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Front Page: Nobel Peace Prize Awarded, Dow Falls Below 8,000 at Opening, NATO to Attack Opium Labs

CitizenSugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:54:05 -0700

Nobel Peace Prize Awarded:
The 2008 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this morning to former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. Chosen from a group of 197 people for his decades of cautious diplomatic work, the Nobel committee says he was picked, “for his important efforts in several continents and over three decades to resolve international conflicts," specifically his work to end South African domination in Namibia.

Dow Falls Below 8,000 at Opening:
Moments after the opening bell this morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 8,000 amid news that the global markets are in a selloff. European markets fell more than 10 percent at opening and shares in Asia continued to decline amid fears of a huge global recession. One expert says, “We are fighting really dire fundamentals. It will require restoring trust and confidence before a sustained rebound will be possible.” Perhaps addressing that confidence, President Bush is set to give an address at 10:25 a.m. ET.

NATO to Attack Opium Labs:
NATO has just agreed to allow its troops to attack opium factories in Afghanistan for the first time. According to a NATO spokesman the troops will be acting "against facilities and facilitators" to stop those using the drugs to finance the Taliban. Some NATO members have expressed concern that the crackdown will cause a backlash against the troops. Afghanistan supplies more than 90 percent of the world's opium.

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Front Page: Study Pegs Afghanistan as Crisis, State Ownership of Banks Considered, Zimbabwe's Inflation Hits Extreme High

CitizenSugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:00:26 -0700

Study Pegs Afghanistan Crisis:
A report by US intelligence agencies says Afghanistan is in a "downward spiral" and injects doubt over the ability of the Afghan government to overcome the Taliban's influence. The strength of the government has been severely compromised by corruption within Karzai's administration. The conclusions of the report indicate it should have been central to the war on terror, an effort now in need of more international troops.

State Ownership of Banks Considered:
The White House is considering ownership stakes in some US banks as a way of stemming the severe global credit crisis. Though no decision has been made, the $700 billion Bailout Bill allows the Treasury Department to get ownership stakes in financial institutions in exchange for the bailout.

Zimbabwe's Inflation Hits Extreme High:
The official annual inflation rate of Zimbabwe has hit 231,000,000 percent. The new astronomical number is up from 11,000,000 percent a year ago. The power-sharing deal between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai did little to reverse the downward spiral of the economy. The UN estimates two million people are in need of food aid, a number that will rise to half the population by early next year.

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Front Page: Congress May Add Stimulus, South Africa's Mbeki Resigns, Militants Kidnap 155 in Afghanistan

CitizenSugar — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:00:38 -0700

Congress May Add Stimulus:
Congress is likely to raise the cost of the $700 billion rescue deal by adding more economic stimulus for taxpayers, according to Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank. The cost of the current plan could reach $1 trillion. Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd urged caution this morning and praised Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as "the right man."

South Africa's Mbeki Resigns:
South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki resigned yesterday after his political party demanded that he step down. He gave a brief speech saying, “I would like to say that gloom and despondency have never defeated adversity. Trying times need courage and resilience.” Mbeki has been temporarily replaced by Kgalema Motlanthe.

Militants Kidnap 155 in Afghanistan:
Three buses carrying Afghan laborers were stopped by militants and all 155 people on board were kidnapped. No one has yet claimed responsibility and the Interior Ministry spokesman says, "What demand might they have from the government? They are poor and innocent laborers who are traveling far distances for work." Though kidnappings and ransoms are routine in Afghanistan, this instance is the first time militants have attempted to abduct and hold such a large group.

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Front Page: 1 Million Cut Off By Floods, China Deports Protesters, Pakistan Bans the Taliban

CitizenSugar — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:00:49 -0700

1 Million Cut Off By Floods:
In India, more than a million people have been stranded by monsoon-season flooding. Authorities are struggling today to get aid and food to people in the stricken northern state and the government has issued a plea for relief agencies to provide food and shelter. The area's chief minister says, ''It is not a normal flood, but a catastrophe." This year's monsoons have killed 330 people so far.

China Deports Protesters:
Eight American protesters who were detained by Chinese authorities during the Olympics and given 10-day sentences, have been released six days early. The protesters were part of Students for a Free Tibet, four of them were detained for unfurling a Tibetan flag near the stadium. They were deported as the closing ceremony started.

Pakistan Bans the Taliban:
After the Taliban claimed responsibility today for one of Pakistan's worst ever terrorist attacks, Pakistan has banned the Taliban. The move shows the country is toughening its stance a week after Pervez Musharraf left power. Just 24 hours after rejecting a Taliban cease-fire offer, the ministry announced the decision sayiing, ''This organization is a terrorist organization and created mayhem against public life."

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Report: Taliban Using Sophisticated Media Network

CitizenSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:07:45 -0700

Report: Taliban Using Sophisticated Media Network The Taliban have created a sophisticated media network to undermine support for the Afghan government, sending threats by text message and spreading the militia's views through songs available as ring tones, according to a report released Thursday. Many of the messages that have been distributed come in the form of songs, religious chants, and poetry that appeal to Afghan nationalism and Islamic pride. Some of the tunes are available as ring tones for phones, and cassettes include songs such as "Let Me Go to Jihad," the report said.

Front Page: Worst Afghanistan Toll, Cell Phone Law, Obama to Expand Faith-Based Programs

CitizenSugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:05:03 -0700

Worst Afghanistan Toll:
June was the deadliest for foreign troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 fall of the Taliban, and it was the second month in a row where the toll exceeded that in Iraq. At least 45 foreign troops were killed compared with 31 soldier deaths in Iraq. The casualty rate is thought to be tied to the Taliban's aim for headline-grabbing attacks that will promote their growing strength. Almost half of the 122 foreign soldiers who have died in Afghanistan during 2008 were killed in June, most by roadside bombs.

Cell Phone Law:
California's hands-free cell phone law goes into effect today. Offenders not using a hands-free headset while driving will be subject to a $20 fine for a first offense, and $50 for subsequent offenses. The law does not outlaw texting while driving, leading some to think the claims of safety are relative. Meanwhile, Sioux Falls, SD, has been named the safest driving city in the US.
Obama to Expand Faith-Based Programs:
Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand funding for President Bush's faith-based programs, pointing more Federal social service dollars to religious groups — and he'll announce that he will support some ability to hire and fire based on faith. The plan will be unveiled during remarks at the Eastside Community Ministry in Ohio. Obama is expected to say, ''the challenges we face today. . . are simply too big for government to solve alone. We need all hands on deck.''

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Front Page: Attack Threatens Cease-fire, Clinton Back to Work, Germany Sending More Troops

CitizenSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:56:44 -0700

Attack Threatens Cease-fire: Two Palestinian rockets struck southern Israel moments ago, prompting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office says the week-old cease-fire has been broken. The first rockets fired since the truce hit an open area leaving no injuries. As of yet, there has been no word as to how Israel will react, nor any claims of responsibility. The attack occurred hours after Israeli troops killed two Palestinians in a West Bank raid. Though the West Bank is not formally included in the Gaza truce, the Israeli raid could be perceived as violating the spirit of the cease-fire.

Clinton Back to Work: US Senator Hillary Clinton is heading back to work today, a return to congressional politics for the first time since conceding to Obama nearly three weeks ago. Her return to the chamber today comes before her first joint appearances with White House contender Barack Obama, expected later this week. On Sunday, Clinton told a high-school graduating class in New York that meeting thousands of people across the nation during her primary campaign had been an "extraordinary experience."
Germany Sending More Troops: Germany is preparing to send 1,000 more soldiers to serve with the NATO-led peace-keeping force in Afghanistan. The US urged Germany to send more troops in February, and NATO allies have pushed for a boost in deployment to southern Afghanistan, the heart of the Taliban insurgency. Most of Germany's 3,500 troops are already based in northern Afghanistan and around the capital, Kabul. The UN has just announced that the Taliban made an about $100 million in 2007 from Afghan farmers growing poppy for the opium trade, producing about 8,000 tons of opium.

Front Page: Baghdad Blast Kills 51, Operation Launched Against Taliban, Bush and Offshore Drilling

CitizenSugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:00:30 -0700

Baghdad Blast Kills 51: An enormous car bombing shattered part of a busy marketplace and set a crowded apartment building alight in a heavily Shiite district of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 51 people and wounding 75. As the blast occurred in the midst of a neighborhood where Sunnis had been savagely driven out, some of locals blamed the displaced Sunnis for the attack. The bombing was the deadliest attack in 3 months. One man whose wife and child were killed in the blast sceamed, “now the Americans are bringing outsiders to secure our neighborhood, and look what happened! Maybe we should bring back the old days.”

Operation Launched Against Taliban: NATO and Afghan forces begun a joint operation to drive Taliban insurgents from the outskirts of the city of Kandahar. Amid conflicting reports of casualties, troops backed by helicopter gunships are patrolling west of the Arghandab river, revealing "no major incidents so far". One resident says of the patrols, "most of the roads have been closed, there are check posts everywhere, planes are flying and military convoys belonging to the Afghan and foreign forces are patrolling the city." Last Friday about 350 Taliban fighters escaped with a total of 1,200 inmates from a jail in Kandahar. Only a handful of prisoners have been recaptured.
Bush and Offshore Drilling: President Bush will call on Congress today to reverse a long standing federal ban on offshore oil drilling. Bush wants to work with states to determine where drilling should occur. The move demonstrates how $4-a-gallon gas will be a major issue in the 2008 presidential campaign, and a growing number of Republicans are lining up in opposition to the federal ban. The Congressional moratorium on offshore drilling was first enacted in 1982, and has been renewed every year since. It prohibits oil and gas leasing on most of the outer continental shelf, 3 miles to 200 miles offshore.

Karzai Pledges Chase of Prison Break Taliban Into Pakistan

CitizenSugar — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:00:31 -0700

Following a giant prison break over the weekend freeing 1,200 criminals, Afghanistan has threatened to send troops across the border with Pakistan in an effort to hunt down Taliban leadership, who they blame for the explosion and flood of escapees. The threat did not sit well with Pakistan’s prime minister who responded: [we will] "not allow anyone to interfere in our national limits and our affairs.”

Hamid Karzai, the Afghanistan president delivered the bellicose speech giving many in the region pause: “When [the Taliban] cross the territory from Pakistan to come and kill Afghans and kill coalition troops, it exactly gives us the right to go back and do the same.” Afghanistan does not have the ability to send troops into Pakistan without US military and NATO consent, though it seems that friction is increasing along these lines.

The spectacularly bold prison break attack by Taliban forces on a prison near Kandahar Friday evening included two truck bombs, assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades and was thought to be exceptionally planned. After the Taliban blew up the walls of the prison killing fifteen guards, they freed close to 1,200 prisoners. Among which were estimated 350 Taliban members.

Soon after the break, US-led coalition forces say they have killed more than fifteen insurgents and captured five militants although it has not been confirmed that they are fugitives from the daring prison break.

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Headline: Taliban Gaining Power and Support

LibertySugar — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:15:27 -0800

The Taliban is gaining confidence and power that is extending past their traditional stronghold in southern Afghanistan. This resurgence, which so far is limited to the countryside, depends directly on the support of everyday villagers, many of whom are welcoming back the Taliban, despite fresh memories of its strict Islamic law and crushing oppression.

So why do many Afghanis support the Taliban? Unlike the official government based in Kabul, the Taliban pays attention to the concerns of the poor and is bringing overall order to the chaotic country. The BBC quotes a Taliban commander, who explained:

People are taking their cases away from the government courts and coming to us. Now there is no robbery in our area.

Fed up with official corruption, slow war reconstruction, and the presence of foreign troops, Afghanis are turning to the Taliban as a necessary enforcer. So far, there is little indication that the support is based on ideological affinity. Thus, the central government must make stability and order its primary concern and find practical ways to address the people's daily problems. Unfortunately, good governance is easier said than done.

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On the Newsstand: Afghan Girls Six Years After the Taliban

CitizenSugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:02:49 -0800

What great timing! The very day I wrote about the Taliban, Time magazine comes plopping through my door with this amazing piece on girls starting to go to school in Afghanistan now that the Taliban is no longer in power.

Though women are now able to vote, hold positions in parliament, and have jobs in Afghanistan, girls are only slowly coming to school. This piece focused on a girls' high school in the Karokh province and simultaneously gave great hope for the future as well as a stark outline of the mountain of work yet to do.

Fewer than 30 percent of girls are enrolled in schools. To find out why, please

Need to Know: Telling Apart the Taliban and al-Qaeda

CitizenSugar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 09:01:30 -0800

Our news tends to report stories in a simple binary: good guys versus bad guys. And sometimes those cast as "bad guys" become interchangeable. Not to sound too Rudy Giuliani about the whole thing, but since September 11, we've had a pretty steady stream of appearances in the media by the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. Whenever they appear, the story is usually bad, so it's understandable that the distinction between the two might be blurry. Let's shake it out.

To meet these groups,