Summer Reading Assignment: World History II 2008-0

Korea, Australia to Start FTA Talks

2008-08-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

Korea, Australia to Start FTA Talks
By Jung Sung-kiStaff Reporter
The Korea Times

South Korea and Australia agreed Monday to open ``preparatory talks'' on a free trade agreement to further boost bilateral ties.

The agreement came in a summit between President Lee Myung-bak and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who arrived in Seoul Sunday for a two-day visit.

Both leaders welcomed the results of a joint study on a Korea-Australia deal that said an agreement will be beneficial for mutual economic growth and trade expansion, the presidential office in Seoul said.

``The two leaders agreed that preparatory talks on a bilateral FTA will be held in the near future,'' it said.

The statement, however, didn't specify when the preparatory talks, proposed since 2006, would begin.

South Korea last year signed a free trade deal with the United States, but the deal has stalled amid months of protests from progressive lawmakers and civic activists. The legislatures of both countries have also failed to ratify the deal.

President Lee expressed hope that cooperation with Australia in mineral resources and energy will be further expanded, while urging Rudd's support for Korean firms operating Down Under.

Australia is South Korea's biggest trading and investment partner in mineral resources.

Both leaders also agreed to strengthen cooperation on education and global issues, like climate change and denuclearization.

In defense, military authorities from the two sides signed an agreement on military information sharing, said an official of the South Korean Defense Ministry.

``The agreement is expected to help expand bilateral military cooperation in the defense industry, international peacekeeping operations and maritime security,'' the ministry said.

Response

I think that this article is a great example of what should be happening with leaders in our societies. I think this because in this article, the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-Bak, and the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, are actually communicating with each other to help each other out. This wasn't a meeting to discuss nuclear weapons or terrorists; it was a meeting to discuss great matters that are important for improving both countries. With this, both the countries can expand and grow quickly.

S. Korea to Ask China to Rectify Claim Over Ieodo

2008-08-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

S. Korea to Ask China to Rectify Claim Over Ieodo
By Jung Sung-kiStaff Reporter
Korea Times

The government will ask the Chinese government to rectify the description of South Korea's Ieodo Islet as Chinese on a Web site of a state agency of China, a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Friday.

The Web site states that the islet is China's, arguing it lies within China' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The site also referred to the islet as ``Suyan Rock'' in Chinese.

``South Korea and China agreed in 2006 that the Ieodo Islet is a submerged rock, not an island, so that it would not be subject to a territorial dispute,'' the official told reporters, asking not to be named.

``The Internet site referring to Ieodo as Chinese territory is against the agreement. So, we will take necessary measures to rectify the territorial claim, including demanding the Chinese foreign ministry correct the record,'' he said.

He dismissed the claim that Ieodo is in China's EEZ.

``Ieodo is located 81 nautical miles southwest of our island of Marado, and 147 nautical miles northeast of China. There is no doubt that Ieodo is in our EEZ,'' the official added.

Seoul and Beijing have held more than 10 rounds of negotiations over the establishment of the EEZ for the past decade, but failed to reach a compromise.

South Korea wants to set up the EEZ in the middle of the two countries, while China claims the EEZ should be established based on the length of the coastline and size of the population.

South Korea set up an ocean research station on Ieodo in 2003

Response

Personally, I don't really see why China is making such a big deal over nothing. If China and South Korea agreed that since Ieodo is not an island but a "submerged rock" and that it wouldn't be under terretorial disbute, I don't see why China now refers to it as their land. If you make an agreement on something like that, shouldn't you keep it? Ok, let's say you "forgot" or "didn't know;" well, South Korea then reminded China about the agreement made two years ago. Now, China has no excuse for saying that the "island" is their land. End of story.

President Bush condemns China human rights record on eve of Olympics

2008-08-07T22:42:00.000-07:00

President Bush condemns China human rights record on eve of Olympics

The London Times

August 8, 2008

Jane Macartney in Beijing

China’s human rights record came under attack yesterday as President Bush condemned the Government for oppressing its people.

With the eyes of the world on China, and heads of state flying in for the opening ceremony at the Bird’s Nest stadium this evening, Mr Bush used some of his toughest language yet to press China to allow its citizens more freedom. Speaking in Bangkok only hours before his arrival in Beijing, he said: “America stands in firm opposition to China’s detention of political dissidents and human rights advocates and religious activists. We press for openness and justice — not to impose our beliefs but to allow the Chinese people to express theirs.”

The remarks were a sharp reminder of the many abuses that are still reported in China, seven years after the promise it gave to the International Olympic Committee that it would take the opportunity of hosting the Games to improve its record on human rights.

China’s 1.3 billion people enjoy far greater personal freedom than they did even a decade ago, with greater rights to move to other parts of the country, to seek jobs nationwide and even to speak their minds in internet chat forums. However, the limits are starkly defined, with activists detained, monitored or jailed for challenging the Communist Party leadership or implicitly criticising its policies.

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The latest such example involved a young teacher from Sichuan province who was ordered last month to serve one year of “re-education through labour” — a non-judicial punishment that can be imposed by the police — for distributing on the internet photographs of schools that crumbled in the May earthquake.

Mr Bush, in his last major presidential policy speech in Asia, said: “The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings.” Qin Gang, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, countered: “The Chinese Government puts people first, and is dedicated to maintaining and promoting its citizens’ basic rights and freedom. Chinese citizens have freedom of religion. These are indisputable facts.”

But Beijing police again demonstrated the limits yesterday when plainclothes officers dragged away three American Christian activists who tried to stage a demonstration for religious freedom for a second day in front of the Mao Zedong Mausoleum on Tiananmen Square. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defence Coalition, said: “We have come here today to speak out against the human rights abuses of the Chinese Government. We have come here today to be a voice to those who are in prison because of their religious beliefs.”

China has stepped up security after a series of protests and a terror attack this week in the Muslim region of Xinjiang, in the north west of the country. A video attributed to the Xinjiang-based Turkistan Islamic Party yesterday showed images of the Olympic logo in flames and an explosion over the Olympic venues.

The choice by the US team of a former refugee from violence in Darfur to carry the flag at the Olympic opening ceremony has turned the spotlight on China’s policy on the Sudanese region. The decision to nominate Lopez Lomong, a Sudan-born 1,500m track star, will add a touch of political drama to the opening ceremony.

Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident who was jailed for his role in the 1989 demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, said China’s leaders were likely to be sanguine about Mr Bush’s comments.

Given Mr Bush’s decision to stay in Beijing until Monday to watch some basketball games, Mr Liu said: “This is probably as much as he can say, since he is coming.”

China's human rights aren't great...so what? That said, I don't want to seem like I don't care about china and their human rights; I really do, and I really feel for them. In fact, I feel as if I shoudl really do somehting to help as well. But that's another story. Even with these thoughts, I really don't think it was necessary of President Bush to do what he did. First of all, he's not really helping. If he felt so strongly about this incident, instead of firing angry words, why didn't he just help out? Or just wait until he gets there and offer some kind words of advice. Or something. Also, if he is to be going to China soon and since he is to be meeting Chinese officials, did he want to make himself ostracized and shunned by his hosts? Does he really want to be hated by those who are inviting him to their country? Sometimes I wonder how Bush has remained President without totally destroying America. Yes, he has done lots of things to help our country, but it seems as if he's doing less and less of helping and more and more of ruining. Maybe I read this article wrong, but to me, this is how it sounded. Somethings I had some questions about were: IS Bush doing something (anything??) to help? Why did he even say those things about it? Does he really want to help, or was he just pissed off at China or something?

Bin Laden driver gets 66 months - but will never be released

2008-08-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

Bin Laden driver gets 66 months - but will never be released
The London Times
August 8, 2008
Tim Reid

Osama bin Laden’s former driver was sentenced to less than six years in prison last night, an extraordinarily light sentence and the latest blow to the Bush Administration’s efforts to justify its highly controversial military tribunal system at Guantanamo Bay.

The sentence of five-and-a-half years for Salim Hamdan, handed down by a jury of US military officers in the first war-crimes tribunal to be held at Guantanamo Bay, fell far short of the 30 years incarceration sought by Bush Administration lawyers and means that the Yemeni is eligible for release in just five months.

As soon as the sentence was issued, however, the Pentagon made it clear that it had no intention of releasing Hamdan. It says that it retains the right to keep him in prison for an indefinite period because he has been classed as an “unlawful enemy combatant”.

Such intransigence in the face of last night’s sentence handed down by an all-military jury with rules of evidence that favoured the prosecution will bolster the case made by civil rights groups, and much of the international community, that holding Guantanamo Bay detainees indefinitely is unjustifiable, particularly after they have been tried. With Mr Bush leaving office in six months the problem of what to do with Hamdan — and the other detainees — will fall to his successor.
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The sentencing hearing came after Hamdan was convicted on Wednesday of providing support to al-Qaeda, but was acquitted of the more serious charge of conspiring to attack civilians. It was a verdict that meant that the Administration was unable to prove that he had helped to plot and carry out attacks.

Before the sentence Hamdan expressed sorrow and apologised over innocents killed — an apparent reference to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. He appealed for leniency in the first US war crimes trial since the Second World War.

Wearing a charcoal sports coat and white turban, Hamdan, speaking in Arabic, said through an interpreter: “It was a sorry or sad thing to see innocent people killed. I personally present my apologies to them if anything what I did have caused them pain.”

When the verdict was handed down by the six-member jury, he said: “I would like to apologise one more time to all the members and I would like to thank you for what you have done for me.”

The military judge told Hamdan: “I hope the day comes that you return to your wife and daughters and your country, and you’re able to be a provider, a father and a husband in the best sense of all those terms.

Hamdan responded: “God willing.” Prosecutors had insisted that he remained a dangerous man and that he should get at least 30 years behind bars for his work for bin Laden, who remains at large nearly seven years after the worst terrorist strikes on US soil.

Before the jury began to confer, defence lawyers said that Hamdan posed no danger as a former driver, regretted his links to bin Laden and suggested that he should be sentenced to no more than 45 months.

“He made a series of bad decisions,” Charles Swift, his defence attorney, said. “Looking back they are terrible decisions.”

Hamdan, believed to be 40, was arrested at a roadblock in Afghanistan in November 2001. He had two surface-to-air missiles in the car. The prosecution said that between 1998 and 2001 he had delivered weapons for al-Qaeda and was part of the inner circle of bin Laden.

I guess this article wasn't meant to be funny, and the article and the topic it's about isn't funny at all. However, the way that this writer wrote this article is humorous, because it seems like he is mocking President Bush. This thought first hit me in the very first sentence and it remained with me throughout because the writer adds much information to it. For example, one particularly strong part was when he referred to the pentagon as an "it." Not "they" or "the people of the Pentagon," but just "it." I found this quite amusing.
Quite frankly, I don't know who to agree with. At first I disagreed with Bush because it didn't really sem like Hamdan was much of a threat. Then I agreed with him because the lawyers seemed to change their mind just like that when they heaard Hamdan apologize. I rather think that Hamdan is just putting on an act to get a shorter sentence. But then, thnking about it again, I don't really know what to think.
Although the article says that Hamdan had to do with the 9-11 incident, it doesn't really say why he is being sentence; what exactly did he do wrong? Is he being sent to jail merely for being Bin Ladden's driver? I wish the writer could have elaborated a bit.

US Defense Department pledges support for Arrow 3

2008-08-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

US Defense Department pledges support for Arrow 3
Aug. 6, 2008Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST

The US Defense Department has pledged its support to help Israel develop and finance the Arrow 3, head of US Missile Defense Agency Lt.-Gen. Henry Obering III told Israeli defense officials he met with on Wednesday in Tel Aviv.

Obering was in Israel on a three-day visit during which he met with Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, head of the Homa Missile Defense Agency Arieh Herzog, IAF Commander Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan, Air Defense Forces Commander Brig.-Gen. Daniel Milo and officials from the Israeli Aerospace Industries.

The decision to help finance the multi-million dollar missile defense system did not come as a surprise. In May, The Jerusalem Post exclusively reported on a pledge US President George W. Bush had made to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, during his visit to Israel to celebrate Independence Day, to obtain funding for the project.

The Israeli defense establishment and the Homa Missile Defense Agency decided in April to press forward with the development and production of Arrow 3, a more advanced version - in terms of speed, range and altitude - of the Arrow 2 currently in operation. Israel last tested its Arrow missile in February 2007.

The decision to begin development of the Arrow 3 was made despite a proposal by Lockheed Martin to purchase the Aegis system or the THAAD (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense) missile defense system it is developing.

Defense officials said that the THAAD was currently unsuitable for Israel's needs and that an advanced model of the Arrow, made by IAI and Boeing, would successfully counter the ballistic missile threat from Iran and Syria.
Israeli defense officials added that in the event of a war with Iran, the US would likely deploy Aegis missile defense ships off Israel's coast to assist in intercepting incoming ballistic missiles.

Development of the new system has already begun at IAI; Israel is not waiting to secure the funding for the new missile defense system, which will likely become operational by 2012.

Response

This article really fascinated me. I think it's great of President Bush to be so helpful and help out these people, and I also think it's greatthat the US is working together with Israel. The only thing is, I'd really like to know why President Bush is helping out. Seeing how he works, I'm not sure he's just helping them out; it's not like he has tons of money to just waste. I'm not saying that helping out is a waste of money; I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is that I'd just really like to know the purpose of this missile; why are they developing a missile in the first place? Is there another reason for President Bush to help out with this missile?

NKorea to expel SKoreans from tourist resort

2008-08-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

NKorea to expel SKoreans from tourist resort
Aug. 3, 2008Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST

North Korea said Sunday it will eject South Koreans from a mountain resort in the communist country, a further sign of fraying ties between the divided Koreas.

The move comes after a South Korean tourist was shot by a North Korean soldier at the resort last month, prompting strong protests from Seoul.

The North's military unit in the resort said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that it would expel all South Koreans "we deem unnecessary" from the Diamond Mountain resort.

South Korea suspended tours to the resort - one of the symbolic reconciliation programs between the two sides - after the shooting, but there are still more than 260 southerners working there.

The North also warned it would take military actions against "even the slightest hostile actions" in the mountain resort and its military areas. It said it would limit the passage of South Koreans and their vehicles through the heavily armed border crossing leading there.

The warnings came two days after South Korea raised more doubts about North Korea's account of how the southern tourist was fatally shot by soldier in the resort on the North's east coast.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak presided over a previously scheduled security meeting earlier Sunday to discuss the North's latest move as well as his upcoming summit with U.S. President George W. Bush, presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said. He declined to give any further details.

The Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, was to announce Seoul's position later Sunday.

South Korean tour operator Hyundai Asan said it had no immediate comment, saying it will follow the government's position.

Seoul has repeatedly urged Pyongyang to cooperate in its investigation of the July 11 shooting death of a 53-year-old South Korean housewife, a demand rejected by the North.

South Korea has also suspended the tour program and said it could put on hold a separate tour program to the North's western border city of Kaesong if strict safety measures for visitors are not assured.

The North has claimed the woman strayed into a restricted military area while strolling on a beach before dawn and refused to comply with a soldier's order to halt, instead running away before being shot twice.

On Friday, the South said two days of tests at a beach to check North Korea's explanation of what happened showed the victim was likely shot while standing still or walking slowly.

MY RESPONSE

This article totally shocked me. Although North and South Korea are split into two, they are still one in the name of being Korea. Although there are numerous differences between the two countries, they are still united through their customs and their language. People have long debated about the topic of reuniting the two countries; now, the North seems to be trying their best to prevent any contact between them and South Korea. They shot a man who was probably innocent, and won't offer any type of apology, reason, or information on it; rather, they say that they had the right to do so, and will in the future if South Koreans go to visit that mountain. This is also utterly ridiculous. Some South Koreans still have family in North Korea, and there are many South Koreans whose relatives came from the North, so going to visit that mountain was probably a very meaningful experience to them, but now they are banned from doing so. The story about the elderly lady is also very suspicious. Why would they lie about something like that? Why not just tell the truth? This article really confused me, and though it was supposed to inform me of an incident, I think it just made me more confused.

Aftershocks kill 1, injure at least 10 in China

2008-07-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

Aftershocks kill 1, injure at least 10 in China
From the Associated Press (LA Times)
July 25, 2008

BEIJING — Three aftershocks jolted parts of China on Thursday, the official Xinhua News Agency said, killing one person and injuring more than 10.

A 6 magnitude earthquake hit parts of Shaanxi and Sichuan province on Thursday afternoon, Xinhua said, following earlier shocks of 5.6 and 4.9 magnitude.

Details of the death and injuries were not immediately known.

Nearly 70,000 people died when a 7.9-magnitude quake hit Sichuan on May 12. Another 18,000 people are still missing and 5 million were left homeless in China's worst disaster in three decades.

There have been hundreds of aftershocks in Sichuan, but most are under 4 magnitude.

This sort of thing has been going on so much lately that people no longer seem to care as much. I began to notice this by the amount of stuff written and spoken about all these earthquakes in China. Although this must have been an utterly shocking and distasterous event far more important than any gossip and scandal, it seems like the gossip and scandal columns and articles keep getting longer and and longer, and more and more popular, while the earthquakes in China are not even cared for by others. Although we should become more and more interestedc as more and more catasrophies occur and try to help them more and more, it doesn't seem like that's what's happening. This article just reminded me of all of this because as I read it, I felt that the writer was just writing because it's something to write about, not with any feelings or any ideas or opinions. Even though it was the worst in 3 decades, people probably care more about The life of Obama, or Britney Spears's next insane act mroe than these poor suffering people.

Beijing weather conditions fuel hope of blue skies during Games

2008-07-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

Beijing weather conditions fuel hope of blue skies during Games
From the Associated Press (LA Times)

July 30, 2008

BEIJING — Strong wind and some rain have raised hopes of blue skies when the Olympic Games start here in slightly more than a week, and Chinese environmental officials asserted that their efforts were starting to show results.

Since July 20, the city has imposed drastic pollution controls that include pulling half its 3.3 million vehicles off the roads, halting most construction and closing some factories in the capital and surrounding provinces.

But Beijing has been dogged in the last week by a persistent haze.

Tuesday's clearer skies highlighted how much weather conditions play a part. Winds and rain were a "major factor" in causing pollutants to dissipate, said spokeswoman Zhai Xiaohui with the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

A top environmental official said the air in July had greatly improved in comparison with the same month last year.

"After the adoption of these measures, we have seen visible improvements," Du Shao- zhong, deputy director of Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau, said during a news conference.

I am really happy for Beijing. I guess it was either luck, or their extreme persistance and strict rules. I totally agree that something had to have been done about the pollution, but I don't really see the point in makign drastic changes just for the Olympics. I mean, it's great that they are trying to lessen the pollution by restricting cars and construction, but it's not like they can do that forever; it'll only be for a couple of months, then it'll slowly go back to normal anyway. I think that they shoudl try to find another way to help the pollution as well; a way that they can continue so that their pollution can be reduced not only for a few months, but forever.

Pope agrees: Paraguayan leader no longer bishop

2008-07-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

Pope agrees: Paraguayan leader no longer bishop
LA Times
July 30, 2008

ASUNCION, PARAGUAY — Paraguay's president-elect has received unprecedented permission from the pope to resign as bishop, the papal nuncio said today, ending a dispute over Fernando Lugo's priestly status.

Church officials earlier insisted that Lugo, 57, would always be a bishop under church law.

"This is the first case within the church in which a bishop receives a dispensation," Nuncio Orlando Antonini said at a news conference. "Yes, there have been many other priests the pope has left in the status of layman, but never a member of the hierarchy until today."

Lugo also made history with April's presidential election victory, which ended the 61-year rule of the Colorado Party in Paraguay. The former "bishop of the poor" takes office on Aug. 15.

"It's a great pain for the church to lose a bishop, a priest whom we tried to dissuade from the political option up to the last day of his election campaign," Antonini said. "But the Holy Father recognized that he was elected by the majority of the people to lead Paraguay for the next five years."

Lugo resigned as bishop of San Pedro in 2004 and said he had resigned from the status of bishop itself in 2006, when he decided to run for president. That alarmed church leaders who said it violated papal rules against priestly involvement in politics.

The president of the Paraguayan Bishops Conference, Ignacio Gogorza, told the newspaper Ultima Hora in 2006 that Lugo might even be excommunicated for his plunge into politics.

"A bishop does not stop being a bishop just because he resigns," Gogorza said at the time.

Antonini said today's announcement follows "long analysis" by Vatican experts in canon law.

Lugo remains a member of the church and was not excommunicated, unlike former Zambian Archbhishop Emmanuel Milingo, who was excommunicated in 2006 after ordaining married men as priests and taking a wife himself.

The nuncio said the decision is final: Lugo "cannot return to his earlier condition as a cleric." Lugo earlier had suggested he would like to be bishop again after serving as president.

Lugo, speaking to journalists outside his offices, thanked Pope Benedict XVI "for a decision that has not been easy to take." He said the pope's letter declaring his decision said that he was "thinking of the good of the country, thinking of Paraguay."

Antonini said Lugo even "was freed from the vow of chastity. That is to say, like any other layman, if he wants, he could contract matrimony under civil law." Lugo has not indicated any wish to marry, and his sister Mercedes is to serve as first lady.

He has also maintained an austere lifestyle, even wearing the sort of sandals he used as a priest, and apparently remains devout.

Lugo's niece, Mirta Maidana, who serves as an aide to the incoming first lady, announced this week that the president's office would reopen a Catholic chapel at the presidential residence that had been closed under outgoing President Nicanor Duarte, a Mennonite. She said the chapel would be open to the public.

Personally, I don't see any reason for Lugo not to try for president. Shouldnt the church be happy that he's trying hard to become more and more successful? I really don't see why they are making such a big deal about this; but then again, I'm not Presbetarian, and don't know much about how the whole "religious hierarchy" works. But since Lugal did break go against the "papal rules" where priests cannot have involvement in politics, I guess I see why they were so angry up upset, although I still don't really understand why. Also, I don't really understands what Gogorza means when he says :"A bishop does not stop being a bishop just because he resigns." If he resigns, how is he still a bishop? Maybe an ex-bishop, but I don;t think that's what he means. I don't really get that.

Ehud Olmert to resign as Israel's prime minister

2008-07-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

Ehud Olmert to resign as Israel's prime minister

By Richard Boudreaux
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 30, 2008

JERUSALEM — Ehud Olmert, Israel's scandal-weakened prime minister, announced today that he will resign in September and allow political rivals to form a new government.

His brief nationally televised announcement threw Israel into political uncertainty as it tries to negotiate peace with the Palestinians and Syria and confront security threats posed by Iran and its Islamic militia allies, Hamas and Hezbollah.

Challenged by several official investigations into alleged corruption, the 62-year-old prime minister said he was stepping down for the good of the country. He accused police and prosecutors of treating him unfairly and said he would prove his innocence.

He said he would not run in his centrist Kadima party's Sept. 17 leadership primary and would step down afterward in order to allow the new party chairman "to form a different government quickly and efficiently."

The announcement effectively ended Olmert's 2½-year term as prime minister and set in motion a process for choosing his successor.

Several leading Kadima members in Olmert's Cabinet are already campaigning for the party primary. They include Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, Interior Minister Meir Shetreet and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter.

If the new party leader can form a multiparty coalition commanding a majority of the existing 120-member parliament, Israel could have a new government as early as October. If not, an election campaign for a new parliament and government would be held, and that could last several months.

Two former prime ministers, Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu, are also contenders for the job. Barak, the Labor Party leader, is defense minister in Olmert's broad-based coalition government. Netanyahu is leader of the right-wing opposition Likud Party.

A general election campaign would likely disrupt Israel's 8-month-old U.S.-backed peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and the indirect talks with Syria that Olmert began last year through Turkish mediators.

An election campaign would also throw Israel into a leadership vacuum as it confronts threats by Iran's leader. Olmert and other Israeli officials have said they believe Iran is close to developing a nuclear weapon and that they cannot rule out military action against Iran in the coming months.

Olmert took over the government in January 2006 after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's debilitating stroke and was elected to a four-year term two months later. Olmert has served in public office since 1973, as a member of parliament, as mayor of Jerusalem for 10 years, and as trade minister in Sharon's government.

His term as prime minister has been plagued by corruption investigations and an inconclusive 34-day war against Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas in 2006 that many Israelis took as a defeat.

Police are investigating several cases in which Olmert allegedly used the mayor's job and his Cabinet position for personal gain or to benefit cronies.

He has not been indicted. But pressure on him to resign has mounted since May, when police opened a bribery investigation alleging that Olmert took hundreds of thousands of dollars, much of it in cash, from Long Island businessman Morris Talanksy.

Talansky's later testimony detailing about $150,000 in cash payments prompted Olmert's rivals in Kadima to call for a leadership primary. Party officials agreed this week on the date of the contest.

Olmert also faces a police investigation into allegations that he billed several government agencies and charities for the same trips abroad on official business and used the sums left over for private family vacations.

In his televised address, the prime minister lashed out at his accusers.

"I was forced to defend myself against relentless attacks from self-appointed 'fighters for justice' who sought to depose me from my position, when the ends sanctified all the means," he said, appearing angry while reading from a prepared text.

While reading this article, I had many questions about this whole incident. Although Ehud Olmert said that he was resigning because he wanted to allow political rivals to form a new government, Idon't think this is the whole of the story, because I don't see why Olmert would want to give up his position as prime minister. Maybe he did it because he felt like it was too much work, since the article says he is "scandel-weakened" anyway. I also wonder what exactly is being done. The article said that "His brief nationally televised announcement threw Israel into political uncertainty as it tries to negotiate peace with the Palestinians and Syria and confront security threats posed by Iran and its Islamic militia allies, Hamas and Hezbollah." But I wonder why it took them so long to try to negotiate peace; shouldn't Olmert have done that already instead of just resigning? This whole situation doesn't seem complete to me and In think that there must've been more to this story that hasn't been revealed.

Rights Commission to Consult With Immigrant Workers

2008-07-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Rights Commission to Consult With Immigrant Workers
7-25-08
By Kim Sue-young
The korean Times

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) will hold consultations at a foreign workers' shelter in Garibong-dong, Seoul, Sunday about difficulties they face here, a spokesman for the commission said Friday.

The organization will help them resolve problems related to industrial accidents, overdue wages and immigration with lawyers and other experts, the spokesman said. It will also listen to cases regarding social and legal systems so that it can suggest recommendations for improvements to the government.

As the number of foreign spouses is on the increase, the ACRC will help resolve conflicts triggered by the lack of cultural understanding and language barriers with psychiatrists, he explained. Regarding these issues, the organization plans to monitor problems through its Web site, www.epeople.go.kr.

The commission has operated the ``on-site complaints desk'' since 2004.

Staff have visited places where foreign workers live and has created several shelters for their welfare nationwide.

In May, officials of the commission met with foreign workers at an industrial complex in Incheon to advise them on legal solutions to work-related problems.

In mid-June, the organization also began to offer services in English, Japanese and Chinese on the Web site for foreigners and children of Korean emigrants who are not fluent in Korean.

I completely agree with this article; I think it's great that they are (finally) helping these people. However, I believe that this shoul've happened earlier. I don't know why that didn't do it before, but I'm glad they've put a plan into action eventually. Better late than never!!

2008-07-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

Israel reaches out to evangelical Christians in Asia
Jul. 21, 2008, Etgar LefkovitsTHE JERUSALEM POST

In an attempt to stem a tide of rising Islamic extremism across the globe, Israeli politicians and academics reached out to a group of Asian evangelical religious and political leaders on Monday, in an increasingly more global Judeo-Christian alliance against radical Islam.
The fifth annual Jerusalem Summit Asia, which was held in a Jerusalem hotel, brought together members of parliament from the Knesset's Christian Allies Caucus, conservative Israeli academics and thinkers, and 150 political and religious leaders from the Philippines, India, Japan, China and Taiwan.

The event comes amid burgeoning relations between Israel and the largely supportive evangelical Christian community around the world, and at a time when the number of evangelicals continues to rise in Asia.
"This conference has further strengthened our relationship with Israel and inspired us to disseminate historical facts for all nations of the world - especially evangelical churches - about the biblical role of Israel in fulfilling God's grand plan for the ages," said Rev. Eddie Villanueva of the Philippines, the founder and spiritual director of Jesus is Lord Church Worldwide, which has a membership of over four million churches and chapters in 39 countries.

He said the conference organizers were planning the formation of a "biblical solidarity movement" promoting freedom of worship in every country of the world.

"Why should Christians in Muslim countries be second-class citizens?" asked Rev. Dr. Richard Howell, the general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India.

The Summit Asia organizers see their efforts as a way to bring future support for Israel from a part of the world growing in international influence.

"As the number of evangelicals in Asia continues to increase, and Asia is rising as a world power, it is a very timely initiative for Asian Christians to undertake a Judeo-Christian endeavor to forge a future strong Israel-Asian alliance," said Marisa Albert, the meeting's organizer and executive director of Jerusalem Summit Asia, a branch of the Jerusalem Summit - a conservative Jerusalem-based NGO that debuted over five years ago and puts on the annual event. Albert is also the chairperson of the Jerusalem East Gate Foundation, a Jerusalem-based evangelical organization that promotes support for Israel through Asian pilgrimages and educational tours in the Holy Land.

"The unifying center for all evangelicals is Jerusalem," said Dmitry Radyshevsky, executive director of the Jerusalem Summit. "Besides, they understand that radical Islam is an equal danger for Christians as it is for Jews."

"I would rather be politically incorrect and biblically correct," said Christian Allies Caucus chairman MK Benny Elon (NU-NRP) who spearheaded Israel's ties with the evangelical world during his tenure as tourism minister.

"Jerusalem Summit V has brought Asian leaders and politicians to Israel in order to reinforce their commitment to the security of the State of Israel and the well being of its people during our 60th anniversary," said caucus director Josh Reinstein.

"Christianity is on the rise in Asia, and Asian Christians will become a very important ally for Israel in the 21st century," he said.
In years past, similar conferences have been held in Asia in the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore and Japan.

I totally agree with this article. As a Christian myself, Ireally don't see why Christians in Muslim countries are being prosecuted or treated as inferiors. Therefore, I applaud all of those who are helping the spread of Christianity in Muslim countries. But one thing I would ask these people is what are they doing to help this situation? The article only says that they are reaching out to evangelical leaders, however I don't think that doing just that will do it, and that they should really do somehting else as well, such as helping the Christians there not to feel ashamed.

2008-07-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

July 20, 2008
Beijing breathes clean air again after cars banished and factories closed

The Times

Mr Duan is in a fix. He needs varnish to finish the cabinets he has crafted out of elm and walnut, but supplies are short and prices soaring amid an Olympic security ban on the transport of flammable liquids.

“There are only small amounts of varnish coming into Beijing, so I have to increase my costs and customers are fewer,” the carpenter says.

However, as one of the strictest security operations mounted in China takes hold to make sure that the Olympic Games go without a hitch, Mr Duan is not resentful: “What can I do? That's the way it is.”

It is a sentiment echoed across Beijing as a series of new regulations came formally into force yesterday. The most sweeping rule is the removal of half of the city's 3.3 million cars from the streets on alternate days, depending on whether the licence plate ends in an odd or even number.

Three new underground lines opened at the weekend to meet demand, a month late but still in time for the car ban. An extra 4,000 buses will also go into service for those who have to leave their cars behind as well as visitors making their way to the Olympic venues scattered around the city.

Mobile phone users were sent text messages yesterday urging them to be alert for pickpockets taking advantage of carriages even more crowded than usual. Offices will be required to bring in staggered working hours to ease the pressure on transport.

All construction was ordered to halt as part of the campaign to clear up the capital's dirty air before the Games. More than 150 high-polluting earth and cement works are shut for two months, with five retained for “emergency” purposes. Tianjin, a port city east of Beijing and host to the Olympic football qualifiers, has ordered 40 factories to close. Tangshan, a heavy industrial base northeast of Beijing, will shut nearly 300 factories.

One of the authorities' main fears is of a terrorist attack and security and public order measures have been taken to extremes. Beijing households have received an anti-terrorism manual warning people that if they are captured by terrorists they should remain calm, not fight back, and try to send a text message to the police. The manual describes potential threats such as explosions, shootings, and even chemical and nuclear attacks.

Cafés and restaurants have been ordered to remove outdoor tables from the pavement, live music and dancing are not permitted without a licence and umbrellas have been banned from rooftop venues as unsightly. The city is already a mass of flowers. Reds, yellows and pink blossoms line highways and streets in a riot of colour. Workers were busy yesterday with cranes and scaffolding on Tiananmen Square, transforming the usually bare expanse of paving into a mass of flower arrangements featuring a miniature copy of the iconic Bird's Nest that is the National Stadium.

So determined are officials to impress the expected 450,000 foreign visitors and five million domestic ticket holders that they are trying to enforce a ban on spitting, littering and smoking in public places. Even hairdressers have been told not to hang their towels outside to dry.

Mr Duan may be unable to obtain his varnish. The American author Jen Lin-Liu cannot get hold of her newly published cookery book, Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China. It has been confiscated by customs for fear of trouble.

This very amusing article is amusing to me, but probably very distressing and frustrating to the Chinese. I totally understand why China is doing this, and I agree that something must be done. At first, I didn't think that this way was smart, or even successful. But after i thought about it, I agree with this plan, because it seems as if this plan is the only one. Although it must be a little inconvenient, it seems like people are taking it well. After all, it is their country and the air is the same air their children will be breathing.

Obama meets Afghan President Karzai in Kabul

2008-07-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Obama meets Afghan President Karzai in Kabul
SABC News
July 20, 2008, 15:45

United States Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama met Afghan President Hamid Karzai today, the second day of a visit to Afghanistan that is meant to bolster the senator's foreign policy credentials.

Obama has previously criticised Karzai, who has led Afghanistan since US-led and Afghan forces toppled the hard line Islamist Taliban in 2001 but said the purpose of this trip was to listen rather than deliver strong messages.

"The two sides in the meeting spoke about the situation in Afghanistan and the region, the global campaign against terrorism and narcotics and similarly about the further expansion of ties between America and Afghanistan", said the Afghan presidential palace in a statement.

Once the darling of the West, Karzai has come under increasing criticism at home and abroad for not taking tough action to clamp down on rampant corruption, tackle former warlords and stamp out record-breaking drug production, all factors that feed the growing Taliban insurgency.

Sharp rise in violenceMore than six years after US-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban for sheltering al Qaeda leaders behind the Sept. 11 attacks, there has been a sharp rise in violence this year.

The Taliban have grown "more effective and more aggressive", US military chiefs say and attacks in the east, along the porous Pakistani border where most US troops are based, have risen by 40% this year.

Obama wants to send two more brigades, some 7 000 US troops, to Afghanistan and shift the emphasis from what he calls the Bush administration's "single-minded" focus on Iraq.

The US has about four times as many troops in Iraq as the 36 000 it has in Afghanistan but more US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq in both May and June. - Reuters

Truth be told, I really do not care for politics, and most of the time I'm not even interested in the presidential election and the candidates because my family doesn't vote anyway. But this year, I keep hearing great things about Obama through the newspaper, so I can't help but root for him. McCain I don't know about since I haven't really heard a lot about him; I've heard about Obama more. Maybe because I have an African American Muslim friend who really cares for politics? I don't know. But I really think that Obama is pretty smart; this meeting with the Afghan president probably boosted up his image by a hundred points. Maybe if and when voted, Obama can fix Afghanistan and its violence.

2008-07-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

Militant groups clash in Pak, 15 dead
July 19, 2008
The Times of India

ISLAMABAD: At least 15 people, including a militant leader, have been killed by the local Taliban in clashes with another rebel group in Pakistan's restive Mohmand tribal region.

Shah Khalid, the chief of a militant outfit known as the 'Shah group', and his deputy Qari Abdullah were among the 15 people killed in the fighting, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Doctor Asad told reporters today.

However, state-run PTV reported that Khalid was killed after he had surrendered to Pakistani Taliban militants owing allegiance to commander Baitullah Mehsud.

The Shah group is linked to the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which was founded by former Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. It is also perceived as being pro-government.

Asad said Pakistani Taliban militants had captured 20 supporters of the Shah group and occupied their bases. The Taliban also seized 15 vehicles and arms from the rival group.

He told reporters that the Shah group had been creating problems for the Taliban at the behest of others.

The Taliban in Mohmand Agency are led by Omar Khalid, who is a deputy of Baitullah Mehsud. The tensions that erupted a few weeks ago between the Taliban and the Shah group are apparently linked to a turf war for control of the area.

Sources said the Shah group is involved in fighting US-led forces in Afghanistan and was not interfering in local affairs.

Although sad, this sort of incident does not seem to be a rare event. Just last summer, I believe, a group of Korean missionaries got kidnapped by the Taliban and were held hostage for quite a long time. I don't know why this keeps happening; why can't they just leave us alone? I don't know of any solution for this problem except for their change of mind. However, I don't believe that there is a way to make this happen.

2008-07-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

Rice Calls for Complete Nuke Disarmament
6-29-08
The Korean Times

The top U.S. diplomat urged North Korea Saturday to abandon all its nuclear weapons programs and materials, following the regime's long-awaited declaration of plutonium-producing activities and demolition of a cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear facility.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said North Korea should address both claims of its nuclear proliferation and suspected highly enriched uranium (HEU) program down the road.

``As to the other elements, proliferation and the HEU program, there are documents that are referred to in the declaration concerning those two issues. Thus far we don't have the answers we need about either,'' Rice said in a joint press conference after talks with her South Korean counterpart Yu Myung-hwan at the ministry in Seoul.

``I expect the North will to live up to the obligations that it's undertaken, to take those concerns seriously and to address them,'' she said. ``At the end of this we have to have the abandonment of all programs, weapons and materials.''

Rice arrived in Seoul Saturday for a two-day visit for talks with Yu on North Korea's disarmament process, following her visit to Japan. On Sunday, she left for Beijing, the host nation for six-party nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

The talks are expected to resume as early as this week.

Rice paid a courtesy call on President Lee Myung-bak later Saturday.

``President Lee told Secretary Rice that the six-party talks are the most effective framework yet to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue,'' presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan told reporters.

The President also expressed hope that President George W. Bush would visit South Korea at an early date, said the spokesman.

The U.S. government announced last week that Bush's trip to South Korea scheduled for July would be delayed amid fierce public protests here about Seoul's decision to resume the imports of U.S. beef.

Progressive civic groups and lawmakers have led the massive protests, calling for nullifying the beef agreement.

In Saturday's news conference, Rice stressed U.S. beef is safe and Washington would continue efforts to win consumer confidence here.
``In terms of differences that sometimes arise from trade disputes, they are normal in relations between states,'' she said, standing beside Foreign Minister Yu. ``I think we have already, in fact, looked at a new framework or a new set of agreements concerning the opening of the market to beef.''

Under an additional beef deal reached earlier this month, the U.S. administration agreed to adopt an age verification system for the beef exports, known as a quality system assessment, with Korean beef importers and U.S. exporters reaching a commercial understanding that only U.S. beef from cattle under 30 months of age will be shipped to Korea.

The agreement also calls for banning imports of all specified risk materials (SRM) such as brains, eyes, skulls and spinal cords.

This article was very informative in that it helped to explain why the people of "Korea, US Embarrassed Over Summit Leak" were so upset with Bush about his travels to Korea; it almost completely had to do with the beef imports. This article is very interesting in that it first talks about nuke disarmaments, as the title suggests, then goes to the beef transportion. Despite the slight random-ness of the article, I totally agree with the agreement stated. I don't know about anyone else, but I, for one, would NOT want to eat the brains, eyes, skulls and spinal cords of cows.

2008-07-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

Senior US envoy joins Iran nuclear talks
July 19, 2008
The Herald

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — A senior U.S. envoy will sit eye-to-eye for the first time Saturday with a top Iranian nuclear negotiator, a sharp reversal in U.S. policy that aims to entice Tehran into ending activities that could be used to make atomic weapons.

The move to send Undersecretary of State William Burns to the Geneva nuclear talks has raised the hackles of Washington hardliners who say it signals U.S. weakness. But supporters insist because both Tehran and the United States want to ease tensions, the move could breathe life into deadlocked nuclear talks.

On the eve of the meeting, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the talks offered hope for a peaceful solution to the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program. But he also expects no quick changes from Iran, which has said "the essentials" — an apparent reference to suspending uranium enrichment — will not be on the table.

"After the Geneva meeting, we must not hope for an improvement, a change of attitude, right away," he said in Paris.

Initially, supporters of the negotiations say, the U.S and its allies could agree to stop pushing for new U.N. sanctions if Tehran stops expanding its uranium-enrichment capacities — setting the stage for fuller negotiations and what the West hopes will be agreement from Tehran to dismantle its enrichment program.

Uranium enrichment can produce both reactor fuel and the core of nuclear warheads. Iran says it has a right to enrich for peaceful uses and continues expanding its program despite three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions sparked by concern that Iran's ultimate goal is to make weapons.

The Americans are part of a six-nation effort — the permanent Security Council members plus Germany — trying to encourage Iran to suspend its nuclear efforts in exchange for economic and political incentives.

The venue of Saturday's talks reflects the potential significance of the meeting.

The Hotel de Ville, or city hall, stands at the top of Geneva's Old Town. Its neoclassical rooms have hosted important international negotiations since 1872, when an arbitration tribunal ordered Britain to pay the United States $15.5 million in Civil War damages. It was also the first home of the League of Nations, predecessor of today's United Nations.

The situation this article is addressing has got to be another one of those classic topics of international affairs; nuclear weapons. I totally disagree with this article. This is because I do not believe that Iran, as well as many of the other countries known to possess them, will not give up their nuclear weapons. So, I really don't see the point on sending all these people like the US envoy to try to convince them otherwise. I believe that no matter how hard we try, they will never give them up. Maybe if we gave them all the money US possesses, they'll give up the ones they have. But then, they'd probably start making new ones afterwards.

2008-07-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

Korea, US Embarrassed Over Summit Leak
7-2-08
Koreatimes.co.kr

Bush to Visit Seoul August 5-6The White House announced the schedule for President George W. Bush's visit to South Korea ``by mistake'' and later apologized to Seoul for the diplomatic faux pas, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

The presidential office accepted the apology, but expressed regret over the ``unilateral'' announcement, according to officials from the office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

``Seoul has agreed with Washington to invite President Bush in early August. The mistake happened while both sides were discussing on when to make a public statement about the visit,'' a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said on condition of anonymity. ``The White House later apologized for the error and said it was a mistake.''

During a press briefing in Washington Tuesday, Dennis Wilder, director of Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said Bush will arrive in South Korea Aug. 5 for a two-day visit before heading to Beijing for the opening of the Olympics, Aug. 8.

Wilder also said Bush will meet with South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak at the G8 summit of industrialized countries in Japan next week.

Immediately after the news was released through foreign media, Cheong Wa Dae said the date of his arrival was still to be decided. Hours later, however, the presidential office officially confirmed the visit, and said Wilder mistakenly made the date public.

Some observers say the incident reflects Washington's uneasiness over Seoul's mishandling of the issue of American beef imports.

Seoul, which had been critical about resuming American beef imports over concerns about mad cow disease, agreed to allow the import just days before President Lee held a summit with President Bush at Camp David in April.

Candlelit vigils began in Seoul, with people demanding the Lee administration renegotiate the deal and take measures to contain any health risks.

Last week, the government allowed the U.S. beef sale despite the protests, and organizers have threatened to intensify their battle against the beef import.

Foreign ministry officials said Seoul should have announced the date first in accordance with diplomatic protocol.

``Normally, a country which invites the president of the other country makes public the visit first or they announce it simultaneously,'' a ministry spokesman said. ``Seoul and Washington agreed to hold the summit in Seoul before the Beijing Olympics during a recent visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but didn't set the exact date. Both sides later agreed on the schedule and Seoul was preparing to announce the visit.''

Cheong Wa Dae officials said it is not true that Washington broke protocol because the announcement was not intended, and was a slip up. The White House sent an apology through the South Korean embassy in the United States, they said.

Initially, it was widely assumed that President Bush would visit South Korea in early July after attending the G8 summit in Japan. The White House said last week Bush would meet with Lee on the sidelines of the G8 summit, but that his South Korea visit would take place later when he flies to China in August for the Olympics.

This particular article was really interesting to me because I found it really quite amusing. Firstly, how is it possible to release something like a traveling date "by accident"? And besides, why do people care so much? President Bush can communicate with the Korean president without having to release to media that he wil visit. The telephone, email, or even a letter has proven quite sufficient in the past, hasn't it?
But, looking pass all of this, the article says that "Some observers say the incident reflects Washington's uneasiness over Seoul's mishandling of the issue of American beef imports." This I agree with. As the article states: "Seoul, which had been critical about resuming American beef imports over concerns about mad cow disease, agreed to allow the import just days before President Lee held a summit with President Bush at Camp David in April." Since I hve been aware of that, I can relate to this, and I most definetely agree with this statement. As a matter of fact, I agree with this entire article, except for the beginning part, which I described above.

2008-07-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Arab nations 'agree Sudan action'
July 19, 2008
BBC News

Arab foreign ministers say they have agreed a plan of action to defuse the crisis between Sudan and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

They met in Cairo after the ICC's chief prosecutor said he would seek to indict Sudan's president on charges of war crimes and genocide in Darfur.

Ministers said the ICC move had set a dangerous precedent.

Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League, said he would travel to Sudan on Sunday to discuss their plan.

However, he declined to reveal its details at the end of Saturday's emergency meeting.

Fragile peace

Mr Moussa said that Arabs had to work closely with the African Union and the UN to protect the fragile peace process in Sudan.

In a joint resolution issued at the end of the meeting, foreign ministers of the 22-nation Arab League said the ICC move was not acceptable and undermined Sudan's sovereignty.

"The council decides solidarity with the Republic of Sudan in confronting schemes that undermine its sovereignty, unity and stability and their non-acceptance of the unbalanced, not objective position of the prosecutor general of the Internal Criminal Court," the resolution said.

Earlier, Algeria had called on other Arab nations to press the UN Security Council to stop the ICC from issuing the arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

"What the prosecutor of the court has done is a dangerous precedent," Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci told the meeting.

"We have [to take] ... a strong stance in solidarity with our brothers in Sudan and move effectively with regional and international organisations and the... states in the Security Council to immediately reconsider this demand by the prosecutor."

Sudan has asked China and Russia, as well as the Arab League and the African Union, to help it pursue a UN Security Council resolution suspending a warrant for Mr Bashir for 12 months.

Speaking after Saturday's meeting, Sudan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Al Sammani al-Wasila, told the AP news agency: "We reject all the charges old and new."

Troubled region

But he added that "the position expressed by our brothers is fair and balanced".

ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has asked the court for a warrant for Mr Bashir on suspicion of masterminding crimes against humanity in the troubled Darfur region.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo accused Mr Bashir of running a campaign of genocide that killed 35,000 people outright, at least another 100,000 through a "slow death" and forced 2.5 million to flee their homes in Darfur.

"The Sudan Action": A plan that Arab foreign ministers have agreed on as a plan of action to defuse the crisis between Sudan and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
These Arab foreign ministers are probably very smart men, and they probably set this agreeement up for the good of everyone. However, as of now, it doesn't seem that way. The peace has been very fragile, and extremely dangerous. Also, it hasnt reaped them very much fruit. All they seem to be doing is accusing (or rather, alleging) people for hideous crimes. Although this is not how the article puts it, this is what I think of this situation. I definetely do NOT agree with the people in this article.

2008-07-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

Iraqi PM says US should leave as soon as possible
Saturday, July 19, 2008
San Fransisco Chronicle

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says U.S. troops should leave Iraq "as soon as possible," according to a magazine report, and he called presidential candidate Barack Obama's suggestion of 16 months "the right timeframe for a withdrawal."

In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine released Saturday, al-Maliki said he was not seeking to endorse Obama. The Illinois senator and likely Democratic nominee has pledged to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months if he is elected.

"That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes," al-Maliki was quoted as saying. "Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of U.S. troops in Iraq would cause problems."

Asked when U.S. forces would leave Iraq, he responded, "As soon as possible, as far a we're concerned."

In Iraq on Saturday, Sadiq al-Rikabi, an adviser to al-Maliki, declined to discuss the prime minister's published remarks, but he said Iraqi officials do not intend to be "part of the electoral campaign in the United States."

"We will deal with any administration that comes to power," he said.

Obama's Republican presidential rival, John McCain, has supported Bush administration policy opposing a set timetable for taking troops out of Iraq.

"Barack Obama advocates an unconditional withdrawal that ignores the facts on the ground and the advice of our top military commanders," McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann said Saturday. "John McCain believes withdrawal must be based on conditions on the ground.

"Prime Minister Maliki has repeatedly affirmed the same view, and did so again today. Timing is not as important as whether we leave with victory and honor, which is of no apparent concern to Barack Obama," Scheunemann said in a statement.

Just days ago McCain told reporters on his campaign bus that Maliki "has exceeded a lot of the expectations."

"I think that much to the surprise of some Maliki has proved to be a more effective leader," McCain said Tuesday in New Mexico.

The national security adviser to the Obama campaign, Susan Rice, said the senator welcomed al-Maliki's comments.

"This presents an important opportunity to transition to Iraqi responsibility, while restoring our military and increasing our commitment to finish the fight in Afghanistan," Rice said in a statement Saturday.

Obama arrived on his first visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, less than four months before the general election. He also is expected to stop later in Iraq.

McCain has criticized Obama for his lack of experience in the region. The Arizona senator has suggested he would pursue an Iraq strategy "that's working" — a reference to the troop buildup credited for sharply reducing violence in the country.

Al-Maliki is scheduled to visit Germany next week for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and business leaders amid a renewed German push in helping to rebuild Iraq. Berlin had opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/19/politics/p102947D94.DTL

This article talks about a topic that has been discussed quite a lot; the topic of whether or not the US troops should leave Iraq. I think that the US troops should leave Iraq, and therefore agree with Obama. He says that if he were to be elected president, he would try to get the US troops out within 16 months. McCain, on the other hand, agrees with Bush and wants them to stay. So, I think that the easiest and most obvious way for this problem to be solved is to listen to Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who also agreed with me and Obama saying that US troops should leave Iraq "as soon as possible"