HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Opposition legislators jeered President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday as he opened Zimbabwe's parliament, singing and chanting and sometimes drowning out his voice.The rare show of defiance -- broadcast live on national television -- set the stage for a combative legislature, even as Mugabe and his political foes try to negotiate a power sharing arrangement after disputed elections.Mugabe's speech could sometimes not be heard over the jeers of his opponents, who clapped and sang songs deriding him and the ZANU-PF. "ZANU is rotten. You are great liars," they sang."We are tired of you," they shouted.
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Opposition legislators jeered President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday as he opened Zimbabwe's parliament, singing and chanting and sometimes drowning out his voice.
The rare show of defiance -- broadcast live on national television -- set the stage for a combative legislature, even as Mugabe and his political foes try to negotiate a power sharing arrangement after disputed elections.
Mugabe's speech could sometimes not be heard over the jeers of his opponents, who clapped and sang songs deriding him and the ZANU-PF. "ZANU is rotten. You are great liars," they sang.
"We are tired of you," they shouted.
Of course, they are the opposition to Mugabe, who stole the election again. But they still, despite the massive cheating, are the majority in parliement. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
The talks to bring peace to Zimbabwe drag on, check-mated by the conflicting notions of power-transfer versus power-sharing. Mandy Rossouw put a similar set of questions to both Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change to assess the political temperature snip snip Tendai Biti: secretary general of the MDC Why, in your view, did the talks take so long to reach agreement? It has not taken a long time. If you look at negotiations in Darfur and Sudan and South Africa, the talks took nothing less than two years. It is actually a shock just how quickly we have been able to reach agreements on the things we reached agreement on. The principles of constitutionalism and non-violence have been agreed. The issue that is bogging us down now is the nature of the state and of its power relations. It's not a walk in the park. What should be the most important outcome of these talks? The most important outcome is a solution that places Zimbabwe on an irreversible path to the resolution of the crisis once and for all. This can't be a piecemeal agreement.
Tendai Biti: secretary general of the MDC Why, in your view, did the talks take so long to reach agreement? It has not taken a long time. If you look at negotiations in Darfur and Sudan and South Africa, the talks took nothing less than two years. It is actually a shock just how quickly we have been able to reach agreements on the things we reached agreement on. The principles of constitutionalism and non-violence have been agreed. The issue that is bogging us down now is the nature of the state and of its power relations. It's not a walk in the park. What should be the most important outcome of these talks? The most important outcome is a solution that places Zimbabwe on an irreversible path to the resolution of the crisis once and for all. This can't be a piecemeal agreement.
I've no idea how long this is going to take... But in the meantime:
Food rots as Zim aid ban continues - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source
Aid agencies in Zimbabwe remain barred from reaching millions of starving Zimbabweans, despite two separate agreements in the inter-party talks on the lifting of the aid ban. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change last month called for the lifting of all restrictions on the work of aid groups. A subsequent joint statement condemning violence also called for humanitarian assistance to be allowed into the country and for aid to reach thousands of victims of political violence. However, Robert Mugabe's government has still not lifted the ban it imposed before the June 27 presidential run-off election, based on claims that NGOs were using food aid to campaign for the opposition. In an Orwellian twist the ban was announced by "Welfare Minister" Nicholas Goche, one of Zanu-PF's negotiators in the talks. A partial lifting of the ban was announced later, for groups providing assistance to HIV/Aids sufferers.
Estimated two million people receiving no food aid in a country where malnourishment is already a feature...
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A United Nations human rights team has found "convincing evidence" that some 90 civilians -- among them 60 children -- were killed in air strikes on a village in western Afghanistan on Thursday night, a statement issued by the United Nations mission in Kabul said, making it almost certainly the deadliest case of civilian casualties caused by any United States military operation in Afghanistan since 2001. The United Nations the team visited the scene and interviewed survivors and local officials and elders, getting a name, age and gender of each person reported killed. The team reported that 15 people had been injured in the air strikes, which occurred in the middle of the night.
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A United Nations human rights team has found "convincing evidence" that some 90 civilians -- among them 60 children -- were killed in air strikes on a village in western Afghanistan on Thursday night, a statement issued by the United Nations mission in Kabul said, making it almost certainly the deadliest case of civilian casualties caused by any United States military operation in Afghanistan since 2001.
The United Nations the team visited the scene and interviewed survivors and local officials and elders, getting a name, age and gender of each person reported killed. The team reported that 15 people had been injured in the air strikes, which occurred in the middle of the night.
JERUSALEM, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday urged restraint in the latest debate over Israeli housing construction on the West Bank. Speaking at a Jerusalem news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livini, Rice said that the final border between the Palestinian Authority and Israel would be determined through negotiation, and neither side should do anything to upset the process. "I think it's no secret, and I've said it to my Israeli counterparts, that I don't think the settlement activity is helpful to the process, that in fact, what we need now are steps that enhance confidence between the parties," Rice said. "Anything that undermines confidence between the parties ought to be avoided."
Speaking at a Jerusalem news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livini, Rice said that the final border between the Palestinian Authority and Israel would be determined through negotiation, and neither side should do anything to upset the process.
"I think it's no secret, and I've said it to my Israeli counterparts, that I don't think the settlement activity is helpful to the process, that in fact, what we need now are steps that enhance confidence between the parties," Rice said. "Anything that undermines confidence between the parties ought to be avoided."
I don't think the settlement activity is helpful to the process
Then the fact that they continue to do it while you're there, don't even halt it, don't pretend to hide it, sends a big fat message about how seriously they take your presence. keep to the Fen Causeway
A Sudanese airliner has been hijacked shortly after take-off from Nyala, in Darfur region, Sudanese civil aviation officials have said. The plane was on its way to Khartoum, but has landed in Libya, after first trying to land in Cairo, reports say. Aviation officials in Khartoum told the BBC the plane belonged to Sudanese airline Sun Air and there were 95 people on board. The officials said members of a former Darfur rebel group were on the plane.
A Sudanese airliner has been hijacked shortly after take-off from Nyala, in Darfur region, Sudanese civil aviation officials have said.
The plane was on its way to Khartoum, but has landed in Libya, after first trying to land in Cairo, reports say.
Aviation officials in Khartoum told the BBC the plane belonged to Sudanese airline Sun Air and there were 95 people on board.
The officials said members of a former Darfur rebel group were on the plane.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki demanded a complete U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq by 2011 as he embarked Monday on an attempt to win support among Iraqi leaders for a draft security accord with the United States. Maliki's comments appeared to be an attempt to extract further concessions from American officials, less than a week after both sides said they had agreed to remove all U.S. combat troops by the end of 2011, if the security situation remained relatively stable, but leave other American forces in place. The U.S. plan is to leave as many as 40,000 troops to continue to assist Iraq in training, logistics and intelligence for an undefined period.
Maliki's comments appeared to be an attempt to extract further concessions from American officials, less than a week after both sides said they had agreed to remove all U.S. combat troops by the end of 2011, if the security situation remained relatively stable, but leave other American forces in place. The U.S. plan is to leave as many as 40,000 troops to continue to assist Iraq in training, logistics and intelligence for an undefined period.
Algenol Biofuels Inc. is introducing it's DIRECT TO ETHANOLTMtechnology. Algenol Biofuels is an innovative algae to ethanol company. Algenol has the most advanced 3rd generation biofuels technology producing ethanol from algae through a process powered by the sun. Algenol's technology produces industrial-scale, low-cost ethanol using algae, sunlight, CO2, and seawater. Algenol is slated for commercial sales of ethanol in 2009. Algenol does not use food, farmland, or fresh water. Algenol produces ethanol at a rate of over 6,000 gallons per acre per year. The Direct to EthanolTM process links photosynthesis with the natural enzymes to produce ethanol inside each tiny algae cell. The Direct to EthanolTM technology is the only end-to-end commercial process that stabilizes and reduces CO2 levels. Algenol puts CO2 to work. Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) vs. Carbon Capture & Utilization (CCU). For Algenol pictures and video, please visit our gallery at http://gallery.mac.com/algenolbiofuels The Algenol ADVANTAGES are many. The DIRECT TO ETHANOLTM process uses both a proprietary algae and proprietary collection methods to produce cost effective ethanol that: Does NOT require food based feedstocks like corn or sugarcane. Does NOT require harvesting. Does NOT require fossil fuel based fertilizers. Does NOT require fresh water. Does NOT require large amounts of fossil fuel. Does NOT require arable land. Does use desert land and marginal land. Does make fresh water from seawater during the process. Does use treated manure instead of fossil fuel based fertilizers. Does have an energy balance over 8 : 1 (energy output : fossil fuel input).
The Algenol ADVANTAGES are many. The DIRECT TO ETHANOLTM process uses both a proprietary algae and proprietary collection methods to produce cost effective ethanol that:
One could hope for a fuel with more energy density than ethanol. Butanol for instance. But this process may well be upgradable to such a process when it is available. Meanwhile...
For other reports see below and the associated comments. Turning algae into ethanol, and gold From Treehugger As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
you are the media you consume.
In the best case, the objection is that it's not clear how well it scales. Often, it's just hackery. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Afghan opium cultivation and production dropped in 2008 for the first time in three years, partly because of drought, with almost all the illegal crop grown in unrest-hit areas, the UN said Tuesday.The destitute country produces around 90 percent of the world's opium, used to make heroin sold in Europe and Central Asia, with production reaching record levels last year and profits said to feed a Taliban-led insurgency.Last year, the world was "hit by a heroin tsunami," Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said in a statement. "This year the opium flood waters have started to recede."The UN agency, in a report on its annual poppy survey, said there was a 19 percent decrease in opium cultivation to 157,000 hectares (388,000 acres), down from a record harvest of 193,000 hectares in 2007. It marked the first drop in cultivation since 2005. <...> "The situation has to be reviewed within a few months.... One year is not enough to be convinced that something structural has changed," [Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime] said.
Afghan opium cultivation and production dropped in 2008 for the first time in three years, partly because of drought, with almost all the illegal crop grown in unrest-hit areas, the UN said Tuesday.
The destitute country produces around 90 percent of the world's opium, used to make heroin sold in Europe and Central Asia, with production reaching record levels last year and profits said to feed a Taliban-led insurgency.
Last year, the world was "hit by a heroin tsunami," Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said in a statement. "This year the opium flood waters have started to recede."
The UN agency, in a report on its annual poppy survey, said there was a 19 percent decrease in opium cultivation to 157,000 hectares (388,000 acres), down from a record harvest of 193,000 hectares in 2007. It marked the first drop in cultivation since 2005.
<...>
"The situation has to be reviewed within a few months.... One year is not enough to be convinced that something structural has changed," [Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime] said.
BBC NEWS | World | Americas | 'Hero' Clinton plays killer scene
So often at the crucial moments of her life she has known what has to be said in public and she has said it, even when people have assumed that she must have been feeling something very different inside.
A remarkable piece of 'journalism' - Clinton may have said she wanted party unity, and said it over and over, but really she was thinking something very different.
Very few people know what Mrs Clinton really thinks, and they never say.
What would the BBC do without its talented mind-reading correspondents?
Better probably. But the Washington contingent are especially dumb. JW is a joke keep to the Fen Causeway
