MaxedOutMama

''Joint interests of Turkey and the United States will gain more importance while a new period is starting in Afghanistan and Iraq. I am pleased as I will work with you,'' he added.
Gul stressed in his message, ''we are expecting your visit to Turkey in coming days. Your visit will be a chance to discuss recent developments.''

Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug yesterday briefed the press mostly about the Iraq issue, especially Kirkuk. Kirkuk will prepare a basis for conflicts in Iraq, regardless of the Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq. Turkey will be an intervener this way or the other. However, it will also cause problems in Turkish-US relations. Yesterday Basbug spoke on these issues during the press briefing. Turkey left out the US’ requests for Incirlik headquarters due to the Kirkuk and PKK terrorist organization issues. Although Basbug didn’t speak on this issue yesterday, some people have been talking about it for a long time.

Turkish soldiers are located in Afghanistan on behalf of the UN. The US benefits from this situation the most. Basbug said that the reaction and separatism were important issues and that the fight against corruption would continue. The aim of the briefing was to determine Turkey’s stance concerning all sorts of developments following the elections to be held in Iraq on Sunday. Turkish politicians, media and people are making recommendations. During yesterday’s briefing, our concerns were mentioned clearly and the broad dimension of our relations with the US and the possibility of a civil war in Iraq following the elections were emphasized. In any case, important developments will occur next month and they will influence not only our region, but also the world politics.

In line with the principles of practical politics, I had argued that Turkey must actively participate into the US’ inevitable attack on Iraq. I still believe that Turkey must have approved the bill permitting the US troops’ deployment in the Incirlik base. I had stated that pursuing a passive policy in this war would be more harmful to our country than being an active party. As a matter of fact, the number of Turkish casualties in this war is more than the British ones, because we don’t have our soldiers there to protect our citizens.

Turkey’s already in Iraq but its hands are tied.

I believe that the second term of Bush II will be more aggressive than ever. The US is aware of the fact that the European Union, Russia, China and even India are capable of turning the world’s balances upside down in the 21st century. Therefore, Washington is expected to attempt to monitor the energy resources directly.

A spokesman said: "Following the press conference given by the prime minister, Bill Gates and Bono in Davos on Thursday, a number of newspapers printed stories claiming that a page of notes and doodles left behind on the platform belonged to Tony Blair, and provided an insight into the mind of the prime minister.

"They were in fact doodles made by Bill Gates.

"We look forward with amusement to explanations by a variety of psychologists and graphologists of how various characteristics ascribed to the prime minister on the basis of the doodles, such as 'struggling to concentrate', 'not a natural leader', 'struggling to keep control of a confusing world' and 'an unstable man who is feeling under enormous pressure', equally apply to Mr Gates.

"We are astonished that no-one who ran the story thought to ask No 10 if the doodles were in fact Mr Blair's, particularly as it was obvious to anyone the handwriting was totally different."

Go to a dinner party in Paris, London or any other European capital and watch how things develop. The topic of conversation may be Iraq, it may be George Bush, it may be Islam, terrorism or weapons of mass destruction. However it starts out, you can be sure of where it will inevitably, and often irrationally, end — with a dissection of the Middle East situation and a condemnation of Israeli actions in the occupied territories. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen it. European sympathy for the Palestinians runs high, while hostility toward Israel is often palpable.

And the anger is reaching new — and disturbing — levels: A poll of 3,000 people published last month by Germany’s University of Bielefeld showed more than 50 percent of respondents equating Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians with Nazi treatment of the Jews. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed specifically believed that Israel is waging a “war of extermination’’ against the Palestinian people.

But while the north-south military clash has been stilled for now and signs that the Darfur slaughter may also be brought under control in the not-too-distant future, a new conflict is now threatening to unfold in Sudan. An economic one. Sudan, after all, has large oil reserves and China has, until now, been the country's biggest customer. With peace -- and a lifting of a US economic embargo -- on the way, American oil companies now have their eyes on the country.

Which is one reason the US government has been active in seeking a solution to the Sudan problem. There are others as well, of course, ranging from a desire to improve relations with a country long viewed as a potential breeding ground for terrorism (after all, Osama bin Laden was once a guest of the Bashir regime) to a need to appease influential Christian fundamentalists in the United States who insist on reducing the protracted Sudanese civil war to a simplistic war of faith.

"That is the only problem of a good day that was yesterday," he said. "Everybody will do the utmost so Sunnis participate in the writing of the constitution."

Solana congratulated "the Iraqi people, who have shown the courage to go to vote in good numbers under circumstances which were very difficult."

"That shows very clearly the will of the Iraqi people to move the country forward in peace and through democratic means," he said. "That's very good news."

Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC, spent $26 million in last year's campaign that he said was undermined by the candidate he supported.

``Kerry did not, actually, offer a credible and coherent alternative,'' Soros, 74, said yesterday in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ``That had a lot to do with Bush being re-elected.''

MR. RUSSERT: But you voted against Condoleezza Rice to be secretary of state. That's not finding common ground. She is qualified to hold that job, no?

SEN. KERRY: Yes, and I said so. But I also said that she was a principal architect, implementer and defender of a policy that has made the United States of America less secure in the world.

MR. RUSSERT: Is the United States safer with the newly elected Iraqi government than we would have been with Saddam Hussein?

SEN. KERRY: Sure. And I'm glad Saddam Hussein is gone, and I've said that a hundred times. But we've missed opportunity after opportunity along the way, Tim, to really make America safe and to bring the world to the cause.

MR. RUSSERT: Do you believe that Iraq is less a terrorist threat to the United States now than it was two years ago?

SEN. KERRY: No, it's more. And, in fact, I believe the world is less safe today than it was two and a half years ago.

Northern Iraq is not only a shelter for PKK militants, but also a place of ‘political activities.’ This is a serious threat for Turkey, but the US doesn’t act against this. Changing the demographic structure in Kirkuk shows the nationalistic ambitions of the Kurds. Words about targeting Diyarbakir slip out of Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani. Would they not use the PKK against Turkey? The US doesn’t take any action about Kirkuk. What are Turkey’s choices? Should it enter Iraq and take Mosul? Should it break up with the US and look for other allies? Basbug has clearly explained the choice of a military operation into the region by reminding of the period in 1923-26. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk refused to make military operations to Mosul, which was included in the national border of Turkey. We could enter Mosul, but we would find ourselves in a very difficult situation at that time. We agreed on today’s borders in 1926 and we are loyal to it. Today’s situation in the region is worse than it was in the 20’s.

The second choice is to search for other allies than the US. Basbug reminded that the situation in Iraq is not caused by any bad intentions of the US, but by US not being able to dominate the events in Iraq. ‘Our relations with the US is so broad and comprehensive that we can’t relate them with a single issue unless it is a vital one,’ said Basbug. We have to strengthen our relations with the US. A valid option for Turkey would be to use its diplomacy with the support of our political, economic and military potential.

We have to ask the questions of how our Kurdish citizens are influenced by Turkey’s stance in Iraq and how we can develop economic and social integration policies to strengthen our national unity? Turkey is entering a very difficult period.

'It is necessary to avoid statements and initiatives which risk to drag Iraq into an undesired anarchy, instability and internal clash,'' said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan on Friday.
When a reporter asked about participation of Iraqi Turkmens in Iraqi elections and Kirkuk, Tan said, ''Iraqi Turkmen community, which suffered throughout their history, decided to participate in the (Iraqi) elections behaving responsibly. But they are also asking for their legitimate rights.''

Rumors of impending violence were rife. When an unexplained boom sounded near one Baghdad voting station, some women put their hands to their mouths and whispered prayers. Others continued walking calmly to the voting stations. Several shouted in unison: "We have no fear."

"Am I scared? Of course I'm not scared. This is my country," said 50-year-old Fathiya Mohammed, wearing a head-to-toe abaya.

At one polling place in Baghdad, soldiers and voters joined hands in a dance, and in Baqouba, voters jumped and clapped to celebrate the historic day. At another, an Iraqi policeman in a black ski mask tucked his assault rifle under one arm and took the hand of an elderly blind woman, guiding her to the polls.

Naturally occurring background radiation is the main source of exposure for most people. Levels typically range from about 1.5 to 3.5 millisievert per year but can be more than 50 mSv/yr. The highest known level of background radiation affecting a substantial population is in Kerala and Madras States in India where some 140,000 people receive doses which average over 15 millisievert per year from gamma radiation in addition to a similar dose from radon. Comparable levels occur in Brazil and Sudan, with average exposures up to about 40 mSv/yr to many people.

Several places are known in Iran, India and Europe where natural background radiation gives an annual dose of more than 50 mSv and up to 260 mSv (at Ramsar in Iran). Lifetime doses from natural radiation range up to several thousand millisievert. However, there is no evidence of increased cancers or other health problems arising from these high natural levels.

Newman said she and the district's elementary school principals made a unanimous decision to cancel their local competition shortly after the January 2004 event, agreeing that a spelling bee does not meet the criteria of all children reaching high standards, the Woonsocket paper said.

She argues that professional organizations now encourage elementary school children to participate in activities that avoid winners and losers, which is why sports teams have been eliminated for that age group.

Building self-esteem is the emphasis.

"You have to build positive self-esteem for all kids, so they believe they're all winners," Newman told the Call. "You want to build positive self-esteem so that all kids can get to where they want to go."

The pop-psychology that promulgated the widespread belief that if you nurture kid's self-esteem neglected to mention that if the sense of self was already damaged, all you managed to do was to create a narcissistic monster...it was a waste of time and money--as this article reports. If the 19th century was the age of hysteria (and basically, Freud was responding to the excessive sexual repression present in that century); then the 20th was the age of narcissism. In this new century, that narcissism seems to be morphing into an even more malignant sociopathy that pervades society and impacts almost all our social, political, and educational institutions.

Our cultural focus on enhancing "self-esteem" has resulted in the near-worship of emotions and feelings at the expense of reason and thought; on emphasizing "root causes" and victimhood, instead of demanding that behavior be civilized and that individuals exert self-discipline and self-control--no matter what they are "feeling".

Carl Steidtmann: “One thing that we should be worrying about is real hourly wages. We find real hourly wages to be a pretty good leading indicator of real spending. Again, it’s one of the factors that we look at when we're trying to measure cash flow into the household sector…. Real wages are going down now for a couple of reasons. One reason is we've had a bit of an acceleration in inflation. That, obviously, undercuts purchasing power. We've also had a real sharp increase in [the cost of] benefits. So, in a sense, you’re getting a little bit of a mix shift from the employer's perspective, away from wages and toward benefit costs. I think that's also depressing real wages. The impact falls more on middle- and lower-income households, those households that are more dependent on real hourly wages.”

Allen Grommet: “We're concerned about the effect of interest rates going forward, and it's not likely to get better. The rising rates will ultimately affect the housing market.”

Len Burman: “ … [I]f you adjust tax receipts for extension of the 2001–2004 tax cuts, you fix the [alternative minimum tax], you adjust spending for growth in entitlements and defense … by the year 2013, there's basically nothing left for anything else unless you finance it through deficits. … The problem is that [Baby Boomers] are all getting near retirement age now, and that's going to put immense demands on the budget. … Over the long run, unless we actually deal with these problems, this clearly will have a negative effect on the economy.”

"France cannot be satisfied with the situation in Iraq," she said in Thursday's interview. "What's happening in Iraq is bad for everyone. It encourages terrorism and creates a zone of instability that can spread."

Alliot-Marie expressed concern that the young French fighters "could one day carry out suicide attacks elsewhere ... that worries us." France itself could be targeted, she said.

Thus, in CBO’s baseline projections, the capacity of the Social Security trust funds to offset some of the net deficit in the rest of the budget—as they do now—will begin to dwindle during the coming decade. Shortly thereafter, Social Security is projected to begin adding to deficits or reducing surpluses.

This international unrest in the world would unfortunately seem to have given rise to the view amongst the Jews within Germany that the time has come openly to oppose Jewish interests to those of the German nation. From numerous places vigorous complaints have been received of the provocative action of individuals belonging to this people, and the remarkable frequency of these reports and the similarity of their contents point to a certain system of operation.

...The only way to deal with the problem which remains open is that of legislative action. The German Government is in this controlled by the thought that through a single secular solution it may be possible still to create a level ground [eine Ebene] on which the German people may find a tolerable relation towards the Jewish people. Should this hope not be fulfilled and the Jewish agitation both within Germany and in the international sphere should continue, then the position must be examined afresh.

The aim of all this was to cleanse German living space of
Jews in a legal manner.

All the offices realized the drawbacks of such enforced
accelerated emigration. For the time being they had, however,
tolerated it on account of the lack of other possible solutions
of the problem.

The work concerned with emigration was, later on, not only a
German problem, but also a problem with which the authorities of
the countries to which the flow of emigrants was being directed
would have to deal. Financial difficulties, such as the demand
by various foreign governments for increasing sums of money to be
presented at the time of the landing, the lack of shipping space,
increasing restriction of entry permits, or the cancelling of
such, increased extraordinarily the difficulties of emigration.
In spite of these difficulties, 537,000 Jews were sent out of the
country between the takeover of power and the deadline of 31
October 1941.

Under proper guidance, in the course of the final solution
the Jews are to be allocated for appropriate labor in the East.
Able-bodied Jews, separated according to sex, will be taken in
large work columns to these areas for work on roads, in the
course of which action doubtless a large portion will be
eliminated by natural causes.

The possible final remnant will, since it will undoubtedly
consist of the most resistant portion, have to be treated
accordingly, because it is the product of natural selection and
would, if released, act as a the seed of a new Jewish revival
(see the experience of history.)

It is not intended to evacuate Jews over 65 years old, but
to send them to an old-age ghetto - Theresienstadt is being
considered for this purpose.

In addition to these age groups - of the approximately
280,000 Jews in Germany proper and Austria on 31 October 1941,
approximately 30% are over 65 years old - severely wounded
veterans and Jews with war decorations (Iron Cross I) will be
accepted in the old-age ghettos. With this expedient solution,
in one fell swoop many interventions will be prevented.

In occupied and unoccupied France, the registration of Jews
for evacuation will in all probability proceed without great
difficulty.

Under Secretary of State Luther calls attention in this
matter to the fact that in some countries, such as the
Scandinavian states, difficulties will arise if this problem is
dealt with thoroughly and that it will therefore be advisable to
defer actions in these countries. Besides, in view of the small
numbers of Jews affected, this deferral will not cause any
substantial limitation.

The Foreign Office sees no great difficulties for southeast
and western Europe.

SS-Gruppenfuehrer Hofmann advocates the opinion that
sterilization will have to be widely used, since the person of
mixed blood who is given the choice whether he will be evacuated
or sterilized would rather undergo sterilization.

State Secretary Dr. Stuckart maintains that carrying out in
practice of the just mentioned possibilities for solving the
problem of mixed marriages and persons of mixed blood will create
endless administrative work. In the second place, as the
biological facts cannot be disregarded in any case, State
Secretary Dr. Stuckart proposed proceeding to forced
sterilization.

With regard to the issue of the effect of the evacuation of
Jews on the economy, State Secretary Neumann stated that Jews who
are working in industries vital to the war effort, provided that
no replacements are available, cannot be evacuated.

SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Heydrich indicated that these Jews
would not be evacuated according to the rules he had approved for
carrying out the evacuations then underway.

State Secretary Dr. Buehler stated further that the solution
to the Jewish question in the General Government is the
responsibility of the Chief of the Security Police and the SD and
that his efforts would be supported by the officials of the
General Government. He had only one request, to solve the Jewish
question in this area as quickly as possible.

In conclusion the different types of possible solutions were
discussed, during which discussion both Gauleiter Dr. Meyer and
State Secretary Dr. Buehler took the position that certain
preparatory activities for the final solution should be carried
out immediately in the territories in question, in which process
alarming the populace must be avoided.

Since 14 January alone, it has unleashed at least 17 medium and five large solar flares from a single sunspot cluster. Forecasters at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expect medium to high solar activity to continue until 23 January.

"Having so many big flares from one particular region of the Sun is quite something," says Bernhard Fleck, project scientist for the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory satellite.

The X-rays produced by the flares did not rise to the level of the notorious solar storms of October and November 2003, but in terms of high-energy protons, this is the largest radiation storm since October 1989.

2004 saw the US and EU take tentative steps towards improving ties following the dispute over the Iraq war. But now with George Bush in the White House for four more years, many on both sides of the Atlantic fear the two continents will drift apart again.

Are the US and Europe in for more rough waters or will the transatlantic differences recede? Take part in our forum and discuss the issue with other DW-WORLD readers.

I am a vietnamese american. i speak chinese, vietnamese, japanese, korean, english and french, which was force upon vietnamese people after they abolished our language and writing systems as they raped and pillaged vietnam. I read overseas news in their native language, i rely less on US news, I have a broader view of the world than you may think. I do not need their forgiveness, when they treat me like trash because i have slanty eyes and carry an american passport. I was treated as a second class citizen when i traveled thru europe while studying at leeds. I've studied both abroad in europe and asia and viewed europe from personal experiences not thru the news media.