In These New Times

A new paradigm for a post-imperial world

Archive for February, 2009

Iceland’s Marie Antoinette

Posted by seumasach on February 2, 2009

 

 

Dorrit Moussaieff: How to revive Iceland

The first lady of Iceland, and jeweller to the super-rich, has a plan to revive her country – turning it into a cooler version of Dubai

 

Times 

1st February, 2009

In a week when Iceland plunged even further into the grip of political chaos, its currency was binned, everyone in government was sacked and a new prime minister, in the shape of the world’s first lesbian national leader, was hastily installed, one might imagine that the president’s wife would be sitting on a rock, wailing.

Not a bit of it. That is because the Icelandic first lady comes in the zippy form of Dorrit Moussaieff. She is sitting in the splendid drawing room of her Belgravia apartment, which is panelled with wood and decorated with porcelain and paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec and the preRaphaelites. At 59, dripping in jewels and with her nut-brown hair freshly blow-dried by Nicky Clarke himself, she looks closer to 35.

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Posted in Revolution in Iceland | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Iceland has new government “dedicated to cooperation with the IMF”.

Posted by seumasach on February 1, 2009

The IMF remains in the hands of the Washington/London axis. Leaving your economy to their tender mercies guarantees more destruction of the real economy and more concentration of wealth. Until such time as we have global institutions which have broken definitively with the Anglo-American neo-liberal project, countries like Iceland have to seek support elsewhere, in Europe and beyond, in Russia and China. Austerity is inevitable and the consumer society is finished, but the economy’s ability to provide the basic requirements for the people must be protected at all costs. This  will be the focus of next phase of Iceland’s revolution and involves the struggle against IMF strictures and the search for support elsewhere.

 

Iceland Review

1st February, 2009

A new government for Iceland was announced at a press conference at Hótel Borg in Reykjavík half an hour ago. Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Steingrímur J. Sigfússon of the Left-Greens and Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir and Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir of the Social Democrats spoke during the conference.

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Posted in Revolution in Iceland | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

Africa summit debates Gaddafi’s unity plan

Posted by seumasach on February 1, 2009

Yahoo

1st February, 2009

 

African leaders set aside the first day of an annual summit on Sunday to discuss Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s long-standing pet project to establish a United States of Africa.Skip related content

Posted in Multipolar world | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

Iraqi voters look beyond religion

Posted by seumasach on February 1, 2009

Many Iraqis voted on religious lines during national elections in 2005.

 

But with many people still struggling with poverty and the unstable security situation some voters are reconsidering that decision in 2009.

Al Jazeera’s Anita McNaught reports from the northern town of Irbil.

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Obama’s first love note to Pakistan

Posted by seumasach on February 1, 2009

Link Muslims

24th Janaury, 2009

United States is continuing its missile attacks into Pakistan’s tribal area bordering Afghanistan even after Barack Obama has swarn in as US new president.  The latest attack on Friday 23, 2009 killed 22 people in different incidents of ’suspected’ US missile strikes by drones in northwest tribal area of Pakistan.

More than 30 of such attacks by unmanned US planes have taken place in tribal areas since August 2008.

Pakistani leaders complain publicly that the stepped-up missile strikes  violate the country’s sovereignty and undermine the government’s own efforts to tackle rising extremists violence in the country.

Such attacks may increase the deaths of some extremists along with innocent children and women fueling anger against US and NATO forces in Afghanistan and making it easier for exteremists to recruite more people for their activities. It is only increasing difficulties for Pakistan which is fighting war against terrorism for US.

Source: The Canadian Press

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Erdogan urges world to recognize Hamas

Posted by seumasach on February 1, 2009

 

 

PressTV

1st February, 2009

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for recognition of Hamas which won a landslide victory in Palestinian elections. 

In an interview with The Washington Post published Saturday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said isolating Hamas is the reason for the ongoing tensions in the region. 

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Washington suppressed Kenyan exit poll to keep Kibaki in power

Posted by seumasach on February 1, 2009

 

By Stephen Gowans

What’s Left

1st February, 2009

 

Q: When does the US government hide an exit poll that calls a foreign election into question?

A: When it doesn’t want the candidate who got the most votes to win.

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Posted in Zimbabwe | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »