Clipmarks | United nations Clips

Weapon trade without all Africa?

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:30:04 GMT

clipped by: Kreuzberg-Jakob
clipper's remarks: at first look everybody see, that this never is the truth - on the side of recipients. Who arms whole Africa? Chile and other at the boarders of Bolivia and Venezuela? The axis of willing?

Clip Source: www.infoplease.com

Arms Sales to Developing Nations

In 2006, leading manufacturers in the highly competitive global arms market sought higher profits and expanded political influence in weapons sales to developing nations. Despite a 13% drop in worldwide weapons sales from 2005 to 2006, the combined sales of the United States, Russia, and Britain increased. The United States maintained its position as top arms dealer to developing nations in 2006 with $10.3 billion in weapons sales.

Top Suppliers

Percentage

United States

36%

Russia

Britain

Germany

China

Top Recipients

Value of Agreements in Billions

Pakistan

$5.1

India

3.5

Saudia Arabia

3.2

Venezuela

3.1

Algeria

2.1

Israel

2.1

Brazil

1.1

Source: Congressional Research Service, Sept., 2007

Tags: arms, world-trade, weapons, world

"Its a horrible thing to say..."

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:04:41 GMT

clipped by: yamdablam
clipper's remarks: Eye opening speech from our better.
I an astonished to hear our fearless leader boasting that our population is below replacement levels.

This shit makes me sick to my stomach!

Clip Source: www.wiseupjournal.com

“This is a terrible thing to say. In order to stabilize world population, we must eliminate 350,000 people per day. It is a horrible thing to say, but it’s just as bad not to say it.”
- Jacques Cousteau, UNESCO Courier

“Mankind is the most dangerous, destructive, selfish and unethical animal on the earth.”
- Michael Fox, vice-president of The Humane Society

“A reasonable estimate for an industrialized world society at the present North American material standard of living would be 1 billion. At the more frugal European standard of living, 2 to 3 billion would be possible.”
- United Nations, Global Biodiversity Assessment

Tags: un, population, ireland, brian cowen jacques cousteau, unesco

Caucasian Realpolitik

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:38:15 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: The recent Caucasian conflict shows that among the great powers, Realpolitik still trumps principles and morality.

Clip Source: links.org.au

To most Russians, it was obvious from the beginning that the latest war in the Caucasus began with an attack by Georgian forces on South Ossetia, and that ultimately it was unleashed on the initiative of the United States. To the West, meanwhile, it was just as clear from the outset that the August war in the Caucasus represented an assault on small, defenceless and democratic Georgia by huge, aggressive and authoritarian Russia. This is what almost all the world media have asserted, and continue to assert.

In Russia, Putin and Co. are putting into practice an economic and social model that is more market-liberal even than in the US, and even less socially oriented than in the US; in this sense, the Putins and Medvedevs are more than worthy pupils of the Bushes).

such behaviour by the official Russian authorities was almost certainly not the result of a consistently thought-out position of defending justice and the right of nations to self-determination in the world political arena.

Tags: geoargia, south ossetia, russia

Country Codes of the World

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:16:00 GMT

clipped by: akipta

Clip Source: www.historyshots.com

Country Codes of the World maps 245 top-level domain country codes encompassing all United Nations countries as well as numerous islands and territories. (At the end of every URL and email address is a top-level domain. Although .com is the world’s most popular top-level domain, it is far from alone. There are more than 260 top-level domains in use around the world, most of which are country code top-level domains.)

Tags: visualizaton world internet

US Officials: N. Korea Reassembling Nuclear Facility

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:54:20 GMT

clipped by: jatfla
clipper's remarks: Probably just a little test for whoever is the next President.

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

U.S. Officials: North Korea Reassembling Nuclear Facility

North Korea, after halting the disassembly of a key nuclear center, is now putting the facility back together in violation of the United States' conditions for improved diplomatic relations between the countries

The motive isn't clear but sources say North Koreans likely are reassembling nuclear facilities at Yongbyon partly to protest the United States' delay in taking the country off its list of terror-sponsoring nations.

Anyone surprised

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:16:21 GMT

clipped by: sillysam
clipper's remarks: I will admit it took longer than I thought for them to back out of the deal, but once again they show their true colors.

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

U.S. Officials: North Korea Reassembling Nuclear Facility

WASHINGTON — North Korea, after halting the disassembly of a key nuclear center, is now putting the facility back together in violation of the United States' conditions for improved diplomatic relations between the countries, U.S. officials told FOX News on Tuesday.

"They've been threatening this move for some time," one U.S. official told FOX News, adding that until now the threats were seen as merely a way for North Korean officials "to express their anger."

dust explosions

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:54:38 GMT

clipped by: stevenkramer

Clip Source: dustexplosions.blogspot.com

According to media accounts over the last six months since the Imperial Sugar Refinery sugar dust explosion over 80 combustible dust related fires and explosions have occurred in the United States in the nations' manufacturing sector. Many incidents are not reported to the media, so the fires and explosions that are reported are only a small sampling of events in the manufacturing sector.

Diplomatic Breakthru in Georgia: Red-Faced Russian Party Crashers Retreat

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 06:44:30 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: continued.........but nobody thought it was going to turn into a big ugly scene."

Russia's invasion prompted a quick stern response from GOP presidential candidate John McCain, while Democratic candidate Barack Obama urged Russia and Georgia to "work together to iron out their differences," and "chills, y'all." After learning that Georgia was a US ally, Obama clarified the remarks, demanding that Russia withdraw its troops north to Tennessee and West Virginia.

"Everyone was just sort of staring at Russia, who's in the middle of beating the hell out of Georgia, and Russia's like, 'what? Come on man, you have to admit it's funny,'" said a source with UNSCOM. "So Russia's going around, looking for high fives and is like, 'don't leave me hangin', bro,' but the G8 gives him the total gas face, so he's like, 'whatever, dude, this party sucked anyway.'"

Clip Source: iowahawk.typepad.com

"Look, I don't really know what to say - other than, 'hey, our bad,'" said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an awkward, shoe-gazing statement to the United Nations. "Seriously, dude, it just totally wasn't like us to lash out like that. We've been having a couple of bad decades, and I guess we just sort of snapped."

Lavrov and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin left several messages on the voice mail machine of Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili offering apologies and help cleaning up the damage from the weekend invasion. Sources say an angry Saakashvili was in no mood for forgiveness.

Russia's embarrassing geopolitical faux pas began over the weekend, just as the world was celebrating the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

"Russia said South Ossetia invited them, to try out some of their pipeline stash," explained a source with the French Foreign Ministry. "I know Russia used to have something going on with Georgia,

Tags: humor, satire, georgia, russia, south ossetia, putin, mccain

UN: Georgians Effectively Blocked from Homes

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:04:28 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: On Saturday, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the chamber's foreign relations committee, visited Gori to observe the distribution of U.S. food aid.

Asked whether the United States was considering new military aid, Corker said "these subjects are part of a longer and mid-term discussion" when Congress reconvenes in September.

Russia supplies the EU with about a third of its oil and about two-fifths of its natural gas.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said European nations should adopt a united energy policy to avoid becoming too dependent on Russia.

He said the EU nations should "use our collective bargaining power."

"Without urgent action we risk sleepwalking into an energy dependance on less stable or reliable partners," Brown wrote in The Observer newspaper.

Brown said he spoke with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev by telephone Saturday, and told the Russian leader "to expect a determined European response" to the crisis.

Clip Source: ap.google.com

A woman leads her cow along a ruined street in Tskhinvali, the regional capital of Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008.

The zones are near the border with separatist South Ossetia, the disputed province at the heart of the conflict that has ruined Georgia-Russia ties and caused the biggest crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Fighting broke out Aug. 7 after Georgian forces launched a barrage on the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, hoping to retake control of the province. Russian forces poured in, pushed the Georgians out in a matter of days and then drove deep into Georgia proper.

The United States has sent substantial aid to Georgia in the wake of the war, using naval ships and military aircraft. Russian officials raised speculation that the military involvement could indicate the United States was seeking to restore Georgia's armed forces, which had received massive military aid from Washington in recent years.

Tags: georgia, s.ossetia, putin, pm gordon brown, president medvedev

Right Wing Media Financed by Mellon

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:04:00 GMT

clipped by: klippety
clipper's remarks: These are the people that are being quoted for a free press. What a joke. Check Media Matters for independent news and reporting

Clip Source: mediamatters.org

Cliff Kincaid

Cliff Kincaid is a right-wing writer and activist who has been a longtime critic of the United Nations and other multinational organizations. He is also a writer and editor at Accuracy in Media (AIM), a right-wing media "watchdog" organization. He has received significant support for his work from foundations controlled by right-wing financier Richard Mellon Scaife, who has funded AIM as as well as Kincaid's own organization, America's Survival. America's Survival is dedicated to "educat[ing] the American people and to expos[ing] the influence of global institutions, including an International Criminal Court, on their lives." The organization appears to be run from Kincaid's personal residence.

Timeline of Russian Aggression in Georgia

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:33:26 GMT

clipped by: kulula
clipper's remarks: Key Developments in the Russian Military & Political Escalation Before the Invasion of Georgia

Clip Source: russia-georgia.blogspot.com

Key Developments in the Russian Military & Political Escalation Before the Invasion of Georgia

Moscow has been exerting an increasingly strong hold over the separatist governments; since 2005, Russian military and civilian officials seconded from Moscow effectively have been governing South Ossetia.

In spring 2006, Russian forces illegally build of a forward military base in the strategically located town of Java (north of Tskhinvali). The base has capacity for 2,500 soldiers

United Nations confirms Russia downs Georgian aircraft over Georgian airspace (April 2006)

Russia increases troop strength & introduces paratroopers into Abkhazia (May/June 2008)

Russia moves illegal heavy weaponry & offensive forces into Abkhazia (May/June 2008)

On July 9, Four Russian military aircraft violate Georgian airspace on the eve of US Secretary of State Rice’s visit to Georgia.

Russia undertakes large-scale military exercises near S. Ossetia: & Abkhazia (July 2008)

Tags: war, russia, georgia, abkhazia, south ossetia, timeline, escalation

UN Says Has Evidence Air Strikes Killed 90 Afghans, Including 60 Children

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:50:12 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Unconscionable air war continues...I'm disgusted and heartsick.

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

An Afghan woman who lost family members weeps after air strikes on Friday in Azizabad district of Shindand August 23, 2008. An UN investigation suggested that 60 children were killed in the airstrike.(REUTERS/Mohammad Shoiab)

KABUL - The United Nations said on Tuesday it had found convincing evidence that 90 Afghan civilians, most of them children, were killed in air strikes by U.S.-led coalition forces in western Afghanistan last week.

The issue of civilian casualties has driven a rift between the Afghan government and its NATO backers, with President Hamid Karzai saying earlier this month that air strikes had achieved nothing and had only succeeded in killing ordinary Afghans.

"Investigations by UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) found convincing evidence, based on the testimony of eyewitnesses, and others, that some 90 civilians were killed, including 60 children, 15 women and 15 men," U.N. Special Envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide said in a statement.

Iraq says U.S. sought troop presence to 2015

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:16:34 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

BAGHDAD - The United States asked Iraq for permission to keep its troops there to 2015, but U.S. and Iraqi negotiators agreed to limit their authorization to 2011, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said.

"It was a U.S. proposal for the date which is 2015, and an Iraqi one which is 2010, then we agreed to make it 2011. Iraq has the right, if necessary, to extend the presence of these troops," Talabani said in a transcript of an interview with al-Hurra television.

The agreement will provide a legal basis for the U.S. troop presence after a United Nations mandate expires at the end of this year.

Growing assertiveness
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that, while overall negotiations continued, the two sides had accepted the end of 2011 as a deadline for the withdrawal of the approximately 145,000 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.

They also reflect the political pressures that Maliki faces at home more than five years after the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

Tags: iraq, war, occupation, troops, out

Dozens feared killed in Darfur camp

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:33:02 GMT

clipped by: dl211
clipper's remarks: "The United Nations urges restraint and calls for the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor so that the injured may be evacuated," said resident UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Ameerah Haq, in a statement.

Hey UN, why not go after the bad guys instead of playing referee in an endless slaughter of civilians?

Clip Source: www.dfacz.com

Dozens feared killed in Darfur camp - AFP

AFP Dozens feared killed in Darfur camp AFP - 37 minutes ago KHARTOUM (AFP) - A deadly firefight killed at least 25 people and wounded scores after Sudanese security forces thrust into one of the largest camps for displaced people in Darfur, witnesses and rebels said. US decries Sudan attack on displaced persons camp International Herald Tribune Civilians

Tags: un, darfur

Just Say No To Socialized Medicine

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:55:47 GMT

clipped by: bmeuppls
clipper's remarks: True, other developed nations may spend less on health care as a percentage of gross domestic product than the United States does — but so does Sudan. Without considering value, such statistical evaluations are worthless.

And one of the primary reasons health care costs more in America is that we are a wealthy country that demands the best. And, we’re investing a lot more in medical research.

The United States produces over half of the $175 billion in health care technology products purchased globally. In 2004, the federal government funded medical research to the tune of $18.4 billion. By contrast, the European Union — which has a significantly larger population than the United States — allocated funds equal to just $3.7 billion for medical research.

Clip Source: www.powerlineblog.com

According to an August 2008 study published in Lancet Oncology, the renowned British medical journal, Americans have a better than five-year survival rate for 13 of the 16 most prominent cancers when compared with their European and Canadian counterparts.

With breast cancer, for instance, the survival rate among American women is 83.9 percent. For women in Britain, it’s just 69.7 percent. For men with prostate cancer, the survival rate is 91.9 percent here but just 73.7 percent in France and 51.1 percent in Britain.

American men and women are more than 35 percent more likely to survive colon cancer than their British counterparts.

It’s no wonder then that foreign dignitaries living in countries with socialized health care systems routinely come to this country when they need top-flight medical treatment.

Tags: healthcare