Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Another Angle 30 - May - 2006

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you




NATIONAL:



US moves diplomat critical of Somali warlord aid
A top U.S. official handling Somalia has been transferred from his job after criticising payments to warlords that are said to be fuelling some of Mogadishu's worst-ever fighting.



Justices, 5-4, limit whistleblower suits
Critics predicted the impact would be sweeping, from silencing police officers who fear retribution for reporting department corruption, to subduing federal employees who want to reveal problems with government hurricane preparedness or terrorist-related security.



'Insult to blacks'
The Rev. Al Sharpton wants to testify that the N-word is never a term of endearment - refuting the claims of Howard Beach hate crime defendant Nicholas (Fat Nick) Minucci.



Megachurch linked to violent video game
Your mission is "to conduct physical and spiritual warfare"; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old. You are playing a real-time strategy video game whose creators are linked to the empire of mega-church pastor Rick Warren, best selling author of The Purpose Driven Life.



Time to Move Beyond the 'Mammy' Stereotype
The depiction of African-American women in the media can be a divisive issue. Commentator Betty Baye says she's tired of all the old stereotypes she sees played out in the media. Black women have come too far to still be portrayed largely as Mammies or Jezebels. Baye is a columnist for The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky.



INTERNATIONAL:



Namibian government frustrated over slow pace of land reform
Since independence in 1990, only 10,000 people have been resettled under the government's land programme, which allows a willing-seller, willing-buyer arrangement or expropriation. In many cases of resettlement the new owners have been unable to operate the farms commercially, while the government has acknowledged that a lack of skills, equipment and the sub-leasing of allocated land has affected agricultural productivity.



The paradox of plenty in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta region
Unarguably the richest zone in West Africa, Niger Delta is ironically home to the poorest of the poor in the country. All that 48 years of commercial exploration of oil has brought the greater majority of Niger Deltans are misery, gross environmental degradation and abject poverty. The image of the region is one of stark contrast – so rich yet so poor.


IRAQ:



Iraq to probe Haditha killings
Nuri al-Maliki said on Tuesday that his patience was wearing thin with excuses from US troops that they killed civilians by mistake.



Salon.com "Victory"? Forget it
Bush doesn't know that he can't achieve victory. He doesn't know that seeking victory worsens his prospects. He doesn't know that the U.S. military has abandoned victory in the field, though it has been reporting that to him for years. But the president has no rhetoric beyond "victory."



The Apache Killing Video



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



Is the Bush Regime a Sponsor of State Terrorism?
Bush damns the "axis of evil." But who has the "axis of evil" attacked? Iran has attacked no one. North Korea has attacked no country for more than a half century. Iraq attacked Kuiwait a decade and a half ago, apparently after securing permission from the US ambassador. Isn't the real axis of evil Bush-Blair-Olmert? Bush and Blair have attacked two countries, slaughtering their citizens. Olmert is urging them on to attack a third country--Iran.



ECONOMY:



Dollar extends losses after confidence data
The dollar's decline accelerated on Tuesday after a gauge of U.S. consumer confidence fell in May, adding to considerable negative sentiment against the U.S. currency.
How close are we to 'Sudden Disorderly Adjustment'?



U.S. hedge funds file for bankruptcy, law firm says
Bayou Management's U.S. hedge funds, which failed after losing millions of dollars in flawed trading strategies, on Tuesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief in New York, a law firm said.



Easy-to-get loans cause thousands to lose homes
What is known is that, rich and poor alike, South Florida homeowners are on a collision course with the fast-money mortgages and loose state regulation that injected extra risk into a region ripe for exploitation.



OP-ED:



Mess from the West
When the results are in from the past six years, as well as what looks to be eight years, there will be tremendous economic consequences and hardships for those at the bottom of society’s heap. Blacks are definitely at the bottom of the heap, and the lessons we see everyday are a warning to us to get our collective act together, that is, if we really care about one another.



Toward a Third Intifada
The Hebrew term hafrada, which means "separation" or "apartheid," has entered the mainstream lexicon in Israel and determined much of the government's policies since the Oslo process began in 1993. Ever-increasing restrictions on Palestinian movement and employment during the 1990s, combined with settlement expansion that doubled the number of Jewish settlers, set the stage for the eruption of the second intifada, or uprising, in 2000.



Dobbs: Bush, Congress tell working folk to go to hell
A third-world country is what we will be if our elected officials don’t soon come to their senses.



George F. Will: The Danger of White Guilt


SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY:



Intelligent Beings in Space!
Until recently, interplanetary robotic explorers have largely been marionettes of mission controllers back on Earth. The controllers sent instructions, and the spacecraft diligently executed them.



HEALTH&FITNESS:



African-Americans and the Wellness Gap
When it comes to health care, black Americans are less likely to be treated for medical problems than white Americans, in spite of increasing rates of diagnoses for certain diseases among black Americans.



FOOD&DRINK:



Dive into a Sea of Good Summer Food
Summer is the eating season. There's no better time to eat locally and seasonally, which today is compulsory. Gorgeous fruits and vegetables spill out of the stalls at farmers markets. Crabs and oysters are pulled from the waters. There are barbecues and picnics. Life slows down and it's important to have the right food while you're braking.



African Adobo-Rubbed Tuna Steaks
Adobo means spice rub or marinade, and this particular recipe was introduced by African slaves and brought to Bahía in Brazil in the seventeenth century. I think that it gives tuna a new and exciting dimension. There is spiciness in the dish, as would be expected from an adobo. To provide the American palate a little relief from the heat, the tuna is served on a bed of lightly pickled cucumbers.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Remembering Miles on His 80th Birthday
The late music legend Miles Davis would have turned 80 on Friday. Musician David Was of the group Was (Not Was) offers a tribute in honor of the jazzman's birth.
A Fresh Look at Miles Davis' 'Blue in Green'



Reggae Pioneer Desmond Dekker
Rock historian Ed Ward remembers Jamaican singer Desmond Dekker, who died last week at the age of 64. His 1969 hit "Israelites" was for many Americans the first reggae they'd ever heard.



HUMOR?:



This Modern World