Preparing for the next Anglo-American Oil War: Somalia is the Next Target

Preparing for the next Anglo-American Oil War: Somalia is the Next Target
December 24, 2011

Mogadishu—Britain is apparently preparing its troops for the next oil war in Africa after Prime Minister considered Somalia as a “failed state” that has been threatening Britain’s interests and security.As the British government considered Libya’s regime change as a victory of the Nato forces, it is now looking for its next humanitarian intervention in oil-rich states in the Middle East and Africa.

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell once again painted Somalia as the hotbed of terrorism and described the East African country as “a very direct threat to the security of the United Kingdom,” concluding “It’s right that we should deepen our involvement” in the crisis hit country as it is the most “dysfunctional” in the world.

Highlighting the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, Mitchell announced that Britain will offer aid package, including 9,000 tons of food and medical supplies, to the drought-ravaged areas in the Horn of Africa in Christmas.

“This is not only about saving the lives of huge numbers of vulnerable babies and children, it is also about doing the right thing to promote British security,” he claimed.

Seemingly a poor country which has always been struggling with civil wars and natural disasters such as flood and famine, Somalia has immense oil and gas reserves and some other natural resources like Uranium, iron and zinc.

According to World Bank reports, Somalia is the second African country with vast unexploited oil reserves, Puntland Province alone is able to produce between 5 and 10 billion barrels of oil.

Meanwhile analysts believe that as the western oil companies planning to start exploration in some of the regions, the politicians will use the pretext of fighting terrorism to impose war to secure more drillings all over the country.

Furthermore, UK’s state run TV, BBC, has been reporting that terrorism and the current militants are the underlying causes of the humanitarian crisis.— AP

Source:  Global Research

LeBron James dunks an incorrectly disallowed shot off of Gerald Henderson’s head

Video: LeBron James dunks an incorrectly disallowed shot off of Gerald Henderson’s head

 

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Scotland Yard fights al Shabab in Kenya

Scotland Yard joins hunt for terror cells

AFP PHOTO | BEN STANSALL Armed British police officers in central London on September 29, 2010. British detectives are in Kenya following the arrest of one of their citizens last week in Mombasa. 

British detectives are in Kenya to help track down militants and dismantle their terror network.
This follows the arrest last week in Mombasa of a Briton said to be the Al-Shabaab bomb expert.
Security sources said police want Scotland Yard to help them dig into his past and establish if he has links with Al-Qaeda and unmask the people he has been working with since he came into the country.
The Anti-Terrorist Police Unit raided the suspect’s house and seized material and chemicals believed to be used in bomb-making. The officers also questioned his wife, a Kenyan of Somali origin.
Items seized included dynamite, detonators and timers that are easily available on the market and are used in mining and quarrying industries.
Police described the Briton as a technician with expertise in making explosives.
On Saturday, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe directed dealers in laboratory chemicals to vet their clients and report any suspicious characters.
He said such chemicals, readily available and widely used in school and college laboratories, could be bought by terrorists to make explosives.
The chemicals listed as dangerous include Sulphuric acid, sulphur-based compounds, urea and other ammonium-based compounds, lead nitrate and hydrogen peroxide.
Eight people arrested
Police have so far arrested eight people in Mombasa, Nairobi and Nakuru on suspicion that they planned to carry out attacks over the festive period.
The ATPU is also questioning Mr Sylvester Opiyo aka Musa Osodo and Mr Hussein Nderitu Abbas aka Mohammed.
They were arrested when they presented themselves to the police on Saturday, hours after Mr Kiraithe flagged them as wanted criminals. (READ: Anti- terror police detain Kenya Shabaab suspects)
“Police have cause to believe they have information, which can assist us in unravelling any intended criminal activities by the Al-Shabaab in the country,” Mr Kiraithe said.
On the eight suspects, who are scheduled to be arraigned in court tomorrow, Mr Kiraithe said: “They are being interrogated on offences relating to preparation of illegal explosives. We believe that by Wednesday we shall produce them in court for the offence of attempting to make explosives.”
Police are also tracking down militants planting explosives in North Eastern, killing security personnel and injuring several civilians.
The attacks are planned by Al-Shabaab which wants the Kenya Defence Forces to pull out of Somalia.
There have been five explosions targeted at security officers in North Eastern since October when Kenya crossed the border into the war-torn country to crush the terrorists.
The explosions have been recorded in Wajir, Garissa and Mandera, killing three police officers, a soldier and two civilians. Some 22 others sustained injuries.
Meanwhile, lawyers of Mr Opiyo and Mr Nderitu will go to court on Monday to challenge their detention by police.
Mr Chacha Mwita and Mr Mureithi Mbugua said they had been held beyond the constitutional limit of 24 hours without being arraigned in court.
“My clients surrendered to the police on the eve of Christmas after being declared most wanted terrorists. We will file a constitutional application today in the morning to enforce their rights,” Mr Mwita said.
The lawyer said he drove the suspects to the ATPU offices on December 24 for their safety.
Engaging in organised crime
“I had to surrender them to police since they are being viewed by the public as the ones who will make Christmas festivities unbearable. They could have even been killed after the alert message by the police,” Mr Mwita said.
This is not the first time the suspects are being linked to the terror group. They were recently charged with engaging in organised crime as Al-Shaabab members and freed on Sh300,000 bond.
Mr Mwita said the suspects may be charged with violating their bail terms.

Source: Daily Nation

Sócrates, Brazilian Soccer Star and Activist, Dies at 57

The Times's soccer blog has the world's game covered from all angles.

The cause was septic shock from an intestinal infection, according to a statement from Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, where he was admitted on Saturday.

Sócrates, the captain of Brazil’s team in the 1982 World Cup, had been hospitalized three times in the last four months. In recent interviews, he had described liver problems related to decades of heavy drinking, for which he was sometimes pilloried.

“This country drinks more cachaça than any other in the world, and it seems like I myself drink it all,” he once told an interviewer, referring to the popular Brazilian spirit made from fermented sugar cane. “They don’t want me to drink, smoke or think?”

“Well,” he said, “I drink, smoke and think.”

His exuberant style reflected an expansive and multifaceted career. In addition to playing soccer, he practiced medicine and dabbled in coaching and painting. He also wrote newspaper columns, delving into subjects as varied as politics and economics, and made forays into writing fiction and acting on the stage.

Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira was born on Feb. 19, 1954, in the Amazonian city of Belém do Pará, Brazil. His upbringing was more privileged than that of many Brazilian professional soccer players, who often rise from abject poverty.

Emerging in the 1970s as a promising young player in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of São Paulo State, he studied medicine while playing for provincial teams before attaining his medical degree at 24. After that, he moved to Corinthians, the famous São Paulo club with a big following among Brazil’s poor.

Known to his fans as Doctor and Big Skinny, a reference to his spindly 6-foot-4-inch frame, Sócrates arrived at Corinthians at a time of intense political activity in São Paulo, a period when anger and resistance were coalescing against the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil.

Sócrates, in addition to organizing a movement advocating greater rights for Corinthians players, spoke at street protests in the 1980s calling for an end to authoritarian rule. That movement helped usher in a transition to democracy.

Brazil’s former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, praised Sócrates in a statement on Sunday.

“Dr. Sócrates was a star on the field and a great friend,” said Mr. da Silva, a Corinthians fan who is being treated for throat cancer at the hospital where Sócrates died. “He was an example of citizenship, intelligence and political consciousness.”

On the field, Sócrates was known as a wily strategist who could elegantly employ his signature move, a back-heel pass. At a time when many players maintained a clean-cut appearance, Sócrates had a beard and sometimes appeared with his long hair held back in a headband, like the tennis star Bjorn Borg.

Fans of Sócrates mention his name in the same breath as Brazilian soccer greats like Pelé, Ronaldo and Romário. But unlike those players, he was never part of a World Cup championship team.

The team he captained in 1982 was considered among the best to play the game, but it lost to Italy, 3-2, in the second round. In the 1986 World Cup, Sócrates missed a penalty kick in a quarterfinal loss to France.

Revered for his rebellious irreverence and his “heel of gold,” he deplored the way Brazilian soccer had evolved in recent years, criticizing the new playing styles as “bureaucratic” and “conservative.”

“Being sensible isn’t always the best thing,” Sócrates told The Guardian in 2010.

While Sócrates often defended his nonconformist style, he struggled publicly with his demons, too.

In televised comments this year, he described his struggle with alcoholism, leading to a broader debate in Brazil over the country’s drinking habits. As recently as August, he said that he had abstained from drinking “so that my liver can unite the conditions to be balanced.”

He is survived by his wife and six children, The Associated Press reported.

Source: New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/sports/soccer/socrates-brazilian-soccer-star-dies-at-57.html?_r=1

CARTOON

Cinema for the blind

Cinema for the blind


A cinema for blind people has been set up in China.

Movies from Hollywood blockbusters to Chinese films are shown for visually handicapped people in a community centre in Nantong city, Jiangsu Province.

Volunteer narrators provide a running commentary of the action to help them make sense of the movie soundtrack.



CINEMA FOR BLIND by tvnportal