a firearm for her role in an attack in which her group hurled tear gas canisters at the studios of the television station Globovision. She also led a group that stormed and temporarily occupied the offices of the Vatican's representative in Caracas in 2008. In an earlier protest that drew widespread criticism, she burned a U.S. flag shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attack. In a 2002 interview with The Associated Press, Ron described herself as a "social fighter." "I'm the ugly part of the process, the one who gets the disagreeable part - confronting" Chavez's enemies, Ron said. Some government opponents have said Ron was useful for Chavez in that she and her allies would regularly intimidate members of the opposition while government officials publicly distanced themselves from her.

DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETAS
 

March 6, 2011

oas secretary general insulza predicts a 2012 full of tension in venezuela

        new york city, new york-- Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza said Friday in New York that 2012 will be filled with tension in Venezuela due to the scheduled presidential election, which could endanger democracy.

    "Venezuela is going through a very serious crisis and the situation will likely worsen next year due to the political tension around the ballots," Insulza said during a speech at the 8th annual conference of the Latin American and Hispanic Business Association at Columbia University in New York.  The OAS Secretary-General delivered a speech focused on democracy and integration in Latin America. There, he expressed concern about the status of affairs in Venezuela, where, in his opinion, the strained situation ahead of the presidential election in 2012 is "already more apparent" than in Peru, where voting is scheduled for April.

     "I put Venezuela among the countries in the region about which we should be most concerned," OAS Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza said. He thinks that the ballots will make the opposition and dictator Hugo Chávez "go for the full monty." This, he feared, "is a risk for democracy."

LIBYAN REBELS ADVANCE ON GADHAFI'S HOMETOWN, REPEL ASSAULTS BY DICTATOR

     SIRTE, LIBYA--A ragtag rebel force in pickup trucks and commandeered tanks advanced Saturday from eastern Libya on Moammar Gadhafi's heavily defended hometown of Sirte as their counterparts in the western city of Zawiya repulsed fresh assaults by the dictator's forces, witnesses and news reports said. "We have decided to die or finish the regime of Gadhafi," Ahmed, a fighter in Zawiya, declared by telephone after hours of fierce combat. "This is a catastrophe. This is a real war." In the eastern city of Benghazi, the rebels' leadership council sought to begin instilling some coordination and discipline on the largely leaderless uprising, naming a three-member crisis committee to oversee military and foreign affairs. It also called on the United States to impose a no-fly zone on the North African country to keep Gadhafi's air force on the ground, a move the Obama administration is considering.

    Meanwhile, two U.S. Air Force C-130 transport planes flew from the Tunisian town of Djerba to Cairo 132 Egyptians who fled Libya's burgeoning civil war, according to State Department spokesman P.J Crowley. The flights were the first staged since President Barack Obama on Thursday directed U.S. humanitarian flights to help repatriate tens of thousands of foreign workers who have been stuck for days at the Egyptian and Tunisian borders with little food and water, poor hygienic conditions, and no way home. Thousands of people are believed to have been killed and wounded in the upheaval that erupted when Gadhafi unleashed brutal crackdowns on protests against his 42-year rule that were triggered more than two weeks ago by the largely peaceful pro-democracy uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

    The vicious onslaughts against the protesters have triggered U.N. sanctions against the regime and an investigation by International Criminal Court of war crimes of Gadhafi, several of his sons and top aides. A rebel force of civilians and military defectors armed with a hodge-podge of weapons, from tanks and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and heavy machine guns mounted on pickup trucks, was moving along the main coastal highway of eastern Libya toward Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown, witnesses said. "The youth keep going west (toward Sirte). More are going every day," said Osama Orafee, a fighter stationed outside of Ajdabiya, about 95 miles south of Benghazi, along the main highway skirting the Gulf of Sidra. The advance came after thousands of men, pouring in from across rebel-controlled eastern Libya, on Saturday captured Ras Lanouf, the country's largest oil exporting terminal, about 70 miles down the highway from Ajdabiya, and only 90 miles from Sirte.

CHINA MUZZLES MEDIA TO PREVENT MIDEAST-STYLE PROTESTS

         PEKIN, CHINA--The CHINESE government has threatened to revoke visas and expel foreign journalists who report from certain busy areas of the country without prior approval.  Last Sunday, about 16 foreign journalists were detained and harassed by security forces in the Beijing shopping district of Wangfujing. The journalists were there to document a small gathering of people who responded to Internet calls for public gatherings to support the "Jasmine Revolution" in the Middle East and to call for reform in China. One American journalist was beaten so badly he was hospitalized. Freedom of expression in China is already severely curtailed. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and many foreign broadcasters, like the Voice of America, are blocked, as are many foreign news Web sites.  But since the protests in the Middle East and North Africa shook long-entrenched governments there, China has stepped up efforts to prevent similar protests.

    Gilles Lordet, research coordinator for Asia at Reporters without Borders in Paris, says China has increased its control over the media and government critics since human rights activist Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October. "It shows the nervousity [nervousness] of the government about demonstrations, about the possibility of that the demonstrations in the Middle East can have an impact on [a] network of human rights defenders, journalists and defenders of freedom of expression in China," Lordet said. "We see that it is a policy that’s more and more strict since the attribution of the Nobel Prize to Liu Xiaobo in October. The situation of the Middle East increased the nervosity of the government on this subject." China’s communist party has ruled the country since 1949. The last mass anti-government protest in Beijing ended in bloodshed in 1989, when government forces fired at hundreds of students in Tiananmen Square.

    In 2008, unrest in Tibet was put down by the military, and in 2009, the government again suppressed riots in the Xinjiang autonomous region. The organization Chinese Human Rights Defenders warned Thursday of a “new wave of frenzied repression in China. The group says many activists across China have been arrested or placed under house arrest for endangering state security and subversion related to calls for a Jasmine Revolution. "I think we are seeing one of the harshest crackdowns in the last, probably, five years because if you look at how many people are under soft detention, there’s over a hundred," said Wang Songlian, a research coordinator for the group. "That number is more or less the same as the period during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. But I think the difference here is that how quickly the government mobilized the police to put these activists under soft detention."

March 5, 2011

VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER: GADHAFI GAVE CHAVEZ THE GREEN LIGHT FOR PEACE MISSION 

        CARACAS, VENEZUELA-- The foreign ministers of the member countries of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) met in Caracas on Friday to discuss the proposal made by Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chávez to set up a peacekeeping commission to mediate in the Libyan conflict. The meeting took  place at Casa Amarilla or Yellow House, the headquarters of Venezuela's Foreign Ministry. So far, member countries of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), such as Ecuador and Nicaragua have agreed to reject an eventual military raid on Libya. Venezuela expressed this position in the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council.

    Dictator Chávez has promoted a political mediation plan, which was accepted by the Libyan strongman Muammar Al Gadhafi. The news were given through a letter from Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa read out by his Venezuelan counterpart during the  meeting of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA)

     The Libyan government has authorized Venezuela to take the "necessary" actions to create an international commission in order to mediate in the conflict in the Arab country, as suggested by Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez. "We authorize you to take all necessary measures to choose the members and coordinate their participation in the talks," Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro read over the letter just received from Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Kussa.

LIBYAN REBELS INSIST THEY WON'T NEGOTIATE WITH GADHAFI

     BENGHAZI, LIBYA--Rebels in eastern Libya have said they will not negotiate unless Col Muammar GadHafi quits and goes into exile. The National Libyan Council in the city of Benghazi also called for foreign intervention to stop government air raids against the rebels. The Council said there was no room for talks, following reports that Col Gadhafi had ordered an intelligence chief to negotiate with the rebels. The council is led by former Libyan Interior Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who defected last month. “If there is any negotiation it will be on one single thing – how Gadhafi is going to leave the country or step down so we can save lives. There is nothing else to negotiate,” Ahmed Jabreel, a spokesman for Mr Abdel-Jalil, told Reuters news agency.

    The BBC’s Kevin Connolly in Benghazi says it appears that neither side has the capacity to move large amounts of manpower or firepower over vast expanses of desert. He says that raises the grim prospect of a military stalemate and a political vacuum after the revolt that began in the east of the country in mid-February. Meaningful talks would be difficult, says the  correspondent, because Col Gaddafi’s only aim is to remain in power and the rebels’ goal is to end his 41 years of rule.  At the beleaguered ruler's stronghold in the capital Tripoli, some residents have called for new protests to be held on Friday after weekly Muslim prayers. Protests last weekend after Friday prayers in several districts of the city were fired on by Gaddafi supporters, witnesses of the shootings have said. This is the front line in a strange, desultory war. A checkpoint has been set up in the desert seven miles (11km) beyond the little town of Agayla and manned by no more than a couple of dozen lightly armed rebel soldiers.

    The line of command is very vague and the colonel  in charge there was mostly concerned with rescuing two prisoners, supposedly mercenaries, from being lynched by his own men. Col Gadhafi's security forces have reportedly carried out a wave of arrests, killings and disappearances in the city in recent days in order to quell the opposition. Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama repeatedly called on Col Gaddafi to quit during a White House news conference on Thursday. "Going forward, we will continue to send a clear message: the violence must stop," he said. "Muammar Gadhafi has lost legitimacy to lead and he must leave." The president also announced he has authorised the use of US military aircraft to help repatriate tens of thousands of migrant workers.

INTERPOL ISSUES INTERNATIONAL ALERT FOR GADHAFI and 15 FAMILY MEMBERS AND CLOSE ASSOCIATES

         PARIS, FRANCE--Interpol has issued an international alert for Moammar Gadhafi and 15 other family members and close associates to help enforce international sanctions against the Libyan strongman and his regime.

     The international police organization said Friday that Gadhafi, his relatives and allies "have been identified as being involved in or complicit in planning attacks, including aerial bombardments, on civilian populations." Interpol issues the orange notice when an act or event poses a risk to public safety. The alert is sent to Interpol's 188 members around the world, give law enforcement and border police information on the targeted individuals that can be used to block their movements and freeze their assets.

     The U.N. Security Council has imposed a global asset freeze on Gadhafi, his four sons and one daughter, and established a travel ban on the whole family along with 10 other close associates. The council also backed an arms embargo and referred the Libyan government's bloody attacks on protesters to a war crimes tribunal for investigation into possible crimes against humanity. Part of an upheaval across the Arab world, the Libyan uprising has pitted anti-government protesters against Gadhafi, who has ruled Libya with an iron fist for four decades. Gadhafi has unleashed a violent crackdown against those seeking his ouster, drawing international condemnation.

March 4, 2011

VENEZUELA SAYS DICTATOR GADHAFI ACCEPTED DICTATOR CHAVEZ'S MEDIATION PROPOSAL

        CARACAS, VENEZUELA-- BOTH LIBYAN LEADER MUAMMAR GADDAFI AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE ARAB LEAGUE HAS AGREED TO A PEACE PLAN FROM VENEZUELA'S DICTATOR HUGO CHAVEZ to end the crisis in the North African country, a news network said on Thursday. Chavez spoke to Gaddafi on Tuesday and laid out his proposal to seek a negotiated solution to the violence in Libya, Venezuela's Information Minister Andres Izarra said, without giving more details.

    A senior government official contacted by the international media said he did not know what Gaddafi had said about Chavez's idea to send representatives from several countries to Libya. However, news network Al Jazeera said in a broadcast that during the call Gaddafi had accepted the plan, which would involve a commission from Latin America, Europe and the Middle East trying to reach a negotiated outcome between the Libyan leader and rebel forces. Citing senior government sources, Al Jazeera's Caracas Correspondent Dima Khatib said via her Twitter feed that Venezuela's foreign minister had spoken with Arab League President Amr Moussa who also agreed to the plan. Earlier in the day Moussa took a tough line on Libya, saying the Arab League could impose a "no fly zone" there to stop blood being spilled.

    Chavez says the international community should seek a non-military solution to the conflict and accuses the United States of exaggerating Libya's problems to justify an invasion.  A former soldier who survived massive protests and a coup against him in 2002, Chavez is a close friend of Gaddafi and has visited him several times.  On Thursday, Libyan rebels repulsed a land and air offensive by Gaddafi's forces as the defiant leader warned foreign powers of "another Vietnam" if they intervened in his country's popular uprising. Rebels in their eastern bastion of Benghazi called for U.N.-backed air strikes to halt attacks by African mercenaries they say Gaddafi is using against his own people.

GADHAFI'S SON REJECTS DICTATOR CHAVEZ'S MEDIATION PROPOSAL

     TRIPOLI, LIBYA--GADHAFI'S SON, Saif al-Islam, highlighted Libya s friendship with the Venezuelan people, but they are far from here and have no idea of what happens in Libya. Saif al-Islam rejected on Thursday a plan by Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez to send an international commission to mediate and help resolve the conflict in Libya.  In an interview with British news network Sky News, Colonel Gaddafi's son said that he was not aware of the Venezuelan proposal, but he bluntly rejected a possible international mediation.

    Venezuelans, he said, "are our friends, we respect them and we like them, but they are far from here and have no idea" of what happens in Libya. "It is a nice gesture, but we can solve our problems. There is no need for foreign intervention," he said.  Saif al-Islam's statements contradict claims by Venezuelan government officials who said that Muammar Gaddafi and the Arab League are pondering the proposal submitted by the Venezuelan president.  "Libya is in the Middle East and in the North of Africa, and Venezuela is in Latin America. Thank you, we really appreciate it. They are our friends. It's a nice gesture, but we can solve our problems by ourselves. There is no need for foreign intervention " He repeated.

     Said Islam Gaddafi statements contradicts claims of the Government of Caracas that said today that the Libyan leader and the Arab League were studying the proposal made by Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez, to create an international commission of countries to find a solution to the conflict. Venezuelan Communication Minister,  Andres Izarra, said both the Libyan Government and a multinational mechanism "are studying the proposal, as reaffirmed  by (Amro) Musa, secretary general of the Arab League.

LIBYA'S REBEL LEADERS ALSOREJECT DICTATOR CHAVEZ MEDIATION OFFER

         BENGHAZI, LIBYA--Libya's rebel leaders have ruled out any attempt by Hugo Chávez to broker a truce between them and Muammar Gaddafi, whom they insist must leave the country. "No one has told us a thing about it and we are not interested anyway," said the spokesman of the national committee in Benghazi, Abdul Hafif Goga. "We will never negotiate with him." The rebel leadership said the international community had yet to inform them of any initiative from the Venezuelan dictator, who reportedly contacted the embattled Libyan leader earlier this week in a bid to enter the fortnight-long violent standoff.

    "Talk of peace is far too late," said a second member of the organising committee, Salwa Bogheiga. "A lot of people have died and there is no one to negotiate with. They lost that right when they started killing people on 17 February." The nascent rebel committee in Benghazi and the military leadership that jointly run the eastern side of the country insist that they are now too committed to consider any sort of ceasefire. They say that Gaddafi would use it to re-organise his loyalist troops for a major assault on rebel-held cities. Details of what Chávez proposed to Gaddafi are scant. The Arab League has also been told of the Venezuelan leader's offer but is similarly in the dark about what it entails.

     The information minister, Andres Izarra, said the Arab League had shown interest in Chavez's proposal to send an international commission to talk with both sides in Libya. Reports that Chavez's proposal was being taken seriously by Arab leaders has pushed down oil prices. In Benghazi, Khalid Alsahly, a lawyer who is acting as liaison officer between the military and civilian councils, said: "The starting point of our revolution is peaceful resistance, and we were peaceful until Gaddafi's people started using guns and fire on us. "Now we are training and, yes, we will march to Tripoli if necessary. We have a very great number of young men who are being trained, and we have the resolve. "They are full of desire to change the Gaddafi regime and we will march on Tripoli because we have the will to fight, and his people do not. We will move when we are ready."

U.S. RULES OUT DICTATOR CHAVEZ MEDIATION IN LIBYAN CRISIS

         WASHINGTON, D.C.--The State Department spokesman Philip Crowley insisted in a change in Libya and urge dictator Gadhafi  to leave office after three weeks of an uprising that the Libyan leader has tried unsuccessfully to suppress with his security and mercenary forces.

       "You don't need an international commission to tell Colonel Gadhafi what he needs to do for the good of his country and the good of his people," Crowley told reporters in Washington. "He should step aside, and for the good of his people, he should stop attacking them.” Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, an ally of Qaddafi, proposed the creation of an international peacekeeping mission, with friendly nations, to try to mediate in the escalating violence in Libya and avoid a civil war. The international press reported that the Arab League is  "studying" the proposal.

    Crowley said any effort to resolve the Libya crisis peacefully deserves consideration. But if Gadhafi isn't "responding to the many calls across the international community to step down, it is uncertain to me what an international commission is going to accomplish," he said.

FRANCE REJECTS DICTATOR CHAVEZ OFFER OF LIBYA TALKS

         PARIS, FRANCE--France and Britain on Thursday rejected a proposal from Venezuelan DICTATOR Hugo Chavez to mediate talks toward a resolution of the crisis in Libya. Chavez, an ally to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, proposed to create an international peace mission to mediate the unrest and avoid civil war, a Venezuelan minister said.

     French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe rejected Chavez's offer as insufficient, as it meant Kadhafi would remain in power. "Any mediation that allows Kadhafi to succeed himself is obviously not welcome," Juppe said. Juppe held talks with his British counterpart William Hague, who echoed the French minister's sentiments. "I continue to hold the view that the speediest way to bring about an end to the bloodshed is for Colonel Kadhafi to leave." Hague also said that France and Britain want to put forward "bold and ambitious measures" to in an emergency European Union summit on the Libyan crisis to be held next week. Juppe stressed, however, that Arab and African governments should get involved in finding an outcome to the crisis. "In any case it could not be only the participation of some Western countries," the French minister told journalists in Paris. "We absolutely need the participation of some regional governments."

     Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa told the AFP news agency they too were studying Chavez's proposal, but declined to give details on the regional forum's response. Chavez and Kadhafi routinely make public condemnations of US imperialism. Chavez wrote on his Twitter account last week, "Give another lesson to the ultra right-wing yankees! Long live a free Libya! Kadhafi is facing a civil war!" Their ties are so close that earlier reports, which subsequently proven false, claimed Kadhafi had fled to Caracas. . Ties between the two rulers are so close that Gaddafi was rumoured at one point to have fled to Caracas, claims later denied.

March 3, 2011

SECRETary gates: no-fly zone for libya would require attackS to cripple its air defenses

        WASHINGTON, D.C.--Setting up a "no-fly" zone over Libya would require an attack to cripple its air defenses, the defense secretary said on Wednesday, as the United States intensified pressure on Muammar Gaddafi to step down.  "Let's just call a spade a spade. A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses ... and then you can fly planes around the country and not worry about our guys being shot down," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a congressional hearing.

     The United States is moving several amphibious assault ships and at least one aircraft carrier could also be traveling to the Mediterranean as the United States and other nations seek to force a defiant Gaddafi to end his 41-year rule in the face of an uprising by fragmented groups of rebels. Western nations have also been considering a no-fly zone. While the Obama administration says all options are on the table, Washington may be reluctant to initiate military action as it grapples with the financial and human costs of two long, bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates said a no-fly zone for Libya "also requires more airplanes than you can find on a single aircraft carrier, so it is a big operation in a big country."

      "If it is ordered, we can do the job," clarified the secretary of Defense in relation to the no-fly zone. But he wanted to make clear the need to think carefully, both the  technical and political difficulties.  Some Arab and European countries are not in favor of an action that can be seen as a foreign intervention in Libya. United States does not want to act unilaterally, and it has expressed its desire to obtain a resolution of the Unite Nations Security Council and a clear willingness from the international community to carry out the mission.

SECRETARY CLINTON: US WILL ACT IF VENEZUELA VIOLATES SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--The US government will take action if Venezuela violates international sanctions meted out to Iran, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cautioned on Tuesday.

    "If there is any evidence that they have violated the sanctions, we will act against them," Clinton said during the parliamentary questioning.  In any event, the US Secretary of State said that so far there is no evidence that the government of Venezuelan President (dictator) Hugo Chávez has been in breach of the sanctions against Iran due to its nuclear program. According to western superpowers, the aim is an atomic bomb.

    Washington has voiced concern since last October, when President Chávez met with his Iranian counterpart Mahmud Ahmadinejad. They have entered into multiple memoranda of agreement for bilateral cooperation in the energy field.  "Presently our information is that their relation is mainly diplomatic and commercial and has not moved in the direction pointed out by them," Clinton said.

venezuela asks the united nations TO PREVENT A MILITARY INVASION OF LIBYA

         united nations, new york--Venezuelan Ambassador Jorge Valero on Tuesday asked the United Nations "to stop invasion plans against Libya," and rejected as "hasty" a decision to suspend the North African country from the UN Human Rights Council due to Muammar al-Gaddafi's crackdown on popular protests.

    "The free Libyan people should be able to define their own destiny without foreign interference. They are the leading actors in this story, and no foreign force is authorized to intervene in the internal affairs of the Libyan nation," said Valero.  "Venezuela calls upon countries to reject the warlike mobilization of United States naval and air forces in the Mediterranean Sea. Those who promote the use of military force against Libya do not seek to defend human rights, but to establish a protectorate to violate such rights, as they have always done, in one of the most important oil and energy sources in the Middle East region," he added.

    He noted that Venezuela proposed a plan to establish a Peacebuilding Commission to restore stability in Libya  "President Hugo Chávez Frías proposed yesterday (Monday) to establish an international goodwill commission to seek peace in Libya. It is necessary to promote dialogue immediately between the government of Muammar al-Gaddafi and the opposition, in order to achieve understanding and reconciliation of the Libyan people," he added.

March 2, 2011

pentagon readies a no-fly zone OVER libya

        WASHINGTON, D.C.--In a five-way meeting, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the foreign ministers of France, the U.K. and Italy discussed setting up a UN-controlled zone for humanitarian assistance in Libya and a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace. "A no-fly zone is an option we are actively considering. I discussed it today with allies and partners," Mrs. Clinton said. Italy's Franco Frattini said a no-fly zone would require another UN mandate, while British foreign minister William Hague said it would need "very strong international support." British Prime Minister David Cameron said his government is looking at any way to step up pressure on Libya's regime, and would not rule out the use of "military assets" in confronting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Mr. Cameron told Parliament that he has asked the Ministry of Defence to work with "our allies" on plans for a military no-fly zone.  "We do not in any way rule out the use of military assets," Mr. Cameron said.

    Mrs. Clinton said financial measures should be addressed at Col. Gaddafi and the government but not stop ordinary Libyans from meeting their needs. She said priorities for the U.S. were to avert a humanitarian disaster, to deal with people fleeing the country and to make sure adequate food and medicines were available inside the country.  Mrs. Clinton said the U.S. is pledging $10 million from aid funds to help refugees, and is sending two specialist emergency teams to the Libyan borders to help those fleeing the country. Asked about whether Washington would back Col. Gadhafi seeking refuge in another country, she said that "might be a good step." But it wouldn't lift demands for him to be held accountable for his actions, she said.

    Mrs. Clinton joined other ministers praising the Arab League for suspending Libya's membership. The UN General Assembly will decide Tuesday on whether to take the symbolic step of suspending Libya from the UN Human Rights Council. British foreign secretary William Hague said the U.K. is "very sympathetic" to a 60-day payments ban, but would need to examine whether it could be implemented. Britain imposed an asset freeze on Col. Gaddafi and five children Monday, while European Union ministers formally passed measures to implement an arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze. Mr. Hague said the European Union was preparing measures to extend a travel ban to more individuals and to add 20 people in the Libya government to the asset freeze. European governments will bear the greatest burden in imposing financial sanctions on Libya. Germany, France and Italy are the biggest oil importers from the country, while the Libyan governments and members of the Gadhafi have significant holdings of assets in the country.

RUSSIA'S TOP DIPLOMAT RULED OUT THE IDEA OF CREATING A NO-FLY ZONE OVER LIBYA

     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK--Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the idea of imposing limits on Libyan air space as "superfluous" and said world powers must instead focus on fully using the sanctions that the U.N. Security Council approved over the weekend. Leaders in the U.S., Europe and Australia suggested the military tactic — used successfully for years in northern Iraq — to prevent Qaddafi from bombing his own people. Russia's consent is required as a veto-wielding member of the Security Council. The council's sanctions include an arms embargo on Qaddafi, four of his sons and a daughter and leaders of revolutionary committees accused of much of the violence against opponents. It urged 192 member nations to freeze Libyan assets and authorized an investigation into Qaddafi's regime for possible crimes against humanity.

    The Europe Union added its own sanctions Monday to force the dictator to stop attacks on civilians and step down after 42 years of iron-fisted rule. It issued travel bans and an asset freeze against senior Libyan officials, and ordered an arms embargo on the country. Germany went further, proposing a 60-day economic embargo to prevent Qaddafi from using oil and other revenues to repress his people. The EU action is significant because Europe has much more leverage over Libya than the United States; 85 percent of Libyan oil goes to Europe, and Qaddafi and his family are thought to have significant assets in Britain, Switzerland and Italy. Switzerland and Britain already have frozen Libyan assets.

      U.N. council members did not consider imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, and no U.N.-sanctioned military action was planned. NATO says any intervention in Libya would have to be U.N.-authorized. The U.N. and other groups hope diplomats can gain quickly unlock western parts of Libya that are now off-limits to humanitarian workers. "We still do not have access," said International Committee of the Red Cross spokeswoman Anna Nelson. "It is high time that the people's humanitarian needs are met." Nelson said Tuesday her organization had "credible" reports of some patients being executed in hospitals in Libya. The U.S. moved naval and air forces closer to Libya on Monday and said all options were open — including patrolling the North African nation's skies to protect its citizens from their ruler. France said it would fly aid to the opposition-controlled eastern half of the country.

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR WAR CRIMES INQUIRY IN LIBYa

         united nations, new york--The united nations security Council voted unanimously on Saturday night to impose sanctions on Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and his inner circle of advisers, and called for an international war crimes investigation into “widespread and systemic attacks” against Libyan citizens who have protested against the government over the last two weeks.  Ibrahim O. Dabbashi, right, Libya’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, spoke after voting on the U.N. Security Council on Saturday. The vote, only the second time the Security Council has referred a member state to the International Criminal Court, comes after a week of bloody crackdowns in Libya in which Colonel Qaddafi’s security forces have fired on protesters, killing hundreds.  The Court, meanwhile, said it had begun to gather information about civilian deaths in the Libyan uprising with a view to opening a formal investigation into possible crimes against humanity by the Libyan leadership.

     Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said the court would decide within days whether to open an investigation, saying that "there will be no impunity for leaders involved in commission of crimes." Saturday's unanimous UN resolution referred the case to the court. The Security Council resolution also imposes an arms embargo against Libya and an international travel ban on 16 Libyan leaders, and freezes the assets of Colonel Qaddafi and members of his family, including four sons and a daughter. Also included in the sanctions were measures against defense and intelligence officials who are believed to have played a role in the violence against civilians in Libya.  The resolution also prohibited all United Nations member nations from providing any kind of arms to Libya or allowing the transportation of mercenaries, who are believed to have played a part in the recent violence. Suspected shipments of arms should be halted and inspected, the resolution said.

      While the sanctions are likely to take weeks to have an effect, they reflected widespread condemnation of Colonel Qaddafi’s tactics, by far the most brutal crackdown in the region since antigovernment demonstrations began.  Susan E. Rice, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, called the resolution “a clear warning to the Libyan government that it must stop the killing.”  The United States on Friday imposed unilateral sanctions against Libya. It also froze billions of dollars of Libyan government assets and announced that it would do the same with the assets of high-ranking Libyan officials who took part in the violent crackdown.  At the United Nations, Security Council members initially disagreed during deliberations Saturday whether to approve the resolution, circulated by France, Germany, Britain and the United States, that would refer Colonel Qaddafi and his top aides to the International Criminal Court for prosecution, according to a senior United States official who observed the negotiations.

EL COMBITO DEL ALBA
 

March 01, 2011

US DISPATCHES AIRCRAFT CARRIER TO WATERS NEAR LIBYA

        WASHINGTON, D.C.--The United States is moving naval and air forces, including an aircraft carrier, into the Mediterranean Sea near Libya, U.S. officials said Monday, as the Obama administration and its allies consider how to respond to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's brutal efforts to suppress a widespread rebellion among civilians and army troops. The U.S. decision comes as Gadhafi appeared to be making a concerted effort to retake control of Zawiya, a town about 30 miles west of Tripoli that has been in rebel hands since last week. Two people reached separately by phone said heavy fighting had broken out in the early evening Monday as militias loyal to Gadhafi attacked from both the east and the west. U.S. officials said no decision had been made on how the U.S. forces would be used, but that one option under consideration is the imposition of a no-fly zone designed to prevent Gadhafi from using aircraft as he fought the rebels.

    "We have planners working and various contingency plans, and I think it's safe to say as part of that we're repositioning forces to be able to provide for that flexibility once decisions are made," Marine Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. Another official, who requested anonymity to discuss the issue, said the pre-positioning of military assets "doesn't mean to suggest that there will be military intervention." At the same time, he said, consideration of imposing a no-fly zone "has picked up a little speed." Gadhafi opponents in Libya's second-largest city, Benghazi, have said they oppose foreign military intervention, a message they reiterated in comments on Twitter after the Pentagon moves became public. A no-fly zone would seek to prevent Gadhafi from using aircraft to attack protesters, move equipment and personnel, or ferry in foreign mercenaries who have been killing Gadhafi's opponents.

     The White House, which has called on Gadhafi to leave power, said Monday that "exile is certainly one option" for the Libyan dictator. It was not immediately clear which countries would be willing to take Gadhafi in or whether the United States had made efforts to arrange asylum. Gadhafi and his family have publicly declared they would not leave Libya. White House press secretary Jay Carney said implementing a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace is "an option we are actively considering." Carney spoke as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton conferred with colleagues in Geneva, Switzerland. President Barack Obama and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice were to meet Monday afternoon in Washington with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The administration officials could not say which U.S. aircraft carrier will be dispatched as part of the international response, as there currently are none in the Mediterranean. Carney declined to describe the level of contact been the U.S. government and Libyan opposition forces. He said it is "premature to make decisions about recognizing one group or the other," but that the administration has "a variety" of channels through which to communicate with opposition forces.

VENEZUELAN DICTATOR HUGO CHAVEZ WOULD OPPOSE ANY MILITARY INTERVENTION IN LIBYA -- HE DOESN'T SAY HOW?

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA--VenezeuEla's top diplomat called for dialogue between allies and adversaries of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.and reiterated that his country would oppose military intervention in the country. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro also said Venezuela would oppose any decision by the U.N Security Council opening the way for military intervention in Libya -- which leading-decision makers within the United Nations have so far ruled out.

    "We hope they know how to find the paths toward national dialogue, that they know how find the paths toward national reconciliation," Maduro said of the opposing camps in Libya. Maduro did not address the U.N. Security Council's unanimous decision Saturday to impose an arms embargo on Libya as part of an effort to halt Gadhafi's deadly crackdown on protesters.

    Council members also agreed to refer the crackdown to a permanent war crimes tribunal for an investigation of possible crimes against humanity. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has neither condemned nor defended efforts to quell the popular rebellion against his rule, but he threw his support behind Gadhafi on Saturday. "We support Libya's independence, its government," Chavez said in a televised speech. "We want peace for Libya."

SOUTH KOREA, US. BRUSH OFF NORTH THREAT, BEGIN BIG MILITARY EXERCISES

         SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA--South Korean and U.S. forces began on Monday military exercises that they say are defensive but which have raised tension and led to North Korean threats to use nuclear weapons and turn Seoul into a "sea of flames." The North's threats were similar to rhetoric unleashed last year when tension peaked on the Korean peninsula after two attacks by the North killed sailors and civilians in the South and drove its conservative government to pledge retaliation. The friction dampened market sentiment in Monday trading, with stocks closing down although defense-related issues outperformed the index. The won currency was briefly hit, although it regained ground on demand from domestic exporters. Bond investors shrugged off the tension. South Korea brushed off the North's threat saying the drills were defensive and would be going ahead in full to test the readiness of its troops and their U.S. allies against any attack from the North.

      "These are annual drills, and we don't call them off because the North is unhappy about them," a South Korean government official said. The U.S. military also said in a statement that the drills were defense-oriented and "designed to enhance readiness, defend the Republic of Korea and respond to any potential situation," adding they were "planned months in advance and they are not connected to any current world events." North Korea has twice set off nuclear devices but experts do not believe it has mastered the technology of miniaturizing a nuclear warhead to mount it on a delivery weapon such as a missile. The renewed tension coincided with a campaign by the South's military to demoralize the North's hungry troops and residents by dropping leaflets telling of protests in Egypt and Libya against leaders there.  The South has also been dropping small baskets of food and medicine from balloons. While the campaign is aimed at encouraging North Korean residents to think about change, it is not seen as enough to trigger the kind of uprisings seen in the Middle East, analysts and officials in Seoul said.

     But the campaign could alarm the North's leadership as it steps up a succession process with preparations for leader Kim Jong-il's youngest son, still in his 20s and with little to show in terms of accomplishments, due to take over from his father. "The leaflets do seem to be having a tremendous impact on the North's leadership," a senior South Korean official said. "The Middle East situation seems to have little impact on the North's residents." The South Korean and U.S. drills, which run through March 10 and involve 2,300 U.S. troops joining hundreds of thousands of South Koreans, focus on crisis management and command and control. The United States has about 30,000 troops in South Korea to help defend against the North. The 1950-53 Korean War was ended with a truce, not a full treaty. On Monday, the North's official Rodong Sinmun said the South was driving the peninsula closer to a nuclear war by joining forces with foreign troops.

EL CABALLO DE TRALLA
 
 Your Job is to infiltrate and soften them, we'll take care of the rest.