Recently released data from the Federal Reserve provide a stark reminder of the extent of racial and ethnic economic gaps in our economy, particularly regarding wealth.

The Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances allows us to compare both income and net worth (assets minus debts) between white (non-Hispanic) and non-white families (the sample sizes are too small to break non-whites into component groups). The data in the report reveal that in 2004, minority incomes were about 56% that of whites. However, a far larger gap exists when we compare net worth: minorities’ net worth was about 27% of whites, about half the size of the income ratio .
counterpunch.org

QUITO, Ecuador, March 15 (Reuters) – Ecuador struggled to contain growing protests by Indians demanding the government abandon U.S. free-trade talks and accused protest leaders of trying to oust President Alfredo Palacio on Wednesday.

Thousands of Indians have blocked roads with burning tires and rubble in nine central provinces since Monday to demand the government end free-trade talks with the United States. The protests have crimped the Andean nation’s economy.

“Their demands are not possible to address, so it appears that what they want is to destabilize democracy,” presidential spokesman Enrique Proano told reporters.
alertnet.org

Indigenous revolution in Ecuador?
It appears that Ecuadorians are about to explode again against their government’s renewed involvement in the U.S.-spawned, “Free Trade Agreement”. All of the central mountain chain running through Ecuador and all Ecuadorian Amazonia are paralyzed by the mobilizations of indigenous people against the Free Trade Agreement. The capital city of Quito has been brought to a standstill. The Interior Minister has already resigned in the face of social protest, destabilization and repression currently ruling throughout the country.

President Palacio wants to sign the Free Trade Agreement with the US instead of calling for a Constituent Assembly as he promised a year ago. The indigenous peoples have paralyzed 11 or 22 provinces and are marching on Quito. Teachers and public employees are on strike. They all want Occidental Petroleum (OXY) out of the country. The President of the Congress indicated that the government could fall, stating that the country is approaching a “true convulsion”. The powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, CONAIE is heading this movement, refusing to compromise on the government’s negotiations with the United States. President Alfredo Palacio has threatened to meet the protests with “maximum authority”

Rebelión reports that new provinces and students added their weight to the indigenous protests with blockades of the highways. These same tactics were used to overthrow the government of Bolivia last summer, leading to the election of Evo Morales as the first indigenous president of that Latin American nation. Wilfrido Lucero, President of the Congress stated that the country is facing a ‘true convulsion’. In the Amazon province of Pastaza, television news shows strong clashes between soldiers and demonstrators when they tried to block petroleum exploitation of the foreign company Agip Oil and occupy it by the force. The protest in Pastaza is primarily motivated by the demand for the government to deliver economic resources to the people.

…Then your eye falls on a barely-noticed article in a local Southern California newspaper. You call the reporter, and he guides you to his reputable source. And the stomach-tickling fears start all over again, especially when–coincidentally–a Germanophile friend researching in the archives digs up the following from a Munich newspaper dated 1933.

First, the American news item:

The federal government has awarded a $385 million contract for the construction of ‘temporary detention facilities’ inside the United States as part of the Immigration Service’s Detention and Removal Program. The contract was given to Kellogg, Root & Brown, a subsidiary of Halliburton. The camps would be used in the event of an “emergency”, said Jamie Zuieback, an Immigration service official.

The following article appeared in a Munich newspaper in 1933 to mark the “grand opening” of Dachau, Germany’s first concentration camp. This month marks the 73d anniversary:

Münchner Neueste Nachrichten,

Tuesday, March 21, 1933

A Concentration Camp for Political Prisoners in the Dachau Area

In a statement to the press, Himmler, Munich’s Chief of Police announced:

On Wednesday the first concentration camp will be opened near Dachau. It has a capacity of 5000 people. Here, all communist and-so far as is necessary- Reichsbanner and Marxist officials, who endanger the security of the state, will be assembled. In the long run, if government administration is not to be very burdened, it is not possible to allow individual communist officials to remain in court custody. On the other hand, it is also not possible to allow these officials their freedom again. Each time we have attempted this, the result was that they again tried to agitate and organize. We have taken these measures without concern for each pedantic objection encountered, in the conviction that we act to calm the concerns of the nation’s people, and in accordance with their aims.

Himmler gave assurance that in each individual case, preventive custody will not be maintained longer than necessary. It is obvious, however, that the astonishingly large quantity of material evidence seized will take a long time to be examined. This police will only be delayed, if they are continually asked when this or that person in preventive custody will be released. The incorrectness of rumors frequently spread regarding the treatment of prisoners is shown by the fact that for those prisoners who requested it, for example, Dr. Gerlich and Frhr. v. Aretin, counseling by priests is supported and approved without hesitation.
counterpunch.org

A Cell for Kissinger and Haig
…Of course, if one listens to Alexander Haig and Henry Kissinger–two architects of the last major US foreign disaster in Vietnam–they might think that the only way to get out of Iraq is by blowing the country and its inhabitants to hell. Indeed, Mr. Haig, who was a general, Secretary of State under Reagan, and an advisor to Richard Nixon (even serving as his Chief of Staff during the final months of Nixon’s presidency), told an audience of a conference on the Vietnam War at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, “Every asset of the nation must be applied to the conflict to bring about a quick and successful outcome, or don’t do it.” This is from a man, who helped engineer (among other things) the Christmas bombings of 1972, the mining of Haiphong harbor and the bombing of Hanoi and the dikes of northern Vietnam, and the invasion of Cambodia. What does he suggest the US do in Iraq? Break out some tactical nuclear weapons? The mindset that Haig represents seriously believes that the US military was restrained in Vietnam and that a similar situation exists in Iraq. This is despite the fact that more ordnance has been dropped on those two countries than on any other country in history.

His fellow panel member, Henry Kissinger, would probably like that idea. After all, it was Mr. Kissinger who considered the use of nuclear weapons against northern Vietnam in 1969, but was convinced such an idea might be a bad move after hundreds of thousands of US residents filled the streets of DC and several other cities on November 15, 1969 in a national mobilization to end the war in Vietnam.

Both of these men should be in adjoining cells in the Hague. Instead, they are guests of honor at the JFK Library. It’s not that they were besmirching Kennedy’s legacy by being there. Indeed, Mr. Kissinger said he admired the Kennedys–a statement that should not surprise any serious student of US history given Kissinger’s tenure as a consultant on security matters to various U.S. agencies from 1955 to 1968. Indeed, Kissinger’s treatise on nuclear weapons and foreign policy was a major influence on the strategic policies of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Given that treatise’s emphasis on the use of tactical nuclear weapons together with conventional forces and the current discussion of just such a policy, one could say that Kissinger’s influence continues to steer US war policy.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) – Fighting for a death penalty in a 9/11 case, prosecutors are beseeching a federal judge to reconsider her decision to exclude half the government’s case against confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.

They acknowledge their only hope of obtaining the death penalty for the 37-year-old Frenchman of Moroccan descent is to persuade U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema she punished the government too harshly for tampering with trial witnesses and lying to defense attorneys.

Brinkema did not immediately respond to the motion for reconsideration that prosecutors filed Wednesday evening. But she had indicated earlier she had time available Thursday to hear such a motion if it were filed.

The jury has been sent home until Monday to give prosecutors time for their next step.

Brinkema barred prosecutors from submitting any witnesses or exhibits about aviation security. Prosecutors responded in their motion that this evidence “goes to the very core of our theory of the case.”

At the very least, the prosecutors argued, they should be allowed to present a newly designated aviation security witness who had no contact with Carla J. Martin, the Transportation Security Administration lawyer responsible for the government’s misconduct. This would “allow us to present our complete theory of the case, albeit in imperfect form.”

“The public has a strong interest in seeing and hearing it (aviation security evidence), and the court should not eliminate it from the case, particularly not … where other remedies are available,” they wrote Brinkema.

Brinkema ruled Tuesday that Martin violated federal rules when she sent trial transcripts to seven aviation witnesses, coached them on how to deflect defense attacks and lied to defense lawyers to prevent them from interviewing witnesses they wanted to call. The judge said Martin’s actions and other government missteps had left the aviation evidence “irremediably contaminated.”
guardian.co.uk

The US will not shy away from attacking regimes it considers hostile, or groups it believes have nuclear or chemical weapons, the White House has confirmed.
In the first restatement of national security strategy since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the US singles out Iran as the greatest single current danger.

The new policy backs the policy of pre-emptive war first issued in 2002, and criticised since the Iraq war.

But it stresses that the US aims to spread democracy through diplomacy.

The new strategy also highlights a string of other global issues of concern to the US, such as the spread of Aids, the threat of pandemic flu and the prospect of natural and environmental disasters.

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley is due to make a speech launching the new strategy on Thursday.

Other key points include:

-Stressing US preference for “transformational diplomacy” and coalition building, but not necessarily within United Nations or Nato frameworks

-Criticising the lack of democratic freedoms in Russia and China

-Branding Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a “demagogue” aiming to destabilise the region

-Urging Palestinian radical group Hamas to recognise Israel, renounce violence and disarm.

The substance of the revised strategy focuses on the challenges facing the cUS in the wake of the Iraq war.

In a nod to previous high-level foreign policy statements, which singled out individual countries as potential enemies of the US, the new document highlights seven “despotic” states.

They are: North Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Belarus, Burma and Zimbabwe.

The policy of the US, according to the opening words of the 49-page document, is “to seek and support democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world”.
bbc.co.uk

Condoleezza Rice on Thursday raised the diplomatic temperature over the nuclear stand-off with Iran, accusing the country of lying about its activities and again calling it a “central banker to terrorism”.

The US secretary of state was speaking in Sydney at the start of a three-day official visit to Australia, which will include talks with Canberra and Japan over the vexed Iranian issue.

Ms Rice described Iran as a “troubled state” where an “unelected few repress the desires of its population”.
ft.com

ah sweet irony…

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar vowed a ferocious offensive against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, saying on Thursday they would soon face unimaginable violence.

An insurgency that has killed more than 1,500 people since the start of last year has intensified in recent months with a wave of suicide bombings, including at least 12 this year.

Ten U.S. troops have been killed in combat this year and U.S. commanders have said they expect violence to increase in coming months as the weather warms, snow on mountain passes melts, and Afghanistan’s traditional fighting season begins.

“With the arrival of the warm weather, we will make the ground so hot for the invaders it will be unimaginable for them,” Omar said in his message, read by Taliban spokesman Mohammad Hanif over the telephone from an undisclosed location.

The fugitive Taliban leader, who carries a $10 million reward, also said a stream of young Afghans were volunteering for suicide missions, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency said.
reuters.com

…The ongoing dialogue between the U.S. and the Sunni insurgency is based on a shared wariness about the influence of Iran and its supporters in Iraq. U.S. officials are now saying bluntly that it’s time to bring back the Baath Party, excluding only those that are guilty of specific crimes. That reflects a growing acceptance among U.S. officials that the military and bureaucratic know-how in the Sunni community is badly needed, even to help run the security forces that the U.S. is standing up.

Senior Baathist insurgent commanders are responding positively to the U.S. outreach on the political and military level. One senior commander I spoke to praised the U.S. for the release of some key Baathist officers who had been imprisoned, and later, when I asked a senior U.S. intelligence officer about the releases, he said the men had been freed as part of a calculated effort to demonstrate good faith in dealing with the insurgents. Of course, both sides share the objective of avoiding a civil war.
time.com

yeah of course

U.S. launches largest air assault since invasion of Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq — In a well-publicized show of force, U.S. and Iraqi forces swept into the countryside north of the capital in 50 helicopters today looking for insurgents in what the American military called its “largest air assault” in nearly three years.

The military said the assault — Operation Swarmer — detained 41 people, found stolen uniforms and captured weapons including explosives used in making roadside bombs. It said the operation would continue over several days.

There was no bombing or firing from the air in the offensive northeast of Samarra, a town 60 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. All 50 aircraft were helicopters — Black Hawks, Apaches and Chinooks — used to ferry in and provide cover for the 1,450 Iraqi and U.S. troops.

Residents in the area reported a heavy U.S. and Iraqi troop presence and said large explosions could be heard in the distance.

Operation Swarmer came as the Bush administration was attempting to show critics at home and abroad that it is dealing effectively with Iraq’s insurgency and increasingly sectarian violence.

UNITED NATIONS — The U.S. stood nearly alone today as it voted against the creation of a new U.N. Human Rights Council, saying the reform did not go far enough in keeping abusers off the panel.

However, U.S. officials did not carry through on a threat to block the new body’s funding, and pledged to work with other nations to make the council “as strong as it can be.”

Jan Eliasson, president of the General Assembly called the vote “a historic moment for human rights” as 170 member-states backed the new council. Israel, the Marshall Islands and Palau joined the U.S. in voting against, while Iran, Venezuela and Belarus abstained.

After the applause faded in the General Assembly hall, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said that the assembled diplomats had missed an historic opportunity to help those most in need.
latimes.com

…In the 1970s, the average number of intense Category 4 and 5 hurricanes occurring globally was about 10 per year. Since 1990, that number has nearly doubled, averaging about 18 a year.

Category 4 hurricanes have sustained winds from 131 to 155 mph. Category 5 systems, such as Hurricane Katrina at its peak, feature winds of 156 mph or more. Wilma last year set a record as the most intense hurricane on record with winds of 175 mph.

While some scientists believe this trend is just part of natural ocean and atmospheric cycles, others argue that rising sea surface temperatures as a side effect of global warming is the primary culprit.

According to this scenario, warming temperatures heat up the surface of the oceans, increasing evaporation and putting more water vapor into the atmosphere. This in turn provides added fuel for storms as they travel over open oceans.
livescience.com