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[“There were many shots taken at the US during the 2006 annual General Assembly meeting. But for my money, the biggest and the one that most revealed the weakness of the US Empire was taken by North Korea. It’s also the one that got the least global airplay. Basically, North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Cho Su Hon told the US that North Korea had nuclear weapons to protect itself from US imperialism, an applauded position widely supported by many member states.” – Michael C. Ruppert UN SESSION MARKS RAPIDLY CHANGING, UNSTABLE WORLD, September 29, 2006
The US has been backed into a corner and is forced to react to North Korea. What that reaction will be is as uncertain as is the future of human civilization. But there are signs that the Bush Administration just flinched. – MK & MCR]
Text of N Korea's announcement
The following is the full text of the announcement carried on North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency as reported on the Reuters news agency:
October 9, 2006
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6032597.stm
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
"The field of scientific research in the DPRK (North Korea) successfully conducted an underground nuclear test under secure conditions on October 9, Juche 95 (2006) at a stirring time when all the people of the country are making a great leap forward in the building of a great, prosperous, powerful socialist nation.
"It has been confirmed that there was no such danger as radioactive emission in the course of the nuclear test as it was carried out under a scientific consideration and careful calculation.
"The nuclear test was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology 100%. It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the KPA (Korean People's Army) and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defence capability.
"It will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the area around it."
[This latest action from North Korea proves that nation states looking to protect themselves from the Unite States should pursue a nuclear weapons program. After North Korea set-off their first nuclear bomb, Bush has back peddled his rhetoric towards the nation.
“The transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States,” Mr. Bush said. That’s not the same tune Bush has been signing up until now.
Picture in 2008, a then-President Hillary Clinton going to Pyong Yang (just like Madeline Albright did as Secretary of State for President Bill Clinton) after she visited Iran and shook hands with President Ahmadinejad. The quote from CFR vice president Gary Samore in the below report certainly gives this sort of implication. – MK]
Sanctions proposals lack tough measures
By PAUL KORING
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061009.wxbomb-main10/BNStory/International/home
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
WASHINGTON — The world's major powers condemned North Korea yesterday for defiantly testing a nuclear bomb, but continued to struggle in their efforts to impose a meaningful response, with only largely symbolic sanctions proposed at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
The outcry, followed by proposals of only modest reprisals, reflects the stark reality that Pyongyang seems to have effectively defied both its friends and adversaries. Yet little can be done to punish the bizarre neo-Stalinist regime without causing a human catastrophe among North Korea's impoverished and oppressed 23 million people.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the test an “irresponsible and dangerous act” that “seriously undermines both regional peace and stability, and global efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.”
The Security Council was considering a package of sanctions that includes a ban on luxury goods, a threat to seize assets abroad and the possibility that North Korean cargo might be scrutinized.
U.S. President George W. Bush, faced with the failure of an ongoing diplomatic effort to stare down the unpredictable North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, seemed to retreat to a new line in the sand.
“The transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States,” Mr. Bush said, hours after the explosion looks to have confirmed North Korea's forced entry into the tiny club of proven nuclear-armed states.
Pyongyang had again won a round of brinkmanship. Despite warnings not to, it detonated the blast early yesterday and then announced it with fanfare. “The DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] successfully conducted an underground nuclear test . . . at a stirring time when all the people of the country are making a great leap forward in the building of a great, prosperous, powerful socialist nation,” the official announcement said.
Despite the chorus of condemnation — even Beijing, North Korea's closest ally, denounced the nuclear test as “brazen” — the great powers seemed no closer to taking tough action against Pyongyang than they have been through years of fitful and failing diplomatic efforts.
“North Korea has defied the will of the international community, and the international community will respond,” Mr. Bush said.
Against North Korea yesterday, there was no hint of a military response, although Mr. Bush made it clear that the United States would live up to its obligations to both South Korea and Japan if those countries were attacked.
The sanctions package, proposed by Washington, seemed designed as much to be acceptable to Beijing and South Korea — both of which fear a collapse in Pyongyang and an exodus from the North — as to punish North Korea. Any sanctions package adopted under Chapter Seven of the UN charter would be binding on all states and enforceable by military action.
In theory, the “stop and search” provisions could mean American and other warships would patrol off North Korea's coast, intercepting and inspecting all cargo headed to and from its ports. Few expect anything as bellicose as an apparent military blockade.
Meanwhile, banning fine wines, cigars, fancy clothes and big-screen televisions might irk the “The Sun of the 21st Century,” or “Dear Leader,” as Mr. Kim styles himself. Outside of a tiny cadre in his inner circle, however, no one in North Korea is importing fine cognac. More than half of North Korea's fuel and food is shipped as aid or heavily subsidized, mostly by China.
Political shockwaves from Pyongyang's underground test reverberated around the globe, as scientists scrambled to sift through seismic data and confirm that the huge underground blast was in fact a nuclear explosion.
Some analysts regarded the North Korean test as an effective means of shifting the ongoing confrontation with Washington.
“North Korea wants the next U.S. administration to accept that North Korea is armed with nuclear weapons, and that any relationship between the United States and North Korea will have to be based on a recognition and acceptance that North Korea is a nuclear-armed state, just like the U.S. relationship with India or Pakistan is based on that acceptance,” Gary Samore, vice-president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said in anticipation of the test.
A senior Bush administration official said that wouldn't work. “The North Koreans, I think, had the idea they would explode a nuclear device, and then after everything settled down, we would accept North Korea as a nuclear-weapons state and begin to negotiate with them accordingly on some sort of arms-reduction agreement,” said Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the point man in dealing with North Korea. “Well, I can tell you: That's not going to happen.”
The last country to shoulder its way into the nuclear club, Pakistan, did so with a set of tests in 1998. Pakistan is believed to have aided North Korea with nuclear technology, while North Korea shipped missiles to Pakistan. Although Islamabad was condemned for defying the world and developing nuclear warheads, the military regime in Islamabad is now regarded by Mr. Bush as a key ally in the war against terrorism and Islamic extremism.
[As FTW has been reporting for the past two years the U.S. needs stability in Iran in order to insure a steady flow of oil in an extremely tight market. This story confirms our reports and makes an attack on Iran anytime soon highly unlikely, if not impossible. – CB]
Iran best route for transit of oil, gas to markets
October 06, 2006
IranMania.com
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/
Default.asp?NewsCode=46208&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
LONDON, October 6 (IranMania) - Director General for Caspian Sea's oil and gas at the Ministry of Oil Mahmoud Khaqani said that the Islamic Republic of Iran is considered as the best route for transfer of oil and gas to global markets, IRNA reported.
Speaking in an international conference on oil and gas in Kazakhstan, he said countries in the central Asia with huge oil and gas reserves are deprived of access to open sea creating difficulty for export of their oil and gas to the outside world.
Iranian access to the Caspian Sea in North and the Persian Gulf waters in the South would help solve the problem, he said.
Kazakhstan is under pressure to export its oil and gas via laying pipelines at the Caspian seabed which is quite uneconomical and harmful for environment, he said.
Putin Suggests Creation of Oil Exchange in St. Petersburg
October 9, 2006
MosNews
http://www.mosnews.com/money/2006/10/09/putinoilexchange.shtml
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested creation of oil and oil product exchange in St. Petersburg. He made the suggestion on Saturday, Oct. 7, during his meeting with the governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko.
Speaking with Matvienko, Putin said that the Russian government has almost completed development of the concept for creation of such exchange in the country. The President added that his colleagues from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan already expressed interest in this venture.
Putin said that the oil and oil product exchange can be located in St. Petersburg. “I believe that it would be a landmark event for the whole of Russia and for St. Petersburg,” Putin said, quoted by RIA Novosti.
The governor of St. Petersburg suggested that the new bourse could be located in the historical Stock Exchange building in the center of the city. At present time the building, which required restoration, is occupied by the Navy Museum, but the city authorities already began to consider the issue of moving the museum to a more modern building and reconstructing the Stock Exchange, which could then house the oil bourse.
Police: Attackers take troops hostage, occupy Shell oil facility
October 10, 2006
The Associated Press
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/10/africa/AF_GEN_Nigeria_Oil_Unrest.php
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
LAGOS, Nigeria Attackers overran a Nigerian navy base early Tuesday and occupied a nearby oil facility belonging to a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, taking several troops hostage, a police official said. A spokesman for the company said about 60 Nigerian oil workers also were being held.
No deaths have been reported, said Hafiz Ringim, police commissioner for Nigeria's southern Bayelsa state. Ringim said the attackers were armed with assault rifles.
Bisi Ojediran, a spokesman for a subsidiary of Shell, said that around 12,000 barrels of production per day had been shut down as a result. He said around 60 staff members lived on the facility, which he described as a combination of a logistics base and oil pipeline hub.
"Some of our staff may have left at the time of the attack," he said. "We have been able to speak to them and everyone is OK but they are not able to leave."
He would not comment on the identity of the attackers or their motives.
"Negotiations are the government's responsibility," he said.
Ringim said a delegation had been sent to negotiate with the attackers. He did not say how many troops were taken hostage or how many attackers were involved.
A series of attacks and kidnappings in Africa's largest oil producer have cut Nigeria's production by more than a quarter so far this year.
Despite the Niger delta's massive energy resources, the vast majority of the region's people are mired in extreme poverty. Some say kidnappings and attacks that grab international attention are some of the only tools available to them to take their rightful share of the wealth.
More than two dozen foreign oil workers have been kidnapped this year. Hostage takings generally end peacefully, with the targets returned unharmed.
Groups have also sabotaged pipelines and oil installations in the West African country, the fifth-largest supplier of crude to the United States
[The militancy of the Oaxaca teachers in protest of government corruption is escalating. The Mexican Marines have landed and are camped outside of Oaxaca. The Mexican government vows that the troops will not attack the protestors, but this week a Oaxaca teacher was hacked to death, sending a clear message that the powers that be will retaliate. The Fox government is not likely to storm the protestors before Fox finishes his term, but when Calderon, a corporate puppet tied to Mexican oil companies, takes office, he will have to decide whether to negotiate with the protestors or take them out. – CB]
OAXACA TEACHER ASSASSINATED
Teacher Hacked to Death in Mexican City
October 5, 2006
AP
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/10/05/international/
i223137D98.DTL&hw=Mexico&sn=005&sc=492
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
A teacher was hacked to death in this historic Mexican city that has been paralyzed for months by protests and violence, police said late Thursday. A colleague claimed the man was killed for opposing a teachers' strike.
Thousands of trade unionists and leftists have been camped out in Oaxaca since May, building barricades, taking over buildings and burning buses. The protesters are demanding the resignation of Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz, accusing him of rigging the 2004 election to win office and sending armed thugs against dissenters.
Victor Alonso Altamirano of the Oaxaca state police said teacher Jaime Rene Calva Aragon was on his way to a meeting Thursday evening when he was killed by two assailants wielding hefty ice picks.
Fellow teacher Alma Rosa Fernandez accused militant leftists of killing Calva for opposing a statewide teachers' strike that was a catalyst for the wider protests. Fernandez, who also opposes the strike, said the dissident teachers have been receiving death threats.
"We blame this murder directly on the radical teachers' wings," Fernandez said.
Florentino Lopez, a spokesman for the protesters, denied the accusation and instead blamed the governor.
"This is a plan by Ulises Ruiz to provoke the intervention of federal forces," Lopez told reporters and protesters in Oaxaca's main square.
The protests began when thousands of teachers went on strike to demand higher pay. After Ruiz sent police to try to dislodge the camps in June, the teachers were joined by a broad coalition of leftists, students, anarchists and Indian groups.
Ruiz denies the protesters' accusations against him and has repeatedly called for federal troops to restore order.
In recent days, helicopters and military planes have flown over the protesters while thousands of state police have gathered outside the city. Protesters broadcast alerts from occupied radio stations, fearing an onslaught was imminent.
Enrique Rueda, head of the Oaxaca teachers union, traveled to Mexico City Thursday and met with Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal to try and resolve the conflict.
After the meeting, Rueda said Abascal promised he would not order soldiers to move against the protesters.
"We have the guarantee from the interior secretary that there will be no military incursion in Oaxaca," Rueda told a news conference.
The Interior Department later released a statement saying "the conflict in Oaxaca will be solved via the law and institutions." It did not comment on the use of soldiers.
Clashes involving protesters, police and armed gangs have already left two people dead, and both the U.S. and British embassies in Mexico have issued advisories warning their citizens about going to Oaxaca.
The unrest has scared most tourists away from the city, which is normally popular for its colonial architecture and ancient pyramids. Business leaders put losses at more than $300 million.
Ruiz has been supported by other governors from his Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which held the Mexican presidency from 1929 until 2000.
___
Associated Press writer Ioan Grillo in Mexico City contributed to this report.
[Whether related to Peak Oil, climate change, regional violence, the global economy, or all of the above, "Peak Food" is a reality upon which FTW has been reporting for a long time, and the situation appears to be worsening. – CB]
Forty countries face food shortages worldwide, FAO says
dpa German Press Agency
October 9, 2006
http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Forty_countries_face_food_shortages_10092006.html
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
Rome- Sudan, with its tormented Darfur region, leads a pack of 40 countries facing food emergencies worldwide, according to a report Monday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). According to FAO's latest Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, the crisis in the Darfur region remains the most pressing humanitarian problem.
Declining world cereal production this year risks reducing food supplies available to other countries in need of external assistance.
FAO's latest forecast for world cereal production in 2006 stands at just over 2 million tonnes, almost 8 million tonnes down since the agency's previous report in July and 1.6 per cent less than 2005 levels.
"The main concern is the declining stocks and whether supplies will be adequate to meet demand without world prices surging to even higher levels," the report says.
Despite good crops in many low-income countries, this year's anticipated sharp fall in global stocks may lead to a more precarious situation next season should weather problems prevent an increase in world cereal production in 2007, the FAO said.
Countries facing a food emergency include Somalia, where at least 1.8 million people are suffering because of a severe food crisis.
Food insecurity is also reported in several West African countries, including Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, while emergency food assistance continues to be needed in Chad, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Outside Africa, reduced food aid and crop damage due to floods in July has increased the severity of food insecurity in North Korea.
Unprecedented floods caused by several weeks of torrential rain have also left millions of people in India and Pakistan homeless and in need of food assistance. In China, the worst drought in 50 years has affected more than 3 million hectares of crops.
In Iraq, conflict and insecurity continues to displace hundreds of thousands people, the FAO said.
© 2006 dpa German Press Agency
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Text of N Korea's announcement - by BBC