What follows is my "PDB" from my
blog, which is similar to what George Bush gets every day, except mine is all from public sources and is a bit longer than one double-spaced page.
I believe that the best electorate is an informed electorate, and that must include a knowledge of what's going on around the world. It is for this reason that I post the PDB on DailyKos.
I read approximately 50 newspapers every morning and report what I find there, with an emphasis on foreign or international events. You will however not find information about Iraq or the Israeli/Palestinian situation, the first because it is amply reported elsewhere and the latter because it is too contentious.
In the non-English sections, I'm going to translate the headline of the linked article. All mistakes and errors are therefore mine alone.
In English
As I'm sure you know quite well, George Bush and about 50 other foreign leaders are in
Russia to commemorate 60 years after defeating Nazi Germany. Just for the record, the Soviet Union lost
27 million people during that war, which nobody ever bothered to teach me in my American schools.
Not present today will be the president of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, upset after Russian FM Lavrov said Russia will not remove its bases from Georgia any earlier than 2008.
The official website for the ceremony, in English, can be found here, including with lots of good photos.
While everyone is focusing on the hoopla, I see that Rupert Murdoch has asked the EBRD for 100 million dollars to help him expand his media empire in Russia. Isn't Pravda bad enough?
Meanwhile the FT is reporting that the United States is losing billions of dollars because of its poor image abroad. As someone who lives in a foreign country, I can tell you that I'm starting to think I should tell people I'm Canadian because I'm sick of the hostile attitudes I get when I tell people I'm American.
It looks like that long-awaited insurgency in Myanmar is gaining strength as "rebel groups" set off a series of bombs in the capital of Rangoon, killing a dozen people and injuring hundreds. There were two smaller bombings last week that I reported as well.
There's a political fallout in Norway after the leader of the Conservative Party said that homosexuals are "disturbed in their heads". What is ironic is that the former CP leader (and current Finance Minister) is openly gay.
The upper house of parliament in Egypt, controlled by President Hosni Mubarak's supporters, has passed a law that allows challengers to his 24 year reign but makes the requirements so difficult it effectively rules out any serious competition.
Meanwhile the banned Muslim Brotherhood vowed to continue pro-democracy demonstrations despite the fact that thousands of supporters have been arrested.
Al-Jazeera notes the "triumphant" return of "Mad" Michel Aoun to Lebanon, which is likely to rock the boat during upcoming elections in June.
It looks like South Africa and Nigeria are going to "work together" to lobby for the two African seats on the proposed enlarged UN Security Council. There are 6 countries "running" for the slot, with Egypt being a strong contender besides SA and Nigeria.
Well, well, I was just browsing through the Monitor when I found this:
At least 200 Ugandan youths on Saturday signed up for security work in Iraq and at American installations worldwide.
The Ugandans who go to Iraq will be deployed to guard public and private installations in the war-ravaged country where the United States forces continue to battle local insurgents.
A local law firm, Hall & Partners, is working in collaboration with a local security firm, Aktar Security Services, on the recruitment exercise, which is targeting 10,000 people in three years.
Mr Bob Kasango, a lawyer with Hall & Partners, said the firm was hired by the World Wide Special Operations (WWSO), who work for and closely with the US government and other international organisations like the World Bank, Coca Cola, and Microsoft Corporation to provide security.
I should mention that Uganda is a former British colony and many of its residents speak English natively.
Meanwhile Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is holding secret pow-wows with opposition leaders as his supporters in Parliament are pushing to amend the Constitution, a controversial move.
And in related news, thousands of people in Sudan have fled their homes after being attacked by the ghastly Lord's Resistance Army.
Trouble continues in Cote D'Ivoire as tens of thousands remain homeless after inter-ethnic tension and violence in Duekoue. If you want an informative snapshot of what's going on in this country, read the article.
Well well... it looks like some "unnamed" western diplomats, apparently American and Belgian, have released documents allegedly proving massive fraud in the recent presidential elections in Togo. France has long supported the winner's dictatorial father and so far they haven't uttered a peep about the massive fraud. Looks like this an attempt to nudge France out of the driver's seat in a part of the world which it has long held control.
The once proud nation of Kenya continues to slip towards the abyss as street "battles" may result if the crisis over how to amend the Constitution is not resolved very quickly.
Meanwhile the East Africa Standard has an in-depth look at Kenyan President Kibaki's free-wheeling main wife Lucy, whose antics recently made it into a few bigger mainstream media outlets in the west.
Today's IPS has an article about ravaged villagers living in Guinea whose homes and neighborhood were destroyed by Charles Taylor's allies the RUF out of Sierra Leone five years ago, and how international aid has failed to materialize. Worth mentioning here that the SL Prosecutor, an American, recently accused Charles Taylor of still trying to topple Guinea's president even from his exile in Nigeria.
A coalition of human rights organizations from 20 countries has urged energy giant Kerr-McGee to pull out its oil exploration rigs offshore of occupied Western Sahara. I wrote a longer piece on the history and context of WS on my blog if you're interested.
Some excellent news as South African sponsored meetings between the interim president of Burundi, Domitien Ndayizeye, and the main rebel group (FDD) are back on track. While less well-known that nearby Rwanda's civil war, the devastation in Burundi killed nearly 300,000 people.
Police in Lagos, Nigeria used bulldozers to destroy hundreds of buildings in a shanty "neighborhood", including a church, mosques and a health clinic, leaving thousands homeless. 13 million people live in Lagos, the largest city in the most populous country in Africa.
A black market has flourished in Zimbabwe as even stores in the capital are out of basic food items.
Hundreds of tribal leaders backed Afghan President Hamid Karzai's "strategic alliance" with the United States in a closed-door session at the "heavily guarded presidential compound". Meanwhile US and Afghan troops battled the Invincible Taliban near Kandahar, leaving 20 insurgents dead and 9 Afghan troops injured. And an explosion in the capital of Kabul over the weekend killed 3 people, including one UN employee, a native of Myanmar. Oh yeah and 2 Americans were killed while fighting the IT in Laghman Province after the IT leadership declared it would never hold talks with the Americans and vowed to intensify attacks.
Sometimes smoking a cigarette can save your life.
A court in Kuwait convicted 20 men on charges of recruiting anti-American fighters for Iraq but their lawyers say their confession was beaten out of them by police interrogation. I've said it before and I'll say it again - watch for the oil-rich Gulf states to use increasingly tougher measures to crack down on their citizens who are increasingly anti-Western and resentful of their unelected leaders pro-US stance.
The regulatory agency in Turkey has banned four subscription-only adult television channels, prompting fierce criticism.
Police and the military have been deployed to prevent any street protests or marches ahead of an important mayoral race in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Election violence in this democratic country is regrettably far too common.
The President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, has called on France to admit its role in the massacre of Algiers and other cities 60 years ago (yesterday), which left 45,000 Algerians dead.
What do you do when your wife is the president of the Phillippines? Go to army bases and hand out free dentures, of course! :)
Meanwhile over the weekend the Filipino military fought two battles with the New People's Army whch left 13 "rebels" dead.
Two opposition leaders in Venezuela are forming a new political party to oppose both the current opposition as well as President Hugo Chavez. Good luck, fellas!
The number of reported cases of sexual assault in 2004 involving the American military has nearly doubled since 2003, but the Pentagon is "not alarmed".
Voters in the Central African Republic are waiting for the ballots to be counted in the second round of the presidential elections, with Francois "Sneezy" Bozize likely to be declared the winner.
Looks like the Wall Street Journal is running into major problems as its going to reduce the size of its Asian and European editions and lay off a number of employees.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, says there is "no danger" of his country becoming an extremist Islamic state. Perhaps...
Today's Hong Kong Standard has an excellent article on the Uighurs, a Turkic, Muslim people in western China which are battling cultural extinction and harsh crackdowns by the authorities.
Troops in Yemen have arrested Amireddine al-Houthi, the son of the man leading the nearly year long uprising by the Young Believers against the central government.
I've been tracking Carla de Ponte's recent statements about the search for 3 men, 2 Serbs and 1 Croatian, for the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Now it looks like the reason these 3 men are still free is largely due to American and NATO obstruction:
They said the information [about Radavan Karadzic's location] was so sensitive that it could not be passed to western intelligence or to security services operating in the Balkans because of past experiences when "actionable intelligence" given to Nato officers in Bosnia was either leaked or not acted upon.
Tribunal officials are bitter at what they call the "sterility" of the international forces in Bosnia over war crimes inves tigations. The European Union took over peacekeeping from Nato in Bosnia last year, but the Atlantic alliance and United States forces retain a small unit there, devoted to tracking suspects and gathering intelligence.
"We still haven't seen any serious arrests. The last arrest they did was in July 2002," said a senior tribunal source. "I can't give the internationals much credit for anything." A undercover US agent, seen by some investigators as being highly effective in tracking war-crimes suspects, was recently fired by the Nato command in Sarajevo.
Knowledgeable officials in Ms del Ponte's office are also reluctant to pass on any information to western European or US intelligence for fear that this might hinder rather than help catch the suspects.
Ms del Ponte has said that if Dr Karadzic and Gen Mladic were still at large by the end of this year, she would release details of how Nato forces in Bosnia have allegedly obstructed the hunts.
The top rabbi of Israel's Sephardic community has denied any involvement in the abduction and violent beating of a secular young man who was dating his daughter.
U.S. envoy Laura Kennedy continues to push for all the sides involved to resume negotiations on the reunification of the island of Cyprus.
If you are an American taxpayer, you will be happy to know you just paid for Pakistan to receive 1.3 billion dollars worth of weaponry, including 8 Orion aircraft and 60 Harpoon missiles, from Lockheed Martin.
Australia continues to look for a new ambassador to the United States after NSW Premier Bob Carr turned down the possibility and nobody else wants the job.
Extremely bad news as the incurable Marburg virus has killed another 20 people in Angola.
The government of India is considering requiring all of its citizens who work abroad to carry a "smart card" that contains digitized personal information.
Yesterday's Toronto Star has a good article on the increasing American pressure for China to revalue its currency.
The peerless Eurasianet has a good article about how Uzbekistan's president Islam Karimov is (rightly) becoming increasingly paranoid about a revolution in his country.
Former PM Yvon Neptune continues to barely cling to life in Haiti. Neptune has been jailed without being charged for more than a year after the United States forced the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on February 29, 2004. The head UN peacekeeper in the country says Neptune's medical treatment is "illegal".
Better news this weekend from Haiti as the Russian citizen kidnapped by gunmen was freed and allowed to go home.
And last but not least, security forces in Chechnya have detained a woman who is allegedly a trainer for suicide bombers.
Spanish - En castellano
Casi cinco años después que Estados Unidos comenzó a gastar $3,000 millones en el programa de ayuda Plan Colombia, destinado a acabar con la producción de cocaína y de heroína, y de aplastar una insurgencia izquierdista, las malas noticias han comenzado a acumularse con rapidez. Nearly 5 years later, the 3 billion dollars the United States has spent on Plan Colombia, with its intent to stop cocaine and heroine production and to destroy the leftist insurgency, has run into one setback after another:
Los rebeldes han mostrado gran capacidad de recuperación, ha repuntado el cultivo de plantas usadas para fabricar drogas, y se ha descubierto que soldados estadounidenses participaron en complots para contrabandear cocaína y canalizar munición robada hacia escuadrones de la muerte.
Esos contratiempos indican que los esfuerzos de Estados Unidos para restablecer la paz y el imperio de la ley en esta nación andina todavía enfrentan grandes desafíos. Pero el embajador de Estados Unidos en Bogotá, William Wood, se muestra imperturbable, y ha dicho que continuará la misión de reducir la actividad rebelde e impedir a la guerrilla obtener dinero del narcotráfico.
La Organización de Naciones Unidas (ONU) denunció una vez más la grave crisis humanitaria y de derechos humanos en la aldea de Bojayá, noroeste de Colombia, por los enfrentamientos entre grupos guerrilleros y paramilitares. The United Nations again warned about the grave humanitarian crisis and the lack of human rights in Bojaya in northeastern Colombia, where there are frequent clashes between guerilla and paramilitary groups
La coalición de izquierda Encuentro Progresista-Frente Amplio se acaparó de los gobiernos en cinco provincias durante las votaciones locales celebradas este domingo en Uruguay. The leftist coalition "Progressive Front" has won the top slots in 5 provinces [there are only 19 total] after the local elections were held Sunday in Uruguay
El presidente de México Vicente Fox se reunió a última hora del viernes con el alcalde de la capital del país Andrés Manuel López Obrador, quien calificó el encuentro como la reafirmación democrática en México. Late on Friday, the Mexican President Vicente Fox met with the mayor of the capitall, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, saying it was a reaffirmation of democracy in Mexico
Brasil realizará el 10 y 11 de mayo en Brasilia la primera cúpula de mandatarios de las 12 naciones sudamericanas y de los 22 miembros de la Liga Arabe. On May 10-11, Brazil will host at its capital of Brasilia the first meeting of heads of state from 12 South American countries and 22 members of the Arab League
Las multinacionales petroleras que operan en Venezuela deben pagar con 'retroactivo e intereses' los impuestos que le deben al Estado 'o irse' del país, sostuvo hoy el presidente venezolano, Hugo Chávez. Today the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that international oil firms which operate in Venezuela have to pay the taxes owed to the state "retroactively and with interest" or else they have to "get out" of the country
El presidente de Argentina, Néstor Kirchner, viajará esta tarde hacia Brasilia donde por la noche se entrevistará con su colega, Luiz Inácio da Silva, en un intento para normalizar la relación bilateral, que sufrió algunos cortocircuitos durante las últimas semanas. The President of Argentina, Nestor Kirchner, will fly this afternoon to Brazil where tonight he will meet with his colleague, Luis Inacio da Silvo, in an attempt to patch up their relations which have suffered some "short circuits" during the past few weeks
En el fondo del Mar Argentino que circunda a las islas Malvinas habría mil millones de barriles de petróleo. Equivale a reservas para 25 a 30 años, una cifra espectacular en cualquier parte del mundo. La compañía inglesa Desire está dispuesta a ir por esas reservas y para eso invertirá 40 millones de dólares para iniciar a partir de 2006 las actividades de exploración. At the bottom of the Argentine Sea near the Malvinas [Falkland] Islands there could be billions of barrels of oil. This means a reserve of 25 to 30 years, an amazing amount for this part of the world. The British company "Desire" is ready to extract this oil and has invested 40 million dollars to begin exploration in 2006
El anuncio del embarazo de la Princesa de Asturias ha puesto sobre la mesa la necesidad de comenzar la reforma de la Constitución que termine con la preferencia del varón en la sucesión a la Corona. The announcement that the Princess of Asturias [Spain] has raised the subject of reforming the Constitution's requirement that the line of succession to the Crown goes first through males
Italian - In italiano
Negli undici anni dedicati a Forza Italia e al governo, infatti, Silvio Berlusconi è riuscito a moltiplicare per tre il suo valore. A inizio '94 il suo patrimonio era di 3,1 miliardi. Oggi i beni di famiglia sono lievitati a 9,6 miliardi. In the 11 years he's been with Forza Italia and in the government, Silvio Berlusconi has managed to triple his own worth. At the beginning of 1994, he was worth 3.1 billion [Euros]. Now his family worth has risen to 9.6 billion
Si è votato ieri per le elezioni amministrative nei 68 comuni della Val d'Aosta e nei 320 del Trentino Alto Adige. Yesterday 66 towns in Val D'Aosta and 320 in Trentino Alto Adige held their local elections
Dal «caro Silvio» ricambiato da un «caro Volodia» (il diminutivo di Vladimir) durante il brindisi a base di vodka al Cremlino il 3 aprile 2002 al «ti aspetto con impazienza» scritto l'altro ieri in un messaggio dal leader russo, alla vigilia dell'ottavo incontro in Russia tra i due, il quarto ufficiale, i rapporti tra Putin e Berlusconi marciano sul binario di un'intesa politica perfetta, che ha facilitato il nascere e consolidarsi di un'amicizia personale. "Dear Silvio" was met with "Dear Volodia" (the diminutive of Vladimir) during the vodka toasts at the Kremlin on April 3, 2002 and now yesterday the Russian leader wrote [Berlusconi] saying "I anxiously await you". The communication between Putin and Berlusconi has marched in political lockstep, which springs from a personal friendship
Da oggi scioperi nei trasporti e disagi per i viaggiatori. Si inizia con gli aeroporti di Linate e Malpensa fermi oggi per due ore. Today transportation workers will go on strike, causing problems for travelers. Today the airports of Linate and Malpensa will be closed for two hours
Romanian - În limba româna
For updated stories about Romania, I recommend Mediafax news agency.
Pentru a obliga autoritatile judetene sa treaca la modernizarea celor doua drumuri nationale, coloana de masini are planificate mai multe opriri in timpul carora soferii vor umple gropile din asfalt cu cartofi, pomi si pamint. To get the local authorities to fix the two highways, a column of vehicles has planned to stop along the roadways so the drivers can fill the potholes with potatoes, tree branches and dirt
Presedintele Republicii Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, l-a primit, joi, 5 mai, pe secretarul Consiliului de securitate nationala si aparare al Ucrainei, Piotr Porosenko, considerat autor al celor ,,7 pasi" de reglementare a diferendului transnistrean, propusi de catre Presedintele ucrainean Victor Iuscenko la summit-ul GUUAM desfasurat recent la Chisinau. On Thursday, May 5, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, received the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Piotr Porosenko, who is the author of the "7 steps" to resolving the Transnistrian situation, set forth by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko at the recent GUUAM summit in Chisinau.
Cum se cheltuiesc taxele si impozitele pe care le platesti. Lucratorii de frunte ai Ministerului Administratiei si Internelor (MAI) au gusturi alese. Printre necesitatile lor de maxima stringenta se numara: branza cu mucegai, tigarile, bauturile alcoolice distilate fine, plus energizantele de rigoare, berea sau vinul. How they spend the tax and fee money which they received. The remarkable employees of the Ministry of Administration and Internal Affairs have refined tastes. Among their strict necessities: aged cheese, cigarettes, spirits plus eneergy drinks, beer and wine.
Lucrarile la autostrada Timisoara, construita de americanii de la Bechtel, vor fi intarziate de lipsa fondurilor, generata de constrangerile bugetare. In acelasi timp, contractele pentru Autostrada Bucuresti-Brasov, negociate cu firmele Vinci, Strabag si Austrom, sunt blocate de interese politice. In asteptarea fondurilor nerambursabile de la Uniunea Europeana, Romania se pregateste de integrare cu o infrastructura rutiera dezastruoasa. Work on the highway in Timisoara, being built by Americans from Bechtel, will be delayed because of a lack of funds due to budgetary constraints. At the same time, the contract for the Bucharest-Brasov highway, negotiated with the company Vinci, Strabag and Austrom, is blocked due to political reasons. While waiting for non-reimbursable funds from the European Union, Romania is trying to integrate a disastrous roadway system
Dupa Timis si Caras-Severin, alte 15 judete au fost inundate in acest week-end, bilantul ultimelor 48 de ore ca urmare a ploilor cazute sambata fiind dezastruos: oameni disparuti, animale inecate, mii de hectare de pamant distruse, sute de gospodarii "maturate" de viitura. In comuna ialomiteana Movilita, o tornada a produs pagube de peste 3 miliarde de lei si a bagat spaima in locuitorii comunei. After Timis and Caras-Severin, another 15 counties were flooded this weekend. 48 hours after the rain fell on Saturday, the results are disastrous: people missing, animals drowned, thousands of hectares of land destroyed, hundreds of homes swept away. In the town of Movilitia in Ialomita, a tornado caused 3 billion lei worth of damage and frightened the residents
Presedintele PSD, Mircea Geoana, a afirmat, sambata, la Craiova, ca rapitorii celor trei jurnalisti au cerut autoritatilor romane o importanta suma de bani in schimbul eliberarii lui Marie-Jeanne Ion, Sorin Miscoci si Ovidiu Ohanesian. The president of the PSD party [and former Foreign Minister] Mircea Genoana said on Saturday from Craiova that the kidnappers of the three journalists want the Romanian government to pay a large sum of money to free Marie-Jeanne Ion, Sorin Miscoci and Ovidiu Ohanesian
