BAGHDAD — The war in Iraq has entered a bloodier phase, with American casualties steadily declining over the past five months while the killings of Iraqi civilians have risen tremendously in sectarian violence, spurring tens of thousands of Iraqis to flee from mixed Shiite-Sunni areas. The new pattern, detailed in casualty and migration statistics and in interviews with American commanders and Iraqi officials, has led to further separation of Shiite and Sunni Arabs, moving the country toward a de facto partitioning along sectarian and ethnic lines – an outcome that the Bush administration has doggedly worked to avoid over the past three years The nature of the Iraq war has been changing since at least late autumn, when political friction between Sunni Arabs and the majority Shiites rose even as American troops began to carry out a long-term plan to decrease their street presence. But the killing accelerated most sharply after the bombing on Feb. 22 of a revered Shiite shrine, which unleashed a wave of sectarian bloodletting. About 900 Iraqi civilians were killed in March, up from about 700 the month before, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, an independent organization that tracks deaths. Meanwhile, […]
Venezuela had a blunt message this week for Exxon Mobil, one of the world’s most powerful oil companies: Get off my crude-rich turf. Venezuela is tightening its squeeze on the oil industry, telling oil companies to give the state a greater share of profits - or get out. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez on Wednesday said Exxon Mobil Corp. was one of the companies that would ‘prefer to leave … rather than adjust’ to recent policy changes. ‘We said we don’t want them to be here then,’ Ramirez told the state TV broadcaster adding, if ‘we need them, we’ll call them.’ Exxon Mobil indicated Thursday it had no plans to pull out. ‘ExxonMobil de Venezuela continues to have a long-term perspective of its activities in Venezuela,’ it said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. The flap helped push the price of oil above $67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday as the market reacted to the latest sign of tighter state-control of energy around the globe. Venezuela is taking on Big Oil at a time when rising oil prices, political instability in the Mideast and Nigeria and new buyers […]
The United States on Friday ordered its representatives in Israel and throughout the world to cut off all contact with any members of the Palestinian Authority government who belong to Hamas. The order applies to all Hamas ministers and their subordinates, even those who are not themselves Hamas members. However, the US will maintain ties with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and all agencies under Abbas’s auspices. The State Department has decided to consider Afif Safiah, the Palestinian attach in Washington, a representative of the PLO and not the PA. The American decision follows President George W. Bush’s declaration Wednesday that he would not agree to aid a Hamas-led PA. ‘I weep for the Palestinians’ suffering,’ Bush said in a speech. ‘They’ve been ruled for years by a disappointing government, but we can’t fund a nation that seeks to destroy its neighbor.’ Earlier Wednesday, Soon after Hamas formally took power, Canada announced it was suspending aid to the Palestinian Authority. Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement that Canada had no choice but to suspend assistance to the PA and decline contact with the new Hamas cabinet. With Hamas at the helm, the […]
About 130,000 years ago, an ice age ended and there was a period of few centuries before the next one began. During this lull, Earth’s temperature warmed, glaciers retreated and ice sheets melted. Sea levels rose by up to 20 feet. Scientists warn that this could happen again-and soon. But while the last great thaw was the result of a natural tilt in the Earth’s axis towards the Sun, the next one will be caused by humans, some scientists argue. If global warming continues at its current pace, by 2100 Earth could be up to 8 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it is today. If steps are not taken soon to reduce greenhouse emissions, the Arctic will be as warm as it was 130,000 years ago and similar rises in sea level will occur, according to two new studies released today. ‘Although the focus of our work is polar, the implications are global,’ said Bette Otto-Bliesner from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado, who was involved in both studies. ‘These ice sheets melted before and sea levels rose. The warmth needed isn’t that much above present conditions.’ Hot Topic The Controversy […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
