March 10, 2006

World Media Watch

by Gloria R. Lalumia

BuzzFlash Note: WMW provides BuzzFlash readers foreign views and perspectives that are not usually available from the media here in the U.S. The presentation of these articles from these international publications is not an endorsement of their viewpoints.

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WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR MARCH 10, 2006

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--IRAN’S TURN FOR A ‘COALITION OF THE WILLING’ (The Bush administration has conducted a calculated three-tiered campaign either to force Iran to lower its "threat potential" with regard to its nuclear program or, failing that, to bring about a regime change in Tehran. And within these tiers, other layers are unfolding that confirm Washington's unwavering determination to resolve the matter, one way or the other, one plodding step at a time. This is illustrated by the latest wrinkle in the crisis. … Referral to the UN has always been the United States' goal in the years of international wrangling over Iran's nuclear program, which the US is convinced is aimed at producing nuclear weapons, something Tehran vigorously denies. But now that moment has come, the US has to tread carefully. Russia and China, two of the permanent Security Council members with veto powers, along with the US, France and Britain, cannot be counted on to go along with any moves to impose direct UN sanctions on Iran. Instead, as US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns told a congressional committee, the United States wanted a non-binding presidential statement to "condemn" Iran when the Security Council meets next week as Iran "directly threatens vital American interests". After that, he said, the US would move to a binding Chapter 7 resolution designed to "isolate" Tehran and "hopefully influence its behavior". This, much like "the coalition of the willing" that invaded Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein, would involve the United States' allies "to show that they are willing to act [by imposing sanctions against Iran], should the words and resolutions of the United Nations not suffice", as Burns put it. So the saga continues, all in line with the United States' orchestrated plan to see the matter through in terms of its three-tier strategy.)

2//Institute for War & Peace Reporting, UK--HOLDING THE GOVERNMENT TO ACCOUNT (Opponents of Iraqi premier Ibrahim al-Ja'afari are backing a proposal to create an influential council, comprising Iraqi leaders and opposition figures, which could curb the cabinet's power. The exact role of the council, which was first suggested by Kurdistan regional government president Masood Barzani last month and is supported by US officials, has not been made clear. Proponents have only said it would monitor cabinet business and provide a check on decisions. The council would include all of Iraq's top politicians - the president, vice presidents, prime minister, deputy prime ministers, the national assembly speaker - as well as some party leaders, including opposition figures. Critics panned it as unconstitutional. The plan is being praised by opponents of Ja'afari, who has been nominated to lead the country’s first four-year permanent government. … The Kurdish newspaper Hawlati reported that the council was originally conceived during a meeting between former prime minister Allawi and the US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, in Salahaddin last year. Ja'afari is trying to keep Allawi out of his cabinet, arguing that his Iraqi National List - which won 25 out of the 275 parliamentary seats - is not sufficiently well represented in the assembly to warrant a ministerial post. … A political analyst in Baghdad, Ayad Abdai, also expressed concern over the planned body. "This is a negative indicator that Iraqi politicians intend to abort democracy," he said. "How can we replace an elected council with an unelected one?")

3//The Independent, UK--GOVERNMENT DETERMINED TO FORCE THROUGH ID CARDS BILL (MPs and peers face a constitutional crisis next week when the Government prepares a fresh attempt to drive its identity card proposals into law. Although the House of Lords is digging in against the scheme, ministers have taken the surprise decision to try to force through the ID Cards Bill at the earliest possible opportunity. They warn that further parliamentary wrangling could delay plans to issue the first ID cards in 2008-09. The issue will come to a head the day after Tony Blair's showdown with backbench dissidents over plans to set up a new generation of independent "trust schools". Opposition parties suspect the rapid return of ID Cards Bill is not coincidental, with ministers calculating that potential Labour rebels will be focusing next week on education reforms. The Government was defeated by a margin of 61 in the Lords on Monday on a central element of the ID card scheme, an increase on the majority of 44 two months ago.)

4//Xinhua Online, China--CHINA ISSUES HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD OF US (China issued Thursday the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005 in response to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005 issued by the U.S. State Department on Wednesday. Released by the Information Office of China's State Council, the Chinese report listed a multitude of cases to show the serious violations of human rights both in and outside the United States. "As in previous years, the U.S. State Department pointed the finger at human rights situations in more than 190 countries and regions [including China] but kept silent on the violations of human rights in the United States," says the document. To help people realize the true features of this self-styled "guardian of human rights," it is necessary to probe into the human rights abuses in the United States in 2005, it says. This is the seventh consecutive year that China has issued human rights record of the United States to answer the U.S. State Department annual report. The report contains more than 14,500 Chinese characters and is divided into seven parts: on life and security of person, on infringements upon human rights by law enforcement and judicial organs, on political rights and freedom, on economic, social and cultural rights, on racial discrimination, on rights of women and children and on the United States' violation of human rights in other countries.)

5//Middle East Times, Egypt--IN GULF, RICH GET RICHER WHILE POOR GET POORER (Dubai never stops; construction, growth, business and an overall buzz have distinguished this city from all others in the region. The United Arab Emirates [UAE] in general and Dubai in particular continue to boast phenomenal achievements that include being the business center of the Middle East and recording the highest gross domestic product [GDP] in the world. On the surface, Dubai may appear like one of the best places to make and save money. After all, it did post nearly 17 percent growth in GDP in 2004, the highest in the world, while in 2005 its sister emirate Abu Dhabi held the honor of having the highest per capita GDP in the world at $46,185. But while the UAE seems to top the world in growth, it is also competing to become one of the most expensive places in the world. Residents complain that the impressive growth rates are being threatened by the ever increasing cost of living. … Economic experts say that GDP growth is not indicative of economic well being. "It's not GDP growth that makes an economy great, but GDP growth combined with productivity growth, and while we're witnessing very strong GDP growth rates, we're witnessing only half a percent productivity growth rates," said John Sandwick, managing director of Encore Management in Saudi SA, Switzerland, at the first Middle East IPO Summit in Dubai, which was held last week.)

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1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong Mar 10, 2006

IRAN’S TURN FOR A ‘COALITION OF THE WILLING’
By Ehsan Ahrari
(Ehsan Ahrari is the CEO of Strategic Paradigms, an Alexandria, Virginia-based defense consultancy.)

The Bush administration has conducted a calculated three-tiered campaign either to force Iran to lower its "threat potential" with regard to its nuclear program or, failing that, to bring about a regime change in Tehran. And within these tiers, other layers are unfolding that confirm Washington's unwavering determination to resolve the matter, one way or the other, one plodding step at a time.

This is illustrated by the latest wrinkle in the crisis.

On Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wrapped up a two-day meeting by deciding to forward a report on Iran by its head, Mohamed ElBaradei, to the United Nations Security Council. The report found that after nearly three years of inspections, the IAEA remained unable to rule out the possibility that Iran still had secret nuclear activities, which could include work related to uranium enrichment and efforts to adapt weapons to carry a nuclear bomb.

Referral to the UN has always been the United States' goal in the years of international wrangling over Iran's nuclear program, which the US is convinced is aimed at producing nuclear weapons, something Tehran vigorously denies.

But now that moment has come, the US has to tread carefully. Russia and China, two of the permanent Security Council members with veto powers, along with the US, France and Britain, cannot be counted on to go along with any moves to impose direct UN sanctions on Iran.

Instead, as US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns told a congressional committee, the United States wanted a non-binding presidential statement to "condemn" Iran when the Security Council meets next week as Iran "directly threatens vital American interests". After that, he said, the US would move to a binding Chapter 7 resolution designed to "isolate" Tehran and "hopefully influence its behavior".

This, much like "the coalition of the willing" that invaded Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein, would involve the United States' allies "to show that they are willing to act [by imposing sanctions against Iran], should the words and resolutions of the United Nations not suffice", as Burns put it.

So the saga continues, all in line with the United States' orchestrated plan to see the matter through in terms of its three-tier strategy.

(SNIP)

Tier 3: The bear and the panda
The third tier of the US campaign against Iran is to deal with, and neutralize, the positions of Russia and China.

Russia: Moscow belatedly decided to side with the US in terms of having Iran's dossier referred to the UN. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in Washington on Tuesday, assuring Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that his country had decided to drop its proposal of allowing Iran to undertake small-scale nuclear enrichment on Iranian soil.

It seems President Vladimir Putin is no mood to irritate Bush further, so soon after making another highly controversial decision of inviting Hamas leaders to Moscow for consultations.

However, Russia has made it clear that it does not favor sanctions against Iran. "I don't think sanctions as a means to solve a crisis have ever achieved a goal in recent history," Lavrov was reported in the media as saying.

And interestingly, Lavrov said the discussions of how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions reminded him of the run-up to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. "It looks so deja vu, you know," he said. "I don't believe we should engage in something which might become self-fulfilling prophecy."

China: Beijing remains a wild card in this episode. Thus far, it has made no objections about referring Iran to the UN Security Council. How it will behave now that this has happened is unclear. However, as in the case of Russia, it is hard to say whether China will stay quiet once the US decides to turn up the heat on Iran.

Given Russia's attitude, and the uncertainty of which way China might jump, the US has been forced to go the "alliance-building" route in terms of having sanctions imposed on Iran.

Tier 1 in this drama has played itself out, with the European initiative having served its purpose of appearing to give diplomacy a chance. The rhetoric of Tier 2 will continue unabated ("no options are off the table", "meaningful consequences"). With the US seeking action beyond the UN, Tier 3 now sees China and Russia to some extent sidelined.

So we move on to Tier 4: the building of another "alliance of the willing", with Lavrov's warnings of deja vu ringing in the ears.

2//Institute for War & Peace Reporting, UK (ICR No. 167, 9-Mar-06)

HOLDING THE GOVERNMENT TO ACCOUNT
Planned body aimed at keeping a check on the government is criticised for being unconstitutional.

By Safa Mansoor in Baghdad
Safa Mansoor is an IWPR trainee journalist in Baghdad

Opponents of Iraqi premier Ibrahim al-Ja'afari are backing a proposal to create an influential council, comprising Iraqi leaders and opposition figures, which could curb the cabinet's power.

The exact role of the council, which was first suggested by Kurdistan regional government president Masood Barzani last month and is supported by US officials, has not been made clear. Proponents have only said it would monitor cabinet business and provide a check on decisions.

The council would include all of Iraq's top politicians - the president, vice presidents, prime minister, deputy prime ministers, the national assembly speaker - as well as some party leaders, including opposition figures. Critics panned it as unconstitutional.

The plan is being praised by opponents of Ja'afari, who has been nominated to lead the country’s first four-year permanent government.

Kurdish, secular and Sunni Arab leaders have called for Ja'afari's coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance, to pull his nomination for fear that he will exclude important parties - such as Ayad Allawi’s Iraqi National List - from his cabinet and give all the most important ministerial posts to members of his coalition, the leading slate in parliament. Most of the latter are continuing to back Ja'afari.

The disagreements over the composition of the government have left a power vacuum that many believe has allowed the sectarian violence to spiral.

Mahmood Othman, a Kurdish national assembly member, said the council would ensure that all leading parties participate in decision-making.

(SNIP)

The Kurdish newspaper Hawlati reported that the council was originally conceived during a meeting between former prime minister Allawi and the US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, in Salahaddin last year. Ja'afari is trying to keep Allawi out of his cabinet, arguing that his Iraqi National List - which won 25 out of the 275 parliamentary seats - is not sufficiently well represented in the assembly to warrant a ministerial post.

(SNIP)

Critics of the proposed body note that there is no mention of it in Iraq's new constitution, approved by voters last year. The new parliament, which has not convened since slates were elected in December 2005, has four months from its first session to amend the constitution.

"There is no article or item to establish this council," said Khudhair al-Khazai, a United Iraqi Alliance lawmaker. "We insist on sticking to the articles in the constitution and refuse to overlook them."

A political analyst in Baghdad, Ayad Abdai, also expressed concern over the planned body.

"This is a negative indicator that Iraqi politicians intend to abort democracy," he said. "How can we replace an elected council with an unelected one?"

(MORE)

3//The Independent, UK Published: 10 March 2006

GOVERNMENT DETERMINED TO FORCE THROUGH ID CARDS BILL
By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent

MPs and peers face a constitutional crisis next week when the Government prepares a fresh attempt to drive its identity card proposals into law.

Although the House of Lords is digging in against the scheme, ministers have taken the surprise decision to try to force through the ID Cards Bill at the earliest possible opportunity. They warn that further parliamentary wrangling could delay plans to issue the first ID cards in 2008-09.

The issue will come to a head the day after Tony Blair's showdown with backbench dissidents over plans to set up a new generation of independent "trust schools". Opposition parties suspect the rapid return of ID Cards Bill is not coincidental, with ministers calculating that potential Labour rebels will be focusing next week on education reforms. The Government was defeated by a margin of 61 in the Lords on Monday on a central element of the ID card scheme, an increase on the majority of 44 two months ago.
Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, has decided to overturn the defeat next Monday in the Commons, setting the scene for a tug-of-war between the two Houses. He has told colleagues he is prepared to keep MPs and peers sitting late into next week in an effort to force the legislation on to the statute book.

A Home Office source said: "We have had clear Commons majorities on the principle of the Bill. If the Lords refuse to give way, the question will become which House has precedence."

Peers voted to remove provisions in the Bill that would require all people applying for a passport to enter their details on the proposed national identity register. They insisted the measure amounted to "compulsion by stealth" and broke Labour's manifesto promise that the scheme would initially be voluntary.

(MORE)

4//Xinhua Online, China Thursday,Mar.9,2006

CHINA ISSUES HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD OF US

Full Text: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/09/content_4279287.htm

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhuanet)-- China issued Thursday the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2005 in response to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005 issued by the U.S. State Department on Wednesday.
Released by the Information Office of China's State Council, the Chinese report listed a multitude of cases to show the serious violations of human rights both in and outside the United States.

"As in previous years, the U.S. State Department pointed the finger at human rights situations in more than 190 countries and regions (including China) but kept silent on the violations of human rights in the United States," says the document.

To help people realize the true features of this self-styled "guardian of human rights," it is necessary to probe into the human rights abuses in the United States in 2005, it says.
This is the seventh consecutive year that China has issued human rights record of the United States to answer the U.S. State Department annual report.

The report contains more than 14,500 Chinese characters and is divided into seven parts: on life and security of person, on infringements upon human rights by law enforcement and judicial organs, on political rights and freedom, on economic, social and cultural rights, on racial discrimination, on rights of women and children and on the United States' violation of human rights in other countries.

"For a long time, the life and security of the people of the United States has not been under efficient protection, and American society is characterized with rampant violent crimes," says the document.

The U.S. Justice Department reported on Sept. 25, 2005 that there were 5,182,670 violent crimes in the United States in 2004.

And there were 21.4 victims for every 1,000 people aged 12 and older, which amounts to about one violent crime victim for every 47 U.S. residents.

"There exist serious infringements upon personal rights and freedoms by law enforcement and judicial organs in the United States," says the record.

Secret snooping is prevalent and illegal detention occurs from time to time. The recently disclosed Snoopgate scandal has aroused keen attention of the public in the United States, according to the record.

After the Sept. 11 Attacks, the U.S. President has for dozens of times authorized the National Security Agency and other departments to wiretap some domestic phone calls.

With this authorization, the National Security Agency may conduct surveillance over phone calls and e-mails of 500 U.S. citizens at a time.

The document quotes media reports as saying that from 2002 through 2004, there were at least 287 cases in which the FBI agents were suspected of illegally conducting electronic surveillance.

On Jan. 9, 2006, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection announced that in the "anti-terrorism" fight, the U.S. customs has the right to open and inspect incoming private letters, which again sparked protests, according to the record.

"Police abuse is also very common in the United States," the report notes.

It quotes a report of the Los Angeles Times on July 14, 2005 as saying that Los Angeles police shot dead the 19-month-old daughter of a suspect when trying to arrest the suspect, which triggered public outcry.

And according to an AP story, on Oct. 9, five New Orleans police officers battered a 64-year-old retired teacher on the street while trying to arrest him, and he suffered injuries.

As the prisons in the U.S. were packed, the situation of prisoners worsened, according to the record.

During Hurricane Katrina, between Aug. 29 and Sept. 1, 2005, correctional officers from the New Orleans Sheriff's Department abandoned 600 inmates in a prison, as many were immersed in chest and neck level water and left without food, water, electricity, fresh air, or functioning facilities for four days and nights.

"The United States has always boasted itself as the 'model of democracy' and hawked its mode of democracy to the rest of the world. In fact, American 'democracy' is always one for the wealthy and a 'game for the rich'," says the report.

During the mayoral election of New York City in November 2005, billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent 77.89 million U.S. dollars of his fortune for re-election. That came to more than 100U.S. dollars per vote.

The election was termed by the Associated Press as the most expensive mayoral re-election in history.

The United States is the world's richest country, however, it maintains the highest poverty rate among developed countries.

A study of eight advanced countries by the London School of Economics in 2005 found that the United States had the worst social inequality.

The poverty rate of the United States is the highest in the developed world and more than twice as high as in most other industrialized countries, the record quotes a report of Newsweek magazine as saying.

The United States is a multi-ethnic nation of immigrants, with minority ethnic groups accounting for more than one-fourth of its population. But racial discrimination has long been a chronic malady of American society, says the record.

According to The State of Black America 2005, the income level of African American families is only one-tenth of that of white families, and the welfare enjoyed by black Americans is only three-fourth of their white counterparts.

The United States does not have a good record in safeguarding rights of women and children, says the document.

A survey by the U.S. Census Bureau said the median earnings of women and men in 2004 were 31,223 and 40,798 U.S. dollars, respectively. The female-to-male earnings ratio was 77 percent.

In terms of the child poverty index, the United States ranked next to the last among 22 developed nations in the world.

"Pursuing unilateralism on the international arena, the U.S. government grossly violates the sovereignty and human rights of other countries in contempt of universally-recognized international norms," the report notes.

The U.S. government frequently commits wanton slaughters of innocents in its war efforts and military operations in other countries, it says.

The USA Today newspaper on Dec. 13, 2005 quoted a 2004 study published in the medical journal The Lancet as saying that it was estimated that about 100,000 Iraqis, mostly women and children, had died in the Iraqi war launched by the U.S. government in 2003.

In 2005, news of prisoner abuse by the U.S. forces again hit headlines, following their 2004 prisoner abuse scandal that stunned the world.

The record quotes media reports as saying that to extract information, the U.S. forces in Iraq employed various kinds of torture in their interrogations.

They abused the Iraqi detainees systematically, including sleep deprivation, tying them to the wall, hitting them with baseball bats, denying their access to water and food, forcing them to listen to extremely loud music in completely dark places for days running, unleashing dogs to bite them for amusement and even scaring them by putting them in the same cage with lions.

"For years, the U.S. government has ignored and concealed deliberately serious violations of human rights in its own country for fear of criticism, "says the report.

Yet it has issued annual reports making unwarranted charges on human rights practices of other countries, an act that fully exposes its hypocrisy and double standard on human rights issues, which has naturally met with strong resistance and opposition from other countries, the record notes.

"We urge the U.S. government to look squarely at its own human rights problems, reflect what it has done in the human rights field and take concrete measures to improve its own human rights status," it says.

"The U.S. government should stop provoking international confrontation on the issue of human rights, and make a fresh start to contribute more to international human rights cooperation and to the healthy development of international human rights cause," the report concludes.
End Item

5//Middle East Times, Egypt March 6, 2006

IN GULF, RICH GET RICHER WHILE POOR GET POORER
Natasha Bukhari, Middle East Times

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Dubai never stops; construction, growth, business and an overall buzz have distinguished this city from all others in the region. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) in general and Dubai in particular continue to boast phenomenal achievements that include being the business center of the Middle East and recording the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world.

On the surface, Dubai may appear like one of the best places to make and save money. After all, it did post nearly 17 percent growth in GDP in 2004, the highest in the world, while in 2005 its sister emirate Abu Dhabi held the honor of having the highest per capita GDP in the world at $46,185.

But while the UAE seems to top the world in growth, it is also competing to become one of the most expensive places in the world. Residents complain that the impressive growth rates are being threatened by the ever increasing cost of living.

Spiraling inflation, economic experts warn, will slowly eradicate the middle class in the Gulf, where the cost of rent, utility charges and even foodstuffs have increased by an average of 10 percent during the past two years.

Dubai is a prime example of overwhelming price hikes. Commodities are becoming more expensive while salaries are not increasing. Residents of the emirate are now bitterly complaining that the cost of living has become too high to sustain with their stagnant salaries.

"With rents increasing by 15 percent every year, everybody is asking for a salary rise," wrote one disgruntled resident in a Dubai daily. "There are, however, companies which do not bother to give a raise in eight years although the cost of living has increased by 400 percent during the same period."

(SNIP)

A recent study by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) showed that there has been a significant rise in the monthly expenditure of UAE national families as well as of expatriate families, due to rampant inflation.

The study urged the government to take corrective measures to avoid socio-economic complications.

"The continuous price spiral, the constant increase in rents of residential units, the uncontrollable prices of daily used commodities have forced families and individuals in the emirates to resort heavily to taking bank loans and seeking a way out with special assistance funds and welfare societies," the study said.

Businesses are repeatedly voicing concerns over the high inflation rates saying that the government should address the issue; otherwise the "boom bubble" will be at risk of bursting as many people are now more hesitant to move to the UAE due to high living costs.

(SNIP)

The ADCCI study supports these concerns; it shows that income levels of expatriates are 26 percent below the average monthly expenditure. It adds that 70 percent of the population in Abu Dhabi is dependent on salaries, and is therefore suffering.

Economic experts say that GDP growth is not indicative of economic well being.

"It's not GDP growth that makes an economy great, but GDP growth combined with productivity growth, and while we're witnessing very strong GDP growth rates, we're witnessing only half a percent productivity growth rates," said John Sandwick, managing director of Encore Management in Saudi SA, Switzerland, at the first Middle East IPO Summit in Dubai, which was held last week.

Another step to maintain healthy market growth is sustaining the middle class and empowering it, says Mohammed Abu Dawood, vice-chairman of Saudi Arabia's Abu Dawood Group of Companies.

He said that GCC governments should move faster with privatization plans to "build a real middle class, no matter how small their ownership is - at least they are learning to invest and save, even if they are leveraging to own stocks".

Whatever the argument regarding GDP and economic growth, there seems to be consensus among economic experts that income distribution is the key reflection of growth, and that while the wealthy are getting even richer, the middle and lower middle classes are paying the price.