Another Angle 29 - January - 2007

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



Rwanda's Secret War:U.S-Backed Destabilization of Central Africa
It didn't just start with the recent bombings is Somaliland. Check out this article from 2004.



NATIONAL:



America ‘Poised to Strike at Iran’s Nuclear Sites’ from Bases in Bulgaria and Romania
Sofia's news of advanced war preparations along the Black Sea is backed up by some chilling details. One is the setting up of new refuelling places for US Stealth bombers, which would spearhead an attack on Iran. "The USAF's positioning of vital refuelling facilities for its B-2 bombers in unusual places, including Bulgaria, falls within the perspective of such an attack."



Obama Confident He'll Appeal to Blacks
The remarks came as some detractors have been quietly asking whether Obama, a biracial Harvard-educated lawyer, will prove "black enough" for black voters in a national election. The son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, Obama represented a mostly black district in the Illinois state Senate and won with a healthy portion of the African-American vote when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004.
Secrets of Obama family unlocked



Bail Denied in 1964 Race Killings
A federal magistrate denied bail Monday to a 71-year-old reputed Ku Klux Klansman charged in the 1964 slayings of two black men. James Ford Seale has been jailed since his arrest on kidnapping charges last week.



Escaped convict visits his dying mother
Gay, 33, was thwarted just 50 metres from his target by police surrounding his mother's trailer, and he disappeared into nearby woods. "What he done was wrong, but he knows his momma don't have long," said Ms Shull, 56. "He's got a heart as big as his head is."



INTERNATIONAL:



Shell defies US pressure and signs £5bn Iranian gas deal
The Anglo-Dutch group, which is struggling to bring more momentum to its business after being forced to hand over vital Russian reserves at Sakhalin island to the Kremlin, confirmed it had finally reached agreement on various aspects of its "Persian LNG" - liquefied natural gas - project centred on the South Pars gas field.



Somalia: a clear case of ‘blood oil’ in Africa
The United States government encouraged, aided and supplied the government of Ethiopia, in its move to rid Somalia of the Islamic court, who had taken control of the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu. The world was made to believe that there was a humanitarian concern, as well as a threat of the terrorist base, in Somalia, but according to a recent report on www.raceandhistory.com or the Center for Research on Globalization, oil is at the root of the tragedy unfolding in Somalia at this moment.



Jury still out on China’s new relationship with Africa
African governments need to ensure that investing in Chinese enterprises adhere to best practices, respect labour laws and ensure that locals benefit from their investment in terms of employment, competitive wages and availability of infrastructure that would pave way for further socio-economic development in their areas of operation. While they might not be a magic formula, most of the participants believe that they would help to reduce poverty in host communities while also ensuring a peaceful atmosphere for business.



Turkey mulls 'invading' Iraq
Turkey's parliament went into secret session this week to debate sending troops to invade and occupy northern Iraq for security purposes. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the confrontation between the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) and the Turkish army

BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



An Impartial Interrogation of George W. Bush
Mr. President, I ask have you kept your oath of office to uphold the Constitution when you use what you call the war on terrorism to undermine the Bill of Rights? On what constitutional theory do you seize and imprison suspects without charge, sometimes torturing them in foreign jails? On what constitutional or legal basis have you tapped the phones of Americans without approval of the courts as required by law? Are you above the Constitution, above the law, and above the Geneva accords? If we are fighting for freedom in Iraq as you say, why are you so indifferent to protecting liberty here in America?



ECONOMY:



IMF gold trading rule changes set to boost the gold price ...
What has been happening is that central bankers have been swapping and loaning gold in the gold market to keep the price down to produce another false indication that inflation is under control.



Abdullah Says Malaysia Has Shifted Reserves Away From Dollar
Malaysia's central bank abandoned a peg to the dollar in July 2005 and manages it against an undisclosed basket of currencies. The ringgit has advanced 0.7 percent against the dollar this year, climbing to a nine-year high this month and trailing only the Icelandic krona as the world's best performing currency.



US sitting on credit 'volcano'
LEADING US commentators have warned that America is facing grave threats from a "crash" resulting from the country's huge entitlements bill while the rising level of consumer debt supporting the economy is a volcano "waiting to explode".



OP-ED:



Playahata.com Latest News » Africa without African Americans
Why is this relevant? Well, as so-called “African Americans,” why aren’t we heavily involved in African affairs? What do Asian leaders know about Africa that Black leaders don’t know? These questions resonate being that Africa is nowhere incorporated within the Covenant with Black America blueprint. Yes, being besieged with poverty and destabilization, on the surface Africa certainly seems more like a calamity than a remedy. But such thinking overlooks Africa’s strategic importance to Western expansion and the fact that we are native to the most resource-rich continent on earth, of which all industrialized nations are partially dependant.


Cementing Israeli Apartheid: The Role of World Bank
The industrial zones and Bantustans are not new ideas; they are reminiscent of the economic models of racial capital promoted by apartheid South Africa in Bantustans like the Ciskei and Bophuthatswana. They reflect the World Bank’s conscious choice to support the needs and vision of the Occupation which entails the destruction of the Palestinian nation.



HEALTH&FITNESS:



Digital Journal - Chlorine in Bathwater Linked to Cancer
A study has discovered that water mains containing chlorine also contained chemical by-products called THMs that are absorbed through the skin and accumulate in the bladder. The risk is greatly increased in swimming pools because of higher chlorination levels. Governments have considered removing the chemical in the past but always decided against the move. Water firms use the less expensive chlorine while healthier alternatives like ozone gas or ultraviolet light are available.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Why Did African Slaves Adopt the Bible?
When African slaves first arrived in America, they found hope in an unlikely place. Allen Dwight Callahan, author of The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible, talks about why slaves crossed the religious divide to find hope and inspiration in Christianity and the Bible.



A Captive Audience for Subway Hip-Hop
Hip-hop musicians and fellow artists have organized twice-monthly takeovers of New York City subway cars to perform. The audience members are not exactly volunteers. How do they react?

HUMOR?:



Boondocks

Another Angle 25 - January - 2007

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



The Bush's New Stormtroopers Plan Ramps Up His War Against America
The framework needs people to fill. The cabal in power is small. It cannot rule without cadres, without a vast number of loyal servants, reporting only to them, ready to do anything, those who have no roots and whose very sustenance depends on the stability of the rulers. They need the match made in Hell. In the 1930s Germany those cadres were called SA, the stormtroopers. In the 2006 US it is called the 'Civilian Volunteer Reserve Corps'.


NATIONAL:



Rumsfeld on as 'unpaid consultant'
"Mr. Rumsfeld and his aides, who include close adviser Stephen Cambone, are sifting through the thousands of pages of documents generated during his tenure," the Times wrote. "The Pentagon official said former secretaries are entitled to a transition office to sort papers, some of which can be taken with them for a library, for archives or to write a book."



Former Black Panthers Arrested And Indicted In 1971 Homicide




Man Pleads Not Guilty in 1964 Race Case
James Ford Seale, 71, was one of two white suspects initially arrested in 1964, but the FBI - consumed by the search for three civil rights workers - turned the case over to local authorities. A justice of the peace promptly threw out all charges.



Race, Still Our Most Divisive Force
Americans have known substantial divisions over class, gender and religion, but the greatest divider of all has been race. There are widely held assumptions on both sides that keep us from more fully understanding and appreciating "the other."



Ballot officials convicted
Jacqueline Maiden, coordinator of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, and ballot manager Kathleen Dreamer each were convicted of a felony count of negligent misconduct by an election employee. They also were convicted of one misdemeanor count each of failure of election employees to perform their duty.



Ray gun brings zap to battlefield
The real question is "What Battlefield?" This weapon is one being tested in Iraq but was developed for DOMESTIC use.
Your Local Police Force Has Been Militarized



The Vigil for Sean Bell



Panama's Noriega set to be released
When Noriega steps out of his specially built, apartment-like cell at the Federal Correctional Institution in Southwest Miami-Dade, he probably won't be free. Noriega -- reportedly 68 or 72, depending on conflicting birth records -- is wanted in Panama and in France.
In case you missed it: "The Panama Deception"



Text of Iraq Resolution



N.J. Warns: Don't Eat Squirrel Near Dump
It is the first time the state has cautioned Ringwood residents - many who are members of the Ramapough Mountain Indian tribe who hunt and fish in the area - about their squirrel intake.



INTERNATIONAL:



US bombs southern Somalia-US officials
"We're going to go after al Qaeda and the global war on terror, wherever it takes us," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.
"The very nature of some of our operations are not conducive to public discussions and there will be times when there are activities and operations that I can talk to you about and there will be other times when I just won't have anything for you," he said. "I don't have anything for you on Somalia." While speculation has increased that the United States has personnel on the ground in Somalia, U.S. officials have declined to confirm or deny such reports.



Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival
Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival is a book that accompanies a major documentary film now showing across the world. It tells the story of the genocide in Darfur, through the eyes of the Darfurians. It also shows, "the real lives of these people, and that they had had a thriving life, society, and culture that preceded their appearance on the world stage as victims and refuges."



Myanmar: US wants puppet regime
Myanmar's military government has accused the United States of plotting to install a puppet regime in the country. The allegation came after George Bush, the American president, said in his state of the union address on Tuesday that the US "will continue to speak out for the cause of freedom" in the South-East Asian country.



Burma 'orders Christians to be wiped out'
The military regime in Burma is intent on wiping out Christianity in the country, according to claims in a secret document believed to have been leaked from a government ministry. Entitled "Programme to destroy the Christian religion in Burma", the incendiary memo contains point by point instructions on how to drive Christians out of the state.



IRAQ:



Video: Sunnis 'brutally beaten' as US troops watch
We see a joint patrol of US and Iraqi troops in Baghdad, where our camera captures the pretty brutal treatment meted out by the newly trained Iraqi soldiers to three suspected insurgents caught in a car, all to the accompaniment of laughter, whoops and egging on from the US soldiers who watch from their Humvee.



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



George W. Bush - The Salesman of Death
I thought of Willy Loman as I watched George Bush deliver his State of the Union address. Here was a man like Willy who was absolutely confident of his own charm, a personality man who had nothing of substance to sell; a man who brings ruin to all around him as he clings to his fantasies of success.



ECONOMY:



Kuwait May Abandon Dollar Peg to Protect its Economy
Kuwait, the third-largest Arab oil producer, may abandon the dinar's peg against the dollar in favor of a basket of currencies to help minimize economic harm after the dollar declined.



OP-ED:



The Daily Star - Opinion Articles - The US is taking us for a ride ...
If Palestinians and Arabs return to the same negotiating route as before, Rice, Bush and Olmert will take them for another "ride." That, unfortunately, is the most likely scenario and will be used as justification for transforming this "temporary" state into a permanent one.



Living Out Loud: The Out-of-Towner
I came to the conclusion while waiting for the bus that I didn't like an out-of-towner telling me things I already know, stating what's wrong with Cincinnati. I didn't like her stating the obvious, didn't want her laughing at a city where I've lived so much of my life.

Damn it, that's my job.



SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY:



Rare 'Prehistoric' Shark Photographed Alive
"We think it may have come to the surface because it was sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters," a park official told the Reuters news service. But the truth may never be known, since the "living fossil" died hours after it was caught.



FOOD&DRINK:



Restoring Humble Potpie to Its Rightful Place
The trick is getting all the ingredients to the right degree of doneness at the same time. You have to avoid undercooking the carrots and potatoes, avoid overcooking the meat and peas, and have the crust turn out perfectly browned and cooked through.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Bole2Harlem: Hearing Ethiopia in New York
When the ruler Haile Selassie died, so did the music scene, as the dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam took power and many fled the country in the ensuing "Red Terror" of the late 1970s.
Now, 30 years and 7,000 miles later the Ethiopian cafe society sound has returned.



HUMOR?:



This Modern World: Adventures of Sparkman and the Blinkster

Another Angle 17 - January - 2007

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



Iran shoots down U.S. spy drone amid growing military pressure



NATIONAL:



US lacks 'explosive' evidence against Iran
These stories were leaked to coincide with public accusations by then defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad that Iran was meddling in Iraqi affairs. A few days after the stories appeared, Rumsfeld declared that these shaped charges were "clearly, unambiguously from Iran" and blamed Tehran for allowing the cross-border traffic. But the US administration had a major credibility problem with that story. It could not explain why Iran would want to assist the Sunnis, enemies of the militant Shi'ite parties in Iraq that are aligned with Iran.



Virginia Legislator: Black People “Should Get Over” Slavery...
Delegate Frank D. Hargrove, who is white and Christian, made his remarks in opposition to a measure that would apologize on the state's behalf to the descendants of slaves. In an interview published Tuesday in The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Hargrove, 79, said slavery ended nearly 140 years ago with the Civil War and added that "our black citizens should get over it."

Fears grow for health of Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali will be 65 on Wednesday, and there are growing fears for his life. The health of the world's greatest sporting icon has deteriorated so rapidly in recent weeks that one of his closest friends said last night: "Although he will now qualify for Medicare he doesn't need it - what he needs is our prayers."



Webb Does More For Troops in One Day Than Allen Did In Years ...
Going unnoticed in the frenzy of Democrats assuming control of Capitol Hill and George W. Bush seeking to plunge the country deeper into the Iraq quagmire, Webb introduced the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007, legislation that will provide the newest Veterans with educational benefits like those received by men and women who served in the three decades following World War II.



Pretext For The North American Union
This presentation is an important, detailed and timely look at forming of the North America Union (NAU). This is information is most helpful to those who knows little about the NAU or the CFR.



Black radio station in Philadelphia is silenced after more than 80 years
WHAT-AM, which was founded in 1925 and 20 years later was among the first in the United States to hire black on-air personalities, was a low-power station with a small but loyal following. Its on-air talent, office workers and sales staff were told Thursday that their jobs had been terminated.



Dora McDonald, Unsung Civil Rights Hero, Dies at 81
Dora McDonald was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s personal assistant, and an unsung hero of the civil rights movement. She died Saturday at the age of 81.



INTERNATIONAL:



AUDIO:Prof. Ilan Pappe: The Cleansing of Palestinians
VIDEO:Israelis Seen Abusing Caged Palestinians




Instead of “al-Qaeda,” U.S. Kills Nomads in Somalia
As usual, it takes a few days for the truth to emerge, not that the corporate media here in America notices.
Instead of killing Fazul Abdullah Moham-med, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and Abu Taha al-Sudani, supposedly “al-Qaeda” operatives responsible for the 1998 US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, the Pentagon killed “herdsmen … gathered with their animals around large fires at night to ward off mosquitoes” in Somalia, according to the Independent.


IRAQ:



Iraqi Sunnis Rebuild Destroyed Shiite Shrine
Chairman of the Sunni Waqfs Ahmad Abdul Ghaffor Al-Samarrai has declared that his body will donate two billion Iraqi dinars ($1,350 million) to reconstruct the shrine.The Shiite shrine contains the tombs of the 10th and 11th imams, Ali Al-Hadi, who died in 868 A.D., and his son Hassan Al-Askari, who died in 874 A.D. Tradition says the shrine, which draws Shiite pilgrims from around the world, is near the place where the last of the 12 Shiite imams, Muhammad Al-Mahdi, disappeared. Shiites believe he is still alive and will return to restore justice to humanity.



US objects to Maliki's choice for top officer



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



Shock and oil: Iraq's billions & the White House connection
Last week The Independent on Sunday revealed that a BearingPoint employee, based in the US embassy in Baghdad, had been tasked with advising the Iraqi Ministry of Oil on drawing up a new hydrocarbon law. The legislation, which is due to be presented to Iraq's parliament within days, will give Western oil companies a large slice of profits from the country's oil fields in exchange for investing in new oil infrastructure.



ECONOMY:



Chavez and Iran unveil anti-US fund
The presidents of Iran and Venezuela have agreed to spend billions of dollars to help other countries free themselves from what they describe as US domination. Hugo Chavez announced the plan in a speech on Saturday with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The two also called for Opec to cut oil production to support falling crude prices.



OP-ED:



Ban the M-Word
As we work to wipe out the n-word, let’s also refrain from referring to Black people, or allowing others to refer to us, as “minorities.” Now before you go off, and start finding excuses for subjugating and subordinating your people, and before you start your search for other references to Black people, let’s think about the M-word for a moment and see if it warrants banishment from our social and business lexicon.



Paul Craig Roberts: Carter's Inconvenient Truths
Israel's policy is to turn Palestinians into refugees and to incorporate the West Bank into Israel. Slowly over time the policy has been implemented in the name of fighting terrorism and protecting Israel. Had Israel tried to achieve this all at once, opposition would have been great and the crime too large for the world to accept. Today Israel's gradual destruction of Palestine has become part of the fabric of everyday affairs.



American power and influence on the decline
What is better for Iraq? Is it to open a strategic dialogue with neighbouring countries as recommended by the James Baker report or to step up the political tension with Iran and turn it into a military confrontation as recommended by the neoconservatives in the Bush administration? Suddenly, all Bush's choices have become extremely difficult and painful while his strategies are unrealistic. Bush's decisions are unconvincing while the Democratic Congress's proposals are inapplicable.



A Funny Phenomenon Among White Liberals and Progressives-THe Black Commentator
European Americans have a funny way of confronting this nation’s history of violence. Shock is followed by awe: “Oh, but that was a long, long time ago. You can’t believe we have not progressed since.” Or “you really believe there’s racism? NOW?” I become the subject. My beliefs are on trial now.


SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY:



World's oddest creature at risk from killer fungus
It is a unique Australian creature - a mammal that lays eggs, and has a furry body, a bill like a duck's and webbed feet. The males are also poisonous. But in Tasmania, one of its principal habitats, the platypus is under threat from a deadly fungal disease.



FOOD&DRINK:



Pimento Cheese: It's a Southern Thing
Two of my favorite words are "comfort" and "food." Put them together and it's magic, just like the simple blend of cheese, mayonnaise and sweet peppers known across the South as pimento cheese. The recipe for most pimento consists of mixing just six or so ingredients. Typically, it includes sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos and some simple seasoning, such as salt and pepper. Common variations on the recipe include the addition of onions, cream cheese, garlic or Monterey jack cheese.



CREAM OF CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP
This recipe makes a delicious and easy cream of chicken and wild rice soup.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Aretha Franklin's Globe-Nominated Performance
Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, talks with Alex Chadwick about her performance on a Golden Globe-nominated song. Franklin is one of several artists who collaborated on "Never Gonna Break My Faith," featured in the film Bobby. It is now up for the Golden Globe's best original song award.



HUMOR?:



This Modern World: The Very Bad Idea, Part II

Dr. King

As we prepare to "HONOR" Dr. King again, I want to share a few things with you.

I have been to The Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, some of you have. Of all of these types of places, relating to the history of the African in America, this one is crucial to a true understanding of where we are now.

First, it truly underscores for you how little things have really changed for us. All of us on this mailing are doing things that just fifty years ago were unheard of for us. Some of us are doing extremely well. Some of us do things daily that would make Dr. King happy. That maybe it was worthwhile.

But, in some ways, we have lost the core of what made us strong when he was taken from us.

Our organizations depend on corporate support to exist. Except for our cars and homes most of us own nothing, but we are in debt up to our ears. We neither build or grow anything. We are at the mercy of folk that have shown historically that could care less whether we live or die. But we support them and their causes more than we support ourselves. We hate ourselves and each other so much that we do unspeakable things.

So as we go off to the parades, basketball games and to shop and give our dollars to those same folk, this year let's resolve to really do something to honor Dr. King.

First, let's stop dreaming and and demand payment on the check that keeps coming back marked insufficient funds. Let's take control of our government,on the local level with the vote and take our share of the proceeds. Let's band together to do something for our betterment. No one is coming to save us.

And finally let's Honor the man by finding and punishing his murderer and their accomplices. This must be non negotiable.



MARTIN LUTHER KING - THE FATAL SHOT CAME FROM A DIFFERENT DIRECTION

Another Angle 13 - January - 2007

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



NATIONAL:



The War Powers of Congress
Don't let your Representatives and Senators shirk their Constitutional duties in military matters by claiming they don't have the power.



Pentagon Seeks to Increase Military
The Pentagon on Thursday proposed increasing the size of the Army and Marine Corps by a combined total of 92,000 troops and announced it will recall to duty sooner than originally planned some National Guard and Reserve troops who already have served yearlong tours in Iraq or Afghanistan.



Vietnam All Over Again
By recommending to President Bush that U.S. troops in Iraq should be increased, with no clear plan for achieving victory there, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates risks following in the footsteps of Clark Clifford. As with Secretary Clifford, Secretary Gates has succeeded the architect of a U.S. military failure. Like Clifford, Gates has proven incapable of calling for a dramatic change in course.



Why we are both Black and African - understanding the true meaning of black identity
There is a real need for the global black community to re-establish our vision of ourselves, re-establish the factual basis for who and what we are as a global and cosmic humanity as well as reasserting our historical, scientific and theological pre-eminence.



'Pepsi Challenge' and the Birth of Niche Marketing
In 1940, Pepsi chief executive Walter Mack had the unprecedented idea of putting together a "negro-markets" department. Edward Boyd led the team of 12 black professionals, making Boyd one of the first black executives in corporate America. He and his group developed a marketing strategy seeking brand loyalty among African Americans. The strategy was one of the first attempts at niche marketing.



Jane Bolin, first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School dead at 98
Jane Bolin, the first black female judge in the United States and the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School, has died. She was 98. Bolin, born April 11, 1908, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was the daughter of a successful lawyer. Initially discouraged by a Wellesley College adviser from pursuing a law degree because of her race and gender, Bolin graduated from Yale Law in 1931



INTERNATIONAL:



U.S. Somalia air raids hit nomads, 70 dead - Oxfam
Under international law, there is a duty to distinguish between military and civilian targets," Oxfam added, citing its local partner organisations in Somalia for the information. Washington sent a warplane into Somalia on Monday to try and take out what U.S. officials say are top al Qaeda suspects hiding with the Islamists.



Somalia : another war "Made in USA"
This is a war of the USA against all the peoples of the Horn of AfricaThis is not a war between Ethiopia and Somalia
The US policy in the region is leading to a long-term instability of the whole area and to genocide. One can be sure that the peoples of the region will unite in a broad anti-imperialist front and realize finally brotherly relations between all nationalities living there.




IRAQ:



Iraqi regime set to hand over oil reserves to US energy giants
The Independent, which obtained a leaked version of the law, reported Sunday, "The Iraqi Council of Ministers is expected to approve, as early as today, a controversial new hydrocarbon law, heavily pushed by the US and UK governments, that will radically redraw the Iraqi oil industry and throw open the doors to the third-largest oil reserves in the world. It would allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil companies in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972." The newspaper added that the new law would be a "radical departure from the norm for developing countries" and would be the first of its kind for any major oil producer in the Middle East, where Saudi Arabia and Iran, the world’s number one and two largest producers, "both tightly control their industries through state-owned companies with no appreciable foreign collaboration," as do most members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
FLASHBACK: RED, WHITE, AND BLUE STORM RISING



Iraqi children: Picking garbage, killed dismantling ordnance, or sold into brothels
I hope you’re proud of yourselves. Have a nice day.



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



I BLEW IT...BUT NOW YOU SHOULD TRUST ME...



George W. Bush: A Symptom of Disease
Our imperial leader, an impish little man with clear sociopathic symptoms, is incapable of empathy for the struggles of the common people, as those born into wealth and privilege often are. The man with his finger on the nuclear detonator is mentally ill, incapable of remorse—a fact that should terrify every world citizen. I do not say this out of malice or to demean the president; it is simply a statement of fact based upon quantifiable evidence that any student of psychology would easily recognize.



OP-ED:



The 'Surge' Is a Red Herring
The "surge" is merely a tactic to buy time while war with Iran and Syria can be orchestrated. The neoconservative/Israeli cabal feared that the pressure that Congress, the public, and the American foreign policy establishment were putting on Bush to de-escalate in Iraq would terminate their plan to achieve hegemony in the Middle East. Failure in Iraq would mean the end of the neoconservatives' influence. It would be impossible to start a new war with Iran after losing the war in Iraq.



The US-Iran-Iraq-Israeli-Syrian War
If Russert's account is correct, there could be questions raised about whether Bush has lost touch with reality and may be slipping back into the false pre-invasion intelligence claims about Hussein threatening the United States with "a mushroom cloud."



SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY:



The Lost Lunar Landing Tapes
NASA put a man on the moon - then lost the videotape. A grizzled crew of ex-rocket jockeys are on a star-crossed mission to find it.



FOOD&DRINK:



GLAZED STRAWBERRY PIE
This pie consists of a crisp crust filled only with fresh strawberries held together by a fruit juice glaze. I discovered that a fruit glaze also works well with fresh raspberries or a mixture of raspberries and currants. The glaze preserves the freshness of the fruit for two days.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Nina Simone Gets 'Remixed and Reimagined'
Posthumous remix projects tend to be well-intentioned and awkward, the musical equivalent of those commercials featuring Fred Astaire dancing with a vacuum cleaner. Nina Simone: Remixed & Reimagined is the first of a series of releases on which mostly European remixers work over a legendary artist's oeuvre. Simone's collection wisely leaves her signature numbers ("I Loves You Porgy," "My Baby Just Cares for Me") unmolested, and gives the rest of the tracks the chill-out treatment. Much of the disc would sound at home playing in a trendy Parisian hotel lobby, or at Moby's house.



HUMOR?:



"Warming of Mass Destruction"

Another Angle 10 - January - 2007

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



NATIONAL:



Farrakhan recovering from surgery
Physicians have told Farrakhan's family they were pleased with the operation's outcome but will monitor him closely for the next 24 to 48 hours, the Chicago-based group said in a statement.



Shotgun Blasts Fired into Home of Small Louisiana Town's First Black Mayor
The shooting follows the Dec. 30 death of Gerald Washington, the first black mayor of the town of Westlake, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Greenwood. Washington was found shot to death in a parking lot on Dec. 30 a few days before he was to take office. The coroner and the sheriff pronounced Washington's death a suicide, but his family and supporters have questioned the ruling.



The Unusual Suspects
In the days following the shooting, even as city officials were assuring community and religious leaders of a fair and thorough investigation, the three men's criminal records, including some sealed juvenile cases, were leaked to the press in what their attorneys said was an effort to "dirty up the victims." Police raided apartments in the complex where one of the men lives and another used to hang out. As many as a dozen friends and acquaintances were taken into custody and questioned. Police officials claim any arrests in what some describe as a "parallel investigation" were coincidental. It was an attempt at spin that spun out of control.



New Stamp Honors Jazz Singer Ella Fitzgerald
The stamp will be released Wednesday at ceremonies at Lincoln Center in New York, and will be on sale across the country.


INTERNATIONAL:



US bombs Somalia for third day
US forces launched a third consecutive day of air strikes in Somalia today as a Somali government official said one of three al-Qaida suspects targeted by the raids was believed to have been killed.
Somali refugees dying as they flee civil war



Clone farming has arrived
Her birth last month exposed glaring gaps in the Government's system for policing livestock farming. It raises the prospect of milk and meat from the offspring of clones reaching the shops without proper safety checks. Though not a clone herself, Dundee Paradise is the daughter of a clone. Her mother was created in the U.S. using cells from the ear of a champion dairy Holstein.



IRAQ:



New Oil Law Means Victory in Iraq for Bush
At any time within the next few days, the Iraqi Council of Ministers is expected to approve a new "hydrocarbon law" essentially drawn up by the Bush administration and its UK lackey, the Independent on Sunday reported. The new bill will "radically redraw the Iraqi oil industry and throw open the doors to the third-largest oil reserves in the world," says the paper, whose reporters have seen a draft of the new law. "It would allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil companies in the country since the industry was nationalized in 1972." If the government's parliamentary majority prevails, the law should take effect in March.



Terrified Soldiers Terrifying People
"If I've got a soldier who's on Ambien to go to sleep and Seroquel and Qanapin and all kinds of other psychotropic meds, I don't want them to have a weapon in their hand and to be part of my team because they're a risk to themselves and to others," he said. "But apparently, the military has its own view of how well a soldier can function under those conditions, and is gambling that they can be successful."




BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



Bush's Petro-Cartel Almost Has Iraq's Oil
With a constitution cooked up in D.C., the stage was set for foreign multinationals to assume effective control of as much as 87 percent of Iraq's oil, according to projections by the Oil Ministry.



ECONOMY:



Blood Oil
Could a bunch of Nigerian militants in speedboats bring about a U.S. recession? Blowing up facilities and taking hostages, they are wreaking havoc on the oil production of America's fifth-largest supplier.



OP-ED:



Black Organizations for Sale
How can we ever be self-determined if we fail to plan and execute initiatives that move our organizations toward ownership and economic self-sufficiency? The foundations of Black organizations must be laid with Black dollars, just as DuBois admonished in 1915. That way, any contribution given by others is icing on our own cake.



Larisa: Hunting al-Qaeda where?
If this administration wanted to genuinely hunt Al Qaeda, would they not start with Pakistan and would they not have started six years ago?



Peanuts Kill More Americans Than Terrorists
- Allergic reactions to peanuts
- Accident causing deer
- Lightning strikes
That's correct - all of the above have killed an equal number of Americans since 1960 as terrorism. One could even categorize M&M's, lost deer and the weather as an "axis of evil arming to threaten the peace of the world," as George Bush famously once said.



HEALTH&FITNESS:



Banning Aspartame: A Common Sense Precaution
Last year, a truly independent assessment was published by an Italian academic researcher, Dr. Morando Soffritti. His findings substantiate the links between aspartame and cancer, calling it a "neurotoxin" with serious other health consequences and concluding it has major negative impacts on those who ingest it. Soffitti 's study has been repeatedly attacked by industry spokespeople and their paid researchers, but its conclusions stand substantially intact.



FOOD&DRINK:



Black Vegetarians Offer Tips for Going Meat Free
Traci Thomas, founder of the Black Vegetarian Society of Georgia, talks about reducing the risks of heart disease, diabetes and cancer by adopting a vegetarian lifestyle.
More from the Black Vegetarian Society of Georgia



Halibut Steamed with Oranges, Tomatoes, and Olives
The fish steams directly atop the gently simmering vegetables in this flavorful and very easy dish. Serve with steamed rice tossed with lots of chopped fresh cilantro.

Market tip: Choose Pacific or Alaskan halibut rather than Atlantic halibut. Or substitute another firm white fish, such as Alaskan cod, mahimahi, or striped bass.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



Richard Pryor's Daughter on Life with the Funny Man
Rain Pryor has written about both the happy and difficult times in her relationship with her father in Jokes My Father Never Taught Me.



HUMOR?:



This Modern World

Another Angle 2 - January - 2007

ANOTHER ANGLE
News others won't tell you



NATIONAL:



'Surge' Protectors
With liberal bloggers leading the way, the call went forth last week: Henceforth ye shall purge the “surge” from your vocabularies and laptops and replace it with “escalation” – with all its echoes of Vietnam and, incidentally, accuracy regarding the current situation.



Aid to Africa triples under Bush, but strings attached
As with aid to other countries, it comes with strings attached, including a requirement that the government open up to trade and foreign investors. Some African specialists complain that because of such conditions, American assistance is still more about self-interest than altruism.



Social Security Agreement With Mexico Released After 3 1/2 Year ...FOIA Battle
The Totalization Agreement could allow millions of illegal Mexican workers to draw billions of dollars from the U.S. Social Security Trust Fund. The agreement between the U.S. and Mexico was signed in June 2004, and is awaiting President Bush's signature. Once President Bush approves the agreement, which would be done without Congressional vote, either House of Congress would have 60 days to disapprove the agreement by voting to reject it.
United States/Mexico Totalization Agreement
Totalization Agreements


Betrayal of the Big Easy
Last August two-thirds of New Orleans was under water. In low-lying areas - such as the lower ninth ward, where many of the city's musicians originate - almost no reconstruction work is being done. Insurance companies won't cover new buildings unless the levees are reinforced to withstand another big storm, and the government won't cough up the $30bn-plus the work is expected to cost. So the powers that be are effectively abandoning the lower-lying areas, offering precious little hope of return to the Katrina diaspora spread over the south.



Shooter Kills Town's First Black Mayor-Elect
The first black mayor-elect in a largely white Louisiana town committed suicide days before he was to take office, the town's coroner said Tuesday. The Westlake City Council scheduled an emergency meeting Tuesday after the mayor-elect, the first black man elected to lead the largely white town, was found shot to death. The body of Gerald Washington, 57, was found Saturday night in the parking lot of a former school. He had been shot once in the chest.



Democrats To Start Without GOP Input
Nancy Pelosi, the Californian who will become House speaker, and Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, who will become majority leader, finalized the strategy over the holiday recess in a flurry of conference calls and meetings with other party leaders. A few Democrats, worried that the party would be criticized for reneging on an important pledge, argued unsuccessfully that they should grant the Republicans greater latitude when the Congress convenes on Thursday.



The Court-Martial of Ehren Watada Begins
Watada's court appearance comes on the same day the new Democratic-controlled Congress returns to work and begins to investigate one of the lingering questions surrounding the nearly four-year-old war. It's the same question that Watada said led to his decision to publicly challenge the legality of the war and refuse deployment - whether the intelligence that led to the US-led invasion was cooked by Bush administration officials.



Man races pigs near planned mosque site
Earlier this month, Baker conceded that the Muslims probably aren't after his land, but he said he had to go through with the pig races because "I would be like a total idiot if I didn't. I'd be the laughingstock now because I've gone too far."



INTERNATIONAL:



Israel says it can do Iran on it's own
Although experts elsewhere have questioned Israel's ability to cripple the Iranian program, which is scattered and built in part in underground bunkers, analysts at INSS said Israel would be capable of carrying it off. Brigadier General (res.) Giora Eiland said there would not be a military strike without a full "strategic and military" understanding with the U.S.



Oprah's girls academy opens in SA
Built on 52 acres, the 28-building campus, which was originally to cost $10 million, and not the actual $40 million, boasts modern classrooms, computer and science laboratories, a library, theatre and health centre.



IRAQ:



Few Iraqis Are Gaining U.S. Sanctuary
“They said they have nothing for Iraqis,” said Amar, sitting in a small house in western Baghdad. “We feel just like stupid trash.”



BUSH CRIME FAMILY:



Bush Silences a Dangerous Witness
Like the climactic scene from the Mafia movie “Casino” in which nervous Mob bosses eliminate everyone who knows too much, George W. Bush has now guaranteed that there will be no public tribunal where Hussein gives testimony on these potentially devastating historical scandals, which could threaten the Bush Family legacy.



OP-ED:



The Three Hundred And Fifty Billion Dollar Lynch Mob
Bush is playing a VERY dangerous game with forces far beyond his comprehension. He's trying to help the Caucasian Shiites, who Bush and his Evangelicals have so much in common with, oppress and lynch secular Sunnis while at the same time trying to help the Caucasian non-Semitic Ashkenazi Jews in Israel steal the land of Canaan from its Semitic inhabitants. What he seems not to realize is that if you hold a stick of dynamite in your hand which has a fuse on either end and then light both fuses, you get blown to smithereens no matter WHICH fuse hits the dynamite first.



Venezuela’s Black Vote
President Chavez proudly identifies himself as a man of African descent and is often the subject of racial epithets by the wealthy elite who are predominantly of European descent. Not only does he acknowledge his heritage, the president has made changes that have aligned most Afro-Venezuelans with him.



SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY:



Wild Predictions for a Wired 2007
Synthetic corneas will be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, allowing the shortsighted to have artificial contact lenses transplanted right into their eyes. No more popping out!



FOOD&DRINK:



Yukon Gold Potato and Wild Mushroom Gratin with Blue Cheese
Use fresh button mushrooms if wild mushrooms are hard to get; you will still have delicious results. Yukon Gold potatoes have a pale yellow color and a buttery taste that adds to the richness of this dish.



REVIEWS/INTERVIEWS:



The Black Panthers
A new photographic history of the US Black Panther Party brilliantly depicts a high point in the struggle for black liberation.Yuri Prasad looks back at a period of hope and anger.



Revisiting Aunt Jemima: 'Slave in a Box'
For a look at the Aunt Jemima phenomenon both historically and culturally, Farai Chideya talks with Maurice Manring, author of Slave in a Box: The Strange Career of Aunt Jemima.



HUMOR?:



This Modern World