World Media Watch for March 11, 2005....5 stories of interest

[Gloria]

Go to http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical for more of the excerpts and links to the full stories....



1//Aljazeera.net, Qatar--US REPORT ACKNOWLEDGES PEAK-OIL THREAT (It has long been denied that the US government bases any policy around the idea that global oil production may be in terminal decline. But a new US government-sponsored report, obtained by Aljazeera.net, does exactly that. Authored by Robert L. Hirsch, Roger Bezdek and Robert Wendling and entitled the Peaking of World Oil production: Impacts, Mitigation, & Risk Management, the report is an assessment requested by the US Department of Energy (DoE), National Energy Technology Laboratory…But this brand new senior-level report on "peak oil" is unprecedented in US government circles. It is not just the existence of the report itself that is such a landmark in the current oil debate. Its conclusions also pull no punches…The authors of the report also dismiss the power of the markets to solve any oil peak. They call for the intervention of governments. But also they rather worryingly point to a need to exclude public debate and environmental concerns from the process. They say this is needed to speed up decision-making. "Intervention by governments will be required, because the economic and social implications of oil peaking would otherwise be chaotic. But the process will not be easy. Expediency may require major changes to ... lengthy environmental reviews and lengthy public involvement.")



2//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--US’s $5 BILLION NUCLEAR GAMBLE WITH CHINA (On the surface, it's the biggest deal in the history of the Export-Import Bank of the United States - US$5 billion to finance the building of Chinese nuclear power plants by US firms in the energy-starved economic giant. But there's much more to it than big business: closer scrutiny and interviews with experts reveal a weak, inconsistent and ultimately dangerous US policy with regard to China and its past (some say present) weapons proliferation, as well as China's own efforts to acquire nuclear reactors and other Western high technology that could be passed on to less-than-responsible states. In effect, in the interests of big business, the US is turning a blind eye to past proliferation by Chinese entities with which it deals…The Ex-Im loans and guarantees are part of aggressive efforts by US officials and diplomats, including former energy secretary Spencer Abraham and current Vice President Dick Cheney, to lobby the Chinese government to sign a deal with Monroeville, Pennsylvania-based power giant Westinghouse Electric Co.)



3//Turkish Daily News, Turkey--SYRIA SEEKS HELPING HAND FROM TURKEY (Syrian Information Minister Mehdi Dakhlallah has urged Ankara to assist Damascus in maintaining peace in the region by applying strategic pressure…Cooperation between Turkey and Syria, which basically is to maintain peace, has become fact, Dakhlallah told the Anatolia news agency yesterday. He stressed that a good Turkish and Syrian relationship is for the benefit of the region…The visit sparked a domestic debate among Turkish intellectuals focusing on whether such a visit was politically correct while Syrian troops were still in Lebanese territory.)

4//Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK--NEW STRATEGY FOR TURKOMAN BLOC (The main Turkoman political group in Kirkuk is rethinking its strategy as a result of its failure to make gains in the January elections. In a dramatic turnaround, a leading official in the Turkoman Front indicated the group was now willing to countenance a federal Kurdistan, as long as the disputed city of Kirkuk retained a special separate status that gave all ethnic groups a say in how it is governed…“The Turkoman now accept a federal solution,” said Kahya, “but they want Kirkuk to be a federal entity, administered by Kurds, Turkoman and Arabs.” In terms of national strategy, Kahya said the Turkoman Front had decided to join forces with the United Iraqi Alliance in the transitional parliament, having turned down a coalition offer from the Iraqi List, the group led by interim prime minister Ayad Allawi which came third in the ballot.)

5//The Moscow Times, Russia--KREMLIN MULLS DITCHING UNITED RUSSIA (Worried about United Russia's falling popularity after its approval of controversial social reforms, senior Kremlin officials are planning to create a new party of power and ditch the Kremlin-controlled party ahead of the 2007 parliamentary elections, two sources familiar with the situation said. The Kremlin, however, faces numerous hurdles to forming a new party -- hurdles that it unwittingly raised by deciding to overhaul the electoral system, political analysts said. Widespread public anger over the monetization of social benefits -- which stripped millions of pensioners, disabled people, war veterans and others of state benefits in exchange for meager cash payments -- has largely been directed at the United Russia-dominated State Duma, rather than at President Vladimir Putin or the federal government. Unprepared for the outcry and determined to maintain its grip on parliament, the Kremlin is looking to form a new party of power, the two sources said.)

[Lars39]

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