Marekani imewaonya raia wake wasisafiri kwenda Cote d'Ivoire

Marekani imewaonya raia wake wasisafiri kwenda Cote d'Ivoire. Matangazo ya vyombo vya habari vya kimataifa yamefungwa Cote d'Ivoire huku rais Gbgabo akivilaumu kwa kuitingisha nchi

Milipuko imesikika katika kitongoji kimoja kusini mwa mji mkuu wa Cote d'Ivoire, Abidjan usiku kucha na hapo jana, huku mapigano kati ya waasi wanaotaka kumuondoa madarakani kiongozi anayeng'ang'ania madaraka nchini humo Laurent Gbagbo na vikosi vya usalama, kuenea katika maeneo mapya mjini humo. Wakaazi wa kitongoji cha Koumassi wamesema milio ya risasi ilisita jana jioni na watu kadhaa walitoka nje ya nyumba zao, lakini watu wapatao wawili waliuwawa katika ufyatulianaji wa risasi.

Mbali na mapigano kadhaa katika kitongoji cha Adjame, kilicho karibu na eneo la katikati la biashara mjini Abidjan, mapigano mengi yamekuwa yakitokea katika kitongoji cha Abobo kaskazini mwa mji huo, ambacho ni ngome ya kiongozi wa upinzani Alassane Ouattara, anayetambuliwa na jumuiya ya kimataifa kama mshindi halali wa uchaguzi wa urais uliofanyika Novemba 28 mwaka jana.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Rais wa Cote d'Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo
Serikali ya Gbagbo imeanza kulipa mishahara wiki hii na imeyalenga matawi ya benki ya Societe Generale na BNP Paribas ili kuyataifisha, kama sehemu ya juhudi zake za kuusaidia uchumi usiporomoke. Benki ya Societe Generale imelaani vikali kuchukuliwa kwa tawi lake nchini humo pamoja na kutishwa kwa wafanyakazi wake.





Wakati huo huo waasi kaskazini mwa Cote d'Ivoire wanasema mamilioni ya wakaazi wa eneo hilo wamekatiwa maji na umeme kwa kumuunga mkono Ouattara. Taarifa ya kampuni ya kitaifa ya umeme inasema wanaume waliokuwa na silaha walikatiza huduma za umeme Jumatatu wiki hii.

Kampuni hiyo imekuwa chini ya usimamizi wa rais Gbgabo aliyeitaifisha baada ya Umoja wa Mataifa kumtambua Ouattara kama mshindi wa uchaguzi wa Novemba mwaka jana.

Milipuko imesikika katika kitongoji kimoja kusini mwa mji mkuu wa Cote d'Ivoire, Abidjan usiku kucha na hapo jana, huku mapigano kati ya waasi wanaotaka kumuondoa madarakani kiongozi anayeng'ang'ania madaraka nchini humo Laurent Gbagbo na vikosi vya usalama, kuenea katika maeneo mapya mjini humo. Wakaazi wa kitongoji cha Koumassi wamesema milio ya risasi ilisita jana jioni na watu kadhaa walitoka nje ya nyumba zao, lakini watu wapatao wawili waliuwawa katika ufyatulianaji wa risasi.

Mbali na mapigano kadhaa katika kitongoji cha Adjame, kilicho karibu na eneo la katikati la biashara mjini Abidjan, mapigano mengi yamekuwa yakitokea katika kitongoji cha Abobo kaskazini mwa mji huo, ambacho ni ngome ya kiongozi wa upinzani Alassane Ouattara, anayetambuliwa na jumuiya ya kimataifa kama mshindi halali wa uchaguzi wa urais uliofanyika Novemba 28 mwaka jana.


Rais wa Cote d'Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo
Serikali ya Gbagbo imeanza kulipa mishahara wiki hii na imeyalenga matawi ya benki ya Societe Generale na BNP Paribas ili kuyataifisha, kama sehemu ya juhudi zake za kuusaidia uchumi usiporomoke. Benki ya Societe Generale imelaani vikali kuchukuliwa kwa tawi lake nchini humo pamoja na kutishwa kwa wafanyakazi wake.

Sambamba na hayo Marekani imewaonya raia wake dhidi ya kuitembelea Cote d'Ivoire. Wizara ya mambo ya ndani ya Marekani imewataka Wamarekani wajiepusha kwenda nchini humo hadi watakaposhauriwa kufanya hivyo. Imesema huku shinikizo dhidi ya Gbgabo likizidi, ukatili dhidi ya raia wa nchi za magharibi, wakiwemo Wamarekani, unaonekana kuongezeka. Inatarajia uchumi wa Cote d'Ivoire kuanguka, uhaba mkubwa wa nishati, chakula na mahitaji mengine, pamoja na mfumuko wa bei, mambo ambayo huenda yakasababisha hali ngumu kimaisha na kuzuka machafuko na uhalifu.

Wakati huo huo waasi kaskazini mwa Cote d'Ivoire wanasema mamilioni ya wakaazi wa eneo hilo wamekatiwa maji na umeme kwa kumuunga mkono Ouattara. Taarifa ya kampuni ya kitaifa ya umeme inasema wanaume waliokuwa na silaha walikatiza huduma za umeme Jumatatu wiki hii.

Kampuni hiyo imekuwa chini ya usimamizi wa rais Gbgabo aliyeitaifisha baada ya Umoja wa Mataifa kumtambua Ouattara kama mshindi wa uchaguzi wa Novemba mwaka jana.






Kwa upande mwingine matangazo ya radio ya BBC na Radio France International, RFI, hayakusika hewani hapo jana. Shirika la utangazaji la BBC limesema kwenye tovuti yake kuwa Laurent Gbagbo amekanusha kuchukua hatua dhidi ya vituo hivyo na halifahamu kwa nini matangazo yake yalisita. Gbagbo anavilaumu vyombo vya habari vya kimataifa kwa kuiyumbisha Cote d'Ivoire.


Bildu Alain Le Roy
Kwa upande mwingine, Umoja wa Mataifa umekiri ulifanya makosa kuishutumu Belarus kwa kuipelekea Cote d'Ivoire helikopta za kivita. Kiongozi wa tume ya kulinda amani ya umoja huo, Alain Le Roy, amewaambia waandishi wa habari jana mjini New York Marekani kuwa aliomba radhi kwa serikali ya Belarus kwa niaba ya Umoja wa Mataifa kwa ripoti hiyo ambayo haikuwa sahihi.

Jumapili wiki hii ofisi ya katibu mkuu wa Umoja wa Mataifa Ban Ki Moon iliripoti kuwa helikopta moja ilikuwa imewasili Abidjan na kwamba helikopta zaidi zilikuwa zimepangwa kuwasili Jumatatu. Le Roy alisema taarifa hiyo ilitolewa na jopo huru la wataalamu linalosimamia vikwazo dhidi ya Cote d'Ivoire






To Japan's quick recovery!!









Both Libya and Japan as a result of the earthquake ~ the focus is on energy. A nuclear reactor boils water to generate steam to power a turbine. Its a glorified steam engine ~ we don't just throw coal in it any more. In our cars we burn oil ~ like used to do with oil lamps before the light bulb. And just think ~ the powerful oil lamp industry of the time took Edison to court to try and prevent the use of electric lighting. But imagine, where we would be if they had won.

Conserving energy ~ is b.s. because we are going to need more of it. We need energy, and we need it on tap.

Oil pipelines and wars in oil nations. The needless tax on everything. Only allowing for high-end goods to be produced. Robotics run on negligible energy costs could help change this.

Democracy is for people who 'choose' their laws. In Iraq, schools are now teaching kids that they may have to kill Christians! When was the last time anyone in the west ~ heard of 'holy war'!

But Saddam's gone!

Technology around energy ~ just peaking over zilch!!

One day it may be a situation ~ where we can't rush in and control it ~ with weapons. As a result western infrastructure might be shut down for a while. There are too many things to juggle, dictators in countries where people don't expect and even reject basic freedoms, terrorism a complete wildcard ~ ad plain old blackmail seeing our vulnerability and exposure to oil, it could stop flowing for any number of reasons ~ Hugo Chavez has already made similar gestures ~ his party of support could grow ~ we are cruising for a bruising.

It would be surprising if this situation can drag on for much longer.


The future is now ~ we just can't see it!!


In light of a possible nuclear catastrophe in Japan, countries around the world are rethinking whether atomic energy really is the future. DW's Judith Hartl believes the crisis could lead to the end of the nuclear age.

One thing is clear after Fukushima: nuclear power stations are not safe - always and everywhere. Those who say otherwise are lying. It is that simple.

After Fukushima, the perennial reaffirmations that Germany's own reactors are more technically sound than the Soviet reactor at Chernobyl no longer hold sway. No, Fukushima shows us that even in a technologically advanced country like Japan, control of technology can be lost in an instant, suddenly leaving us helpless - like dwarfs armed with blunt spears standing before a huge fire-spewing dragon.

The longer the desperate fight against the meltdown continues in Fukushima, the more cognizant the world becomes of this sudden and very deadly danger.

Now, after some initial knee-jerk reactions of loyalty to their own nuclear policies, some countries are beginning to question the nuclear path - at least in a cautious manner. Germany has already dissociated itself from the infallibility of nuclear power, and now Brazil has announced it will examine its plans for an expansion of its nuclear program. Israel, too, has thrown its plans for a new reactor overboard, and even China, which currently has more than 20 new reactors in the pipeline, is considering a building freeze.

In no other country in the world could it have been made clearer than in Japan that we cannot and never will be able to control nuclear power. It is just too dangerous. And maybe Fukushima will indeed cause a lasting rethink of nuclear power, that it is not the energy of the future. Perhaps it will show us that we must invest in a massive expansion of renewable energy sources - solar, wind and geothermal energy - and of course also in developing energy-saving technologies.

And perhaps Fukushima will even come to represent a turning point - the beginning of a new era without nuclear power stations. A dream? Who knows.









Chavez and Gadhafi's other Latin America allies condemn military intervention in Libya








CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez condemned military strikes against Libya on Saturday, accusing the United States and its European allies of attacking the country to seize its oil.

Chavez's ally and mentor Fidel Castro raised similar concerns in a column written before the first strikes, while the leftist leaders of Bolivia and Nicaragua also accused world powers of intervening with an eye to the North African country's oil.



Chavez, who has long-standing ties to Moammar Gadhafi, has urged mediation and called it "disgusting" that the U.S., France and other countries are taking military action.

"More death, more war. They are the masters of war," Chavez said. "What irresponsibility. And behind that is the hand of the United States and its European allies."

"They want to seize Libya's oil. The lives of Libya's people don't matter to them at all," Chavez said. "It is deplorable that once again the warmongering policy of the Yankee empire and its allies is being imposed, and it is deplorable that the United Nations lends itself to supporting war, infringing on its fundamental principles instead of urgently forming a commission to go to Libya."

Operating under authorization of the U.N. Security Council, French fighter jets fired the first shots at Gadhafi's troops Saturday, and U.S. and British warships launched a missile attack on Libya's air defences.

"We know what's going to happen: bombs, bombs, war, more suffering for the people, more death," Chavez said in a televised speech in Caracas.

The socialist leader has been joined by Latin American allies including Castro and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega in strongly opposing U.S. and NATO military involvement in Libya, and in suggesting that reports of atrocities by Gadhafi's troops were overblown or unproven.

In a column published in Cuba's state media Saturday, Castro asked why the U.N. Security Council exists, and said NATO wields such a colossal military force that it "serves only to show the waste and chaos generated by capitalism."

Speaking in Bolivia, President Evo Morales condemned the military intervention and said the strategy of some powerful countries has been to "invent a problem, and the problem is wanting to take control of oil."

Ortega, meanwhile, echoed allegations that Western nations are after Libya's oil and said they are "putting out fire with gasoline."

The Nicaraguan leader accused the United Nations and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of being "an instrument of those powers."

Chavez criticized President Barack Obama, saying he won the Nobel Peace Prize but is pursuing another war in the same mould as Iraq and Afghanistan. He also mocked French and other European leaders, saying "they still feel like owners of the world, empires of this world."

Chavez said the freezing of Libyan accounts in U.S. and European banks — an amount he said he believes is nearly $200 billion — is effectively "a robbery, it's looting, taking advantage of Libya's internal conflict."

The military strikes against Libya came after the U.N. Security Council authorized a no-fly zone and are aimed at supporting an uprising by rebels trying to topple Gadhafi after more than four decades in power.

"What is that called? Intervention in another country's internal affairs," Chavez said. "We demand ... a true cease-fire."










The Seven Wonders of the Totalitarian World



The new Seven Wonders of the World are nice. Too nice. These seven wonders aren't, celebrating the greatness that men do in the name of evil.



Read more: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/opinion/7totalitarianwonders#ixzzG3q2bnGyg




Throughout history, it is the deep-pocketed madmen who tend to leave behind the biggest wonders. And while last month's election of the New Seven Wonders of the World hints at this point -- the emperors who fed Christians to the lions in the Roman Coliseum were neither mild-mannered nor impoverished -- they're basically positive tributes to mankind's triumphant, enduring half. But what of the tyranny that drove men to produce such wonders? On some level, each of the New Seven is also a colossal monument to narcissism, either some ruler or some culture's desire to go bigger and leave a mark that cannot be erased -- a sentiment not unlike the one held by some of today's most ruthless dictators. With that in mind, we created the following list, celebrating those modern monuments from the totalitarian world that may or may not make it through the next coup. Check them out while you still can








Fist Crushing U.S. Fighter Plane
By Corey Sobel



Read more: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/opinion/7totalitarianwonders-2#ixzzG3q3WMpyO




Fist Crushing U.S. Fighter Plane, Libya

Fist Crushing U.S. Fighter Plane
Tripoli, Libya

Whether it was naming himself “Brotherly Leader of the Revolution” or earning the title “Premier Terrorist Financier of the 1980s,” Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi’s need for attention has always erred on the side of gaudy. It’s no surprise, then, that the monument to the suffering of the Libyan people would take the form of a giant gold first crushing a U.S. fighter plane. In 1986, the Reagan Administration linked Gaddafi to the bombing of a German discotheque and, in retaliation, strafed Libyan military facilities and residential areas, killing 101 Libyans. After commissioning this sculpture, Gaddafi sought to lower his country’s profile by financing the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103.








Monument to President Laurent Kabila




Monument to President Laurent Kabila, Democratic Republic of Congo

Monument to President Laurent Kabila
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

It takes some serious dictatorial chutzpah to upstage Mobutu Sese-Seko, Africa’s most famous Big Man. But after Mobutu’s overthrow in 1996, Laurent Kabila managed not only to whittle the DRC’s diamond-rich economy away to nothing, but also oversaw the bloodiest conflict since World War II -- the DRC civil war -- in which almost 4 million people died. After Kabila’s assassination in 2001, his son, Joseph, took the reins and has maintained this affectionate monument to dear old dad










Lenin’s Mausoleum





Lenin’s Mausoleum, Russia

Lenin’s Mausoleum
Red Square
Moscow, Russia

What list of totalitarian monuments would be complete without the pickled body of the Father of the Soviet Union? Since 1924, Lenin’s Mausoleum has brought millions of pilgrims in from around the world to pay their respects to the creator of the Soviet Secret Police and the “Red Terror.”









Monument to President Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan





Monument to President Saparmurat Niyazov
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Though he was known to millions of oppressed Turkmen as the “Iron Ruler,” there was a little-known creative side to the recently deceased Saparmurat Niyazov. Take, for example, his rambling, two-volume autobiography that was made mandatory reading for the entire country. Or his decrees banning unsavory behavior, such as growing a beard, attending the ballet, or listening to your car radio. But perhaps his most innovative contribution to the misery of his subjects was the hundreds of memorials he designed in his own honor, many of which are all on the same strip in Ashgabat. (The cumulative effect of all this concentrated self-congratulation prompted Esquire contributor C.J. Chivers to call the sight "Stalin-Vegas" in a recent New York Times article.) Thanks to statues such as the one pictured above, citizens would always remember that Big Brother was not only watching, but also sketching in his spare time.






Mao Leading the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, China





Mao Leading the Chinese People’s Liberation Army
Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, Tiananmen Square
Beijing, China

Among the sites you can visit at the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong -- besides Mao’s body encased in a crystal coffin -- is a stirring tribute to “The Great Helmsman.” This sculpture depicts Mao leading a group of starry-eyed proletariat and hailing the future. What lay ahead? Over 14 million starved Chinese in the Great Leap Forward and an untold number of political prisoners. And, recalling that you’re standing in the middle of Tiananmen Square, the visitor can almost swear he hears tanks rumbling somewhere in the distance...








The Hands of Victory









The Hands of Victory, Iraq

The Hands of Victory
Baghdad, Iraq

For those who now find themselves wistful about Saddam’s Iraq, there are still plenty of monuments left to remind them of the good times. One of the biggest is “The Hands of Victory,” a pair of arches that constituted the military parade grounds for the end of the Iran-Iraq war. And what wasn’t there to celebrate about a trench war in which over one million people died and was declared a draw?









Monument to the Founding of the North Korean Workers' Party




Monument to the Founding of the North Korean Worker’s Party, North Korea

Monument to the Founding of the North Korean Workers' Party
Pyongyang, North Korea

A contender for “Ugliest Building of the 20th Century,” this monument anchors what is reputed to be the most depressingly clean city this side of Omaha. Commissioned by Kim Il-sung, (father of Mr. Jong-il), the hammer and sickle represent the triumph of the workers and peasants while the much shorter brush symbolizes the success of intellectuals. Enough said.