New York Times: America the Tarnished

By: Paul Krugman; read full article here

Reuters AlertNet: Spreading conflict in Central African Republic forces civilians into Chad

By: UNHCR;  Full article may be read here

Blogger Comment: The Central African Republic has been the one to watch as a high conflict risk for several years now.  This news is especially alarming given the recent influx of refugees into Chad, already relatively unstable, from Darfur.  Is the whole subregion going to implode?

Afghan Strikes by Taliban Get Pakistan Help, U.S. Aides Say

By: Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt. Full text can be read here.

South Africa Bans Dalai Lama Trip

By: BBC Staff corespondent. Full text can be read here.
South Africa bowing to Chinese pressure? So much for principles and justice...

The New York Times: From Tehran to Tel Aviv

By: Roger Cohen; full article may be read here

The New York Times: Financial Policy Despair

By: Paul Krugman, full article may be read here

haaretz: 'No virgins, no terror attacks'

By: Uri Blau; Full Article May Be Read Here
Blogger Comment: An Israeli friend of mine sent me this article..
Personally I like sarcastic jokes, specially if politically incorrect..I don't think though that this is the case!

Labels: haaretz, Uri Blau, Israeli News, IDF, Gaza

Washington Post: HIV/AIDS Rate in D.C. Hits 3%

Full Article May be Read Here

il corriere della sera, Il Papa: «Cure gratis ai malati di Aids»

Full Article May Be Read Here
Blogger Comment:
My apologies to post another article in italian. As commentary I think is enough to quote the proper words of the Pope speaking about African AIDS epidemy: "you can't solve it through condom distribution, that does nothing else than increase problems"
Is there still a single person in the earth that do agree with him? Please guys prove me I'm totally wrong. And this come right a week after the excommunication of the doctors that practiced the abortion on a 9 YEARS OLD girl that got pregnant after being raped by the father!!!!Do I need to comment further?

Clash of civilizations!

Labels: Religion, clash of civilizations, africa, AIDS

Washington Post: Treasury Seeks Billions More to Aid Ailing Nations

By David Cho and Anthony Faiola
Blogger Comment: Worry not world, Tim Geithner to the rescue...

Hundreds Jailed as Pakistan Bans Planned Protest

The civilian government banned a national protest march and arrested hundreds of political workers on Wednesday, evoking for many Pakistanis the sweeping security restrictions of the military dictator, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Wall Street Journal: Message from Charles Freeman

Ambassador (Ret.) Freeman withdraws his name for consideration to head the National Intelligence Council due to the agitations of the Israel Lobby.

Full article may be read here.

New York Times: 5 Years After It Halted Weapons Programs, Libya Sees the U.S. as Ungrateful

TRIPOLI, Libya — When Libya gave up its nuclear and chemical weapons programs in late 2003, President George W. Bush pointed to the decision as a victory in Washington’s so-called war on terror and as a potential model for pressing Iran and North Korea to give up their weapons programs, too.

A barbershop in Tripoli, Libya, beneath the visage of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. One analyst said, “Dealing with Qaddafi is not easy because he is unpredictable.”

But now Libyan officials say they are dissatisfied with the way the deal worked out, insisting that the United States has done too little to reward Libya’s concessions. Officials here say they believe that Libya’s limited payoff undermines the credibility of the United States as it presses other nations to abandon weapons programs.

Washington Post: Hidden Message Found in Lincoln Pocket Watch

By: Neely Tucker

Blogger Comment: A bit of lighter reading for you history buffs out there....

New York Times: 2 West Africa Slayings May Signal a New Day

By: Lydia Polgreen; Full Article May Be Read Here

"This mutual loathing had both personal and tribal roots. General Tagme Na Waie was from the Balante tribe, which dominates the army. Mr. Vieira came from the less important Papel tribe. The general claimed that Mr. Vieira’s government had once tortured him by shocking his testicles with an electric device. Mr. Vieira suspected the general of undermining his power and threatening his rule."

New York Times: Nearly a Million Genocide Victims, Covered in a Cloak of Amnesia

By: Sabrina Tavernise; Full Article May Be Read Here

Blogger Comment: If Turkey is moving towards being able to have a national discussion and re-visit the wounds of its past, it is an incredibly hopeful moment for a young democracy.

CNN: Saudis order 40 lashes for elderly woman for mingling

Authors: Mohamed Jamjoon and Saeed Abedine

Labels: breastfeeding, Wahhabism

Financial Times: A professor’s bold thinking on terrorism

By Jennie Erdal; Full article may be read here

Washington Post: World Bank Financial Report Grim

"Developing nations are facing a massive financing shortfall of up to $700 billion this year as private investment evaporates and global trade collapses, threatening to return many countries to the days of heavy reliance on foreign aid, the World Bank warned yesterday."

Full Article May Be Read Here.

New York Times: When Everyone’s a Friend, Is Anything Private?

"Facebook has a chief privacy officer, but I doubt that the position will exist 10 years from now. That’s not because Facebook is hell-bent on stripping away privacy protections, but because the popularity of Facebook and other social networking sites has promoted the sharing of all things personal, dissolving the line that separates the private from the public."

Full Article May Be Read Here

BBC: Spain arrests 'cocaine cast' man

"A Chilean man with a broken leg was arrested at Barcelona airport after his 'cast' was found to be made of cocaine not plaster, Spanish police say."

Full Article May Be Read Here

The Guardian: Intelligence failures crippling fight against insurgents in Afghanistan, says report

• Leaked analysis condemns US for lack of co-operation
• Senior officers' criticisms also cover Iraq campaign

By: Peter Beaumont. Full Article May Be Read Here

il corriere della sera, title "Codardi, donne": il discorso dell'ufficiale Usa ai poliziotti iracheni spopola in Rete

By: Viviana Mazza ; Full Article May Be Read Here


Blogger Comment: sorry, it's in italian, but as we spoke about it i wanted to share this article with you

LABELS: Irak, media, public diplomacy, opinions

New York Times: Phish’s Breakup? That Was Then. But Tough Times Call for a Reunion.

Blogger Comment: I dont know how you all deal with the recession. But I'm reverting back to my hippie ways.

New York Times: In Turkey, Women Playing Soccer Vie for Acceptance

By YIGAL SCHLEIFER; Full Article May Be Read Here

Al Jazeera: Afghanistan confirms August poll

By: Staff; Full article may be read here

Al Jazeera: Court issues Bashir arrest warrant

By: Staff; Full article may be read here

Washington Post: In Baltimore, No One Left to Press the Police

By David Simon. Full article here

New York Times: Idea of Afghan Women’s Rights Starts Taking Hold

By: Kirk Semple; Full Article May Be Read Here

Since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, a more egalitarian notion of women’s rights has begun to take hold, founded in the country’s new Constitution and promoted by the newly created Ministry of Women's Affairs and a small community of women’s advocates.

New York Times: Obama Offered Deal to Russia in Secret Letter

By: Peter Baker, Full article may be read here

Blogger comment: Pressing of the reset button for U.S.-Russian relations is long overdue. Still Eastern Europeans must be pissed that all of their efforts both domestically and internationally to move the missile defense shield forward might have been in vain.

Washington Post: Many Hires Needed for Budget Goals

By: Philip Rucker; Full Article May Be Read Here

Blogger Comment: Forget limited government, we need the jobs. To whom do I address the cover letter?

UN News Centre: Peacekeepers will stay in Darfur even if Sudanese President indicted – UN official

"With the International Criminal Court (ICC) expected to announce its decision on seeking an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir on charges of war crimes this week, the chief of United Nations peacekeeping operations today said that the joint UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) will continue its patrols protecting the local population."

For full article click here

BBC: Cash alone 'will not mend Gaza'

By: Staff; Full Article May Be Read Here

As huge sums are pledged to rebuild Gaza, donors are told it will be insufficient without political action.

New York Times: For Some Taxi Drivers, a Different Kind of Traffic

By: Marc Lacey; Full Article May Be Read Here

With public outrage over drug violence tinged by fascination, some taxi drivers are giving “narco-tours” of sites associated with the notorious drug cartels.

The Times of India: Iran giving missiles to Taliban?

By: Michael Smith Full article can be read here


Blogger Comment: Isn't Iran supporting Karzai? Don't they prefer him to Sunni extremists like Taliban??

Washington Post: Duties That Are Best Shared

The full article may be read here.

The Times of India: Taliban may take over Karachi: Police Report

By: Staff corespondent. Full article can be read here.

The National: UN peacekeepers prepare for backlash in DRC

By: James Reinl; Full Article May Be Read Here

Bloomberg: In Geithner We Trust Eludes Treasury as Market Fails to Recover

By: Yalman Onaran and Michael McKee; Full Article May Be Read Here

The Guardian: Hamid Karzai accused of brinksmanship over call for early Afghanistan election

By: Jon Boone; Full Article May Be Read Here